A diamond Lanarkshire duo who met aboard a Royal Naval ship party in Plymouth, celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss recently.
Susan and John Lindsay met whilst John was serving as a seaman - and after a whirlwind romance, the young lovebirds were engaged on Susan’s 18th birthday.
They were then married a year later on March 14, 1962 at St Andrew’s Church, Royal Parade, Plymouth.
The pair celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with a visit from the Provost and a special card from Her Majesty the Queen last month.
Susan told Lanarkshire Live : “John was in the Royal Field Auxiliary, which was attached to the Royal Navy.
"He went in as a young man in his 20s and he was 23 when I met him - I was only 16.
“My parents had moved to Plymouth from the Isle of Wight, which meant I moved with them.
“We met at a party on board a ship. I thought he was quite nice looking and we chatted all night. Then he went away and I wrote to him.
"He went away for a whole year and we wrote a lot of letters to each other in that time - when he came home we got engaged on my 18th birthday.”
The devoted couple lived in Cornwall until John came ashore and they then moved to London in 1969.
Originally from Rosyth, John then continued his engineering career in Scotland and the couple moved to Lanarkshire the following year.
Susan told us : “I think my husband wanted to come back to Scotland and we decided it would be nice to be a family.
“He got a job as a chief engineer in London when he came ashore and then he worked for Strathclyde Region, where he was head of internal transport. It was later disbanded and it was then that he retired.”
Susan, a stay-at-home mum, has devoted her life to raising their four children - Jonathan, Fraser, Michelle and Samantha.
The couple are also devoted to their two beloved grandchildren, Victoria and Ceriann.
“In my day women didn’t go out to work after they got married, particularly if you were moving around the country,” Susan explained.
The sprightly 79-year-old, a talented dressmaker, enjoys sewing and designed and made all her children’s clothes when they were little and also enjoys flower arranging and cooking.
John is a keen gardener and spends much of his time pottering about in his garden and also enjoys keeping fit and regularly attends his local Lanarkshire gym even though he has reached the ripe age of 86.
Susan told us: “We both like walking together with the dogs and enjoy trips to the theatre."
And she confirmed that the secret to their blissful 60-year union has been “compromise and patience” and “complimenting each other”.
To mark their momentous occasion Provost Jean Jones presented the couple with a beautiful floral basket and a bottle of whisky from the people of North Lanarkshire, and Depute Lieutenant Neena Mahal read and presented them with a special card from the Queen.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
