A COUPLE who met at a youth club social evening in Bromham and have lived in the village all their married life will celebrate their blue sapphire wedding anniversary on Monday.

Ivor, 89, and Enid Minty, 85, of The Pound, were married on April 3, 1952, four years after they met at a Christmas dance in the village hall on December 23, 1948.

Mr Minty, whose great, great grandmother started the village shop in 1850, had just returned from serving in the RAF and his wife-to-be was visiting from nearby Melksham for the joint social for both Bromham and Melksham Youth Clubs.

Mr Minty said: "I asked her to dance as you do and it went from there."

The couple married at St Andrew's Church, Melksham and then settled in a near derelict cottage at Durlett in Bromham. But after their first son Roderick was born in 1955 they moved to The Pound to Mr Minty's mother's house. A second son Keith was born in 1959.

They later designed their own chalet bungalow in the garden and still enjoy living there today. Mrs Minty said: "We are very lucky that we are still independent and my husband is still able to drive."

Both Mr and Mrs Minty once worked at Avon Rubber in Melksham and until recently were both very active in village life. Mrs Minty was secretary at the church school and then also secretary of the county primary.

Mr Minty was a governor of the county primary and later chairman. After its closure in 1984 he became a governor of the church school.

He said: "Between us were were connected with the two schools for a total of 60 years."

Mrs Minty was secretary of the village's Women's Institute and Mr Minty was on the village hall committee. They were both founder members of the Phoenix Club and remained stalwarts until recently.

Mr Minty said: "Originally when we used to walk through the village I would be stopped every few yards by someone I knew as when I was young I used to do the shop deliveries for my grandad. But later after Enid started working at the school it would be her that everyone knew."

The couple will celebrate with a family party with their two sons and four grandchildren on Sunday and then with friends and other family members at the Westbrook Inn on Monday.