BEING contented is the secret to a happy marriage, according to George and Helen Noyes.

The couple, of Marsh Lane, Rowde, celebrate their diamond wedding today.

Mr Noyes, originally from Poulshot, and Mrs Noyes, who grew up in Seend, met at a dance in Bulkington Village Hall in 1950, where Mr Noyes played the music on a record player.

Romance blossomed gradually and the pair went on regular dates, including to the Palace Cinema in Devizes, before they married in 1953 at the Church of the Holy Cross, Seend.

Money was tight and they could not afford a honeymoon. After they wed, they moved to Wootton Bassett where they rented two rooms.

Mrs Noyes, 82, said: “I don’t think many people had a honeymoon then. When we lived in Wootton Bassett we had £6.50 a week to live on and we didn’t have much left over after paying our rent, gas and other outgoings.”

Mr Noyes, 83, who carried out 18 months’ National Service in the RAF, was a plumber with Rendells in Devizes. He then worked at the Air Ministry, where he was based at Hopton Barracks for two years, before moving to RAF Lyneham where he was promoted to technical officer and was in charge of the hangars and runways.

His wife worked at a drapers shop in Trowbridge when they met and after they married she worked at an egg depot in Wootton Bassett.

After two years at Wootton Bassett the couple moved to their current home in Rowde. They had two children, Kevin, who had motor neurone disease and died in 1989, and Jennie, who lives in Horton. They have two granddaughters, Emily and Amy.

Mrs Noyes worked as a cleaner at Rowdeford School for 33 years and was a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels service. The couple renewed their wedding vows a few months ago.

Mr Noyes said enjoying life was the key to a long and happy marriage.

“Be contented and don’t let things get on top of you. Don’t try and boss each other around. Take life as it comes and accept what you get. Helen is one of the best,” he said.

She said: “George is very placid. You would never get him to argue. If I get annoyed he would say ‘have you finished now?’”