1967 has become known as the summer of love and for one Chippenham couple that certainly seems to be the case.

For that fateful summer John Hartley and Sue Alexander first met in June, while on a Youth Hostel Association holiday in Switzerland.

John, a native of Wakefield, Yorkshire, was a student at the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern, Worcestershire while Sue was a secretary in her home city of Coventry.

The chance meeting led to a lifelong relationship and two years later, on June14, 1969, they were married at St Margaret’s Church, Coventry.

Fifty years on they marked their Golden Wedding Anniversary with a nostalgic trip to the Midlands.

After their wedding the couple took up residence in St Albans, before moving to Maldon, in Essex, for four years.

In 1974 they moved to Wiltshire where they settled in Chippenham.

Trained as a chartered engineer, John first worked for Marconi Radar Systems before switching to the railway industry with the Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company in Chippenham at its manufacturing works.

Back then Westinghouse manufactured railway air braking, signalling, mining and colliery equipment, industrial automation and power rectifier equipment.

The couple moved into a house in St Paul Street in the town, where they live to this day.

They have four children and the youngest was just 16 months old when the whole family moved to Johannesburg for two years whilst John worked for the South African branch of Westinghouse.

After their return to Chippenham, Sue stayed at home until the youngest child was at secondary school, subsequently doing secretarial work.

All the children were educated at Ivy Lane and Hardenhuish schools in the town.

After spells with London Underground, Network Rail and Scott Wilson, John retired in 2009.

John and Sue are committed Christians and are closely involved with St Paul’s Church.

Both are keen gardeners, and as part of their Golden Anniversary celebrations they visited the Gardener’s World Show at the NEC, Birmingham.