A FORMER telegram boy delivered his own personal message to a girl who caught his eye – and now the couple are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.
Chippenham couple Sheila and Edwin Lye, of Montague Close, are toasting their 60th anniversary surrounded by their family.
Mr and Mrs Lye met in their teens when they both worked at Station Hill in Chippenham.
At the time Mrs Lye, 80, was a hairdresser at Marjory King and an actress in a local theatre group called the Starlets, while Mr Lye, 81, was a telegram boy for the Post Office.
Mrs Lye (nee Harding), was only 16 when they first started dating. She said: “Edwin used to ride up and down the hill on his telegram bike.
“One day he parked his bike outside the shop, came in, took his helmet off and asked me out on a date.
“In the Starlets we used to perform at the Theatre Royal in Bath, and because that took up so much of my time he joined too.
“He suddenly cottoned on he wasn’t seeing me very often and they were short of men, so they roped him in.”
Mrs Lye also performed with The CLOGS musical theatre group in Chippenham for more than 20 years before making her final curtain call around five years ago.
The couple have two daughters, Katrina and Kirsa, three grandchildren – Luke, Olivia and Harriet – and two great-grandchildren, Edwin, aged four, and Mitchell, aged four months.
They were married at St Paul’s Church, Chippenham, on March 23, 1963, and moved to Melksham to be nearer to Mr Lye’s new job at the Jack Dean Oil Company.
Later, Mr Lye got a job as a oil-fired heating engineer and eventually became self-employed.
Mrs Lye said: “Edwin’s philosophy has always been never to go to bed on an argument.
“I think we work well as a team and we’re very much alike. We both like to go walking and cycling when the weather is fine.”
These days, they both enjoy outings and theatre trips and cooking for the family: Sheila specialises in cakes and Edwin in making bread.
Mr Lye also enjoys doing DIY jobs around the home and for his daughters, as well as gardening.
The family will celebrate with Sheila and Edwin at La Flambé restaurant in Sutton Benger and in the summer the couple will enjoy a cruise to Iceland
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