Isle of Wight couple Bryan and Ann Marshall celebrated their blue sapphire (65-year) wedding anniversary at the end of September.

Bryan, 85, and Ann, 84, first met in a cafe in Leatherhead when they were teenagers.

Bryan had come with his friend, and Ann with hers, with their friends wanting to meet each other – but they never got together, while Bryan and Ann did!

They had only met twice when Ann left a wedding early and visited Bryan at his family home. He drove her home, and they chatted for a while in Bryan’s car, and when Ann went to leave, he told her he would like to marry her, to which she replied, “I’d like that very much."

Isle of Wight County Press: Bryan and Ann on their wedding day and more recentlyBryan and Ann on their wedding day and more recently (Image: Contributions)

Within a year, the couple were engaged – after seeking permission from their parents – and married at Epsom Christ Church in Surrey on September 27, 1958.

After having their daughter, Wendy – well known on the Island as Womble Wendy, from her litter picking with Vectis Wombles – the family would holiday every year on the Island.

In 1975, almost 50 years before they moved to Niton, Bryan and Ann almost bought a house on Pan Lane, pulling out of the purchase due to family commitments across the Solent.

Ann spent many years working in the NHS, spending time in Epsom Mental Health Hospital’s payroll department.

Bryan, meanwhile, worked in insurance and mortgage but started in the offices at Selfridges in London.

While working at Selfridges, Bryan remembers a rat issue at the store and the kitchen staff panicking and trying to ensure the rodents did not reach the ground-floor cafe area.

For the last 25 years, Bryan has found a hobby in steam trains and spent two decades visiting mainland heritage railways as Santa during the festive season.

After retiring, he took on gardening duties at the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

Ann enjoys reading up on her family history and, for many years, has been involved in the Women’s Institute, joining up with Island groups after moving to Niton.

The couple moved to the Island last year to be near their daughter and her partner Don, a farmer.

Bryan and Ann have settled well into village life, enjoying what the village offers and seeing more of their granddog, Pistache, and grandcat, Tasmanian Devil.

The pair enjoyed a quiet celebration on their 65th anniversary, spending their special day with their family.