Diamond day for Peter and Jeannie (From Salisbury Journal)

Diamond day for Peter and Jeannie

5:08pm Wednesday 31st October 2012 in News By Hannah White

A COUPLE from Wilton who have moved home more than 20 times during their marriage are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary today.

Peter and Jeannie Redpath both grew up in Dufftown, Scotland, and they got together at a dance in 1951 when Lt Cmdr Redpath was home from serving with the Royal Navy.

The couple were married in St Michael’s Church in Dufftown on October 31, 1952. Lt Cmdr Redpath, 83, went on to serve 37 years in the Royal Navy and he was awarded an MBE in 1984 for his contribution to the Fleet Air Arm.

“It’s as much my wife’s achievement as it is mine because that’s what marriage is about,” he said.

The couple have lived in Saddlers Mead, Wilton, for almost 30 years.

Mrs Redpath, 80, brought up the couple’s three children Ann, David and Susan, while her husband was away and she later got a job as a supervisor in a shop in Yeovil.

Over the years, the couple have enjoyed travelling together and Mrs Redpath, a keen gardener, has supported her husband as a historian, writer, aircraft engineer, and a member of the Western Front Association.

The couple, who have four grandchildren, travel to Scotland every year to visit friends and relatives.

Lt Cmdr Redpath said: “I was given very good advice by my late father-in-law in 1952, that his recipe for a long and happy marriage was to know the words ‘yes dear’.”

Lt Cmdr and Mrs Redpath have celebrated their diamond day with family and friends.