Diamond celebrations for George and Kay (From Salisbury Journal)

Diamond celebrations for George and Kay

3:51pm Tuesday 3rd February 2009 in News By Jill Harding

KAY Benson is clearly a woman who knows her mind. As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve 1948 she proposed to her boyfriend George - it was their first date.

Four weeks later, on January 29 1949, the couple married and they have lived happily together since.

“It was a spur of the moment thing I suppose,” said Mrs Benson. “I wanted to propose as it was a leap year and I had a feeling he would say yes.”

The couple met at the Bell and Crown pub in Salisbury - which is now the Cloisters. Mrs Benson, who was also a receptionist at the Cathedral Hotel, worked behind the bar at the weekends when Mr Benson would often go in for a drink with friends.

“He'd caught my eye but we only spoke once to arrange to go out on New Year’s Eve,” she said.

“I expect my family and friends were very surprised by it all but it felt right.”

The couple moved to a cottage at Upper Chute near Andover where Mr Benson worked on a farm. They had three daughters and returned to Salisbury in 1974.

One of their daughters, Suzie, is severely disabled and Mrs Benson, who is 87, and her husband, who is 84, care for her full time.

The couple spent their diamond anniversary with their family at their home.

They had a cake and flowers and hope to go out for another celebration later in the year.

“We’ve had a very happy marriage,” said Mrs Benson.

“The difficult things have brought us closer and we’ve struggled on together.”