Couple celebrating sixty years of married life

Don and Iris Brown who have celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk © 2016)

Don and Iris Brown met on the dance floor on Great Yarmouth's Britannia Pier, both aged 18, and were married in a snowy setting of Caister Church on February 11, 1956.

Since then, the couple who are now both 81, have gone on to have two children, Michael and Ian, with four grandchildren, Sam, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Phoebe.

Iris, said: 'At the time, all the girls and boys would get a bus back to Caister after a night out on the dance floor at the Britannia Pier on a Saturday night.

'The night I met Don, I can remember him asking me if he could walk me home, and I said 'sorry I have to get the bus back to Caister' and he told me he had to do the same thing.

'We could not believe we had gone all this time living in the same village without seeing each other!'

Don was born and raised in Caister and comes from the California Brown fishing family of the previous generation.

The father of Iris, who was from Winterton, was also a fisherman, but Iris was born in Milford Haven in Wales, as her father moved around the country as a skipper in the fishing industry.

She moved to Caister with her mother, two sisters and two brothers at the age of 12.

After meeting Iris, Don spent a lot of time away, having joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 17, where he spent four years. Upon return he then also went on to spend two years on National Service.

Don said: 'I remember returning home one time after being away and asking 'how about next time I come home I look for a ring for you?'

'And when I returned, we got married at Caister Church and held our reception at the old Caister Hall.'

Iris added: 'I remember it was an extremely cold wintery day, the snow was very deep.'

Don is a well known retired businessman who for many years traded as Don's Butchers in Gorleston until 2000.

He has also for many years been an active committee member of Caister Royal British Legion, and to this day, is the standard bearer at many of the legion's local events.

Iris' passion has been for her family, although she has worked at Grouts, and then when her sons were born she worked for Caister Holiday Camp and Birds Eye.

Mrs Brown, said: 'We used to enjoy travelling a lot. When Don retired we promised to go to Alaska, which we did, and we have also been on a cruise down the Panama Canal, visited Don's sister in Australia and most recently to St Petersburg in Russia.

'We enjoy spending time together, we like going on walks and going on days out - we have always got on perfectly in harmony.'

Ten years ago, the Caister couple raised £615 for East Anglia's Children Hospices for their golden wedding celebrations. They held a party at the Furzedown Hotel, and asked for friends and family to give donations instead of gifts.

This time around, they celebrated the special day with their family in Belton.