Retired local dentist and his wife received congratulations from the Queen on their 60th Wedding Anniversary.

Keith Millman was for many years, a dentist at Craiglwyd, Ilbert Road, Kingsbridge. He and his wife Tricia, celebrated their diamond anniversary with a tea party at the Thurlestone Hotel last week.

Guests at the tea party added some comments to their congratulations cards:

‘Keith I think of you every time I go to bed. I take my teeth out and they smile back at me.’

‘Keith you have been living with a beautiful woman all these years. Don’t you think it time you stopped taking photos of all those birds outside your window?’

The couple met in London at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster where they went to church. At the time, Keith was young dental surgeon studying at Guy’s Hospital and Tricia was a dispensing assistant at the Middlesex Hospital.

They were married on April 22, 1957, at Hinde Street Church off Oxford Street in London.

Following a period in Wales, they moved to Kingsbridge where Keith set up his dental practice. Initially this was in Fore Street across the street from their small flat.

Larger premises were established later at Craiglwyd, where they remain today. The couple now live in Thurlestone.

Their note of congratulations from the Queen was not the first royal communication. Keith was awarded MBE by the Queen in 1988 for services to dentistry.

He contributed to local and national management of dentistry for many years and was elected president of the Western Counties Branch of the British Dental Association in its Centenary Year.

He was awarded Fellowship of British Dental Association in 1996.

Tricia, termed “chief cook and bottle-washer” by herself, supported Keith in his practice. Also, she ran their home and took the lead in caring for the couple’s three children, Andrew, Valerie and Adrian. All three are engaged in medical professions and all studied at Guy’s.

Andrew is a hospital consultant in York. Valery is a senior nurse in Kent and Adrian a GP in Southampton.

Two of the couple’s grandchildren have continued the medical tradition: Emily, a nurse at St Thomas Hospital and David, a paediatric doctor in Nottingham. Other grandchildren are doing PhD in chemistry and undergraduate degrees at Cardiff and Exeter.

The couple remain active in retirement.

Tricia is a member of the Women’s Institute and amateur watercolour artist. Keith is a photographer and was awarded Associate membership of the Royal Photographic Society in 2006.