A couple have received a framed congratulations card from Buckingham Palace after celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary.

Eileen and Bill Issitt, 92 and 93, of Fern Copse, Torcross, first met at the ‘Higher Grade’ school in Edmonton, North London, have been sweethearts since their early teens, and are now celebrating their Platinum Wedding Anniversary.

They married on June 7, 1947, when Eileen was 22 and Bill was 23-years-old.

Eileen and Bill have lived in Torcross for 30 years, but they started their married life in Edmonton. Bill was a radio operator and navigator in the RAF during the Second World War, but chose a career in town planning. They briefly moved to Harlow, Essex, in the early 1950s, before moving back to Edmonton until they bought their first house in 1962 and moved to Hertford in Hertfordshire.

Eileen has predominantly been a wife and mother throughout her life, but she also worked as a school secretary at the local primary school in Hertford and then as a receptionist for the local doctor’s surgery.

Eileen and Bill have two children, Elaine and Bill Junior, three grandsons Richard, Alexander (deceased) and Ben, a great grandson, and another great grandchild expected in early December.

Bill ultimately achieved the role of Chief Planning Officer for Enfield a few years before his retirement in 1987, when they made the move to Torcross, where they have lived ever since.

The couple celebrated their momentous anniversary with a small lunch party. Congratulations to Eileen and Bill from all of us at South Hams Newspapers.