Eastbourne couple share the secret of a happy marriage on diamond wedding

An Eastbourne couple are celebrating 60 years of marriage.
Ursula and Ron Fenner celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190114-122013008Ursula and Ron Fenner celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190114-122013008
Ursula and Ron Fenner celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190114-122013008

Ron and Ursula Fenner met on Eastbourne Pier in 1957 when she was visiting the town on holiday.

Ursula was visiting from a village called Luddendenfoot, near Halifax, in Yorkshire when their romance began.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The couple saw each other only four more times before tying the knot a couple of years later.

Ron said, “I had to go and do my national service so she went back to Yorkshire.

“I talked her in to coming down for Christmas and then I proposed in the Easter. I went to the her local church in my uniform and the vicar said I didn’t have to pay because I was serving my country.”

Once married, the couple moved to Eastbourne and bought a two-bedroom house in Beltring Terrace, off Firle Road, for just £1,200. They later moved to Princes Road, where they have lived for 50 years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ron, a carpenter and joiner by trade, ran his own business in Eastbourne for 40 years after his time in the armed forces.

Ursula worked as a mill girl in Yorkshire, making blankets for the Queen and then later in retail. She was a shop assistant in the Arndale Centre for 20 years, working in both BHS and marks and Spencer.

Ron and Ursula had a son and daughter and the family has grown over the years. They now have five grand children and two great-grandchildren. All their family still live locally.

Family and friends enjoyed a party to celebrate the couple’s 60th anniversary at the East Sussex National Golf Club.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The couple have enjoyed playing bowls together for 40 years and have played at the majority of clubs in the town, with Ursula previously winning the Eastbourne Open tournament.

Ron is also a golfer and has been a member of the Downs Golf Club for 38 years.

The couple put their happy marriage down to never going to bed on an argument, advice given to them on their wedding day by a neighbour.