Diamond wedding anniversary for Bognor couple who met after he gatecrashed her 19th birthday party

Ann Quilter (née Cope) had booked a function room at Mill House Hotel, in Marine Drive West, to celebrate her birthday in 1957.

The hotel was owned by the Quilter family, whose 19-year-old son John decided to invite himself along to the party.

Shortly after her birthday party Ann was taken to hospital with appendicitis, and her then-boyfriend visited with red roses.

As he left the hospital he passed John who had not brought flowers in an attempt to woo Ann, but New Berry Fruits – which she hated.

So John sat at her bedside and ate them himself.

They married on the January 28, 1961, at St Wilfrid’s Church in Bognor Regis.

At the time John was in the RAF, stationed at Thorney Island, and Ann was a secretary at Tansley and Cook in Bognor Regis.

In his younger days John was a very keen sportsman and played table tennis for the RAF and is a former Sussex County champion.

His claim to fame is beating Johnny Leach – a two-time world champion and only the second British winner after Fred Perry – in a Sussex league match in 1997.

John and his brother Peter played Bognor Regis Cricket Club for many years, where their father, Geoffrey, was the groundsman.

John later took up golf and played at Goodwood Golf Club, where Ann joined him a few years later and they enjoyed a great social life with many friends.

While she was growing up, Ann’s passion was horses and she worked at Ham Polo Club in Richmond, where she owned and looked after her first horse, Serena.

She passed this love of horses on to the couple’s two daughters, Joanne and Allison, who became members of Cowdray Pony Club and competed their horses regularly at shows across Sussex.

Asked what their secret was for a long an happy marriage, John replied it was knowing when to say, ‘Yes, dear’.

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