Eastbourne couple celebrate 70 years of marriage and share their secret

A couple from Hampden Park have celebrated 70 happy years together with their family.
Joan and Norman Etheridge celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary at their home in Hampden Park, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190729-100339008Joan and Norman Etheridge celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary at their home in Hampden Park, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190729-100339008
Joan and Norman Etheridge celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary at their home in Hampden Park, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190729-100339008

Norman and Joan Etheridge meet at a dance hall in Bury, Lancashire, where they were both born and bred.

Norman worked as an engineer and Joan, who left school at 14, worked in a confectionary shop and bakery, where she enjoyed making wedding cakes.

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The couple married in Lancashire and had three daughters together.

Joan and Norman Etheridge celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary at their home in Hampden Park, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190729-100315008Joan and Norman Etheridge celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary at their home in Hampden Park, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190729-100315008
Joan and Norman Etheridge celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary at their home in Hampden Park, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190729-100315008

They moved to Eastbourne 41 years ago after their daughter moved to the town.

Joan said, “We followed our daughter down to Eastbourne and it is the best thing we have ever down.”

One of the daughters lives in the Lake District and the other in Australia. Norman and Joan have made the long trip across the world to see their family a number of times.

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Norman, now 96, and Joan, 91, now enjoy a quiet life at their Hampden Park home. Joan was once a champion archer at Langney Sports and her grandchildren have followed in her footsteps and taken up the hobby too.

The family enjoyed a meal together to celebrate Norman and Joan’s anniversary and they put their long and happy marriage down to “Sticking together as a family through good and bad.”