Couple from Sleights, near Whitby, celebrate 65th wedding anniversary

Pauline (nee Hugill) and Tony Readman met on the train going to Glaisdale from Whitby.

Pauline lived in Whitby as her parents had a newsagents on Church Street.

She was born on September 3 1939 at 11am – the exact time the Second World War was declared.

She remembers having a Mickey Mouse gasmask during the war.

She had two elder sisters, Shirley and Norma, and an elder brother Edward (Ted).

Just Pauline and Shirley, still in Whitby, are surviving.

Pauline was a nurse and then worked at RAF Fylingdales just before retiring.

Her birthstone is a sapphire – very appropriate as this year, her and Tony have celebrated their blue sapphire wedding anniversary, 65 years.

Tony lived at Anglers Rest in Glaisdale.

At that time, it was a pub and small farm.

His mother took in visitors.

Tony always wanted to join the Royal Navy so he joined up aged 15.

He was based in Portsmouth so the couple spent their early married life in married quarters in Portsmouth.

They had three children – Heather, who sadly passed in her late 50s, Lisa and Stephen.

All school holidays were spent back at Whitby with the family.

Tony – who was known as Alf in the Royal Navy - served for 25 years.

He travelled the world with them and was their sailmaker making traditional sails, living a very interesting life.

He made sails for the tall ship featured on the TV series The Onedin Line.

In 1978, he did The voyage of Charles Darwin.

The ship The Marques was refitted to look like HMS Beagle.

In 1978, he left the Royal Navy as a chief petty officer and set up his business, North East Sails, based in Whitby.

Among the usual jobs like making sails and boat covers, he also had more unusual requests – he was once asked to make a canvas hammock for a cow!

The cow was ill and needed support, so Tony went to a local dairy farm to measure the animal up.

He also worked for the Jorvik Viking Centre visitor attraction at York.

He left his work on the lawn at his home, to try to achieve the old weathered look.

Pauline and Tony moved to Cornwall for a number of years before retiring back to Sleights.

Tony worked in Charlestown where he worked in the tall ships there.

The couple have two surviving children, four grand children and seven great grandchildren.