‘Laughing together is the secret to 60 happy years’, say diamond couple from Eastbourne

Malcolm and Jane Webster first met at a church youth club in 1953 when he was 16 and she was 20. Jane was the leader of the group.

Weeks later, when cycling home from club, he fell off his bicycle and broke his collar bone. On return from hospital Jane was one of the first people to visit him.

Malcolm said, “It was not love at first sight, after all Jane was four years older and at that age it is a big difference.

Over the next couple of years Jane and Malcolm increasingly shared many of the same interests – singing in the church choir, teaching in the Sunday school, and acting in the drama group.

Eventually the inevitable happened - their hands entwined as Malcolm walked with Jane to catch her bus home and before it arrived they kissed.

Malcolm said, “The four years age difference had become irrelevant.”

They married on Easter Monday, March 30, 1959.

They then spent six weeks in a caravan before moving into a rented bungalow. Jane soon became pregnant and swopped being a Lloyds Bank cashier for motherhood. The couple had three children, Jeanette, John and Susan.

The family has grown over the years and the couple are now grandparents to three and have three great grandchildren all living within three miles of them.

Malcolm retired in 1997 and has enjoyed moviemaking, golf and tennis. He and Jane have also been active members of the Friends of the Devonshire Park Theatre and support the Friends of the DGH.

Their secret is understanding and respecting each other’s differences. Laughing together and a caring supportive circle of family and friends.