Ref. 30050-29JOHN and Rose Wilkins were so in love after their first date they decided to get married.

The couple from Shrivenham have now celebrated 50 years of marriage.

They first met at a fairground near Chippenham when Mr Wilkins was serving in the RAF at Hullavington as a civil engineer and his wife-to-be worked in window dressing in Chippenham. They met at a fairground and it was love at first sight.

Mrs Wilkins explained: "John then took me on the Octopus ride. Once we got off he asked whether we could meet for a proper date. A week later we went to the cinema to see Niagara starring Marilyn Monroe and he popped the question, and I said 'yes'."

The couple married two years later at the Salvation Army in Chippenham, at the request of Mrs Wilkins' parents who were Salvationists.

After his national service, Mr Wilkins worked for several local authorities and eventually settled in Shrivenham where they have lived for 40 years.

He retired as manager of the Cotswolds Division of Thames Water Authority. Mr Wilkins has also been a chairman of Swindon Artists Society for several years. Now the couple enjoy travelling, tending to their garden and enjoying their family of three daughters, Lynne, Ginette and Corinne, their 10 grand children and three great grand-children, all of whom live in the Swindon area.

Mr Wilkins said: "I have been lucky to live with the most wonderful woman in the world, she is fantastic.'

We have been very fortunate to have a close knit family and that has been the secret to our success."