“OUR marriage has never been boring.”

Those were the words of Teddy Penn who, alongside wife Mary, have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

The platinum pair marked the occasion with a special event at Colten Care’s Braemar Lodge care home, in Salisbury, where they both live.

Ticking off seven decades together makes the pair one of the UK’s longest-married couples.

Devon-born Mary, 88, and husband Charles, known as Teddy, 97, celebrated with a party organised by family members and the staff at Braemar Lodge.

Mary and Teddy Penn at Colten Care’s Braemar Lodge care home in Salisbury with son Charles and daughter Jane

And when asked the pertinent question – the secret behind such a long and happy marriage – Mary said: “We’ve had fantastic, happy years. We have always loved each other. We still love each other as much as when we first met.”

And Teddy added: “Our marriage has never been boring. It’s exciting.”

The pair met in Cyprus in the mid-1950s when Teddy, then 27, was serving as an army captain.

They were introduced when Mary, the daughter of an army major, arrived on the island aged 18 with her mother.

Under regular military curfew because of the Cyprus Emergency conflict, they discretely courted on the beaches near Teddy’s army base and became engaged within a few months.

Back home in Wiltshire, they were married in summer 1956, holding their reception at the Bear Pub in Devizes and honeymooning in the Cairngorms.

Mary and Teddy with granddaughter Pippa Ebel

A series of army postings followed for Teddy, including to Germany, Norway, Aden and various locations in the UK, before the couple settled in Yorkshire, bringing up children Charles and Jane.

Now back in Wiltshire, team members at Braemar Lodge helped the couple’s family organise the anniversary party, which spanned the generations and saw Mary and Teddy’s great grandchildren among the guests.

Companionship Team member, Milly Thomson, said: “The family produced a photo album and a book of reminiscences which prompted lots of memories to be shared.

“It was such a lovely, very special occasion with cake, speeches, prayers and a card from the King.”

Population statistics show only around 30 UK couples each year celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary, about one tenth of one percent of all marriages.

The 70th is known as the Platinum anniversary, representing a bond that does not break or tarnish.

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