Mearns couple married for 70 years just ‘try to get along’

A Mearns couple who met during the Second World War have celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary.

Len Noke, a gunner in the Royal Artillery, and his wife Lottie, an aircraft spotter with the Auxiliary Territorial Service, met while they were both stationed at Pembroke in Wales.

They wed at Inverbervie Church on February 17 1945.

Len said: “Lottie is from Gourdon and we both came here after the war ended.

“Before the war, I worked in construction, building houses in Salisbury, Kent, but in Gourdon I worked with Lottie’s father, who had a fishing boat.

“I worked as a fisherman until I retired, while Lottie worked at the mills in Gourdon, Johnshaven and Bervie.”

The pair, who are both aged 92, have one son Derek and a granddaughter Susan.

They marked their 70th wedding anniversary with family and friends at Hornblowers in Gourdon.

Len said the secret to a long and happy marriage is to “try to get along” with each other.