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The UK's youngest Golden Wedding couple celebrate at 66

They were just 16 when they married, and they'd like to read more about relationships which have succeeded, not just those which sadly fail
Marriage proposal
I do. And Marie and George Lyons did and have. Photograph: Getty

Here's a pleasant story to end your working week. A couple both aged 66 have become the youngest in the UK to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.

Defying forebodings about marriage at such a young age, Marie and George Lyons of Thornaby on Teesside made all their vows just after their 16th birthdays and have kept to them.

Our colleagues at North News report that they faced open comments at the time of 'It'll never last' which in 1962 would have been a widespread view. The sceptics at the registry office in the pleasant market town of Guisborough were wrong; tomorrow night the couple celebrate their 50 years with a family party at their bungalow.

George worked as a joiner and both of them have clearly been good at fixing the inevitable bits and bobs in a relationship which need tightening up or smoothing off. He says:

If you love somebody, it's there and you can overcome all obstacles and all little arguments, instead of saying 'right, that's it, I'm walking.' I've always said we've stayed together because we both love each other and that's it. Mind you, she also makes a great Sunday dinner.

The couple have three children, including their son Tony who was born in the first year of their marriage and marked his own 30th wedding anniversary this year. There are six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and they'll all be at the do, bopping to the Sixties ever-popular music.

(Writing as a teenager during that unforgettable decade myself, I'm amazed at how our songs are still sung. I don't recall chirruping or dancing to anything from 1910 in those days).

Marie's says she's really looking forward to everyone getting together, while George has a final thought, directed at the likes of us. The media is full of the misbehaviour of a minority, especially celebrities, he says, adding:

There's nothing written about why people stay together, apart from the fact that they love each other.

Fair point, though it's interesting to Google about how other young marriages from that time have done, given the good health we can expect in our sixties these days. This link needs further research to find a library with the full text but the summary isn't encouraging.

Interestingly, although the Sixties are often seen as a time when the floodgates to all manner of things were opened, the age of 16 had been the minimum for marriage since 1929 - and before that, it was 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl. Parental consent was mandatory, though, until both parties were 21, reduced to 18 in 1970. Lots more here.

Anyway, George and Marie have provided an opportunity for this small portion of the sort of coverage George would like to see. Good health to them both.