Luck and a sense of humour are the essential ingredients for 70 years of happy and successful marriage, according to Tom and Grace Newman.

Tom, 92, of Croft Road, Benfleet, met Grace, 88, at the back of a London theatre.

It was the Roaring Twenties and musicals were so packed, theatres sold standing tickets.

The couple, who owned Newman's shoe shop in High Road, Benfleet, for over 30 years, married on May 19, 1929 at St Anne's Church in Limehouse, London.

Daughter-in-law, Jacky, said Tom, who was one of 13 children, started his working life at 14-years-old as a blacksmith in the heart of the city.

The couple moved to Benfleet and during the war, Tom would travel to his job at the Woolwich Arsenal by train on the Southend to Fenchurch Street line.

Jacky said: "When I asked him the secret of their marriage, he replied 'luck and a sense of humour'".

"They have so many stories between them. One of Tom's best ones is how he would work during the day in London and then return to protect Canvey Island as one of the Home Guard.

"He said it was real Dad's Army stuff, as he was asked to carry a rifle with no bullets and learned to sleep standing to attention."

Tom and Grace will celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary on Wednesday with their two children, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Still together - Tom and Grace used to run Newmans shoe shop

Picture: ANDY PALMER

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