Bideford couple celebrates 60 years together

A Bideford couple have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a grand musical affair at the Palladium Club in Bideford on Saturday, May 4.

Surrounded by friends and family, including loved ones from as far as Australia and America, Sherrie and Ed Collinson marked their love with an unforgettable evening of music and merriment.

ABOVE: Celebrating their 60 years with friends and family 

The celebration, held at the Palladium Club was nothing short of spectacular. 

Close friends who are talented musicians took to the stage to serenade the couple and their guests with melodious tunes.

Sherrie and Ed met over six decades ago when they first crossed paths at a Christmas dance in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in December 1962.

Within a mere three weeks of meeting, the couple found themselves deeply committed and were engaged swiftly followed by a wedding ceremony at the Salisbury Registry Office in May 1964.

Following their wedding, the couple lived in Plymouth and always felt like Devon was their home.

Ed soon left to join the prison service in Sussex, where the couple moved to, and Ed took early retirement at the age of 55. 

Following this, the family moved to Winkleigh, where they remained for 15 years, and now live in Bideford, where they have lived for nearly nine years. 

Ed was a medic in the navy when the couple met, and was home in Amesbury on Christmas leave. 

The couple has a son and a daughter together. 

Sherrie said: “Between retirement and the move to Devon we spent six months travelling around Australia in a converted school bus! We are now 79 and 82 and still enjoying life, still travelling when we can, and still singing and playing!”

Reflecting on their remarkable journey together, Sherrie shared that music had played a pivotal role in their enduring bond. 

Sherrie said: “The best success of our marriage has been music.”

“We've laughed a lot together,” she added. 

The couple's shared love for music transcended mere appreciation, as they often found joy in dancing together, particularly enjoying the lively rhythms of the jive.