Couple celebrates Diamond Wedding Anniversary

A Sticklepath couple are preparing to celebrate a remarkable milestone as they mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. 

Ro and Ian Clewes will commemorate 60 years of marriage with a special weekend celebration from 6 to 9 September at the Mole Resort in Chittlehamholt, joined by family and friends.

Ro and Ian's love story began long before their wedding day. 

Both were born in Derby at the Nightingale Nursing Home just 19 days apart in 1944/5. 

Ian joked that as he was arriving, Ro (short for Rosemary) was on her way out. 

Ro spent her early childhood in West Yorkshire, where her father worked for Rolls-Royce after the war, and later attended Skipton Girls High School before returning to Derby at 15.

Their paths crossed when Ian gate-crashed Ro’s party celebrating her GCE exam success. Shortly after, Ian joined the Royal Air Force as a radar technician, and the couple married on 5 September 1964 at St Peter's Church in Littleover, Derby. 

ABOVE: The couple on their wedding day

They spent their first year of marriage in Ardglass, Northern Ireland.

Ro and Ian’s life together has been filled with adventure. 

They spent three years in Singapore with the RAF, where Ian worked on Satellite Communications. 

After his discharge in 1971, Ian joined The Gas Council (later British Gas), and the family lived in the Midlands, Harrogate, and finally Cornwall, where Ian joined the Civil Service at Morwenstow in 1988.

The couple shares a passion for folk music, with Ian playing guitar and harmonica while Ro sings - a hobby that began in Singapore. 

Ro’s career spanned various administrative roles, including work in hospitals, for Mencap, and in local government, where she organised elections in Harrogate before moving to Cornwall County Council. 

A talented dressmaker and crafter, Ro has made numerous outfits for family occasions, including her daughter’s wedding and many for her grandchildren.

In 2005, Ro and Ian retired to Sticklepath, where they renovated their bungalow to host their growing family and friends. 

Ian, an avid marathon and ultra-distance runner, completed an incredible 630-mile run along the South West Coast Path in 2010, raising over £6,000 for Cancer Research in just 23 days. 

It is thought that his time was a record time for his age group.

As they celebrate their Diamond Anniversary, Ro and Ian look forward to a joyful weekend at the Mole Resort, surrounded by loved ones from Harrogate, Cornwall, and Devon, celebrating a lifetime of love and memories.