The diamond Sunderland couple who got the best Christmas gift ever when they fell in love

Jack and Hilda Clark, now of Washington, were enjoying their diamond wedding today with marvellous memories of the day they met in true Christmas romance style.

It was Boxing Day in 1957 and they had each been invited by their friends to a party in Boldon. "I knew the girls who were there but I didn’t know any of the men,” said Hilda, 80.

She had been invited by her pal Audrey Young. Meanwhile, Jack, now 82, had his own invitation to the party from his friend Arthur Fleming.

It was a date with destiny and the couple soon courted for more than three years before they married 60 years ago today at Sacred Heart Church in Boldon.

There’s no huge secret to a successful marriage, said Hilda as she looked back on a marvellous milestone.

“If you are suitable for each other, you get on and you should be okay. You look out for each other. Jack and I have similar ideas and we don’t have much of a dispute about anything.”

And she joked: “He does what I tell him to do!”

Jack began his working career with Short Brothers shipbuilders and worked in the drawing office as a draughtsman. Later, and for the rest of his career, he joined the drawing office at Swan Hunter on the Tyne.

Hilda worked at the Brian Mills catalogue factory in Sunderland and said: “One of the girls who worked there lived in Boldon. We got friendly and that is how I got invited to the party.”

Hilda later moved into the Civil Service and by 1967, their family started when their son Kevin was born.

Now, their loving family also includes two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

And while Hilda loves to tend to the garden of their home, Jack is a huge football fan as well as a regular volunteer at the Fans Museum Sunderland where the couple plan to hold an official celebration of their 60th anniversary with family and friends.

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