Irene and Roy Clark have spoken about the secret to staying together for so long
It has been 70 years since Irene and Roy Clark said “I do” on Christmas Eve 1955. The couple met in an east Hull pub – when Irene was too young to have actually been drinking there, she now admits – and went on to wed at St Andrew’s Church in Holderness Road, which is no longer standing.
“We were courting for a couple of years – I said that to my grandson and he said, ‘I don’t know what courting means’ – and then got married,” said Irene. “It was a big, white wedding and my three sisters – one older, and two younger – were bridesmaids and also a friend from work was another bridesmaid.
“The reception was in the front room of my parents’ house – I know we had quite a few people there – and then after we went to a pub in Maybury Road for a celebration. We actually wanted Boxing Day but they couldn’t do it, so it was Christmas Eve,” said Irene.
“When I think what a rush it all must have been for my mum with Christmas and everything.” Irene, originally of Preston Road, and Roy, of Courtney Street, lived with family for a while after their marriage.
“We got our first little house down Courtney Street, a one-up, one-down, and it cost £200, which was a lot of money then. We borrowed the money from my sister’s mother-in-law and we used to pay her back at £2 a week.”
Irene, who will be 88 in February, used to work for Metal Box in Hull while Roy, 91, was employed on the docks. “Later, he became a chef and worked in old people’s homes,” said Irene.
She recalled the times when no one locked their doors when they went out and people shared what they had, although they did not have much. “I used to hire a washer for a couple of days and do everyone’s washing from the street.
“I remember how nice it was when we moved to a house with a bathroom and a toilet inside.” Irene and former Teddy Boy Roy went on to have a son and a daughter and now have five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
“We had a sad time a couple of years ago when we lost a great-grandson who was only six months old due to cot death. It was really tragic; we’re still getting over it. We had only seen him a few weeks before.”
Of happier times, Irene spoke of enjoying holidays both abroad and in England. “Twenty-odd years ago we moved to Patrington Haven and it used to close for two months and we’d go away.
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“In those days you could get six weeks’ holiday for £300. We’ve been all over, to Spain, Tenerife.”
The Clarks now live independently in sheltered housing at Ottringham in Holderness. Sadly, Roy has been diagnosed with incurable colon cancer and does not get out and about but Irene does get out to the shops with the support of her family.
“We used to go out to the clubs but I was having a lot of falling-down dos so we stay in now,” said Irene. “We had a lot of family down at Christmas, altogether there were ten of them.
“We had a cake to celebrate our anniversary – my daughter and granddaughter fetched it and some big balloons. On Boxing Day my son and granddaughter and her boyfriend and our friend we’ve known for years came down and we had another buffet do.”
Coincidentally it was also a Christmas Eve when Irene first clapped eyes on Roy. “We were in a pub in Newbridge Road – the Royal – when we first bumped into each other.
“I was with my friend – I shouldn’t have been in a pub really – and I said to her, ‘I like him’. She said she would introduce us.”
More than 70 years later and Irene and Roy have been marking their platinum wedding anniversary in with the festivities. “My brother-in-law sent us a card and mentioned how my mum said we wouldn’t last,” said Irene.
“The warden here has said we need a medal!” Asked if she had any secrets to staying married for so long, Irene said: “You have your ups and your downs, but you make up. You make the most of it.”