A Hull couple celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary, surrounded by family and friends, saying the secret to their 70-year marriage is “a lot of give and take”. Charlie and Diana Watson hailed in their platinum anniversary on September 1. Originally from York, the couple have lived in Wawne since 1968.
They celebrated the milestone by having an afternoon tea at Manor House Care Home in Little Weighton, where Diana currently lives. The pair married 70 years ago on that day at Heworth Methodist Church in York, a week before Diana’s 22nd birthday. They honeymooned in the Lake District and bought a house in York.
Charlie said the secret of their marriage is “a lot of give and take on both parts”. “You’ve got to be flexible and both work together,” he said. “We were both keen gardeners. I did the vegetables and she looked after the flower side. The garden is still here – it’s 34 yards from the back door to the bottom fence, and 20 yards wide.” He fondly remembers coach trips on the continent, where the couple have visited Germany, Austria and France. They relocated to East Yorkshire in 1968, when Charlie accepted a job. The couple spent the last 50 years in Wawne and their garden has won the village’s best garden competition for eight consecutive years.
Charlie was born a farmer’s son at Dales Farm, Ellerton, near Selby in 1931, and moved to Claxton Grange Farm, York in 1940. Diana Allen was born in Pune near Mumbai (formerly Poona and Bombay) in 1934, the daughter of a career soldier Captain Tom Allen. She returned to England in 1937 with her mother and settled in York. Her father continued to serve in India and Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, and her three brothers boarded at the Lawrence military school in Sanawar, Northern India.
Charlie became an apprentice fitter and turner at Bootham Engineers in York where he met Diana, who was a shorthand typist in their offices. They became engaged and Charlie served his National Service in the R.E.M.E. in Germany.
After their children were born – their eldest child Janet was delivered by Doctor Dench, Dame Judi’s father – Charlie and Diana moved to Wawne. Charlie was a keen motor bike trials rider and competed most weekends. His love of motorbikes followed onto their son, Andrew who became East Yorkshire Centre Trials champion during the 1980s. He competed all over the UK with Charlie being chief mechanic. Long after retirement they continued to follow motorbike trials, enjoying spectating at the famous Scottish 6 Days trial in Fort William, Scotland.
Charlie has been a carer for Di for five years, as she became more physically impaired with arthritis, doing all the household chores and learning to cook at 90 years old. Diana moved into the Manor House Care Home in Little Weighton in April 2026, but Charlie continues to visit four to five times a week. Charlie said: “Where she is now the staff are brilliant to her. She gets on famously with them.”
They would put the secret of their marriage down to having strong family values, mutual respect for each other.
Photos provided by family of Charlie and Diana.
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