Couple’s faith is key to long and happy marriage

Having a strong faith in God is what helped to build the foundation to a long and happy marriage for one golden Sidmouth couple.

Chris and Felicity Wilson, of Woolbrook Road, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 2.

Felicity, who was born in New Zealand, moved to London to live with her aunt and uncle in 1960 when she was 20 years old.

The pair, who are both Christians, became friends through their church’s young people’s group before their relationship blossomed into something more in 1961.

Chris was 22 and an electronic design engineer when the pair got married in 1966, while Felicity, who was a primary school teacher, was 26.

The couple had two children – David, who now lives in Scotland, and Rachel, who lives in Australia. Chris and Felicity moved to Sidmouth in 2004.

The couple said: “The best kind of love grows from friendship.

“Our faith in God has been the foundation for our marriage. Our faith and love for each other has helped us tremendously – there is also a lot of give and take in marriage, you have to work at it and be quite sure you love each other deeply.

“Give and take and lots of love - that will see you through.”

To mark their anniversary, Chris and Felicity had a big lunch with around 50 family members and friends.

Their daughter Rachel also made an unexpected surprise visit to make the occasion truly special.

Instead of presents, the couple asked for donations to Sidmouth Lifeboat - and raised a whopping £500. Felicity said: “We wanted to support a local charity and Sidmouth Lifeboat seemed to be the most important, for the work they do and because they are not supported by the RNLI or the Government.”