Congrats from Queen on a cruise
LOUGHBOROUGH diamond wedding couple, Brenda and Geoffrey Neale, got a very pleasant shock when they received a congratulatory telegram from the Queen, in the middle of their family cruise around the Caribbean.
And to add to the occasion it was the captain of their cruise ship, The Celebrity Equinox, who personally handed the telegram over to them in a special little ceremony on the bridge, with champagne and cake.
The couple were even given a commemorative family photo album of the event by the ship.
The whole surprise had been organised by the couple’s daughters Lyn Ison and Dawn Squires, who contacted Buckingham Palace.
Lyn said: “It was a wonderful family occasion.”
Brenda, 85 and Geoffrey, 84, first met at a fairground in Porthcawl, South Wales. Geoffrey was stationed at RAF St Athens and Brenda lived in Caerphilly at the time.
Geoffrey was demobbed six months later, returning home to Oakham. Brenda followed, staying with family friends at Loughborough, to be close to him while he was doing his demob training in motor repair at Leicester.
After training Geoffrey got a job at Dishley Engineering, Derby Road, Loughborough, and Brenda went to work at Mansfield Hosiery.
They were married at Trinity Church, Loughborough, in March, 1958 and went to live in Kings Avenue.
As well, as their daughters Lyn and Dawn the couple have four grandsons, Sean, Adam, Greg and Ryan.