A Brampton couple who met through their shared love of badminton have celebrated 65 years of wedded bliss.

Jean and John Cooke married on June 21, 1952, after meeting at a sports club in London.

“We both worked for Shell and belonged to the sports club. I loved to play badminton and one day we met on the badminton court,” Jean said.

Despite having a boyfriend when they met, John’s persistence paid off and the pair began dating.

Jean, 86, said: “John was tall and seemed to be a very nice man. It wasn’t always easy though as we would go to the bus stop I would get on one bus to go one way and he would get on another to go in the opposite direction.”

The pair married in front of friends and family at a church in Streatham Hill, London.

“It was just after the war so we were very fortunate that my mother found somebody who could make a cake as we just didn’t have things,” Jean added.

The couple moved to Leatherhead and later Brampton, where John, 88, went on to work for Hotpoint, in Peterborough, and later Phillips, in Cambridge. Following their move, Jean became a stay-at-home mum to the couple’s two children, Jennifer and Jeremy. They now have five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

As well as sharing a love of badminton, the pair also enjoyed swimming and helping others, as Jean is a former area manager for the Children’s Society and was also district commissioner for the Girl Guides. She said: “We have always love children. I worked for the Children’s Society for 20 years and have always done guiding. Children have been a big part of our life.”

The couple believe the secret to their long and happy marriage is that they found the right person to spend their lives with.

“I think it is about making the right choice in the beginning because some marriages don’t always work out, we were very fortunate,” Jean added.

Surrounded by family and friends, including their bridesmaid Frances Weller, the couple celebrated their blue sapphire anniversary with a luncheon in Sheringham, Norfolk.