A true love story; Mr and Mrs Haines move into Marham House care home after meeting 82 years ago and are looking forward to a double celebration for their anniversary and David’s birthday.

David and Dorothy Haines are the first married couple to move safely into Marham House in Bury St Edmunds.

Mr and Mrs Haines met when they were just children in 1938 at, their Town Hill Baptist Church in Swansea, David was 10 and Dorothy was 7. The pair were married in the exact same spot 13 years later, on the 28th April 1951.

David had left home at 17 to become a boy entrant in the Royal Airforce, he continued to be an aircraft electrician before moving onto a managerial post. David made a lifelong career in the RAF retiring when he was 60 years old. Dorothy trained in bookkeeping and accounts whilst working in a department store called Lewis Lewis.

It wasn’t long after their marriage in 1951 that David and Dorothy had their 3 daughters born in: 1952, 1953 and 1955. When chatting with youngest daughter Heather she commented on their long lasting and happy marriage: she believed the secret was her mother and father are a strong family unit. She said, “my mother was the hub of the home, whilst my father was travelling to different areas of the world with the RAF”. Heather went on to explain “my parents loved to travel, every 3-5 years we knew the boxes would be packed and we would be moving on”.

David and Dorothy had a great fondness of travelling and even lived in Germany for 15 years whilst being based there due to David’s RAF commitments.

In April 2020 David and Dorothy moved in to Marham House Care Home, where staff were determined to help them celebrate their wedding anniversary and David’s birthday in style despite coronavirus restrictions. The pair were treated to a special celebratory meal including afternoon tea, birthday cake and presents. When asked the secret to 69 years of Marriage David and Dorothy replied “Tolerance”!

Jan Gibbs Home Manager commented “It has been an enormous pleasure to be able to provide a home David and Dorothy could move into and carry on living as a married couple. You will often see them together, whether quietly in their room, or joining in with the other residents or sharing a meal together. It is lovely to see how being together is helping them to settle into new surroundings and a new way of life.”

Marham House residential and dementia care home is located on Simcoe Road and is operated by Halcyon Care Homes. The home has 66 spacious, en-suite bedrooms as well as many social spaces for residents to enjoy such as a vintage tea room, botanical garden area, beauty parlour, cinema and Sky Bar.  For more information, contact Jan on 01284 335 964 or visit https://www.marhamhousecarehome.co.uk/ to see a virtual tour of the home.