A couple well known on a Wimbledon street for more than 50 years have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary.
Joe and Jean Spanner, aged 90 and 84, were childhood friends in Newport on the Isle of Wight and married after the end of World War Two. They have lived in Garfield Road for 56 years.
Joe served in the Far East during the Second World War with the Argyle Southern Highlanders, a regiment he joined when he was 17 after lying about his age.
He was forced to work on the famous bridge over the river Kwai after his capture in the fall of Singapore.
After the war Joe worked on the railways, and the couple came to Merton because Jean's father was working at nearby Wandsworth Prison.
For a short time the couple lived in prison officers’ quarters.
The couple have four daughters, 10 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. They celebrated their wedding anniversary on April 25.
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