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Couple Celebrates 81st Anniversary After Friends Told Them It ‘Wouldn’t Last’

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Couple Celebrates 81st Anniversary After Friends Told Them It 'Wouldn't Last'

A couple celebrated their 81st anniversary recently after their friends had originally told them way back when that it wouldn’t last. Ron and Joyce Bond are the couple behind the 81st-anniversary news, which made them Britain’s longest married couple.

“We never expected to reach 81 years of marriage, we know we are very fortunate to have achieved this amazing goal,” says Joyce, who is 100 years old. “It feels excellent! There is no boss in our relationship, we both give and take.”

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Ron and Joyce Bond celebrate impressive 81st anniversary

Ron, who is 102 years old, echoed the sentiment, saying, “Sometimes life is hard but we work through it together. We look after each other too.”

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They wed back in 1941 and both claim that it was love at first sight. Their friends initially were doubtful of the pair’s relationship, but they persisted anyhow. “It was said of them at the time of their wedding, it would not last long, how wrong did folks get that?” Their daughter Eileen recalls. At the time, Ron was 21, serving in World War II, and went on to work at a local garage. Joyce was 19 and a Woolworths worker.
Note to Ron and Joyce Bond from Queen Elizabeth
Note to Ron and Joyce Bond from Queen Elizabeth / Twitter/Ron and Joyce Bond

“My parents are a truly inspiring couple, not only to my brother and I but to their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren,” Eileen says. “You only have to spend time with them to know they love and care for each other, even after 81 years of being married.”

To celebrate their most recent anniversary, they celebrated at ExtraCare’s Shenley Wood Retirement Village and got a special shoutout on the radio thanks to their son Bill. What’s even more exciting is that for their 80th anniversary last year, is that they got a special note from Queen Elizabeth congratulating them on their anniversary milestone. “How wonderful to learn of your eightieth wedding anniversary on 4th January, 2021. I do hope you enjoy this marvellous occasion,” the Queen wrote at the time.

Congrats on 81 years!

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About Jane E. Kenney

Jane E. Kenney was DoYouRemember’s Editorial Director, writing and editing nostalgia stories for the site from 2018 to 2026.