Rtns Angela & Geoff Dickman: How long is a life sentence?

It is doubtful whether any of our members were disappointed with the subject of today’s talk by members Angela and Geoff Dickman. It was nothing to do with criminal justice. They celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in December and talked about 1963, the year they got married.

Before they met Geoff was living in Kent and Angela in Essex. Ironically, Angela was working as a newly-qualified school teacher in Kent and Geoff got a job with a shipping company based in Essex. He did move to Essex to be nearer his job.

They met through a mutual love of swimming. Angela had a voluntary role as a lifeguard, originally in Southend and later on Canvey Island. During the winter the team practised in local swimming baths. The team leader knew of Geoff’s interest in swimming so suggested he join them at the swimming baths. That’s when Geoff and Angela met.

Geoff and Angela got engaged the following year and looked round for a house to buy in Essex. In those days the building societies didn’t take a wife’s income into account when deciding how much they would lend. Even though Angela was at the time earning more than Geoff, who had not yet qualified, they had to rely on what they could borrow on his income. They chose a house being built on a new estate and saved the money for the deposit.

Unfortunately the developers raised the price before the contracts were signed. They were now £200 short of the deposit they needed. (That may not sound like much now but then it was a quarter of Angela’s annual salary.) If they had waited for a house on the next phase of the development it would be more expensive still.

When Geoff went to work the following day his boss asked him what was wrong. When Geoff explained he told him to see him that afternoon. When the afternoon came Geoff’s boss handed him £200 with the words “Pay it back when you can”, a very generous gesture.

Geoff and Angela decided to get married on the Boxing Day of that year. The Registrar’s Office was not open that day but the local vicar was happy to marry them then.

Geoff and Angela showed us the card they had received from the King and Queen congratulating them on sixty years of marriage and presented us all with a piece of their Diamond Wedding Anniversary cake.

In proposing the vote of thanks, President Francis mentioned that, on his drive over that morning, he had been listening to Boom Radio, which was playing the top five records of 1963. It had reminded him of some of the popular artistes that year, including the Beatles, Freddie and the Dreamers, and Cliff Richard in “Summer Holiday”.