First Club 18-30 couple to wed are still in love ...after 45 years

John picked them up from the airport and drove them to the Bona Vida hotel in Arenal, on the south coast of Mallorca.

All activities were arranged – from discos to horse riding in the hills. Hilary said: “We saw John every day and as the week went on we got more friendly.”

At the end of the trip, John suggested Hilary might stay on to work for the company. Hilary said: “John told me they needed someone to do the accounts, but I think it was just a ploy to keep me on.”

To the shock of her parents, Hilary quit her job at the bank when she returned home and was on a plane back to Mallorca by June. After just a few weeks she became the company’s first woman rep.

The couple were married in February and almost half a century later Hilary and John are still happily married with two children and a young granddaughter.

Looking back on the trip, Hilary said: “It was a fantastic way to earn a living and spend the summer in the sunshine.”

John said that for many people it was the only affordable way to see other countries. He said: “A bottle of champagne was 75 pesetas. Some people had never had it before. It was affordable luxury.”

Club 18-30 hit the headlines last month when owner Thomas Cook announced it was considering selling the ailing brand.

Whirlwind romance...John and Hilary on the Balearic island shortly after they first met

The happy couple on their wedding day in February 1974

... and four decades later as they look forward to their anniversary

Hilary at 18, enjoying herself in Mallorca back in 1973