Heart of class...we find love 75 years on
CLASSMATES who played Mary and Joseph in a school nativity at aged five have struck up a romance – 75 years later.
Tony Jackson and Gloria Loukes were at the same primary before going their separate ways aged 11.
When Gloria tracked down school friends for a reunion in 2003 it led to meeting Tony, with their spouses, in their home city of Sheffield.
It took another 17 years before they saw each other again after Tony dug out her phone number and rang to “see if she was still alive”.
The pair have met several times since lockdown restrictions eased and they speak on the phone up to six times a day.
Gloria still has a heart-shaped piece of glass jewellery, inset, that Tony gave her in 1945 to mark their stage debuts.
The couple, who both lost their spouses in
2017, are “excited” about their future together and have many trips planned.
Grandmother of one Gloria said:
“Tony is very clever, which I like, and makes me laugh all the time, which is obviously very important indeed.
“I feel very happy with him and lucky to have found him again.”
Tony, who has 16 grandchildren, said: “Last summer I just happened to find this picture of Gloria that I had taken in 2003 with a landline number.
“I thought I’d try it to see if she was still alive and there she was. I was delighted to hear her voice and get chatting with her. In the end, we
wanted to see if we were compatible together so she came to see me and it went really well.
“We get on very well. Gloria’s a wonderful woman.”
The pair met in 1945 at Sheffield’s Pomona Street School and had starring roles in its festive play. Photos show the pair as youngsters, including one school picture in which they can both be seen alongside their classmates. Gloria, 80, became a primary teacher and moved to Biggin Hill, in Kent, while Tony stayed in his home city and worked as an engineer for BT. Under coronavirus restrictions they set up a bubble so that they could continue to see each other, which they said was “very important” as they re-bonded over a love of poetry and of telling jokes.
With restrictions lifting they plan to visit the Isle of Wight, Norfolk and the Chelsea Flower Show.
Tony, 81, said: “We have lots of lost time to make up.”