Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Airdrie diamonds Tom and Elsie are toast of the town
Celebration marks 60 years of marriage
An Airdrie diamond duo were the toast of the town at a joint celebration held in their honour.
Loved-up Glenmavis couple Tom and Elsie Clarke had a double reason to celebrate when they marked two joyful occasions in Blackpool.
Tom and Elsie toasted their diamond wedding anniversary at a sparkling event in the Dalmeny Hotel, Lytham St Anne’s, which was organised by their niece Margaret Ann Jack and her family.
And the special couple also celebrated Elsie’s 80th birthday with a host of family and friends.
Tom told the Advertiser: “My niece had arranged it all. We spent four days in Lytham St Anne’s with her and her family.
“It was unbelievable. We had so many cards, flowers and lovely gifts from friends we have had over the years.”
Childhood sweethearts Tom and Elsie met in 1954 at the West Parish Mission Hall youth club in Rawyards.
The devoted duo were married in West Parish Church, Wellwynd, on August 14, 1958, and the lovebirds honeymooned in the Merton Hotel, Jersey.
They have enjoyed many happy holidays on the island over the years, as well as trips to Falmouth and Cornwall.
Tom, 84, was brought up in Rawyards, where he lived until entering the RAF during national service as a medical attendant.
He explained: “I was the only medic in a small auxiliary training unit. I arranged for the local doctor to come and give the troops their examinations.”
Tom began his career as a draughtsman and production engineer with Springbank Concrete in Cairnhill Road.
He also worked in the construction industry for Gillings and BRC, and latterly as a design and planning engineer with Costain Dowmac in Newmains until his retirement.
Tom was a keen golfer in his younger days and is a die-hard Airdrieonians supporter, adding: “I look forward to reading about the Diamonds’ games in the Advertiser each week.”
Following his retirement, Tom became an elder of New Monkland Church when the couple moved to Glenmavis.
He now enjoys gardening and keeps up-to-date with news and current affairs.
Elsie, of Clydebank, worked in the dispatch department at Honeywell and for Telmag and British Steel, where she coded components in their Burnbank factory.
Green-fingered Elsie enjoys tending the couple’s garden and regularly meets up with her twin sister, Agnes, and friends for coffee mornings and shopping.
The couple’s niece Margaret Ann added: “My aunt and uncle have a beautiful garden. Elsie is a keen gardener and loves to potter about.”
And the couple have revealed the secret to their blissful marriage has been to “give and take” over the years.
Tom and Elsie were “inundated” with lots of beautiful cards, gifts and flowers to mark their diamond anniversary from their family and friends.
They would both like to thank everyone for their generosity, in particular niece Margaret Ann and her family.