Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Married couple both born at K&C on same day 60 years ago
On the same day 60 years ago, a baby boy and girl were brought into the world at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
But as their mothers cradled them on the maternity ward just a few feet apart, fate was already at work for the pair.
Because remarkably, three decades later, and completely unaware of what they had in common, Roger and Sandra Stannard became neighbours and later man and wife.
It wasn’t until their mothers met that they discovered the full extent of what they shared.
Sandra said: “My mum remembered Roger’s mum, who had this baby boy with a shock of jet black hair. It’s strange to think that we were so close.”
The couple, of Hoades Wood Road, Sturry, will both turn 60 on Saturday. They married in 1988 having moved next door to each other in Deansway Avenue, Sturry.
In another remarkable twist, Sandra’s ex- husband and Roger’s ex- wife ended up marrying each other.
Sandra, a cleaner and home help, said: “I just think its an extraordinary coincidence because I grew up in Barham and Roger on the London Road estate and yet we found ourselves as neighbours.
“When Roger told me his birthday was the same as mine and we were the same age, I thought he was pulling my leg. But when our mums got together and started talking, it all fell into place.”
Sandra, who is 12 hours older than her husband, says sharing the same birthday and age does throw up a few administrative hiccups. She said: “When we fill in online forms for things like insurance, banking or holidays, it often bounces back, assuming there’s a mistake.
“It’s also the source of some amusement among our friends who often send us birthday cards that they have doctored.”
Roger, who used to work at Chartham Paper Mill and is now a mortgage adviser, says he sometimes wished they had their own birthdays.
He said: “If they were a month or two apart, it would be nice to have separate celebrations.”
The couple, who have two sons and a daughter, are planning a joint 60th birthday bash at Kent Cricket Club on Saturday with about 100 family members and friends.