A STONEHAVEN couple are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary – with flowers and cards marking the occasion.
To recognise Bill and Kath Boyne’s special day, Deputy Lieutenant John Cruickshank presented a winter floral arrangement and card from Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire Alastair Macphie – with a card from Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla already gracing the mantlepiece. And Cllr Sarah Dickinson presented a bouquet on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council.
When Bill and Kath stepped out of Portlethen Parish Church in 1964 as Mr and Mrs Boyne, it was a calm, autumn day, just like today. Of course back then it was a very different Portlethen. Kath recalls two RAF camps remaining from the war years – and the first streets of new housing giving just a hint of the future decades of growth.
Motor mechanic Bill had been living in Newtonhill, where he grew up. And, after a spell working with the Post Office working on telephone-line cables, he moved into the glitzy world of the car showroom working with Roy Thomson selling first Chrysler cars then Fiat models.
Kath meanwhile was a drawing office assistant – also with Post Office Telephones and working on the main lines. Her work once took her to Bletchley Park, which after the war had various uses including local GPO headquarters – Kath said it was only much later the role played by the code-breakers based there was revealed.
The couple, who have two children Kevin and Jenny, first moved to Stonehaven in 1978. They lived first of all in Dunnottar Avenue and more recently at their current home on Academy Road. Especially before Covid, Bill has enjoyed his membership of the local Unionist Club, where he was a committee member. Meanwhile Kath is a stalwart of the Horizon Project, overseeing the annual hanging basket and planter displays that are so enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.
Five grandchildren now swell the family numbers and Bill and Kath are looking forward to a diamond wedding family get-together. A celebratory cake has been ordered and Kath has a trip into the attic to find their wedding album on her ‘to do’ list.