Mr and Mrs Fancourt from Abbots Langley have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary (From Watford Observer)

Mr and Mrs Fancourt from Abbots Langley have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary

9:47am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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A couple whose love bloomed over plants in a potting shed have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

Surrounded by friends and family, Leslie and Mary Fancourt were thrown a surprise party at the Swan Pub in College Road, Abbots Langley, on Saturday.

Mr and Mrs Fancourt, of St Lawrence Close, Abbots Langley, met while working in Kings Langley for the Buckley family, in 1939.

Mrs Fancourt, 86, explained: “I originally come from Jarrow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but times were tough up there, it was hard to get work, so I was sent to Kings Langley looking for a job.

“I managed to get work with a family as a nanny and housekeeper, and it was here that I met Leslie.

“He was working for the house as a gardener and I used to pop to the potting shed whenever I could, to bring him cups of tea.”

Mr Fancourt, 90, said the first time he saw his future wife it was “love at first sight”.

He said: “She was beautiful then and she is beautiful now.

“Any excuse to bring me a cup of tea in that potting shed and she would come out.

“I remember when we first started courting. As she lived in the house, while I lived in the village, I’d bid her farewell at the house gates, hoping our boss, who was out walking his dog, wouldn’t catch us!”

A couple of years into their courtship, Mr Fancourt was called up to serve in the Royal Artillery, during World War Two.

Mrs Fancourt said: “I was heartbroken when Leslie went - I was really restless and couldn’t settle without him, I missed him terribly.

“Even though he had leave from time-to-time, it wasn’t enough, so I left my job in Kings Langley and moved to Edmonton to be with my sister, Lizzie, later joining the forces to work as a cook.”

It was while Mr Fancourt was on leave that the couple decided to get engaged and on Tuesday, March 13, 1941, they got married at Kings Langley Baptist Church.

Since then, they have lived in various parts of Abbots Langley and Kings Langley and have raised three children – John, 63, Jennifer, 57, and Kevin 48.

Mrs Fancourt said: “65 years is a long time together but, to be honest, we don’t really argue, we just get on with things.

“The secret to our long and happy marriage is lots of cuddles.”

Mr Fancourt added: “And kisses - lots of kisses.”