Couple celebrate 70th wedding anniversary

Sylvia Tadd on the left wearing a white top and jacket with a cream fascinator. Bob is on the right and he has his arm around Sylvia. He is wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a purple tie.
Bob and Sylvia Tadd have been married since 1954 [Family handout]

A couple celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary have said that enjoying adventures together helps make a happy marriage.

Bob and Sylvia Tadd met as teenagers as they lived opposite each other in Bath and they got married at the city's registry office on 18 December 1954.

They moved to a farm cottage in the village of Winscombe, Somerset, in 1966 and they still live there together now.

"You've got to get on if you are going to be together. You've got to please one another all the time... but we don't always," Mr Tadd, 89, told the BBC.

Bob on the left wearing a suit, pictured next to Sylvia who has short dark brown hair and is wearing a red dress.
Mr and Mrs Tadd have enjoyed many adventures around the world together [Family handout]

The couple plan to mark their anniversary at home with an afternoon tea.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We drink tea. We don't drink wine... well, we do drink wine, if it's given to us," Mr Tadd said.

"I don't know whether there's any rules or regulations to happy marriages."

Mrs Tadd, 88, added: "We had our ups and downs, and you know, we get on with it."

The couple have four children, six grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.

Bob and Sylvia dance together at a function. Bob is wearing a white shirt and Sylvia is wearing a multi-coloured top.
The couple will celebrate their anniversary with an afternoon tea at home [Family handout]

Along with raising their children, they have travelled the world together but their family say they have mainly lived a simple life in Somerset.

Describing the most romantic thing they have done for one another Mrs Tadd said: "Just being there I think."

Mr Tadd agreed: "Always being there; she's always there."

The couple are due to receive a card from the King to mark the milestone.

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

More on this story