Couple who met at school celebrate diamond wedding

HELEN and Arnold Snowball, both 83, recently celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with congratulations from Her Majesty, the Queen. 

The couple met aged 11 as they were in the same class in school, before Helen went off to college and Arnold joined the army. Love blossomed when Arnold noticed Helen on a bus and took the opportunity to sit next to her. 

“We had a card sent through from Her Majesty to celebrate the occasion,” Arnold told Melksham News. “We were told that it’s something like only 4% of all marriages in the country get to 60 years, which is made even more impressive considering both my brother and his wife, alongside Helen’s sister and her husband have all hit 60 years together as well. 

“To mark the celebration, we had a big family get together with our grandson, our two daughters and about 25 friends in total. 

“We had a fantastic celebration in the village hall, with plenty of prosecco and an afternoon tea. I put together 60 photos from the years we’ve spent together so far and we had a great laugh looking at all the different hairstyles we’ve picked up over the years!

“We’ve both got very separate interests so I think that helps. Helen is involved with music so most of her time is taken up with that, and I’m involved with golf and amateur dramatics, but we always make sure we combine interests like going to concerts. We’ve always supported each other greatly – it’s a case of give and take.”