Couple renew vows on diamond day

A devoted couple made an emotional journey to renew their vows at the Wolverhampton church where they married 60 years ago.

June Rackham, aged 81, and her 83-year-old husband Charles made the nostalgic trip to St Mary’s Church in Bushbury from Lancashire to mark their diamond wedding anniversary.

The church holds an extra special place in June’s heart as her father, the Reverend Josiah Thomas Crathorne, was the vicar there for almost 40 years.

June grew up in the former vicarage in Shady Lane and the couple were married at the imposing church by her uncle, the Reverend Cyril Cresswell, who was King George’s chaplain at the Chapel of the Savoy in London.

The service to renew their vows was held exactly 60 years on from the day they tied the knot.

The pair stood at the altar of the church for the second time at 11am yesterday, the same time as on their wedding day.

The special event was attended by close family and friends as well as original bridesmaid, Charles’s sister Betty Walters, who travelled from Merseyside to be at the couple’s side again. The party enjoyed a meal afterwards.

Charles said it was wonderful to be back at St Mary’s. “I came back about 40 years ago but not since,” he said.

“It is wonderful to be here with June again, it has been such a long time.”

June said she was very emotional at returning to the church where she had wed. “It’s also very strange to be here as it seems very different,” she said. “It is a very special place for us.”

June and Charles met in Wolverhampton in 1944 when he was an engineering cadet at the city’s technical college.

June and Charles, who have three children, Joan, Christine and Peter, now live in a flat attached to Joan’s home in Holmes, Lancashire.