As a young sales rep Mr Cole worked for Sheffield steel manufacturing firm Frank Pickering and it was while on one of his rounds he met Mr Lowe, a purchaser at Oldbury firm Accles & Pollock.

The pair quickly hit it off and Mr Cole, aged 67, often gave his friend who couldn’t drive a lift home to the house where he lived with his parents.

On one visit he was introduced to the Lowes and soon became friendly with them, often calling in for tea and a game of crib.

He said: “On one visit Mrs Lowe gave me an African Violet which was placed to her instructions on the kitchen window sill where it remains today.

“They had a stack of these plants in the house and I happened to remark that they were beautiful and she gave me one.

“It’s still in the same pot and has flowered every year and we have taken cuttings and they also thrive.”

Mr Cole has not had contact with Mr Lowe since he was made redundant in the 80s and said he would love to hear from him again.

‘I have very fond memories of Bert and his parents,” added Mr Cole.

“Bert was a very nice man and we would have a laugh and his mother and father were smashing.

“Mr Lowe senior was a proper Black Country man. He even gave my wife material so she could make trousers for our children and a cloak she wore for special outings which still hangs in the wardrobe.”

The plant’s Latin name Saintpaulia comes from Baron Walter von Saint Paul Illaire, who discovered the plant in Africa in 1892.

l Can your African Violet beat this? If so please ring 01902 319421.

By Heather Loat