A walk down Memory Lane

“I came over on holiday and stayed at the Melville Hotel, and I went up to the dance hall on the Strand Road - the Embassy, and I met The Wife there. I met her the first night I was there and the rest as they say was history.

It was 1968 and I remember we corresponded in writing to one another after I went back to England. I came back over again in the summer and we got engaged and then I went back to England.

I was working for British Rail at that time and I could get so many free travel passes including the BR fetry from Heysham to Belfast.

So anyway we got engaged and then I packed everything up in the back of a wee Morris Minor and drove over in November 1968 and we were married on December 21 in 1968.

The wedding was at St Peter’s Church. That church was nearly new then. I think it was only about four years old, and the only person that came to my wedding from England was my Bestman, so I had nobody on my side of the church. Everybody was on her side. That was because The Troubles had started and my relatives would not come over.

My Bestman’s wife was from the City and she came over and did Matron of Honour for us.

After the wedding we had the reception at the Melville and I remember it was burned down shortly after that, but not through anything that we got up to!

There were two receptions going on at the same time that day and neither room was ready so we were all stuck in the foyer and The Wife and I got separated and the next thing I heard was ‘Where’s my husband? I’ve lost my husband’.

I remember that before the wedding the Bestman and I got dressed and we were ready and sitting in the bedroom when the people I was staying with, the husband, poked his head round the door and said ‘Come on you the hearse is waiting for you’.

The wedding was at 1pm and we were sitting in the church on our own from 11am until 1pm. Whatever happened with the cars they came and collected us at that time and took us up to the church for 11am.

There was plenty of time to change my mind but I would not have wanted to. I still love her as much now as I did then.”