AN RAF couple celebrated their diamond anniversary with friends and family over the weekend.

Mike and Jan Brokenshire married on August 2 1958 in Winchester.

They revealed their secrets to a successful marriage.

Jan said: “We get by, we’re happy and patient with each other.

“We also have the same sense of humour, which is important.”

Mike agreed: “Yes, we have a laugh every day.

“You have to maintain a sense of humour and do everything together.”

The couple met on a church youth club ramble at Easter in1955.

Was it love at first sight?

Mike said: “Yes, probably, and it just grew and developed from there.

“When everyone finished the ramble and went their separate ways to head home, we ended up walking together.

“We got talking and, well, that was that, we just clicked.

“In 1956, I joined the Royal Air Force and we lived abroad for a few years in Singapore and Malaysia.

Jan added: “I have fond memories of taking our kids abroad with us and watching them play in the sand.

“It was such a lovely time.”

After their globe-trotting adventures, they settled down in Swindon because it was right in between RAF Lyneham (now MOD Lyneham) and RAF Brize Norton, which was handy for Mike’s RAF work.

He stayed in the air force for 36 years until he was demobbed in 1992.

Mike was awarded an MBE for his service to the RAF.

He added: “Going to the palace together was a really special day.

“I also represented the RAF Association at the Cenotaph one year and got to take part in the laying of the wreath.

“We were both invited to a garden party at the palace, which was wonderful.”

The couple shared a home in Upper Stratton with their three children for a while, then moved to a bungalow in Lower Stratton when their kids flew the nest.

Their expansive family also includes seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Daughter Lisa Aldridge, 55, said: “It was nice for us all to get together, all the generations.”

Twenty four members of the Brokenshire family met at the White Hart pub on Oxford Road.

Lisa said of her parents’ marriage: “They’re good together. They complement each other.

“Dad was away a lot, being in the air force. Hands up to mum, she had to pick us all up and move us out to Malaysia.

“My husband and I have been married for 33 years. I take after my parents in that respect.”