TWO of the 1967 Christmas mums we mentioned in Rewind a fortnight ago have come forward to share their memories.

The children of Celeste Marcarella and Gillian Binsted were among eight born at the Swindon Maternity and Victoria hospitals that day.

Mrs Marcarella, 65, is married to Pasquale, 68, who spent much of his working life with Plessey. The couple are originally from different provinces near Naples in Italy, and Mr Marcarella came to Swindon to be near his future wife after she emigrated wth her family.

The couple married in 1965 and have five children and five grandchildren. They live in Old Walcot.

The oldest child, Pasqualina, was their Christmas baby all those years ago.

Mrs Marcarella said: “It was the old hospital where the Seymour Clinic is now – that was the maternity hospital. I think it was night time. After 12 she was born.

“I remember we got together with the other mums for the photographer – it was nice.”

Baby Pasqualina grew up to have a secretarial and office career and is now a full time mum to her own child, three-year-old Pasquale.

She said: “A relative was in the newspaper shop, looked in the paper and saw my mum.

“My dad went to buy a paper and my mum was really quite emotional because it was bringing back memories. It made her really happy.”

The mums were presented with souvenir spoons and forks by the mayor, Alderman HG Lewis, in what seems to have been a Yuletide tradition.

Mrs Marcarella still has the spoon she was presented with, although she admits to not knowing where in the house it might be after all these years.

The other mum who came forward was able to show us the fork she was presented with, stamped ‘Made in England’ and apparently silver plated.

Gillian Binsted, 68, lives in Wroughton and works part time in a care home. Husband Nigel, 72, is a former British Rail coppersmith.

Paul, the elder of her two sons, was her Christmas baby, born at the Victoria Hospital at 12.26am, making him the first of the eight.

These days he lives in Devizes and runs a successful lighting business.

Mrs Binsted said: “All I remember being told was that because he was the first Christmas baby the mayor would be coming to see me and present a spoon and a fork. I vaguely remember him coming.”

Although she still has the fork, the location of the other item is a mystery.