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A Somerset couple is celebrating a rare milestone — 70 years of marriage. Derek and Brenda Dodge of Baltonsborough village, near Glastonbury, had their platinum wedding anniversary on 12 March 2025. The couple met in their youth at a local club where they were both living at the time. Derek says he was ejected when he flew into a rage and that Brenda, feeling sorry for him, offered to take him home. And that’s where a lifetime partnership was started.
Their first romance was ”ot without issue. Derek asked Brenda to marry him when he was 19, but were informed by Brenda’s parents that they were too young. He then went to the army for two years before they finally married on his 21st birthday, 12 March 1955, at St Dunstan’s Church, Baltonsborough.
Over the years, they had two children, a boy and a girl. Sadly, their daughter passed away in her 40s due to cancer. Presently, Derek and Brenda are surrounded by a big family with seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
When asked about the secret to a lasting marriage, they are not afraid to speak plainly: “Love, respect for one another, patience, honesty and to know you don’t always have to agree.” Brenda, now 92, said, “We’ve really had a very happy life.” Derek, who also turned 91 on the same day as their anniversary, smiled in agreement with her.
Their story is impressive not just for how old it is, but for its understated toughness — shaped in humble origins, setbacks in life, and the unyielding dedication that defines a generation.
The anniversary was celebrated in private at home by the pair with clasped hands and surrounded by memories — from black-and-white wedding photographs of their day outside the same village church, to later decades of milestones in the family.
In an age where long marriages are less common, the Dodges’ story is testament to the fact that true love is based on shared values, tolerance, and the sort of everyday courtesy that first brought them together.
