TWO sisters who were married at a double wedding are today

celebrating their diamond anniversaries.

Joyce and Mary Frow walked down the aisle at St Mary's

Church, Tutbury, on July 3, 1948, either side of their father,

Ted, to marry Ken McLeod and Alan Price respectively.

The wedding was made even more special as Joyce's new

husband, Ken, had survived the wartime RAF Fauld explosion, the

largest ever to occur on British soil, in which the sisters'

brother, Lewis, died.

Six decades later, both couples said they were delighted to

reach the milestone of their diamond anniversary after coping

with the “high and lows” of marriage.

Joyce, 81, a former shop assistant, said: “You go into a

marriage knowing it's for life, or at least you should do. I'm

afraid a lot of people don't do that these days.

“You obviously have your ups and downs, but you work at

it.”

Mary, 80, said: “You have to take things day by day. I don't

think people have the patience for a long marriage these days.

You work through your difficulties and get on with life.

“Everyone has their hard times and their good times.”

Both sisters said the 1944 explosion had a huge effect on

their family.

Lewis, a 15-year-old trainee electrician, had been working

underground at the RAF munitions depot when the explosion

happened.

Official casualty lists show 90 people were killed, missing

or injured. Lewis' body was one of 18 which were never

found.

Ken, a retired civil servant originally from Scotland, was

one of the last five people to get away from the depot.

He met Joyce at a dance in Fauld in May 1945 – six months

after the disaster – held to mark VE Day.

Ken, 85, of Tutbury Road, Horninglow, said: “We've had sacks

of arguments but it's all forgotten later. I do not believe

anyone who says they have not had a few cross words.”

Mary, of New Road, Hilton, met Alan, 82, who worked as a

fitter for a Derbyshire dairy, through his aunt, who lived in

Tutbury, where the sisters grew up.

They have two children, John, 58, and Pete, 48, along with

grandchildren Samuel, 13, and Kate, 9.

The couples celebrated at the weekend with a family

gathering at Hilton House Hotel, in Main Street, Hilton. They

also received messages from the Queen.

Today, Joyce and Ken, who enjoy doing crosswords together

every morning, plan to have “a bit of a knees-up”, while Mary

and Alan, who enjoy gardening, are happy to have a quiet night

in.