From grim war years to Aussie good life, Stanhope Gardens couple celebrates 70th anniversary
THEY met at a bus stop in an English seaside village in the weeks following World War II and have enjoyed a good life in Australia. Now Ron and Joy Burton celebrate 70 years of marriage.
The Hills
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AFTER meeting at a bus stop in an English village in the weeks following World War II and enjoying a good life in Australia, Ron and Joy Burton celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on February 16.
Wounded just a couple of months before the war ended, Mr Burton was a convalescing infantryman with the Cameronian Scottish Rifles when, on weekend leave at the seaside town of Bognor Regis, he met the then Joy Masters at a bus stop.
It was October, and she had recently left the Women’s Land Army, when he asked her to the pictures, a screening of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
By the following February they were married. Joy, 89, and Ron, 90, moved to Australia in 1954 as “10-pound Poms” with their children, Paula, then 6, and Philip, 4, having been lured by the prospect of a better life.
“It was the best thing we ever did — we have had a very good life in Australia,” Mrs Burton said.
“We have been very, very fortunate.”
For 34 years they lived in Riverstone, both working for a time at the meat works, and serving the community as members of the Lions Club.
They moved to Queensland for more than 20 years, before returning to be closer to their family.
The couple have four grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
Mrs Burton, who wrote a “Chit Chat” column for our sister paper the Blacktown Advocate, said the secret to their long time together was simple.
“We got used to one another,” she said. “I suppose we have had a lot of fun. I’m a Capricorn and he’s a Leo — they’re nothing alike.
“Maybe that’s why it worked.”
After celebrations for 50th and 60th anniversaries, the couple are happy with a low-key milestone for their 70th.
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