A centenarian pair who’ve been married for 81 years are Britain’s oldest couple.
Dorothy and Tim Walter, aged 103 and 102, say the secret to the longevity of their relationship and their lives is to never argue and spend as much time as possible outdoors.
They met during World War II and have been together ever since.
The couple now lives in a care home near Canterbury, Kent, in southeast England. They met at the tender age of 18 while working in different departments of the Supermarine factory producing combat planes in Woolston, Southampton. They married in 1942 as the conflict continued to rage.
They later moved to a quiet village where they bought a fruit farm. They credit living their life out-of-doors and rarely disagreeing with each other—though they do admit to some minor quarrels in the past—as the key contributing factors to the longevity of both their lives and their relationship.
“We had no idea we’d last this long,” Mrs. Walter said.
The couple, who have two grandsons and three great-grandchildren, now live at the Oakfield House care home in Wingham, near Canterbury, having lived independently in their nearby home up until last year. Mr. Walter also continued to drive until the age of 95 and enjoyed playing the cornet up until a similar age.
He explained that when they first met, while working at the Supermarine factory, he was an apprentice, and she was tasked with making the parts for Spitfire combat planes and the amphibious Walrus biplanes.
The pair were teenagers, and Mr. Walter would often fix the machines his future wife was using. Mr. Walter shared how he would ride his bike to meet her after work, but would often be forced to take cover as the German Luftwaffe planes soared overhead.
“Quite often, I would be riding and an air raid siren would go off. I’d leave the bike and get to safety,“ he said. “When the siren stopped, I’d be back on my bike and on my way.”
Mr. Walter recalled one terrifying occasion when his friend was nearly killed by the German bombers: “I remember a siren going off during the night once.
“I scrambled out of bed and looked out the window. ... I could see little black dots in the sky—they were bombs. It was horrendous and, sure enough, one landed not far away and buried one of my friends up to his neck. Luckily, he was alright. We were young enough to get through it.”
The couple eventually married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Newbury, Berkshire, in 1942. A year later, they had their first daughter, Carole (who passed away in 1985) followed by their second, Sue Willis (now 76), in 1947.
Following the war, the Walters moved to the rural village of Elmstone in Kent, where they bought a farm. A big fan of pigs, Mr. Walter also built pens and began breeding the animals, at one point boasting 50 sows and one boar named Wally.
The couple also owned a boat, which they would frequently take around Europe, and offered the valuable life advice of getting “out and about” as much as possible.
“We made a lot of friends and we’ve been lucky,” Mrs. Walter said. “France was our favorite place to go on holiday.”
After farming, the couple retired to Wingham Green where they lived until the age of 101, before moving to Oakfield House in March last year.
Asked what advice they would give to couples hoping for a long and happy marriage, Mr. Walter said: “You can’t point to one thing, but, providing you are content with life and your partner, you’ll be okay.”
Whilst neither of them expected to live past 100, the great-grandparents admit that losing their independence has taken some getting used to. “We’re looked after very well here, and we take each day as it comes,“ Mrs. Walter said. ”You have to embrace it, and we’re fortunate to be here.”
Mr. Walter, on the other hand, when asked how it felt to be 103, said jokingly: “It’s just unnecessary!”
Their daughter, Ms.Willis, said of the longevity of her parents’ relationship: “My father’s the dominant one, and my mother’s very easy-going. ... That’s why their marriage has lasted all this time, I think. They’ve had a wonderful life together.”
Nikki Cross, manager of the Oakfield House care home, says she was surprised to learn the Walters’ ages when they first arrived.
“They have both settled into the home well—they still attend the weekly exercise class,” Ms. Cross said. “Tim keeps us entertained most days with his cheeky ways and stories of his life, and Dorothy enjoys doing her puzzle books. As a home, we feel privileged to care for a couple who have been married for so many years, and all enjoy listening to their stories.”
A database of the oldest couples in the UK lists just one other husband and wife, Allan and Dorothy McDowell, to have been married for longer than the Walters at 82 years and 64 days—304 days longer than the Walters. The McDowells’ combined age of 201 is lower than the Walters’ at 205.
The next oldest couple in the UK are Reginald and Doris Woolgar, from Brighton, who have a combined age of 204.
