Family join Rae and Betty for their diamond anniversary

Published on Thursday 19 June 2008 10:32

Rae and Betty McInnes celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary next week.

RAE McInnes loves the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas and has made a number of trips down the years.

And he knew when he met Betty following the Second World War that he was on to a sure bet.

Rae, now 85, had served with the Army abroad while Betty had been based in Perth, where she drove trucks carrying injured troops to hospitals.

The couple met at Hogmanay in Leith Walk and were married in Pilrig Church. They settled in Leith before moving with their three children to Granton.

For their 50th anniversary the pair made a trip to Vegas and were remarried by an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Although Wednesday's celebrations will be a little more sedate, family members have flown over from Canada to be with them, including the couple's daughter Janice Stenson.

Mrs Stenson, now 56 and a mother-of-two, was one of triplets when she was born.

Her parents received 3 from Queen Elizabeth II, who had only just succeeded her father King George VI, following his death.

She said: "Mum and Dad were going to get the King's bounty, but instead they got the Queen's bounty. It was 3, that was quite a lot in those days.

"It was right after the war and times were quite hard.

"I think they just used it to pay everyday costs for the family."

Sadly one of the triplets died when he was just two-and-a-half. The other, Duncan, now lives in Duddingston.

Janice emigrated to Alberta, in Canada in 1971, and was followed a few years later by her other brother, Raeburn.

The family, however, were always quite close knit and Rae and Betty, who now have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, would make annual trips across the Atlantic to visit their children – often also making a stop at Vegas – until they were too old to make the journey.

Mrs Stenson said: "It was always a happy household growing up.

"We had lots of family time. Dad worked long 12-hour shifts at Ingles paper mill to make sure we had enough money to go round.

"We had lots of caravan holidays in Fife, with our cousins. It was a very close-knit family – they all were in those days.

"We took them to Vegas for their 50th anniversary and they got remarried by Elvis.

"My dad loves Vegas and they've gone a few times. They would travel over every year until they became too old.

"Even though quite a lot of the family live in Canada now, all the children who were born there know all about their Scottish history.

"They love coming over here to visit."