Lifelong bond that began in childhood for loyal couple

Published on Thursday 21 February 2008 09:31

JOHN and Mary Cairns celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

JOHN and Mary were around five years old when they started playing together on the Leith street where they grew up.

Now, 75 years later, the couple are set to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary after 60 years together as husband and wife.

It was on Bangor Road in the early 1930s that the pair formed their decades-long bond as children.

The couple attended Bonnington Road School together before going on to the David Kilpatrick secondary school.

Two years older than her husband at 82, Mary refers to John as her "toy boy".

They proved inseparable from an early age and it was only when John went into the Army that the two were apart for the first time.

Despite their separation, the young lovers began a correspondence with one another.

"We used to write back and forth when he was in the Army," Mary said. "He was a Royal Scot and I was one of those who wrote to the troops to keep their spirits up."

Joining the Royal Scots at the age of 16, John served until he was 20. After he left the forces, the couple decided to tie the knot and they married in 1948.

They spent a short time living with Mary's grandmother before moving into their own place in Breadalbane Street.

"I was still in the same house and he came back to his parents' house after the Army," said Mary.

"We stayed with my nan for a while before moving out and getting our own place to live."

From there, the young couple moved to Clermiston and had two children, John and Jacqueline.

John Jnr died in 1999 at the age of 50. His sister, now 54, still lives in Edinburgh and formerly worked for the civil service.

Mary, who recently left hospital after being admitted to the Royal Victoria on New Year's Day with breathing difficulties, is back at the couple's current home in Crown Street, Leith.

Both husband and wife describe themselves as proud Leithers, and they were delighted when they moved back to the area from Clermiston.

And, with years of happy marriage behind them, they say they are closer than ever.

"I'm just a wee working lassie and he's my wee working laddie," Mary said.

The couple are now looking forward to marking a major milestone in their marriage later in the year.