Golden milestone for caring couple

Former assistant editor of the Ripley and Heanor News Carol Gibbs (nee Thornley), who also previously worked for the Derbyshire Times, and ex-Amber Valley councillor Graham Gibbs, 76, of High Street, Riddings, were married on Easter Saturday at St Helen’s Church, Selston, on March 25 1967.

The couple hadn’t a clue about the party which was organised by their son Jamie and daughter Katie Crockett. They assumed they were going out for dinner after going to see an exhibition of old photographs at the venue.

Carol, 72, who worked for Johnston Press for 23 years, attended Selston Matthew Holland School, before starting her working life in the pioneering Boots computer department.

Then after her marriage she moved to Viyella at Somercotes, supervising in the punch tape room.

While her children were young, she started out as a local correspondent for the ‘News’ and Derbyshire Times, but over the years her career snowballed from part-time reporter to news editor and then assistant editor at the Ripley and Heanor, before retiring at 60.

One of the highlights of her career in journalism was covering Princess Diana’s visit to open Riddings Community Centre.

Riddings-born Graham was a councillor for ten years in the early days of Amber Valley Borough Council, when all the urban councils of Heanor, Ripley, Alfreton and Belper amalgamated.

He served on several committees including Alfreton Leisure Centre. He was chairman of Riddings infants and junior schools for many years and was also a governor at Ironville and Alfreton Parkwood schools. After leaving Somercotes Boys School he worked for several firms including Somercotes-based transport firm Cundy and Stuart, also Vic Hallam at Eastwood where he served his apprenticeship as a joiner. He then worked for Somercotes Dairy Crest until its closure when he was 50, before starting his own window cleaning business.

The couple also marked their 50 years of marriage with a Caribbean cruise, and agree the recipe for a happy marriage is caring and sharing and being true to one another.