A Marriage made in Heaven.......

 Yesterday, 11th June, was the 75th anniversary of my parents' wedding.

The engagement of Dorothy Gardner and Charles Dewar Haughton Pilkington was announced in The Argus newspaper on 22nd February 1947.   

Mum's engagement ring as described on the receipt was a "diamond and blue sapphire ring set in platinum".   Dad had purchased it second hand for £25 a couple of weeks prior.

Originally the ring was a single narrow band, but as the years rolled by and the band wore very thin, Mum had it re-modelled and set into the split band pictured here.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved Mum's ring. I remember begging her to let me try it on.  I'm now the proud owner of her ring, and it rarely leaves my finger.

My parents met at Mum's local church, St. John's Church of England, East Bentleigh, where Mum taught Sunday School.  Dad was a Curate assisting the Vicar of the Parish after recently completing his theological studies at Ridley College.  At the time Mum was engaged to another man, and Dad became friends with both of them.

In February 1944, Dad enlisted as an Army Chaplain and was sent first to Mt. Isa and then to the Pacific Islands to serve.  During this time he maintained correspondence with Mum.  At some point Mum decided her fiancé was not the man of her dreams and ended their engagement. So when Dad returned after the war ended, a serious relationship began to develop between them.

The wedding took place at St. John's on Wednesday, 11th June 1947.  In the austerity of the post-war period, Mum borrowed her beautiful lace wedding gown from a friend. The wedding party is described in this write-up published in Dad's local paper.

From Foster Mirror, Thursday August 14 1947

The newly-weds spent their wedding night at the Victoria Hotel in Little Collins St, before departing for a honeymoon in Tasmania.

When they married, Mum was a few weeks short of her 24th birthday, Dad was 39.  In spite of the age difference between them, they were well-suited and had a happy life together, raising a family of five children.  I don't recall ever hearing my parents argue, although I'm sure they must have disagreed sometimes.  

Mum and Dad had 31 years together before Dad passed away in 1978, aged 70, just a few months after he retired. Mum remained a widow for 27 years, living in the home they had built together for their retirement before she too passed away in 2005.  

Dorothy & Haughton on their honeymoon in Tasmania