Celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary last Thursday, Fred, 86, set the rules from the start, giving strict instructions on their relationship title.
Chivalry appears to be Mr Develin’s forte, as wife Edna, 82, confirms his kitchen capabilities. “Oh Fred’s a great cook. He can actually cook better than me,” laughs Edna.
But over the 60 years of love and devotion she says somehow she’s acquired a tolerance to her husband’s less charming traits. “He always leaves newspapers all over the floor and he never ever closes the draws, but he’s not all that bad,” she says.
Mr Develin says there’s more to him than most people think and quips of his 18 years in jail.
“I was in prison for 18 years. I ran workshops at Mt Eden helping the inmates make furniture,” says the former Mason.
Arriving in New Zealand in 1962 via a ship from Nottingham England, the couple says their one regret in life is not moving to New Zealand sooner.
“We moved to New Zealand when Fred left the army and we’ve never looked back. We love it here,” says Mrs Develin.
The two share stories on how they met. Fred says it was a dare from a friend that saw him plunking himself down in between two girls on a ride at a fair. “And it went from there,” he says.
From their first encounter, which coincided with the first 10 days Fred was out of the British Army, the pair say it was another 12 months before they saw each other again, but somehow they made it work.
“I think we only saw each other three times in four years,” says Edna.
Their relationship survived 12 years of Fred serving as a grenadier in the army and both of them making it through World War II.
“We met in 1942 and were married on February 29 1948,”says Fred.
He says he was first to pop the question, as it was a leap year. “I thought, well we better get married and decided I’d ask her first,” says Fred.
Edna says she borrowed her wedding dress from a friend and everyone helped to provide food, as post war rations left cupboards bare.
While Fred served as a guardsman in the army, Edna worked as a critical nurse caring for hundreds of soldiers over the wartime years in England.
Edna says part of the success for their tight bond is from experiencing war.
“Living through a war makes you pull together. We’ve had our ups and downs like everyone, but we lived through a lot,” says Edna.
Fred says equality has been the key to their longevity.
“We have a joint agreement. We split everything 50/50,”says Fred.
Living across the road from grandson Steven and not too far from daughters Jean and Eileen, the pair says family has been a big part of their lives and enjoyed celebrating their anniversary last weekend.
