George and Edna are still feeling the love after 70 years of marriage. Inset: George and Edna on their wedding day. 79640 Picture: PAUL JEFFERS
By VANESSA CHIRCOP
‘THE day has ended, but the melody lingers on’, that’s the song that sums up the marriage of Edna and George Aldersley.
They were married on 25 April 1492 – during World War II.
They had to obtain strict permission to hold their wedding ceremony on Anzac Day, and the couple weren’t even allowed to share a dance because of the war.
They married at the Church of Christ on Douglas Parade in Williamstown, the very church they first set eyes on each other two years earlier.
Despite many of their good friends and relatives being caught up with the war, 80 guests still managed to turn out to wish the couple well.
Seventy years later, the long-time Williamstown couple are now living at Westhaven Aged Care in Footscray.
Today Edna, 91, who grew up in Williamstown, jokes that she must have seen something in George, for them to last this long.
“He was quiet, so I could have all the say,” she said.
“He used to buy me chocolates and lollies, things I liked.”
The couple have three children, nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
George, 97, who grew up in South Melbourne, moved to Williamstown with his family in 1927, where he got a job as a shipwright on the water front.
The couple lived in Bayview St their entire married life until moving into Westhaven two years ago.
“We’re both pretty placid,” Edna said.
“We don’t fight very much.”
The couple will celebrate their 70th anniversary with a family lunch at the Bayview St property, which is still in their family.
George, who is the joker of the two, still wakes up every morning with Edna the first thought on his mind, walking to her room at Westhaven to greet her.
He’s kept a journal since he was eight-years-old documenting his entire life, including his romance with Edna.
When Edna had to move to Westhaven, George went with her.
“I follow her everywhere – even in here,” he said.
