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The chairman of the Tommy Cooper Society and his wife have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

Tudor Jones MBE, 88, and wife Margaret, 87, reached the milestone on June 1 – and celebrated with family and friends at the New House Country Hotel in Thornhill.

The occasion was made all the more special as the following day marked the 23rd birthday of the couple’s twin granddaughters, Amber and Jessica, who have both recently graduated from university.

Tudor and Margaret, whose maiden name was Caswell, got married at the Pantygwydr Baptist Church in their hometown of Swansea on June 1, 1957.

Tudor and Margaret both performed for a variety of amateur operatic groups in Swansea together during their youth.

The couple’s parents already knew each other before Tudor and Margaret had met through their shared love of performing. They were together for two years before becoming engaged two years before their wedding.

The couple moved to Caerphilly in 1966 when Tudor was appointed as an engineer for the Wales Gas Board’s Rhymney and Aber arm.

They had left Swansea behind a few years earlier, having moved to Pontypridd before making Caerphilly their home.

They have two children, 61-year-old Jacqueline and 53-year-old Mike, and two grandchildren.

“We felt at home in Caerphilly,” said Tudor. “We liked the small town feel. It was an industrial area at the time – the tips were black and the air was bad, but now it’s nice and green.

“We’re very much Caerphilly-ites now.”

Tudor was invested as an MBE before his retirement in 1993, and also contributed scripts for the likes of The Two Ronnies, Max Boyce and Les Dawson. He has also founded both Caerphilly Round Table and the Tommy Cooper Society – whose work to donate defibrillators to public venues has been recognised across Caerphilly County Borough. The society was also responsible for the fundraising to erect a statue of Tommy Cooper in the town.

Margaret was a founding member of Caerphilly Ladies’ Circle, and was a member of Caerphilly Ladies’ Choir when it formed.

Margaret also contributed to the musical life of South Wales as a soprano soloist, and as a member of the Prince of Wales Investiture Choir and the BBC Chorus.

Speaking about the key to a long and happy marriage, both Tudor and Margaret agreed that humour played a big part.

Margaret said: “Humour is a big part, but it has to start with love.”