A couple who ran bakeries, pubs and a hotel for 40 years are celebrating 60 years of marriage.
Norma and Kenneth Walker, aged 81 and 79, married in Bradford on October 22, 1966, and are celebrating their anniversary.
“I can’t believe it,” said Mrs Walker.
“We were both born in Bradford and we met when I was eight.
“We started dating when Kenneth was 17 and I was 15,” said Manningham-born Mrs Walker.
Kenneth and Norma Walker are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary
Man saved lives of two girls
One of the things that has lived long in the memory of Mr Walker and his family is the Bradford City stadium fire disaster on May 11, 1985.
Mrs Walker explained: “Kenneth took our son David to his first football match that day.
“When the fire started, Kenneth took David to the back of the stadium and kicked a door down, which saved the lives of a lot of people that day – and he received a commendation from the police for what he did.
“Two of the lives he saved were 10-year-old girls who got in touch with us 25 years later.
“We met them for the first time then, and they have stayed in touch with us ever since.
“They both came to Kenneth’s 80th birthday party.”
Recalling their wedding day
Mr Walker’s family comes from Bradford’s Bolton Road area.
Mrs Walker said: “His father was a baker and they ran a bakery at the bottom of Salt Street, off Lumb Lane.
“Kenneth started working for his father at the age of 15 at Silvio's, which was well known as the best bakery in Bradford.”
Kenneth and Norma Walker on their wedding day (Image: UGC)
The couple were married at First Martyrs Church, on Heights Lane, which is off Haworth Road in Bradford.
Mrs Walker recalled: “On the day we were married, Kenneth’s father shut the bakery at 12 noon instead of 1pm. Our wedding was at 2pm!”
A Silvio's bakery lorry
How they opened a bakery
The Walkers opened their first bakery on Oak Lane in Manningham before running another at Woodbottom in Baildon.
After running a bakery for many years, Mrs Walker said: “One day my husband woke up and said ‘I’m fed up of baking’.”
Then onto the pub trade
They then moved into the pub trade.
Their first pub was the Artillery Arms on Bowling Back Lane.
Mrs Walker said: “I remember our first week of takings was £120, which was not a lot.”
The Walkers eventually sold the Artillery Arms and took over the Metropole in Bradford city centre.
Then hotels
They then entered the hotel trade, taking over the Carlton Hotel on Queens Road.
“It was a small hotel,” Mrs Walker recalled. “But we did a wedding every week.
“The Carlton was a busy place and had a good reputation.”
Bradford City connection
The hotel also became a favourite with Bradford City players.
“A lot of the Bradford City players would stay there for home matches.”
The players valued the Walkers so highly that they helped pay for their 25th anniversary celebrations.
Mrs Walker said: “They paid for us to get a Rolls Royce to the airport and then fly to London for a long weekend.
“When we were in London, we had afternoon tea at the Ritz and watched the Buddy Holly Story in the West End.
“It was such a memorable wedding anniversary. I’ve never forgotten it.”
Kenneth and Norma Walker are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary (Image: Newsquest)
Why leave the hotel business?
However, their time of running a hotel had to come to an end.
“I got a brain haemorrhage and had a 50/50 chance of living,” said Mrs Walker.
“I was in hospital for two months, so we had to give it up and retire.
“We were self-employed for 40 years and also looked after foster children, who are still in touch with us today.”
Family support
Mrs Walker said their family has always supported them.
They have three children, Catherine, Steven and David, six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren – with a 14th on the way!
She said: “Our family always looks after us.
“They are all great and we love them very much.”
'I followed my mother’s advice'
Mrs Walker described their life as “interesting and busy” and said she would never change her husband.
Kenneth and Norma Walker when they were younger (Image: UGC)
She said: “I followed my mother’s advice – she told me not to change my husband, and I haven’t.
“He’s looked after me well as I’ve had a lot of illnesses over the years.”
Her family will celebrate the couple’s diamond anniversary with a meal and drinks.