A Yorkshire couple who spent their honeymoon in the Isle of Man in 1959 have just been flown back to the island by Manx2.com to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
Frank and Christine Newbould, who come from Garforth near Leeds, got married on 18th July 1959 in a village called Methley in Yorkshire.
They flew to the Island from Yeadon Airport (now Leeds-Bradford Airport) to spend their honeymoon here, staying at the ‘Milnes Waverley Hotel’ in Douglas, which is now the Regency Hotel.
Manx2.com has flown the couple to the Isle of Man from Leeds-Bradford for the same price they paid in 1950 – seven pounds and fifteen shillings!
They will spend five nights at the Regency Hotel and plan to visit some of the sites they visited 50 years ago, including the Snaefell Mountain Railway and Peel Castle, plus more recent attractions such as Tynwald Mills.
Tim Baggaley, Manager of the Regency Hotel, will also host an afternoon tea reception for Mr and Mrs Newbould.
Frank (74) and Christine (70) have two children, a son and a daughter.
They have not been back to the Island since their honeymoon, although not for want of trying!
Mrs Newbould commented 'We thought about coming to the Isle of Man to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary but I couldn’t find the new name of the hotel.
'I wrote to the Tourist Board and eventually they called me back to say it was under refurbishment so with that and me not being very well at the time, we decided not to come.
'For our 50th anniversary, we decided that we would come back to the Island no matter what. I will probably cry when we get to the Regency Hotel – it is a very special time for us.
'I am really keen to see how the Island has changed in the last 50 years.
'I still have our room card from 1959, a tourism brochure we were given back then, photos every passenger had to have taken when they got off the plane, and even a cinema ticket from when we went to see Gigi at the Regal!
'Both myself and Frank are very excited about our trip and would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Manx2.com for making it happen.'
Noel Hayes, Chairman of Manx2.com, commented 'It is my pleasure to be able to fly Frank and Christine Newbould to the Island to celebrate such a landmark as their 50th wedding anniversary.
'Theirs is a really heart-warming story and I hope they enjoy their stay in the Isle of Man.'
Geoff Corkish, political member for the Department of Tourism and Leisure, has presented the couple with a commemorative gift of a Moods of Mann coffee table book and Sword of State paper knife.
He said 'I am very pleased that Frank and Christine have chosen to come back to the Isle of Man to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
Pictured: Noel Hayes with Frank and Christone Newbould
'I know they had a wonderful honeymoon here in 1959 and we will do everything we can to help them have an even better time re-living those memories in 2009. Congratulations on fifty very happy years together!'
