Love looked a whole lot different back in the 1950s. Before Tinder and Instagram DMs, writing letters was the original form of romantic correspondence. This couple accidentally became penpals, and started a great love story in the process.

The year was 1957. A seaman on the HMS Ganges in Ipswich posted an advertisement in a newspaper looking for a penpal, which a then 15-year-old Shirley Kerrigan responded to. This advertisement turned out to be quite popular. The seaman received many messages, so he passed a few of them on to his fellow shipmate.

This is how Shirley’s letter ended up in the hands of 19-year-old Jack Godley. Crazily enough, Shirley lived only 5 minutes away from Jack’s family in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

That first initial letter turned into many. A year later, the pair finally met when Jack returned home on leave. They quickly fell in love and married on April 30, 1960.

Fast forward to 2020 and the couple are now celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Shirley, 78, and Jack, 82, have five children together, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All this from a simple letter.

Shirley believes their love was meant to be.

She said: “I’m glad it ended up with him. I do think it was fate. The other sailor got a sack full and he said ‘here you go Ginge’ – that’s what they called Jack in the navy. He said, ‘there’s one from Sheffield you can have that one'”.

Their secret to a long-lasting marriage? Celebrating differences.

“Well we’re opposites aren’t we, me and Shirley. Opposites attract. That’s why we have lasted,” said Jack. “Well, that and doing what I am told.”

While they can’t go out and celebrate their milestone anniversary due to the lockdown, the pair plan to have a special day when the pandemic is over and it’s safe to go outside again.

Feature image: Unsplash