Mazeltov, Helen and Maurice! Couple celebrate 80th wedding anniversary
A Jewish couple who met in 1929 have celebrated 80 years of marriage, making them one of Britain’s longest-married couples.
Maurice and Helen Kaye, who are now 102 and 101, said the secret to their marriage’s success was being tolerant of each other and being willing to “forgive and forget”.
The couple, who are members of Bournemouth Hebrew congregation, met when they were 17 and 16 respectively.
Mr Kaye went into Mrs Kaye’s mother’s shop in Walworth, South London, where the young Mrs Kaye was working.
He ended up staying in the shop for three hours, until his future mother in law asked “Who’s going to throw him out, you or me?”
They courted for four years before marrying at South London’s Borough Synagogue, since Mrs Kaye’s mother wanted her older sister to marry first.
Once married, Mr Kaye went on to manage his father’s factory and two shops in London, before joining the Army in 1939.
In 1944, the couple’s factory, shops and home were destroyed in the war, leading them to move to Bournemouth where they had four children.
Today, the Kayes have two surviving children, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
“I didn’t think it would last a week but it’s amazing it’s lasted 80 years,” joked Mr Kaye, adding that the secret to their happy marriage was him always agreeing with his wife.
“We’re very tolerant of each other,” laughed Mrs Kaye.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
