A COUPLE who are about to celebrate a spectacular 65 years of marriage have received special congratulations from the Queen.

Ken and Pearl Bailey, from Chatteris, received a special telegram from the Queen, almost 65 years after they were married, on June 14, 1946.

The couple met in 1941 prior to Mr Bailey sailing to Singapore during World War 2. Mr Bailey was captured by the Japanese and held as a prisoner of war for three years. The couple married in Liverpool after his return.

They decided to move to Coates and have lived in the Fens ever since. Mr Bailey worked in the police force as a constable and later Sergeant, before becoming a civilian clerk when they moved to Chatteris in 1962.

Mrs Bailey was a manageress and buyer for the fashion department at the Co-op in Chatteris.

Mr Bailey wrote his memoirs of being a POW in a book called “Face of Adversity” which was serialised in the Cambs Times and published to celebrate his 90th birthday in 2009.

The couple have two sons, Stephen and Stewart, a daughter, Jane and an incredible 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Mr Bailey - a keen sportsman - had played football and cricket for teams across Fenland before eventually hanging up his boots while in his 70s.