Ray and Joan Haynes of Gravesend reunited with friends and family
01:00, 14 February 2016
Teenage sweethearts who were split up when one had to go into a nursing home were given an afternoon together thanks to a charity that grants wishes.
Ray and Joan Haynes had been together since they were 18. They met on a frosty New Year’s Eve at the clock tower in Gravesend in 1951. Now 82 and 83 respectively, the pair have three daughters and six grandchildren.
Formerly of Colyer Road, Northfleet, they lived together in Abbeyfield Kent’s Watling Court in their later years. The accommodation provides independent living with support.
But in August last year, Joan had to move to a nursing home on the other side of Gravesend, leaving her husband behind.
Ray regularly visits her, getting on a number of buses, but Joan hadn’t been able visit Watling Court and see him and her old friends all together since she left.
Recognising how much they missed each other The Wish Appeal – a fundraising initiative created by Abbeyfield Kent – got involved.
The appeal, which relies solely on donations, grants wishes for residents of its homes.
The team surprised Joan with a trip to Watling Court, and she spent the afternoon having lunch and catching up with Ray and her friends. It was a welcome surprise for Ray too. He said: “What can I say? This is absolutely brilliant; it’s made my day. It’s lovely for her to be able to come and see all her old friends as well.”
Joan had her hair done especially for the occasion and had asked carers to put out her favourite outfit. The pair’s daughter, Wendy, even made the trip from Cornwall for the day.
Wendy said: “All the girls here do a grand job. They are not really carers, they are friends.”
Ray used to work in the paper business at Bowaters in Gravesend, while Joan worked in a sweet shop before having their children.
In 2014 they celebrated 60 years of marriage and Ray recalled the first time they met.
“I was with my friends and she was with hers.
“My friends and I chased them home, asking them for a date,” he said.
They spent a few years courting before marrying at All Saints’ Church in Northfleet.
