RETIRED Doulton workers Jim and Phyllis Martin first cast eyes on each other in July 1962. But their friendship dated back further when Jim started a correspondence that resulted in more than 500 letters. Over the past 45 years, the couple, of Wallis Way, Baddeley Green, have also been busy raising money for various charities through their popular prize bingo nights and have so far raised in excess of £160,000.

When did you meet?

Phyllis: A girl I worked with at Betty Plant's sweet factory in Hanley said there was a fellow who was in the Army with her boyfriend and he wanted a pen friend. She asked if I'd write to him, but I said no. Anyway, he wrote a couple of times in 1961, until I eventually wrote back, but I stopped writing to him after a few months, although he carried on. In the end, from 1961 to 1962, there were about 500 letters between us. I met him for the first time when he came home on leave from Hong Kong in July 1962.

Jim: My mate in the Army came from Stoke-on-Trent and his fiancée worked with Phyllis. He said she had a friend I should write to and I sent my first letter on December 26, 1961. She didn't write back straight away, but I did get a reply eventually. We kept all our letters for ages and eventually we ripped them all up and made a pillow out of them. We don't have it anymore though.

What were your first impressions?

Phyllis: Well he told me lies when I first met him. I'd seen a photo of him without glasses, but when I met him he had glasses on. I asked him why he was wearing them and he laughed telling me he couldn't see without them. I forgave him though, because he was quite good looking. Our first date was at the Rudyard Lake Hotel with the girl I knew from work and her boyfriend. Jim was very bubbly, but I didn't like him at first. He had more confidence than me and asked to see me again, which is when it snowballed.

Jim: She played hard to get for a while, although she was courting someone at the time. My mate hired a car one lunchtime and we went down to Betty Plant's and took her and her mate for a quick drive around, but the car broke down and we had to push it all the way back to the garage. We went back to them after work, but she quickly jumped on the bus. We followed it all the way home, which is when I asked her out properly, but she said she was washing her hair.

When did he propose?

Phyllis: I met him in July and in the August we went up to Hanley for my 21st birthday and he proposed to me then. It was very quick, but he was due to leave for Germany afterwards, so I said yes. He wasn't in Germany long, because I was struggling to live alone after I left home. I was in lodgings in Birches Head and it wasn't very nice. I came from a family of eight and once you left, you left for good. I found it very hard and became quite ill from not eating. Jim came home to be with me, as I couldn't go on any longer.

Jim: I decided to propose on the bus when we were going to Hanley for her birthday. I'm not very romantic, so I didn't get down on one knee, but I wanted to ask if she would marry me before I went to Germany. I said either we get married or that's it – and we will have been together 47 years this year.

Why did you decide to set up your prize bingo nights?

Phyllis: I went down to Cambridge to visit Jim's family 45 years ago and my brother and sister-in-laws were all doing it down there. I asked Jim if he thought we could do it, and we held out first bingo night to a packed house at Milton Church. We started off holding four a week, then dropped down to three and finally two, raising money for all sorts of causes. It's a shame we never kept a record of how much we have raised in total, but it has to be more than £160,000. We have decided not to do anymore, but are still doing things for charity in other ways.

Jim: It was something we'd seen my brother and sister-in-law do and, because it was so successful, we decided to give it a go. We started by raising money for a lady at work whose grandson had a copper deficiency. People were doing all sorts of fund-raising, so we decided to do a prize bingo night and it grew from there.

Does he have any bad habits?

Phyllis: He snores terribly and I'm fed up of it. He never used to, but recently he's started and it drives me mad.

Jim: She's not a good cook, but I've survived 47 years, so I guess it can't be that bad.

What's special about each other?

Phyllis: I hate to say it, but I can't even change a light bulb, so I'd be lost without him. I also had a heart attack two years ago that was unexpected and he looked after me then. I'm OK now, but I was in hospital for six days and it was a bit of a shock for both of us. We will have been married 47 years this month and I still think he's brilliant. He's my rock and I couldn't be without him.

Jim: She worries about everyone else before herself and she can be a real good laugh sometimes.