SPORT has featured large in the 70 years that Bill and Sheila Matten have been married and both are still involved in cricket especially.

Bill is the last surviving founder member of Sandford Cricket Club. He was fixture secretary from the beginning until last year, 70 years in total, and received an award from the English Cricket Board at Lords for services to cricket.

Sheila has been a scorer for the club and one of the tea ladies. Her real interest is gardening, she created the gardens at the front and back of their Crediton home, even shifting the big rockery stones herself. She is still creating more with lots of ideas.

Bill was especially honoured on his 90th birthday three years ago when Sandford Cricket Club named its pavilion at Creedy Park after him.

Sandford was Bill’s home, his father Dod was the last gamekeeper for the Creedy Estate and Bill has been a church warden and clerk to Sandford Parish Council.

They were married at Lapford Parish Church on September 30, 1950. Sheila had been born at Chenson where the family lived in The Old Toll House, she went to school at Lapford in the old stone building on Barris. Her father was a driver with Ambrosia whose factory was beside the railway station there.

Right at the end of the last World War Bill was called up for National Service, joining the RAF and posted to India for a year. When he came out in 1948 he returned to work for the solicitors Sparkes and Co. in the offices on Crediton High Street where Charlesworth Nicholl is now, staying there for a total of 50 years.

After leaving school Sheila first took a job with a Lapford family, then as cashier with Bristow’s of Devon in the sweet factory where Crediton Dairy is now on Church Lane, then the Milco factory.

Later she worked at Crediton Library, then in the former Liberal Club, now Wetherspoons General Sir Redvers Buller pub.

Sheila remembers that they rented their first home at 24 The Square, Sandford for five shillings (25p) a week and were earning £8 a week between them. They later moved to Crofts and 50 years ago to their present home in Greenway, Crediton.

They met at Copplestone at an event shared by the Girls’ Training Corps that Sheila belonged to and the Air Training Corps of which Bill was a member.

Both have prodigious memories and are still sharp with a superb knowledge of the area, its people and events.

Their son Phil has been involved with Sandford Cricket Club for a number of years. They have grandchildren Stacey and Jason and great grandchildren Noah and Lottie and Lily and nine years old William who, Bill says, is “ball mad”.

A family party had been planned for their platinum day but Covid restrictions put a stop to that with just a small lunch instead.