JOURNALIST and author WR (Bill) Mitchell and his wife, Freda, celebrate their golden wedding anniversary today.

The couple were married at St Peter's Church, Marton, by Canon AE Chance, and with events taking place over a far-flung area, a Silver Star bus was hired for the day - for £5 excluding tip. They took to the train at Skipton for a honeymoon spent at Oban.

Buses played a major part in their romance. Their first meeting was when they sat with each other on a Pennine bus when each had been working late - Bill as a journalist with The Dalesman magazine at Clapham and Freda (nee Bancroft) on secretarial work at Johnson and Johnson, Gargrave. Their first date was a farmers' dance in Skipton Town Hall.

Freda, an old girl of Skipton Girls' High School, was a farmer's daughter, her home being Skelda, on the Gledstone estate.

During what he described as a Herriot-type courtship, Bill found himself caught up with lambing or haytime. A visit ended promptly at 9pm with the appearance of the last Ribble bus to Skipton.

In 1943 he had begun work as a reporter on the Craven Herald and Pioneer, being paid 12 and sixpence a week. There followed two years in the Royal Navy.

Harry J Scott, founder of The Dalesman, who helped out at the Herald during the war, invited Bill to join him on the magazine (initially for £3 a week). He stayed until his retirement, 40 years later, and for many years single-handedly edited The Dalesman and its companion magazine, Cumbria, which meant he ranged from Solway Firth to the Humber.

Bill's journalistic work in Yorkshire and Cumbria was rewarded in 1996 with the award of the MBE. In the same year, the University of Bradford admitted him to the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters.

Married life for Bill and Freda began with seven years in an old cottage at Austwick, followed by 14 years at Settle and subsequently many years at Giggleswick.

For 10 years Freda worked as receptionist to Dr Pam Douglas in Settle.

Their son, David, an old boy of Giggleswick School is now head of the preparatory school at Rossall in Lancashire. Their daughter, Janet, works at the head office of Skipton Building Society. Bill and Freda have five grandchildren - Matthew, Rachel, Helen, Kathryn and Gillian.

In retirement Bill has published his memories of north-country life and much historical research under the Castleberg imprint.