Yvonne Martin may be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu when she moved into Royal Star & Garter in High Wycombe in 2023. 

Because the care home is built on the same spot as the offices the 90-year-old worked at when she was a teenage girl, and where she found love. 

Speaking ahead of Valentine’s Day, and 75 years after she first met Keith, the great grandmother said: “Being at Royal Star & Garter brings back such joyful memories.” 

Yvonne was a 15-year-old filing room clerk working at engineering company Broom & Wade in 1951 when she met Keith, who was 17 at the time. Yvonne reminisced: “He was an engineering draftsman, and I used to walk through the drawing office with all the files.” 

Keith took a liking to Yvonne, and when the company held its Christmas party that year, he asked her for a dance. It appeared Keith was smitten. Yvonne said: “My mother worked for furniture manufacturers Parker Knoll, and they had their Christmas dance the following night. Keith must have heard that I was going, because he gate-crashed the party and asked me to dance again. And from then on, we were together.” 

The couple would spend lunchtimes at a nearby park and eat their sandwiches together. They eventually tied the knot in September 1956. 

Keith went on to serve in the RAF for two years for his National Service, and afterwards the couple started a family. 

He died in 2023, and following a decline in health, Yvonne moved to Royal Star & Garter. The charity provides loving, compassionate care and support to veterans and their families, living with disability or dementia, through its Homes in Solihull, Surbiton, High Wycombe and Worthing. The charity also provides services reaching into the community, including Lunch Clubs, Day Care and a national Telephone Friendship Service. 

‘Brings back such joyful memories’

Yvonne’s family are regular visitors at the Home, and she said: “I miss my husband so much. But being here at Royal Star & Garter, on the very spot where I met my Keith, it makes me very happy. It brings back such joyful memories and I feel a special link to him.” 

Valentine’s Day will be marked across Royal Star & Garter. The Homes have several couples living together, who will enjoy a private lunch with balloons and flowers. Residents and their partners who do not live with them at Royal Star & Garter will also be treated to a romantic meal. 

Other residents will not miss out – they will enjoy tea parties, live music, heart-shaped chocolates and much more. 

Royal Star & Garter in High Wycombe is welcoming new residents. For more information on this, its new services or to work at the Home, go to www.starandgarter.org/hw