Today’s incredibly inspirational story comes from a couple who have literally fought for love. It’s about two people, Mary & Jake, who met during the 1940s and fell in love despite the pressures of society and family.
They kept their love alive, got married, got shunned by society but didn’t give up. Today, they’re still alive and happily married to tell the tale.
Jake & Mary – Love at First Sight
Jake is from Trinidad & Mary is from Britain. Jake was an Army man; he was stationed in the Burtonwood Base in Britain as part of the American Air Force. At the same time, Mary was being trained as a typist. Both of them were at the same technical college, and Mary’s house was near the Burtonwood Base.
While talking to The Daily Mail, Mary reminisced on how the two met for the first time:
“We were at the same technical college. I was having typing and shorthand lessons and he’d been sent there for training by the Air Force. He was with a group of black friends and they called my friend and me over to talk.”
An Unwelcoming Society
Jake & Mary instantly felt a strong feeling among each other – a feeling of true love. The two started hanging out and seeing each other regularly.
But this is back in the 1940s when tensions were high, and mixed-race couples weren’t so easily accepted by society.
During a picnic with friends, they experienced their first social cruelty. A lady was cycling by and noticed them; she went ahead to tell Mary’s father. Mary speaks about it:
“Two English girls with a group of black men was very shocking — and she reported me to my father, who banned me from seeing him again,”
Mary, however, didn’t let this affect her love for Jake. But after the world restored peace, Jake was called back to Trinidad.
Love Letters
After Jake went back to Trinidad, the two didn’t stop talking. This isn’t when smartphones were a thing; love letters existed. The couple shared a lot of love letters, keeping their love and romance alive – regardless of everything else.
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Getting Married, Despite of Family’s Disapproval
A few years later, Jake went back to the UK and asked the love of his life to marry her! She instantly said yes, but her family had a completely different opinion on her decision. Mary speaks about it:
“He asked me to marry him, quite out of the blue, when I was only 19,”
“When I told my father I was going to marry Jake he said, ‘If you marry that man you will never set foot in this house again.’ He was horrified that I could contemplate marrying a black man,”
Even though Mary’s father showed complete disapproval, she listened to her heart and married Jake.
Walking Hand-in-Hand Through Tough Times
After the couple got married, they faced a lot of backlash from society and their families. Mary continues:
“People would point at us in the street. Then I gave birth to a stillborn son at eight months. It wasn’t related to the stress I was under but it broke my heart, and we never had any more children,”
“But gradually life became easier. I got teaching jobs, ending up as a deputy headteacher. First Jake worked in a factory, then for the Post Office,”
“I used to say to new friends: ‘Look, I have to tell you this before I invite you to my home—my husband is black.”
After toughing it out together, things slowly started getting better for the incredible couple as the world started healing and societies started to change. But Mary’s father never changed his opinion. She said:
“My father died when I was 30 and although we were reconciled by then, he never did approve of Jake,”
71 Years of Marriage, And Still Going Strong
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After 71 years of marriage, the couple still loves each other all the same. They never let anything stop them, and their incredible story teaches how love can truly overcome anything.
Jake speaks about his life with Mary:
“I feel so fortunate to have met and married Mary, but it saddens me that we could not be accepted by society.
Jake & Mary, we are genuinely in love with your struggles and your incredibly-inspirational story! We wish the two of you with every happiness and blessing this life has to offer; keep teaching us how to love!