Diamond couple Bill and Dorothy survived the Boxing Day tsunami to complete 60 years of marriage
A couple celebrating their diamond wedding have been reflecting on how lucky they are to have survived to see 60 years of marriage.
For 20 years ago Bill (80) and Dorothy Murdoch (78) were basking in the sunshine on Langkawi Island off Malaysia when the terrible Boxing Day tsunami struck and they were both swept into a mangrove swamp.
They were in Malaysia as part of their ruby wedding celebrations, marking 40 years of marriage.
Despite being unrecognisable by being covered in black slime they were pulled to safety by son Stuart and his then wife Clare and driven to hospital in a mini-bus.
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Dorothy said: “We got swept out but were luckily swept back into the swamp. We suffered back and leg injuries and I was pretty ill from bites and from swallowing some of the swamp water and was in hospital for 11 days.
“By good luck we were spotted and rescued by Stuart and Clare who had joined us on the island. It was a bit of a nightmare time.”
Bill and Dorothy, nee Carnegie, both from a farming background, were married at St Moluags, Tarland, Aberdeen-shire on November 7, 1964, after hitting it off at a Saturday night dance in Dinnet Hall.
Bill was the nephew of two Scottish soldiers, Geordie and Charlie Michie of Kirkton of Tough, who during World War II were POWs of the Japanese on the brutally infamous Burma railway, and when he became 22, he joined their old regiment the Gordon Highlanders.
This led the couple to live in various places worldwide, including twice in Inverness, in England, Germany and Singapore.
Their children Stuart (now 57) and Steven (56) were among the first year intake of pupils to the new Muirtown Primary in Inverness.
Bill said: “I also did several tours to Northern Ireland which were pretty arduous at times, being on duty 90 hours a week.”
Bill left the the Army after 22 years’ service, and the couple then lived in London for several years while Bill worked for the BBC as a location services manager and Dorothy ran her own image consultancy, training academy and shop.
In 2010, the couple retired to Cragganmore near Grantown where son Stuart has Murdoch Sculpture, a successful wood and stone sculpting business, and where Bill has become Stuart’s right-hand man and Dorothy still occasionally utilises her career skills on charity ventures.
Work by Murdoch Sculpture includes a Newtonmore village art installation, a Loch Ness monster for the Commonwealth Games, and a Gordon Highlanders memorial in the National Arboretum.
With friends and family, Bill and Dorothy recently celebrated their 60-year marriage at Douneside House on Deeside where Bill’s father worked as farmer and gardener.
On the actual anniversary date, November 7, the Murdochs will be travelling by train to London where son Steven lives, and where Bill will join other forces veterans on the march to the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
Bill said: “I think I will make this my last marchpast as I’ve been on a lot of them since leaving the Army.”
The couple readily agree that leading varied and interesting lives together is very much part of the recipe for a long and happy marriage.
Dorothy added: “We enjoy doing things together and we always try and make holidays special and interesting. We both keep active with Bill helping Stuart, and I still help women to look good both inside and out. I believe that knowledge is for sharing.”
