After completing her teacher training Chelsea College Yvonne moved to Trowbridge in September 1969 to Teach at Nelson Haden Secondary Modern Girls School as a PE teacher. At that time I was Head of PE at the Nelson Haden Boy’s School. I was divorced in1971.  In 1972 I joined a Young Adult Group at this church which Yvonne was also attending. We were often invited together to Sunday lunch by various members of the church so got to know each other quite well. I also asked Yvonne to help me when I had my 5 year old daughter Emma at the weekend which she did until Emma was taken to NZ. We soon found that we came from very similar backgrounds and I was also a Queens Scout and we gradually grew closer together.  We arranged the first joint schools activity, a week at Plas Pencelli just before the  two schools joined to form Clarendon Comprehensive in July 1973.
I remember at NHBS Fete I asked her to judge the Bonnie Baby contest several times; this caused her concern as she did not want to upset any mothers so we kept it anonymous.
We married on 31st July 1973 and went to the Scilly Isles for a few days before spending a fortnight camping in Glencoe as our honeymoon!  We settled down living at Church Fields, both working at Clarendon. In 1976 our first son Kevin was born and Yvonne left Clarendon; She said that she wanted to be like her mother and be a wife and mother and not go back to work.. In 1978 Kieron was born. She did go back to work part time for a few years in the later 1980’s.
As she was at home a lot I encouraged her to become an Avon rep which she did and continued to do so for the next 40 year until her death; we picked up her last orders from the ladies who had become her dear friends the day before she died.
Whilst teaching Yvonne had after school dance and gymnastic clubs and put on several shows later with my support she started an evening gym class which became very popular and has continued expanding to become West Wiltshire Gymnastic based at the White Horse Business Park.
As Di mentioned she was always involved in the Guide movement which she continued almost as soon as she came to Trowbridge. 47 years on she was still helping run a local unit at Upper Studley. Having been a Division and County Camp Advisor for Wiltshire South. Her Guide name was Squirrel because she loved hazel nuts and would search for them everywhere starting when she was going home from school in Ledbury. She loved to see the squirrels  visit our garden although not keen when they dug up her bulbs.
At home Yvonne loved being a mother and a housewife. She was an excellent cook and always cooked Christmas puddings and cake.
Another of her favourite activities was gardening, I used to do it all until I had back pain when she jumped at the chance to take over and I never got a look in after, except to cut the grass and look after the compost. She grew everything from vegetables, fruit and flowers.  She also learned to tap dance with Jackie Kendall and sang with a guide group in recent years.
She loved nature, trees, flowers birds and the weather; she used to keep records at school in Ledbury and we have had a weather station in our garden for many years. We would try to identify all the birds coming to our feeders whilst having breakfast.
We enjoyed walking together and walked on Dartmoor when she accompanied me Ten Tors Training in the early days. The hardest walk we did was the Lyke Wake Walk 45 miles over the North Yorkshire Moors. We also walked in Scotland, the Canaries and many of the Mediterranean Islands we holidayed on. She always liked visiting my daughter and her family in New Zealand who accepted her