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Wedding
John T. Lister & Ella M. Thrower were married in Deopham Church in October 1949.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Pullinger & Archant
Half Moon Public House
John & Ella Lister ran the Half Moon public house until it closed in 1961.
70th Wedding Anniversary
The following article was published on November 22nd 2019:
A globe-trotting couple have described the secret to their 70-year marriage as “love and lots of holidays”.
John Lister, 100, first set eyes on his future wife, Ella Lister, 91, when he was a teenager when she regularly walked to his family farm in Deopham to buy milk. Those brief encounters led to their first proper date at the long-since-closed Half Moon, a village pub the couple later went on to run.
Mrs Lister said love gradually blossomed and they “grew together” which led to their wedding that took place on November 12, 1949, at Deopham church.
The couple fondly looked back on those post-war days as they celebrated their platinum anniversary with their friends and family, including Mr Lister’s brother Robert, 92, at Thorp House nursing home in Griston, where they have lived since September.
Mr Lister was called to serve in the 72nd Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, and joined the war in Normandy after D-Day. When he returned he worked on his father’s farm.
In the mid-1950s, the couple took over the Half Moon, running the pub successfully for several years until the brewery closed it.
Mr Lister then worked at Norfolk Agricultural Station, an experimental farm in nearby Morley, for more than 25 years.
He is proud to recall that over a two-year period he spent weekends building a bungalow, on The Green, Deopham1, with the help of his brothers and in 1961 they finally moved in.
Mr and Mrs Lister have always had a passion for gardening and Mr Lister is a lifelong Norwich City fan.
He said: “I loved going to lots of games over the years and I still listen to the commentary on Radio Norfolk every Saturday.”
When asked what the key was to their long, happy relationship, Mr Lister said: “Love and lots of holidays together.”
The couple, who never had children, have previously visited Mr Lister’s brother, Ted, 88, in New South Wales, Australia and travelled to the US as well as holidaying in every part of the UK.
Mrs Lister added: “At weekends we also enjoyed driving miles to try different pubs across the region.”
Text: Emily Thompson
Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Pullinger & Archant
Covid
A few weeks after celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary, there was an outbreak of Covid at the nursing home where they lived. This was fatal for Ella.
John became something of a celebrity when his grief became public, and the difficulty he had in living without Ella during the isolation of Covid. He was quoted as saying that living with the isolation of Covid lockdown was worse than the war. As a result of this notoriety he received thousands of gifts and cards from around the world.
John Lister died at the age of 101.
Footnotes
- This bungalow is known as “Shiralee”, NR18 9DH, located on Deopham Green between Halffield Lane and the Morley Road:
Photo: G. Sankey, 6/2025
For more information on this bungalow’s history, see here.
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Credit
With thanks to Amanda Milbourne for drawing my attention to the article on the Listers’ 70th wedding anniversary.
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| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 26/6/25 | Published |
Deopham History 