'It’s like Heaven on Earth': American couple spend 39 years of summer holidays… in PLYMOUTH
- They met in the city when Bill Donald was billeted there in 1943
Last updated at 4:41 PM on 6th September 2011
It is a rather ordinary English coastal city that hardly looks like the most attractive holiday destination for wealthy tourists from thousands of miles away.
But an American couple who have just visited Plymouth for the 39th year running insist it is like 'heaven on earth'.
Bill and Thelma Donald, who live in bustling Boston, Massachusetts, have spent three weeks in the Devon city every year since 1972.
Lovers' paradise: Americans Bill and Thelma Donald enjoying their beloved Plymouth in 1943 and today
It holds a special place in their hearts because they met there in 1943, when Mr Donald, now 87, visited his future wife's hometown as an 18-year-old in the US Navy.
Mrs Donald, 83, said she dreams about 'beautiful' Plymouth, whose landmarks include a lighthouse and an aquarium.
Now the couple return each year to Plymouth, whose fort and pleasant countryside is more commonly enjoyed as a pleasure outing for coach trips from the South West and nearby Wales.
THE DONALDS' TOP 5 PLYMOUTH ACTIVITIES
- Go swimming at the art deco Tinsdale Lido.
- Stay at the Citadel House hotel on the historic Hoe.
- Visit the leafy Prince Rock and Plymouth's parks.
- Walk along the seafront and sit on the dock.
- Make a trip to the Naval war memorial.
Mrs Donald said: 'My heart is always here. I just love it.
'I dream about it all the time. You have the beautiful countryside in the background and the beautiful sea here.
'It’s like heaven on earth.
'When I left the city was completely destroyed by German bombs, now it’s just beautiful.'
Mrs Donald, who was born in the city's Prince Rock, became friends with Mr Donald over the 14 months he spent there, after she met the young Coxswain playing baseball in one Plymouth’s parks.
They remained in contact after Mr Donald was re-deployed on the US Navy destroyer USS Niblack in the Pacific.
In 1947, when Mrs Donald was 18, she received a telegram from her sweetheart that would change here life.
'We wrote to each other all the time and then one day he said to me in a telegram, "swim on over here I want to marry you",' she said.
In 1947, when Mrs Donald was 18, she received a telegram from her sweetheart that would change here life.
'We wrote to each other all the time and then one day he said to me in a telegram, "swim on over here I want to marry you",' she said.
'Within no time at all, I sailed over to New York on a steamer, which took 10 days.
'Bill was sitting on the dock waiting for me. We married 10 days later on December 16, 1947.'
While the couple focused on family life and their three children for the next 25 years, in the summer of 1972 they made the trip they would repeat for nearly four decades.
'We just love all of this,' added Mr Donald, 87, gesturing at Tinside lido. 'We always come back to the Hoe and Tinside because it brings back so many memories.
'Dream holiday': The lighthouse and lido are two tourist favourites in the Donalds' holiday destination of choice
'Thelma learned to swim at Tinside.
'To us this is the best place in the world. Everyone’s so friendly and helpful, you just can’t fault it.'
At first, the couple stayed with Mrs Donald’s parents in the Prince Rock area. But when her mother and father died, the American pair began staying at Citadel House hotel on the Hoe - where they have spent every visit since.
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Wish we were here: For this couple, Plymouth is the most beautiful place in the world
Norma Simpson, owner of Citadel House, said she sees them as family. 'They're amazing,' she said. 'They have the same suite in the hotel every year and very much have the same sort of routine.
'They go to the open air swimming pool at Tinside every day and Thelma swims several times a day - whatever the weather.
'They're incredible. They're old friends to us - almost like family now.
'We very much look forward to seeing them. All the staff know them. It's wonderful, really.'
Urban sprawl: The Donalds like nothing more than escaping their home in Boston to visit the English seaside
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2034275/Boston-couple-spend-summer-holidays-39-years--PLYMOUTH.html#ixzz1XD4lDiBh
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