Englishman Robert Birch’s first trip to Bermuda happened by accident.

In 1973 he was a young soldier in the British Army’s Royal Corps of Signals stationed in Lippstadt, Germany.

“I was supposed to be going on a Royal Air Force plane to a parade in Canada,” the 72-year-old told The Royal Gazette.

The parade was cancelled at the last minute and he and a friend started looking for somewhere else to visit. Someone suggested Bermuda and they thought, why not?

Mr Birch and his friend arrived in Bermuda dressed for November in Canada.

“It was a slightly different climate,” he said wryly.

They stayed for ten days, spending the first couple of nights at the Holiday Inn, then they moved in with friends living on the South Shore.

“We covered most of the island on mopeds,” Mr Birch said.

His memories from that first trip are vivid: warm November seas, sea urchins and a legendary turtle at Devil’s Hole.

He met his wife Susan a month later, back in England. They were out carol singing with their church.

“It was love at first sight,” Mrs Birch, 71, said.

They were married on April 17, 1976 and had two children, Jonathan and Elizabeth.

Early in their marriage they lived in Kent while Mr Birch remained in the forces. He left the army in 1980. They moved to the North West of England where he worked for British Aerospace as an avionic engineer. He later moved into information technology project management while Mrs Birch worked in childcare.

In all that time, Mr Birch never forgot that idyllic trip to Bermuda.

“He talked about how beautiful Bermuda was,” Mrs Birch said. “He would promise to take me, someday.”

Mr Birch talked about the island so much and for so long, that his children started teasing him about it.

“He asked what we should do for our 50th anniversary,” Mrs Birch said.

He suggested a party but Mrs Birch knew what she wanted — a trip to Bermuda.

This month, the Birches spent ten days at the Grotto Bay Resort in Hamilton Parish celebrating half a century together.

Mrs Birch found Bermuda to be even better than her husband described.

“We have had an amazing time,” she said. “It actually outweighs anything that I expected.”

They were amazed by the friendliness of Bermudians.

“Just walking through town, people have said hello to us,” Mrs Birch said. “They helped us when we were in Hamilton.”

The ocean was one of her favourite things about Bermuda.

“At Grotto Bay, you go down to the sea,” she said. “In this little cove there are two lovely, comfortable chairs. The view is amazing.”

She likened it to being in a tropical fish tank.

“You can just walk into the sea, sit down and all these fishes are around you.”

Mrs Birch said the sea was so clear you did not need to go snorkelling.

“I love the colours of the houses,” she said. “Everything has been wonderful.”

Bermuda was both familiar and foreign to Mr Birch.

“There has been a lot of development since 1973,” he said. “The beaches are just the same — glorious.”

The couple met former St George mayor E. Michael Jones at Grotto Bay.

“We didn’t know him,” Mrs Birch said. “He came in and was having afternoon tea. We had just got there. The following day he came in and sat with us, asking what brought us to Bermuda. We told him the tale.”

Mr Jones took his new friends on a tour of the island.

When asked for the secret to a long marriage, Mrs Birch said being in love, caring about each other and listening to each other was a big part of it.

“It is about actually wanting things to work,” Mr Birch said. “You have to be committed to the relationship.”

They have weathered their share of difficulties.

“There have been ups and downs, like there are in everybody’s life,” Mrs Birch said. “The traumas have pulled us more together rather than split us up. We have always supported each other.”

They live in Longridge, a small town in Lancashire, close to their children and six grandchildren.

The couple were talking about returning to Bermuda, before they had even left the island.

“It is all beautiful,” Mr Birch said. “We are glad we have come. Whether we come back again, who knows?”

Mrs Birch was slightly bemused it took them so long to get here.

“I have a huge family in America,” she said. “We have been to visit them so many times, and never really realised how close Bermuda is. They are from Georgia, so we fly into Atlanta.”

Mr Birch said the trip was really special.

“It is something we have waited all these years to do,” he said.