Many students find love during their time at Birmingham. We bring you stories of University relationships that have stood the test of time.
Ian Pratt (LLB Law, 1973) and Sally Pratt (née Midmore) (BA English, 1973)
Ian says: ‘My wife and I met as undergraduates at Birmingham in 1970. We married in 1976 and now live on the Isle of Wight. I worked as a solicitor from 1975 – 2017, finally as senior partner of one of the largest firms on the Isle of Wight, RJR Solicitors. My wife qualified as a librarian and worked in Bedford at what became the University of Bedfordshire. When we moved in 1979 to the Isle of Wight, she had various part time jobs but her main work was a full-time mother with three boys and a girl. We now have six grandsons.’
Bronwyn Thompson (née Francis) (BA French and English Literature, 2020) and Sam Thompson (MEng Nuclear Engineering, 2019)
Bronwyn says: ‘We met when we lived in the same house together in Selly Oak in 2017! We were very passionate members of the Jazz, Funk and Soul Society and went to every jam session at the Indie Lounge in Selly Oak. Lots of our university friends came to our wedding in November this year and celebrated with us. We both loved our time at Birmingham. We now live in Oxfordshire where Sam works as an engineer, and I work in accessibility and neurodiversity support. We look forward to coming back to Birmingham whenever we can, especially as our cousins have chosen to attend Birmingham as well!’
Sareena Sund (MSc Chemistry, 2019; PhD Chemistry, 2024) and Sunil Claire (MSc Physics and Astrophysics, 2010; PhD with Integrated Study, 2016)
Sareena says: My husband and I met while studying at the University of Birmingham. I was completing my PhD in the School of Chemistry, and Sunil was a postdoctoral researcher in the same department. We crossed paths at a charity Christmas bake sale and, this past August, we got married. Currently, we both work at ChromaTwist, a spinout company from the University of Birmingham, located at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park. We also continue to use research facilities at the University of Birmingham as visiting staff. For our pre-wedding photo shoot, we chose the campus as our backdrop.’
David Lihou (BSc Chemical Engineering, 1960; PhD Chemical Engineering, 1963) and Shirley Lihou
David says: ‘I grew up in Trinidad and came to the University on a Shell scholarship. I met Shirley in the lunch queue in the Students’ Union in September 1956. She was working in the Music Department at the time, responsible for concert tickets at the Barber Institute. Our first date was a ball in the Great Hall, after which I walked Shirley home to Moseley and then to my digs in Northfield; a total of at least 10 miles!
We attended many concerts at the Barber together and in 1957 we got engaged. After continuing our courtship at Birmingham for four years, our wedding reception was held in the Students’ Union. The catering manager, Mr Vertigen, made a 3-tier wedding cake and Alan Ayers, the resident band, played dance music. We hold the University close to our hearts. I keep in touch with a group of other chemical engineers I met whilst at Birmingham. I went on to work at the University as a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering and still live close to the University campus though we are moving back to Trinidad later this year.’
Charlotte Kulidžan-Bolton (BA History, 2019) and Adam Bolton (LLB Law, 2020)
From the Vale to a Veil- Charlotte says: ’Adam and I first met in 2015 as flatmates in Shackleton, Flat 8, on the Vale. From the very beginning, we were best friends, never imagining that the University of Birmingham would become the stage for a journey that would transform not only our academic paths but our entire lives. This August, we reached the most beautiful milestone of that journey – our wedding.
It didn’t take long for us to discover we had more in common than just a flat. Both of us were from Surrey, and our family homes were just 20 minutes apart, as if fate had already begun to weave our stories together long before we arrived at Birmingham. Adam graduated with an LLB in Law and is now a solicitor at Gowling WLG, one of Birmingham’s leading law firms. I earned my BA in History and have since returned to the university that shaped so much of our lives, working as the manager of the Active Residences programme.’
Rowena Stone (BA History and Social Science, 2013) and Robert Simmons (MEng Mechanical Engineering, 2015)
Rowena says: ‘My husband and I met in Freshers Week when we were both living in Maple Bank. We have been together for 13 years and got married in August 2024. We now live in Godalming in Surrey with our black labrador Watson. We have such fond memories of Birmingham and try and get back to visit the campus and city once a year.
Simon Dighton (BSc Chemical Engineering, 1985) and Kathleen Dighton (LLB Law, 1985)
Simon says: ‘Kate & I met at the very last party at University, which was leaving it a bit late to say the least. Kate says we met at the pyjama hop in the Guild in our second year but unfortunately the 50p pints put paid to any memories I have of that night. I had finished finals and been walking in the Lake District before returning to Griffin Close via a combination of hitching and coach to discover there was a night out in the offing.
We got talking, Kate slightly apprehensive at first as someone in her flat had referred to me as chicken man but she didn’t know why – whether it was a lack of courage or some strange affliction – but she was reassured as the actual reason was, I was known for cooking roast chicken, a slight rarity for a man in the early 80s. I woke up in the morning with Kate’s number written on my arm, called and we had a couple of dates before graduation day. The following year Kate moved to Chester for law school, so we had a long-distance romance for 12 months before Kate returned to Birmingham and we married 2 years later.’
Robert Bolt (BA Geography, 1957) and Elizabeth Bolt
Robert says: ‘I was a 1954-1957 undergraduate. In those days the majority of undergraduates were men. A popular entertainment was the Saturday Night Hop at the Students’ Union. To overcome the shortage of women, invitations were sent to the nurses at the QE and other Birmingham Hospitals and to local female teacher training colleges. So that was how I met my wife. She was a nurse in United Birmingham Hospitals and we met at a hop. We were married for just over 60 years until she died from Alzheimer’s.’
Clara Carlos (née Lovell)(BA Ancient and Medieval History, 2017) and Kyle Williams
Clara says: ‘We met in 2014, when we first crossed paths at Joe’s Bar during a Battle Re-enactment Society social. We began dating in 2014 and after my graduation we embarked on a whirlwind journey that saw us tackling three major life events simultaneously - starting new jobs, moving house, and planning our wedding. Our mutual passion for history evolved into a business - Glitzy Vintage Jewellery – where we sell one-off pieces made from antique, vintage, and retro costume jewellery from the 1700s to the 1980s. Ten years on, we're delighted to be back on campus trading at the Artisan Market.’
Helen Wilcox (BA English, 1976) and Allan Wilcox (BA English, 1977)
Helen says: ‘My husband and I met at Birmingham in the autumn of 1974. He was a mature student (all of 26!) among the new first years, and I was going into my second year. I was on the welcoming committee for new students, and I was asked to advise him where the practice rooms were as he was a double bass player. Later we met again in the university orchestra (where I played the cello) and by November we were virtually inseparable.
We were married in 1978, after we had both graduated and Allan had gone back to teaching while I was completing my DPhil. Our wedding service was at St Francis Hall - where we had worshipped together as students - and the reception was across the road at University House. We have since lived and worked in Kent, Liverpool, Groningen (The Netherlands) and Bangor (Wales), and we are now settled in Beverley (East Yorkshire). I became a Professor of English Literature and my husband a teacher, jazz bassist and (after his retirement) an Anglican priest. We have two sons, both born in Liverpool, and four grandchildren; they live in the Netherlands where our sons grew up, studied and stayed on.
Last November Allan and I celebrated 50 years of being together - and we owe all of this to the University of Birmingham! We are still in touch with about a dozen fellow students from the mid-1970s, and we're meeting for a pub lunch in Birmingham in the summer to celebrate many of us turning 70 this year. Allan and I also recently joined the 90th birthday celebrations of the Venerable John Duncan, the university’s former Anglican chaplain, who conducted our wedding service in 1978.’