The odds were in Hilary’s favour right from the beginning.
She says, ‘There were 120 men to eight women in our year – rather a good ratio! One day the ladies were discussing the men we had met. Some had spoken to a nice man from New Zealand. He sounded a bit different, was quite old (26!) and had three degrees already, so I went and sat next to him and introduced myself.’
Apparently something about Hilary caught Trevor’s eye, as he says, ‘Hilary appeared quiet and friendly and I thought “She’s nice”. She was wearing a light green roll-neck wool jumper. It is very clear in my memory still.’
A group of them would go for coffee after weekly Hebrew lectures and their relationship developed naturally.
‘One day Trevor asked me if I would like to go to lunch at LSE. Of course I said “yes” and the rest is history,’ Hilary says.
Friends of the couple threw them a surprise party at Clapham Common in an effort to nudge the relationship along, but Hilary and Trevor turned up already holding hands. ‘One of our friends exclaimed “What a waste of chocolate biscuits!”’ Hilary laughs.
Their friends needn’t have worried, as Trevor says, ‘I think that we had both pretty well assumed that we would end up marrying each other before either of us had put it into words.’
Hilary and Trevor insist they somehow just knew they would end up together, and got engaged and married in 1968. They now have two children.
Their recipe for a happy marriage is to be kind, honest, seek pleasure with each other and, most of all, hang in there! This is wise advice for anyone, and it seems to have served Hilary and Trevor very well.
This is an ongoing series of stories about alumni who met at King's and we're on the hunt for more. Please email forever@kcl.ac.uk to submit yours.