The Darlington arranged marriage that's run and run

IT may have been swiftly arranged over a pint in a Darlington pub, but Harry and Tasha Singh’s marriage has lasted the course better than most.

Having just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary, the popular couple put their longevity down to mutual respect and a shared passion for running.

While Harry has completed every Great North Run, Tasha has only missed one, and together they have raised thousands of pounds for St Teresa’s Hospice, in the town they have made their home.

“The secret is we respect each other’s point of view,” says Tasha. “No one is ever always right – it’s about give-and-take.”

“Having the same beliefs and interests is also important – and running has been a love we’ve been able to share,” adds Harry.

And yet, Harbhag Singh and Nachhatar Kaur Gill had only seen each other in photographs when they first met at Heathrow Airport at the beginning of 1969.

The marriage had been arranged in the Black Swan pub by Harry’s father and Tasha’s uncle, who had settled in Darlington.

Harry and Tasha at their arranged marriage in 1969 (Image: Harry Singh)

“Arranged marriages were common in our culture back then,” explains Tasha. “It was just a polite greeting between us when I arrived at Heathrow, but it grew from there.”

Harry and Tasha were born a mile apart in neighbouring villages in Punjab. Harry came from Bheromunna, and Tasha – six years younger – grew up in Jandali.

Harry’s father had come to England in 1955 and found work at a railway foundry in Darlington. Harry and his mum followed four years later, sailing through rough seas from Bombay to London Docks.

“It took 17 days on the P&O Line, and I was terribly sea-sick,” recalls the softly-spoken Harry.

Despite speaking little English when he arrived, Harry became an apprentice electrician, initially working in London for £5 and 10 shillings a week, before returning to Darlington to build a life with Tasha.

The marriage took place on April 5, 1969, in a religious ceremony in the front room of her match-making uncle’s house in Clifton Road, with the union also being confirmed at Darlington Register Office.

With Tasha insisting she wanted to live in Darlington, Harry sacrificed the £50 deposit he’d put down on a £3,000 house in London. The couple moved in with his parents in Pensbury Street and went on to have two children, Gurdeep and Kalmeet.

While Harry continued to work as an electrician, including installing the electrics at Darlington’s newly built Dolphin Centre, Tasha worked as a machinist before running an off-licence in Woodland Terrace between 1988 and 2002.

“We might not have always agreed but we compromised, and that’s why the marriage worked,” says Tasha. “Harry is a gentle, kind, thoughtful man, and he never said ‘no’ to me for any good reason. I’m more decisive than him, and it helps that I’m a good cook!”

Over the years, the couple have immersed themselves in the local community. When Tasha arrived in Darlington, there was no Sikh temple in the town, so she had the Granth Sahib – the holy scripture of Sikhism – brought over from India and started holding religious services in a room in Pensbury Street.

As the congregation grew, services moved to a community centre in Haughton before £14,000 was raised to buy an old Methodist church building in Louisa Street in the late seventies and convert it into a temple.

To this day, the temple provides freshly cooked meals for the local community every Sunday afternoon, with everyone welcome, regardless of religion.

Supporting the community through the Louisa Street temple is important to Harry and Tasha, but they are perhaps more widely known through their shared passion for running.

As well as their own running exploits, they are dedicated volunteers at the Darlington parkrun and South Park junior parkrun on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Next weekend, Harry will be volunteering at the Darlington parkrun for the 550th time, having become such a fixture that his regular spot, on the bend near the bandstand, has become known as “Harry’s Corner”.

The couple are also regular supporters of the Race For Life in aid of Cancer Research UK.

“We want to put something back and, by volunteering, it means other people feel the joy I get from running,” says Harry.

Having taken part in all 45 Great North Runs, he'll be 82 when he tackles the famous half-marathon later this year. He’s also clocked up 153 marathons, completed five 12-hour races, and one 24-hour race, covering 117 miles at Birmingham in 1985.

Harry and Tasha completing the Great North Run (Image: Harry Singh)

His personal best for a marathon is 2 hours 55 minutes and 8 seconds, while his best time for a half-marathon is 1 hour 19 minutes and 4 seconds.

“Running helps you to forget your problems. I’m at peace when I run,” he says. “And if running at my age inspires others then that’s a good thing.”

Tasha was inspired to start running because of Harry and she has completed every Great North Run since the second event in 1982. Her other running highlights include completing the Toronto half-marathon twice, and the Hong Kong half-marathon.

“I run to stay fit and feel proud because women of my age in India don’t normally run,” she says.

The couple will again be raising money for St Teresa’s Hospice at this year’s event on September 13.

“It’s an important charity to us because it’s local and it cares for people when they reach the end of their life,” says Harry.

“Darlington has been very good to us, it’s a great place, so we like to support the community,” adds Tasha.

Nicola Myers, Chief Executive of St Teresa’s Hospice, paid tribute to the couple, saying: “They are a real inspiration to all of us at St Teresa’s – a genuinely lovely couple who quietly and consistently choose to support their community and make a meaningful difference to the lives of others.”

Harry and Tasha in South Park (Image: Peter Barron)

Despite their advancing years, Harry and Tasha have no plans to stop running. “It’s been a big part of our lives, so we’ll carry on as long as we can,” insists Harry.

So, with their diamond wedding anniversary just three years away, have they thought about how they’d like to celebrate?

“We’ll do the Great North run together – for St Teresa’s!” smiles Tasha.

Darlington may have been good to Harry and Tasha – but the arranged marriage that turned into a marathon has certainly been good for Darlington.

• To support Harry and Tasha in the Great North Run, please make a donation to St Teresa's Hospice.