‘It will never last’ were the words of Jane Mayes’ parents when she told them of her plans to marry Doug.
But 70 years later the couple are still going strong and despite their ups and downs say they have had a very happy seven decades together.
Speaking on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, the pair, who married in Cambridge in 1946, told of hard times but said they had always worked through them together.
The couple, who live at Mepal, have four children, eight grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren as well as “three extras” from partners children.
Mr Mayes, 91, proposed when he was 21 and Jane just 17 and said: “Jane’s mum said it wouldn’t last.”
He had to borrow a friend’s suit as he was still in the army following the war and the pair tied the knot at the city’s Christ Church on February 2.
“We have had our ups and downs like everybody else but on the whole we have been happy together,” Mr Mayes said.
Mrs Mayes, 87, added: “It hasn’t been a bed of roses, we’ve had hard times but we have got through in the end.”
They met while at a dance in Cambridge - Mr Mayes said he was attracted to her because of her lovely hair.
“We used to go every Saturday night. If you had a shilling to get in and for the cloakroom then it was enough,” Mrs Mayes said.
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