Diamond wedding for Bert and Vera

They have seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren already and their family is getting bigger all the time.

Bert is now 87 and Vera is 80, and they both grew up in Dulwich.

Bert was a wireless operator in the RAF during the war and was based mainly in the Middle East although he ended up in the Comoran Islands in the Indian Ocean.

His grandmother lived next to Vera's family so she was there when he came home from abroad.

"I knew this handsome man had just got back from the war," she said, "He was just demobbed."

The couple started seeing each other as Bert began work in a city bank where he stayed for 42 years.

Vera became a full-time mother and brought up their three daughters. Since moving to Bexhill from Streatham in London on their retirement, the couple have been involved in the community.

Bert is a keen gardener at their home in The Barnhams and was until recently a member of Bexhill Bowls club, while Vera was an active member of Catsfield WI, enjoying also keep-fit and drama.