A COUPLE are celebrating their wedding anniversary – 65 years after the groom grabbed a lift back home onboard a Lancaster bomber so they could tie the knot.

Former RAF airman Jack Walmsley and wife Marion, now both 86, met each other when they were aged 13.

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At 17, Jack joined the RAF with a bomb disposal unit in Essex.

He would travel back to see Marion on each occasion that he had rest and relaxation time. At 19, he was posted to Gibraltar, and proposed just before he left.

He took advantage of an opportunity to return home to get married after being offered a lift in the Lancaster bomber by another St Helens airman, Flight Lieutenant Walker.

St Helens Star:

Jack and Marion on their wedding day at St Peter's in Parr

Jack and Marion, from Parr, have four children: Steven, 62, Lynn 57, Lesley 55 and Andrew, 48 as well as 11 grandchildren and five great-grand children.

Daughter Lesley said: “I feel that mum and dad have a great love and respect for one another and the key thing is dad has such a great sense of humour.

“He always tries his best to stay positive and loves to look after my mum and the family.”

To mark their latest big anniversary milestone, the couple enjoyed a family celebration at home with a surprise card from the Queen.