A COUPLE who were bombed during their wedding ceremony in 1940 are about to celebrate their 70th anniversary.

Harold and May Glover, of Ryfields Village, will enjoy their wedding anniversary on Tuesday, 70 years after tying the knot at St Elphin’s Church in Howley during the Second World War. Their big day was nearly cancelled when an attack by enemy planes saw shrapnel rain down on the church roof.

Ninety-one-year-old Harold said: “They were going on all over the place at that time.

“I don’t know if it was a severe raid, but it was loud, I can tell you that.”

May, aged 93, said: “They had to stop the ceremony because of shrapnel hitting the roof.

“Harold nearly got away with it, but we managed to carry on eventually, later that day.”

Soldier Harold then fought for the rest of the war, leaving a worried May behind in Warrington, but the former Crosfields worker remembers returning home fondly.

“Getting back to my family was a feeling you can’t really explain. It was just so lovely, out of this world,” he said.

Harold and May, who have three children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren, then spent time living in Buckinghamshire before retiring to Tenerife in 1983.

After 14 years of living in the sun a kidney transplant for grandaughter Susan brought the Glovers back to England in 1997 to support their family.

Following a 50-year break, a return to Warrington beckoned, but the husband and wife found their home town to be a completely different place.

“Factories were closing down or being destroyed,” said Harold, who first asked a 19-year-old May to dance at the Parr Hall in 1938.

“It was very serious to me, but on the whole things have changed for the better,” he added.

Nearly 70 years on though, Harold and May’s marriage has not changed.

They will celebrate their anniversary with family at daughter Pauline’s house in Blackpool. Harold added: “We love each other and have always talked things over.

“No-one’s ever deserted the ship, even though there’s been ups and downs.

“We’re just lucky there’s been more ups than anything else.”