DIAMOND wedding pair George and Dorothy Devey are on the way to matching the achievement of her parents who achieved their 73rd wedding anniversary.

Mr and Mrs Devey, both 81, have lived in Whitley Road, Aldbourne, for four years after moving from Bournemouth to be near their younger son Andy who lives in Aldbourne.

They travelled to the home of their other son, Richard, in Northamptonshire on Saturday for a family celebration with their three grand children and one great grand child.

The pair originally hailed from Coventry where both were born although Mrs Devey went to Salisbury Grammar School, living with an aunt in the city.

They met in 1940 when they were both involved in a review production run by a church fellowship group. Mrs Devey was in the chorus and the man who was to become her husband was assistant stage manager.

Mr Devey recalled: "All of us lads were expected to escort a girl home in those days and that is really how we met when I had to see her home safely."

They were married at St James' Church, in Styvechale, in Coventry on April 26 in 1942.

After war service in North Africa, Italy and Greece, Mr Devey eventually trained as a sheet metal worker and worked at Hurn airport making BA 111 aircraft. The biggest surprise of their anniversary on Saturday was receiving a congratulations card from the Queen.