WHEN Arthur and Mary Irwin got married, Mary's mum gave them six months 60 years on, the Highworth couple have just celebrated their Diamond Wedding.

The pair met during summer 1941 in a park in Sunderland. Arthur was a 24 year-old Corporal in the North Staffordshire regiment and Mary was 21.

She said he just started talking to her and it was love at first sight. Knowing that Arthur could be sent off to war at any time, they decided to marry just six months later.

Mary said: "My mother was against it, she didn't like him and only gave us six months."

The newlyweds had a year together before Arthur was sent out to North Africa and had to leave his now pregnant wife. He didn't see his son again until he was four years old. The Irwins, who moved to Swindon in 1960, have three sons, three grand-children and two great-grand-children.

They celebrated their anniversary with a party at home on Sunday and a family Christmas lunch at the Goldfinger pub in Highworth on Sunday.

When asked the secret of a long and happy marriage, Mary said: "You should learn to tolerate each other. We all have faults and a bit of tolerance goes a long way."