Devoted couple toast 70 years of marriage

Doris, 88, said: “I love him a lot and he loves me a lot. You make the most of it don’t you?

“We just had a good laugh together and I hope it will continue, especially as we are both in the same home. It’s lovely here, everyone is so kind.”

When asked what their secret was, she joked: “We have always agreed. I was a bit bossy but he took it.”

The couple, who met in Clapham Junction, have two sons, Derek 69, and David, 67, four grandsons and seven great grandchildren.

They married in a registry office, which they attended on a tram. “When you think back, it’s funny,” said Doris.

A munitions worker in the Second World War, Doris said she was initially attracted to Charles’ uniform and auburn hair.

Charlie, 90, a former RAF serviceman from Bradford, has suffered with dementia for a number of years. Despite his condition, the couple are inseparable.

Emma Harris, care home manager, said: “Seventy years is absolutely amazing. She is absolutely devoted to Charlie, she always wants to be around him. They have certainly had a very happy marriage.”

David Wood, from Essex, said they were a couple who had not even spent days apart.

Grandson Daniel Woods, 40, of Roman Avenue, Angmering, said: “I think it’s fantastic.

“It’s nice that after all these years they are still together. I have got fond memories of them when I was young.”

Worthing mayor Vic Walker read the congratulatory card from the Queen out loud at the party.

Speaking on the day, Mr Walker said: “Isn’t it wonderful that Charlie and Doris have been married for so many years?

“Behind every good man there is a great woman. This is about you today, Charlie and Doris, you look absolutely amazing. You must have been married at birth.”