George and Evelyn are Diamond Couple

George asked Evelyn for a dance and the rest, as they say, is history.

On Thursday November 1 the couple, who live in Lynchgates Close, mark their diamond wedding anniversary and will be celebrating with daughters Christine and Beverley.

George and Evelyn, both 83, also have two sons, Graham and John, who they hope will be joining them for a family party over the weekend.

They have six grandchildren - Chloe, Claudia, Kevin, Amy, Richard and Trevor.

George was born in Croydon and left school at 14 to begin work as a van boy at a cardboard factory, later becoming a van driver. When the war began he joined the Royal Marines and was based in Deal in Kent, serving in Scotland, Australia and the Far East.

Evelyn was also born in Croydon and as a 14 year old began working in a food warehouse. During the war she worked in a munitions factory putting together parts for transmitting sets for tanks.

George was always a keen dancer and even competed in formation dance, concentrating on waltz, quickstep, foxtrot and tango. He was impressed by Evelyn's ability on the dancefloor when they met, but having married at Christchurch in Croydon, they settled down to the serious business of having children and raising their family, while he worked as a bricklayer. They stayed in the area until they moved to Pagham, Bognor, where they lived for 11 years, and they have now been in Bexhill for 11 years.

Their hobbies include gardening and walking, and they both enjoy staying active and busy - the couple enjoyed caravanning in Dorset many times, and also enjoyed regular visits to Normandy.

George thinks their relationship has lasted so well because they do everything together.

"Share and share alike," he said.

"Sharing is the most important thing."

Evelyn added: "You have your ups and down and just get on with it. We had nowhere to run to anyway - we never thought about parting.

"We never went anywhere without each other - we were always together."