A WORCESTER couple who met in a pub after the Second World War are celebrating 60 years of marriage today.

But John Phillips, who had just been demobbed as a wireless operator from the RAF, almost did not meet his wife-to-be Mary. The then 20-year-old woman did not want to leave her home after breaking up with a previous boyfriend.

"I was feeling a bit low but my friends said Come out and have a drink'," she said. "We went into the pub and John was playing darts."

She said she refused to let him buy her a drink at first but eventually gave in. And the then 25-year-old continued to show his commitment to Mary, who was born on Christmas Day, beyond that night.

"He never left me once," she said. "He used to ring me up at work. He used to walk me to work too."

Despite only meeting two months earlier, Mr Phillips decided to propose on October 19, 1946, something Mrs Phillips remembers vividly. "It was 6.30pm," she said. "It was in the entry to his house. He just got out the ring."

The couple continued to move their relationship quickly and were married at St George's Catholic Church, Sansome Place, Worcester, on April 5, 1947.

However, their big day was overshadowed by bad weather and things did not get much better for their honeymoon in Harrogate. The newlyweds missed their connecting train at Leeds and had to endure thick snow when they got to their destination.

But they said that times such as those have helped to make their relationship stronger.

"Working together is the key," said 80-year-old Mrs Phillips.

"It's all about give and take. We're always sharing jobs. There's lots of happy things that have happened and lots of sad things. But we've been very happy and we've enjoyed our life."

Mr Phillips, now aged 85, used to work as secretary to the chief superintendent at Powick Hospital and was captain of the hospital cricket team. As a youngster, he was in the Worcester Cathedral choir. Mrs Phillips worked at the Co-operative store in St Nicholas Street, Wor-cester, before she spent 25 years at the post office in Lowesmoor, Worcester.

The couple, who live in Gheluvet Park, Bar-bourne, Worcester, said they are going to celebrate their diamond wedding with their son David, 57, who is a lecturer at Sheffield University, his wife Julie, and their grandchildren Abi, 28, and Jess, 25. They will also enjoy a meal with friends at the King Charles restaurant in New Street, Worcester.