CHILDHOOD sweethearts who met while at school will celebrate their golden wedding in style.

Reg and Janet Hill met when they were 15 years old at the former Samuel Southall School, now Bishop Perowne.

They have lived in the same house in Riverview Close, St John's, Worces-ter, for the past 30 years. Today, they will celebrate their 50 years together on a luxury cruise.

But their romance was not all plain sailing, as it had to be put on hold for nine years when Mr Hill joined the Marines in 1953 at the age of 17.

He travelled the world with the service, but with five years still left to serve, he proposed to his wife-to-be on Christmas Eve.

Mr Hill said: "I just said to her, Well, I have five years left to do in the Marines and will you wait for me?' "Well, she had always been waiting for me. Even at school when I had detention she waited outside for me. We were childhood sweethearts and we went everywhere together, apart from when I was in the Marines."

They finally tied the knot in their mid 20s at St Mary's Church, Arbor-etum, Worcester, where Mrs Hill had been christened and her parents and sister also got married.

Their best man was friend George Burrows, who was also in the Marines.

Mrs Hill said: "They both wore their uniforms and looked ever so smart.

"But the church we married in is now luxury apartments. We went to look at them when they were finished and it was quite strange."

After leaving the Marines Mr Hill, who is aged 71, worked at a motor company in Brickfields, Worces-ter, before moving on to work at Worcester Por-celain for 30 years.

Mrs Hill, now aged 72, worked for 35 years as an assistant at the department store Russell and Dorrell.

The couple will celebrate the occasion on a two-week cruise, which docks at Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Elba, Pisa and Rome.

Mr Hill said: "We should have a fantastic time. We decided to spend all our money on the cruise and not let Gordon Brown get his hands on it. It will be very good."

The couple have two children, Jane and Chris-topher. Mrs Hill said the secret to a good marriage was a bit of give and take."Our motto has always been that we will never go to bed in a bad mood with each other," she said.