A MALVERN couple will raise a glass this weekend to the usher working at Malvern Theatres one night in September 1941.

May and Arthur Webster, were waiting for the feature to begin at the back of a packed cinema when the usher, who assumed they were together, told them he had two free seats next to each other.

It was the beginning of romance that led to 60 years of wedded bliss.

Mr Webster, who was serving with the Royal Marines at the time, had been moved to Malvern from the South Coast, as all available room at his previous posting in Plymouth had to be freed up for evacuees from Dunkirk.

That chance meeting led to a further date at what was then the Winter Gardens and then a heart-breaking goodbye, as Mr Webster went off to join battleship crews fighting the Nazis for control of the seas.

Despite Mrs Webster's fears that she would never see her dashing young marine again, they were married in Malvern on January 2, 1943. Their wedding cake had to have chocolate icing because of sugar rationing.

Mr Webster survived the war with nothing more serious than a scalded foot, caused when his cocoa was knocked over by a shell exploding near the ship he was on at the time.

The couple now have two daughters, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and have lived in Ashdown Close for more than 50 years.

A keen clarinettist since the age of 14, Mr Webster still likes to play. He also enjoys topiary and gardening. Mrs Webster likes going to whist drives. Both have been members of Barnards Green Royal British Legion for over 50 years.

Mrs Webster said the secret of a happy marriage was sticking together when times are difficult. "We love one another," she said. "He's my best friend and I hope I'm his."

The pair will celebrate tomorrow (Saturday) at the Abbey Mills restaurant, in Tintern, before a party for family and friends.