Sam EmanuelThey met at a dance when he was in his RAF uniform, and more than 60 years after he joined her for the last waltz of the evening, Ernest and Ruby Adderson are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.Sam Emanuel

They met at a dance when he was in his RAF uniform, and more than 60 years after he joined her for the last waltz of the evening, Ernest and Ruby Adderson are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.

The couple, who live on Watkin Road, Tuckswood, met when they were teenagers at St Crispin's Hall in Norwich, and after their first meeting, Mr Adderson would hitchhike back to the city from RAF Honingham, where he was a chef, to see her once a month.

Mrs Adderson, 78, laughed: 'He used to come in half-cut in time for the last waltz and then take me home. I had to pay for myself to get in. I didn't see as much of him as I wanted to because he had to be there for when the planes landed to cook the food.'

He added: 'I was in my RAF uniform and I don't think she could resist.'

The happy couple got married at City Hall, Norwich, on May 20, 1950, and now have four children - David, Jennifer, Lynn and Tina - as well as 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, with two more on the way.

Mrs Adderson worked at the Sexton Everard shoe factory and then at a clothing factory before becoming a full-time mother. Mr Adderson became a painter and decorator for Anglia Taverns and travelled all over Norfolk and Suffolk for his work.

They had a motorbike and side car, which they would use to take both themselves and three of their children around in.

They both still have an active life, and although 81-year-old Mr Adderson has been taken to hospital several times because of accidents and illnesses that have come on while gardening, he still enjoys being outside and growing vegetables.

The couple are also involved with the Harford Community Centre, where Mr Adderson was a licensee until earlier this year.

They are still very much in love after more than six decades together. Mr Adderson said: 'We've been together all this time, and we wouldn't have been if we didn't get on. We're the same as we were. You've got to have love haven't you?

'If there was anything wrong with her and she was going to die, I would give my life for her, no question.'

Mr and Mrs Adderson had a special party in Bowthorpe on Saturday to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary with their large family.

Is someone in your family celebrating a diamond wedding? Email Local Life editor Sam Emanuel at sam.emanuel@archant.co.uk