Sam EmanuelThey met after she woke him up singing outside his window because the war was over, and decades later, Jack and Cynthia Warnes have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.Sam Emanuel

They met after she woke him up singing outside his window because the war was over, and sixty years later, Jack and Cynthia Warnes have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

The couple, who live on Morse Road in Norwich, met when they were teenagers on Armistice Day in 1945, while he was lodging at her aunt's house, and they got together after bumping into each other at the cinema shortly afterwards.

Mrs Warnes, 79, said: 'When I first saw him he was very grumpy because we'd woken him up. He didn't look much because he'd just got out of bed.'

Mr Warnes, 83, said: 'I'd had to work two hours longer than normal so I went to bed late, and then I was woken up by girls singing outside my window. I got out of bed to look out and said 'what's this all about at this time in the morning?'

'The girls shouted back 'don't you know, the war is over!'. One of them was speaking to my landlady, so I asked her who the girl was and she said it was her niece.'

They bumped into each other a few weeks later at the cinema, and have been inseparable ever since, having four children, 13 grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Mr Warnes worked on the trains as a shunter, disconnecting carriages, before starting 25 years of employment by Eastern Electricity. His role saw him climbing up 80ft poles with no safety equipment, using contraptions on his legs with a small spike on the inside of each foot.

He fell off once, but fortunately was able to land without seriously injuring himself because of the training he had done in the Air Training Corps as a youngster. Mrs Warnes worked at Sexton Everards before leaving to have children.

Having got married on March 25, 1950, at St Augustine's Church, the couple are still very much in love, and are very close to their large family, who all live in the area.

They put their relationship success down to the fact they spend a lot of time together and do not drink, smoke, go on holiday or go out of the house much.

Are you celebrating your diamond wedding anniversary, or have you reached an even more impressive milestone? Call Sam Emanuel on 01603 772438 or email sam.emanuel@archant.co.uk.