NEW Earswick couple Alfred and Isobel Greenwood are today celebrating their Diamond Wedding anniversary.

The couple married in Isobel’s home town of Arbroath on June 3, 1961 after a whirlwind romance.

Alfred had been posted to Scotland while in the Army, and Isobel, 78, recalled: “I met Alf while he was fixing a broken-down car outside a pub in Arbroath. I can’t remember exactly what was said but we arranged to meet a few night later.

“We were both in the Army at the time and two weeks later we were married. The secret to a long and happy marriage is sharing - work, monies, everything.

“I went to Surrey to be demobbed and then joined Alf in Germany. We both loved our time in the Army and our children were born all over the world.”

Alfred, who served in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), was a football referee, taking charge of several York City games over the years and refereed local games well into his 70s. He put his skills to work after leaving the Army and became a mechanic for BT. Isobel worked at ASDA in York.

The couple have four children, Lynda (45), Gary (50), Stewart (56) and Alfie (58) who all live in York. They also have 14 grand-children and 13 great-grand-children, with a 14th on the way.

The couple will celebrate with a family meal this evening, and have organised a bigger party on June 26 at Wigginton Squash Club, restrictions permitting.

It’s not the first time Alf has hit the headlines in The Press. When he was born in York in 1939, and was mixed up with a baby girl when leaving the hospital. The mother of the other baby realised that she was handed a little boy and a rather embarrassing error was averted.