HE was knocked back for being “too scruffy”, but six months later he got his girl and 60 years on they are still going strong.

Terrence Goodall, 82, of Holgate, York, is celebrating his diamond wedding today with his wife Margaret, 86.

Terrence said: “When I first saw her I tried to chat her up but she wasn’t having any of it because she said I was too scruffy.

“The courtship lasted for six months and out of everyone she chose me. I think it was a good choice.”

The couple met in Egypt when Terrence was working as a sergeant in a defence company and Margaret was working as a manager in a clothing store and helping out in a bar.

They married in Egypt in 1953 before returning to York, where they are both originally from, later that year.

Before settling permanently in York to have their two children, Stuart and Jonathan, they ran a hotel in Brighton, before Terrence returned to serve in the army in Sierra Leone for six years. They have been settled in York since he left the army in 1986.

As well as their two sons, the couple also have six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Terrence said: “We will probably celebrate with a glass of wine. She is my companion, my friend and my everything.”