A YORK couple who first found love during a stint of wartime guard duty were celebrating 60 years of marriage today.

Richard Turner, of Dringhouses, met wife Ruby, pictured right, while on sentry duty outside a barracks in Wheldrake during the Second World War.

He was serving with the Royal Engineers building booby trap devices for use during the expected German invasion.

The pair married at St Cuthbert's Church in 1943, when Mr Turner was given a 36-hour leave from his bomb disposal work in London.

Mr Turner said: "I don't think there's any secret to staying married for 60 years, we just get on really well."

The couple, who have two sons and a daughter and five grandsons, will celebrate their diamond wedding at the Ainsty Hotel, in Boroughbridge Road, on Saturday.

A SURPRISE visit from the Evening Press marked another York couple's diamond wedding.

Ken and Betty Illing of Huntington, York, pictured above, were taken by surprise when our photographer arrived to capture their picture to celebrate their happy day.

Ken, 86, said: "It was a very nice surprise, we were very pleased to mark our anniversary in such a lovely way."

They celebrate today, 60 years after tying the knot in York, having lived in the area all their lives.

Ken said: "I met Betty when I was 25, and she was about 19 - she was a friend of my sister, and we just grew to know each other and were soon wed.

"It was wartime, things happened more quickly then, but it has worked out wonderfully anyway."

The couple have worked hard at their marriage, but declare there is no real secret to having a long happily-married life.

Betty, 80, said: "We have always worked hard together, and pulled together. That is what has made us strong."

The couple will celebrate this weekend with family and friends, including their son and daughter, granddaughter and two great grandchildren, at their home in Huntington, York.

DIAMOND couple John and Evelyn Newstead have renewed their wedding vows - after 60 years of joking they were never really married.

The pair tied the knot at Heworth Church in 1943, when the service was conducted by the assistant curate.

They returned to the church last week before their diamond wedding celebrations today, to repeat their commitment in front of a handful of friends.

John, 82, and Evelyn, 80, first met at the Rialto cinema in York.

John said: "We were always joking we were never really married. We said we wanted to make sure the job was done properly this time."

Evelyn's father built them a house in Woodlands Grove, York. She worked at Rowntrees, while John was first in the Army, as a Royal Engineer, then worked at York Carriageworks.

After retirement, John designed and built a bungalow on an adjoining plot of land, where they live now.

John said: "We have a very compatible lifestyle, we speak to each other. What I do she does, and what she does I do."

The couple will celebrate with a family gathering at Melodies, York, where they have been keen ballroom dancers for many years.

They have a son, John, daughter, Jean, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Updated: 08:57 Thursday, April 24, 2003