DIAMOND couple Lilian and Arthur Barnes will mark 60 years of marriage today.

The pair from Fyfield Road, Woodford Green, will invite family and friends to toast their happy occasion.

And the couple have plenty of happy memories to remember.

One thing they remember with fondness is that in war time, rations on certain foods and ingredients meant the newlyweds had to have a chocolate cake, instead of the normal wedding cake.

Mrs Barnes said: "My sister had got married just a few weeks before and had a white-iced wedding cake. But when it was our turn, the shop had no ingredients left to make the icing so we had to make do with chocolate cake.

"It upset me at first, but my mum told me I was lucky to have my wedding dress."

They met on the green as teenagers and according to Mrs Barnes, it was not a case of love at first sight.

She said: "I was 15, he was 16 and I just remember him shouting something out to me as my sister Edna and I walked past.

"I remember thinking who does he think he is? But here we are 60 years later, and have not looked back."

The couple did start dating a few weeks later and got engaged. They were married at what was then Woodford Parish Church in the High Road, South Woodford.

The onset of the second world war meant the newly-married couple were immediately separated.

Mr Barnes was posted to Kent and spent his time as a gunner on merchant ships, while Mrs Barnes remained with her family in Carnarvon Road.

During that time she worked in a factory making the inside of steel helmets and waited patiently for her husband to make trips home when he could.

Mr Barnes said: "You were allowed time back home every now then. I managed to get there and back by hitchhiking a ride."

The couple's first child Ian was born in 1944 and was followed by a daughter, Lavinia in 1948.

With the war over, they settled down to family life and now enjoy visits from their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The couple still enjoy getting out and about, playing petanque and shopping with friends.

And the couple's ingredient for a long and happy marriage?

Mr Barnes said: "For most of our married life we've had to work really hard to build a home. We've done this together. We had nothing when we started out and have now built ourselves a comfortable home and it's made us appreciate everything we've got."

Mrs Barnes added: "We've always laughed a lot, still do. We've just got on with making the best out of everything and have been very happy.