A courtship that survived the war (From Stroud News and Journal)

A courtship that survived the war

A LOVE affair kindled by letters from Second World War battlefields reached its 60th anniversary when a Stroud couple celebrated their diamond wedding.

Cashes Green lovebirds John and Lucy Sherwood were together just a few months in 1939 before the war took John away to serve with tank unit the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars.

But despite meeting for just 10 days in the first two years and not seeing each other at all for the next four, the couple's love remained strong thanks to regular letters.

"It was a postal effort," said John. "It was pretty much all correspondence for the last four years. "We even got engaged by post - my mum took some of my money from the Post Office to go and buy the ring at the jewellers in Stroud."

Coming back from the war in September 1945, John and Lucy wasted no time, marrying just 15 days later at St Mary's Church in their home town of Tetbury on September 15.

While John worked as a fitter at the Gloster Aircraft Company and then Redler's, Lucy did various jobs before leaving work to raise their three children Robert, Jean and Linda. They now have seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

"It does not seem like 60 years," said Lucy. "It has all gone by so fast. But we have had a good time." She added: "I do not know why it has lasted so long. We must be very compatible people I suppose. But the most important thing is to be tolerant of each other."

And John said: "We have our arguments but we agreed never to let the day finish on one. So we sort it out that day and start again on the next."