PLATINUM COUPLE: Ethel and Bernard Gilbert of Ramsey, who are both 90-years-old, toasted 70 years of marriage with friends and family at Ramsey Cricket Club on Saturday.

Mr Gilbert, known among friends as Bunny, was in the army and went AWOL (absent without leave) in order to marry his blushing bride on January 8, 1941, at Beckingham Church in Lincolnshire.

He continued to serve throughout the war and was present during the surrender of German troops at the end of World War II as part of British Field Marshall Montgomery’s personal bodyguard. Following the war, Mr Gilbert turned to labouring and then turkey farming. He moved to Huntingdon after securing a job at a farm.

Mrs Gilbert worked for many years serving tea and sandwiches at RAF Wyton. The couple have two sons, Gordon and Glen, who were also present on Saturday.

Inset, Ethel and Bernard Gilbert as pictured on their wedding day. The couple celebrated 70 years together on Saturday.