A SURVIVOR of the D-Day landings celebrates his 70th wedding anniversary today (Wednesday, August 25).

Eric and Kathleen Eade married in 1940 when Britain was deep in battle during the Second World War.

Four years later it was touch-and-go for soldiers like Mr Eade as they launched an air assault landing of 24,000 troops into Normandy under the command of generals like Dwight D Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery.

But the 94-year-old lived to tell the tale and embarked on a long and successful marriage lasting seven decades.

Mr Eade, who rose to the rank of Major during his service, said: “We married in the early part of the war but I was up and down the front line like anybody else. We saw a fair bit of action.”

As Mr and Mrs Eade celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary in the aftermath of a recession, they revealed how they lived through the world’s last great financial crisis.

The pair met during the Great Depression in 1933 and know all about tightening your belts for the national good.

Mr Eade worked as an estate agent and went back to his job after the war, before going on to work at the Government’s valuation office and later a local authority.

Mrs Eade, 93, worked in a bank and gave birth to their three children.

They now have six grandsons and four great grandchildren, with a fifth on the way.

Daughter Judith Aylott said their anniversary was a “marvellous achievement”.

The couple plan to celebrate with tea and cakes at their home in The Chestnuts, West Street, Godmanchester before being wined and dined by relatives.