Brian Fleming clearly thought a certain young lady was quite a catch when he spotted her outside a Huddersfield fish shop.
He bought her chips to share and went on to marry her.
And he and Burnice are now celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.
The couple – both from Huddersfield – were married at St Barnabas’ Church in Crosland Moor on May 14, 1955.
Kind-hearted neighbours of Mrs Fleming’s in Bronte Close defied the horrors of post-war rationing and donated the ingredients for a wedding cake – made by the bride’s mother.
“And it was absolutely delicious,” said Mrs Fleming, who is 77. “More so as the ingredients had been so generously given.”
Brian and Burnice met by a fish and chip shop in Park Road. “I went to the guides at the church school and he would be hanging around outside with his mates,” said Mrs Fleming.
“Then he would come and meet me. He was the last of the big spenders, buying six penn’orth of chips for us to share!”
During his working life, Mr Fleming, who is 80, was an engineer with local firms such as Earnshaws, Hopkinsons and David Brown. Mrs Fleming worked in shops, including Marks and Spencer and Woolworths.
Her hobbies have included being a member of St Barnabas Mothers’ Union while Mr Fleming has recently retired after 37 years as a second tenor with Colne Valley Male Voice Choir.
The couple, who live in Crosland Moor, have two sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren with another on the way.
Family members from as far afield as Canada attended a celebration party at the Rose and Crown at Cop Hill.
Even as they chalk up the diamond anniversary, Mrs Fleming said: “Marriage is hard work. It’s not for the faint-hearted. You have to keep a sense of humour and just love one another.”
