A COUPLE who honeymooned in Bournemouth 65 years ago have just celebrated their latest wedding anniversary in the town.

Robert Oliver, now 95, asked his new wife Hilda to stick a pin in a map to choose their post-wedding getaway in 1948, and it landed squarely on the seaside resort.

Nine years ago, the couple moved to Bournemouth to be near their children Bob and Marilyn.

The pair met after Mr Oliver’s return from Germany in 1945, where he was held as a prisoner of war for six years while serving for the Queen’s Royal Regiment.

Marilyn said: “Not long after he came back to England, they met at a friend of my mum’s house.

“At this time, he was stationed at Stroughton Barracks in Guildford, and she was living in Byfleet, where they were married.”

Mr Oliver had feared his family were dead while he was imprisoned in Germany.

“London was blown to bits during the war, and my dad thought he’d never see his mum, dad or brothers and sisters again,” said Marilyn.

“The whole time he was away, he was being paid, but was unable to spend it, so he had quite a lot of money at this point.

“He gave his mum half to make sure the family had enough.”

The couple fell in love with Bournemouth on their visit, returning to the area in later years with their children for camping holidays in Ringwood before their move to Wallisdown in 2004.

Marilyn said: “They have spent most of their married lives living in Woking, where my dad worked at Vickers Aviation Ltd in Weybridge.

“My mum also worked there during the war before they even met. She would sew the wings back on the Wellington bombers when they were damaged. One day, she lost her handbag, and couldn’t find it anywhere. Five or six months later, she swears a Wellington came in and her handbag was stitched inside the wing. Her compact mirror hadn’t even been cracked.”

Mrs Oliver celebrated her 90th birthday on the same day as her wedding anniversary, while Mr Oliver turned 95 a week later.