A COUPLE who met in the queue for the pictures have never looked back since as they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary yesterday.

Harold and Olive Walker, of Shildon, were just 16 when they set eyes on each other at their local cinema in 1941.

The teenagers courted for five years before tying the knot at St John’s Church, in Shildon, on March 29, 1947.

Mr Walker, 91, joked: “Our wedding was very nice but before we got married Olive said ‘I will not obey you’ and she’s kept it’.”

The couple went on to have three daughters, Ann, Margaret and Beverley and now have eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Mr Walker, who served in the army, later took over his father’s coal merchants business and Mrs Walker, 92, left her job to do the business’ accounts.

Mr Walker described his marriage as “a happy one” and said: “It’s just gone quick. We’ve never had a lot of worries and the family is good.”

The couple, who were married in the same year as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, also received their congratulatory card from Her Majesty.

The family celebrated with a meal last night but will also be enjoying a “making memories party” when all 19 of them embark on a Caribbean Cruise to mark the occasion.