A MAN celebrating his 70th wedding anniversary said it was thanks to the Germans who blew up his ship during the war that he met his wife.

Rob Stoves, 90, was a young seaman when his fleet sweeper, HMS Persian, was extensively damaged by a mine shortly after D-Day and had to go to Port Talbot, in Wales, for repair.

He said: “Little did I know that my wife-to-be lived in a row of houses a stone’s throw from the dry dock and short distance from a bus stop where I first met her and struck up a conversation.”

His wife, Mair, said: “I worked in the local railway office. The first time he came looking for me after that I pretended I did not see him. He was 17 at the time and I was 18.”

But they agreed to meet and romance soon blossomed, before Mr Stoves returned to sea – sailing to the Far East, where he served on the HMS Breckon before returning after the war and proposing to her.

Mrs Stoves said: “He had to get permission to marry me. I was 21 and he was only 20 at that time.

“He was still then legally under the age of legal consent and effectively a minor.

“His parents had to consent and the letter given to the church before they would marry us.”

After the wedding the couple moved to the North-East, where Mr Stoves worked as a bricklayer, before he joined the fire service.

He worked as a firefighter in Swalwell, Felling, Fencehouses, Stanley, Consett, and rose through the ranks to become Durham City station officer. He retired 35 years ago.

Mrs Stoves, 91, worked in the civil service in Chester-le-Street.

The couple of Cleveland Avenue, Chester-le-Street, have three children Colin, Roy (who has passed away) and Janet, as well as six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.