A COUPLE who met in an air raid shelter in the early days of the Second World War have celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

John and Josephine Gibson married two years later in the midst of a black out at their local church in Murton, County Durham in 1941.

They got chatting while taking refuge in an air shelter in 1939 after hearing the sirens for the very first time – and have been inseparable ever since.

During their long and happy marriage, the first man has landed on the moon,

Elizabeth II was crowned Queen and Nelson Mandela served a full 27 year prison sentence.

They have also seen in the turn of the century, 36 Olympic games and the invention of television.

In that time, Josephine, 94, and John, 95, have had two sons, four grandaughters, one grandson, four great grandaughters, three great grandsons, and one great-great grandaughter.

They have lived in the same house in Hetton-le-Hole, which belonged to Josephine's parents, all of their married life – which is where they held an intimate celebration for their 75th anniversary.

Josephine said: "The day we met I was at the cinema with some of my friends – I was only 16 at the time.

"Then the sirens started going off and we didn't know what to do because we had never heard them before.

"The cinema staff told us to go down to the air raid shelter in the centre of the town.

"I had never been in one before. It was quite scary.

"Then who should be stood across the room with mucking around with his mates - John.

"We got talking and then started courting – and two years later we were married.

"We married in church on December 20, 1941. It was during the black out - so it was completely pitch black.

"After we were married we were worried that John would have to go away for the war, but since he was a bricklayer he just had to go down to London to help rebuild the city.

"I fell sick so he had to come back quite quickly – but apart from that we have barely been apart.

"It has been like a life sentence in jail," she joked.

After working in London, John returned to Josephine's family home, where they decided to start a family – which now spans five generations.

Josephine, who is mum to Norman, 72, and John, 69, added: "They are all really good and come and visit us often.

"The secret of a long marriage is that you have to just help look after each other and don't let the in-laws interfere to much.

"We have had our ups and downs but we are still here 75 years on."

However Josephine, who hasn't drank in eight years, revealed that John considers whisky as his fountain of youth.

She said: "His nickname is Whisky Jack.

"He must have drank 100 bottles of the stuff since last Christmas.

"If you cut him open then whisky will come out.

"My son's joke that if he gets cremated then they will have to have fire engines on stand-by cause he drinks that much."

Norman added: "I think that it is marvellous that they have been married so

long.

"The whole family are really close because Mam and Dad help us out as much as they can.

"For their anniversary we had a family buffet in the house, it was very cramped with all 20-odd of us there.

"Hopefully they will both have a few years in them left."