ON August 11, 1951, Reg Pike married Margaret Thomas at St Michael and All Angels Church in Letcombe Bassett near Wantage.

Sixty years on, the couple returned to the church for a blessing from the Rev Alan Wadge.

The couple, who have lived in Letcombe Bassett since 1952, celebrated their Diamond Wedding with a family celebration in the village hall where their wedding reception was held.

Mr and Mrs Pike have two sons, Robert, 57, and Richard, 53, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Mr Pike, 89, said: “I’ve got a happy marriage, two good sons and I live in a damn good village.”

The pair met at the old Yew Tree pub and got engaged in 1949.

During the war, Mr Pike fought in India with the Royal Artillery and won the Burma Star. After the war he worked as a carpenter in Wantage then at Harwell science centre until the age of 65.

Mrs Pike, 85, said: “We share what we have got, but don’t live in each other’s pockets. We are donating our gifts to Helen and Douglas House in Oxford because the children need them more than we do.”