Michael Stockford gave up the chance to be part of the official RAF contingent at the Queen’s Coronation.

And he also forfeited an invitation to represent the RAF at the funeral of King George VI a year earlier.

He took both decisions for the love of his life – his wife Rita.

Mr Stockford, of Bishop Kirk Place, Oxford, recalls: “In November 1951, I was stationed at RAF Pershore police training school as part of my National Service training. It was just eight months after I had married.

“Parade ground drill was part of our strict and demanding daily schedule – I was the No 1 marker.

“One day, the drill sergeant told me to report to the Adjutant. I went to his office full of fear and trepidation.

“’We’ve had our eye on you for some time’, he told me. ‘We would like you to be part of the RAF escort at the King’s funeral.’ “When I asked ‘whose King?’, he replied: ‘I regret to tell you, it’s ours’. When I replied that I wasn’t aware that he had died, he replied: ‘He hasn’t, but sadly it won’t be long before he has’.

“I was given 24 hours to think about it, but I didn’t need that long.

“It transpired that because of the need for secrecy, I would be confined to camp for the awaited day ‘as and when it happened’.

“The thought of not seeing my new wife for goodness knows how long was too much.

“I said: ‘It is with great regret, sir, I do not feel I can make that commitment.

“In March 1953, history repeated itself.

“I was again summoned to the Adjutant’s office and told I had been selected to represent the station at the forthcoming Queen’s Coronation, again with strict confinement to camp. I again refused to accept.”

They were two decisions Mr Stockford, still happily married, now regrets.

He writes: “Whenever the black and white grainy image appears on television of the RAF escort marching alongside the King’s coffin with reversed arms, and similar shots of the RAF contingent behind the Coronation coach, Rita never fails to say: ‘I can’t believe that you – an out-and-out Royalist – turned down the golden opportunity to take part in those memorable events.

“Looking back, I must confess I more than agree with her!”