Bill and Dorothy Dobson were married on November 14, 1939, and 70 years later are still going strong in the town where they were born, raised and wed.

They met at a social gathering after a football match in Amble and their relationship blossomed.

Dorothy, 94, said: "It doesn't seem like 70 years at all, but when we look back an awful lot has happened.

"The big difference is that we didn't have all that they have nowadays. We were just content with what we had."

Bill, 95, joined the engineering branch of the Royal Navy when he left the Duke's School, Alnwick, and asked Dorothy to write to him, which led to them sharing decades of happiness.

The outbreak of the Second World War made it difficult for the couple to wed.

But Bill managed to get leave from the Royal Navy at short notice and a special licence was arranged for their marriage at St Cuthbert's Church.
Bill went back to sea and spent the whole of the war on submarines.
Dorothy stayed on at the family home in Central Avenue, Amble, and the couple saw each other occasionally when Bill was stationed at Rosyth or Dunoon in Scotland.

In October 1941, their son Brian was born.

When the war ended, Bill joined the Merchant Navy and spent a couple of years travelling around the world.

The family moved to London and lived there until 1955 when they emigrated to Australia.

They lived in Nissen huts in Melbourne with migrants from other European countries.

After 10 months they moved into their own home 15 miles north of Melbourne.

The couple stayed there until 1979 with a few visits back to Amble, which meant a month-long boat voyage each way.

When they retired they moved back to Central Avenue and in 2005 they made the move to Dolphin Court, where they still live.
Although they are both in their 90s and great grandparents, they are not averse to modern technology.

Son Brian and his wife Marion live in Queensland, Australia, and every weekend Bill and Dorothy use a computer webcam to speak to them.
Brian, who came to Amble to help celebrate the anniversary with family and friends, said: "It's an amazing milestone and we are very happy for them and proud of them."