Rita Harvey said it was love at first sight when she met Ken on the train as she travelled home to Twickenham from VE Day celebrations in London on 8 May, 1945.
The couple married in East Molesey in 1951, and the 97-year-old now lives at Royal Star & Garter in Surbiton. The charity provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, as well as services reaching out into the community.
Rita said: “I wanted to go up to London to join in the VE Day celebrations, but I wanted some company so I asked a very good friend if she wanted to join me. I wanted to see what was happening in London.”
She continued: “We were drinking champagne and dancing in central London, and we had a wonderful day. Later we went to back to Waterloo to get the train home, and the carriages were packed. Then, this lovely young man offered me his seat. That lovely young man was Ken, and it was love at first sight. We hit it off and he asked if we could exchange addresses and stay in touch. It was the start of a wonderful relationship and we were devoted to each other.”
