Ref. 30813-07ON June 6, 1944 Ralph Barber thought he would be busy preparing to walk down the aisle.

Instead he found himself running down a ship's gangway, helping troops prepare for the biggest invasion in military history.

The happy couple, who celebrate their diamond anniversary on June 22, had meticulously planned their big day for June 10.

But allied commanders had different things in store for Mr Barber and thousands of other young men like him.

The fresh-faced sailor, who served his war as a cook in the Merchant Navy, could do little but get on with the task in hand when his orders came though.

"All I was thinking about was getting home to Iris to get married," said Mr Barber, 80, who transferred to the RAF at the end of the war.

His wife, who is a year his senior, vividly remembers the moment her mother broke the news.

She said: "I was fast asleep after having worked a night shift at Rolls Royce.

"My mother came in to the bed-room and told me that it had started I knew instantly that my wedding would have to be cancelled."

The pair, who now live in Elling-don Road, Wroughton, eventually managed to wed more than two weeks after the first troops landed on the Normandy beaches.

But even then, the drama was far from over. Mr Barber was given just a few days' leave to make the trip back home. He then had to dash back to Caen in northern France, where he had been stationed.

"It must have been the world's quickest wedding," laughed Mrs Barber.

"By 9 o'clock the following morning he was back on the train and on his way to London."

Despite the complications, they say it was a wedding to remember.

"It was a lovely day," she said. "Everybody helped us get organised. My mother was up at the crack of dawn baking. My father even borrowed a pram and used it to carry beer for the reception."

The couple first met through a friend two years earlier at a dance.

Mrs Barber said: "That night, walking home, he said that he would marry me but I don't think I believed him."

And with 60 years of marriage now behind them, they're in a good position to issue advice to young couples starting out on their journey.

"You have to take the good with the bad we certainly did."

Now Mr and Mrs Barber, who moved to Swindon in 1963, are pinning their hopes on a more relaxing celebration this time.

Friends will join them for a glass of champagne at their home.

The couple have a son, Brian, who is currently working as an aid worker in the war-torn African state of Liberia.

Kevin SHoesmith