Peter and Lillian Kirby are partners in every sense of the word.

The couple who will celebrate 50 years of marriage tomorrow make a great team in the home and on the bowls field.

Members of the Shrivenham Bowls Club, the couple have played together for 25 years.

Peter, 70, says sharing a hobby with his 66-year-old wife has helped to keep their marriage strong.

"It's nice to play together but even if we're in different teams I can still see her," he said.

He claims they are still as much in love as they were when they first met in January 1950 at Victoria Station, London.

Lillian met her then soldier boyfriend at the cafe, but he arrived with a friend Peter.

The couple hit it off immediately and decided that day Lillian would break up with her boyfriend to see more of Peter.

"We just clicked, I can't explain it," said Lillian.

Peter agrees though his friend was none too pleased.

"They hadn't been dating long so it wasn't too bad," explains Peter. "She just fancied me more than she fancied him."

The couple married in October of that year in front of a small group of family and friends at Battersea Register Office.

Before the end of the year Rosemarie was born followed by Carol in 1952 and Anthony in 1959.

It was during a visit to Lillian's brother Monty Banks that the couple decided to move to Swindon in 1960.

"It was so quiet, peaceful and really green. It seemed the ideal place for our family," said Peter.

Peter and Lillian now own the house they rented in Shaftsbury Avenue.

"It doesn't feel like 50 years to us because we both feel so young," said Lillian.