But octogenarians John Murray and Marion Clewes have finally made it up the aisle – seven decades after they first met in 1938.

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The couple, who married at St Barnabas Church in Alwoodley, didn't see each other for more than 50 years after their relationship ended during the Second World War, when John worked as a wireless radio operator in Africa.

When he returned, John found a new bride and Marion, a former midwife, delivered their two sons before emigrating to Canada and marrying her late husband Tom.

But the pair exchanged regular letters – and when John's wife Sarah died after a long illness in April last year, the 85-year-old decided to bite the bullet and fly to Canada to visit his former love, now 83. He returned to Leeds in February after popping the question – and the two finally tied the knot in a small ceremony yesterday, followed by dinner at Casa Mia Grande in Chapel Allerton.

John said: "We certainly didn't rush into anything. It's taken 70 years for us to get round to it.

"When my wife died, I mentioned in one of my letters to Marion that I was thinking of going on a world cruise. She said that if I asked her nicely, she might come with me, and that's how it all got started again.

"She invited me to Canada and I spent four months over there. I really liked it and we discovered that we were still compatible.

"My late wife and I were very happily married but I feel that marrying Marion was inevitable; it was fate.

"I went to Africa, she went to Canada, then we finally did the full circle and came back together again." John, who moved to Leeds in the 1950s, is now planning to emigrate to Canada to live with his new wife.

The Scots-born couple met in Stonehouse, near Hamilton, before John headed to Yorkshire to work in the potato business.

Guests at the wedding included John's son Ronnie, 51, and his wife Jane.

Ronnie said: "We're over the moon. He's a changed man and he looks 10 years younger."