Two strangers who took shelter together in a cafe following a downpour in 1947 are about to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary.

Cyril and Winifred Head, 89 and 86, will celebrate the milestone in Brighton on September 24 with their seven children.

Mr Head had just finished a game of darts with his pals in the Battle of Trafalgar in Guilford Road, Brighton, when he first spotted his future wife.

With the rain falling, the cheeky sailor shouted “oi curly” in the direction of Winifred and her two friends as they tried to find shelter in Queen’s Road.

The two groups then went for a cup of tea and something to eat in a nearby cafe and the rest, as they say, is history.

Mrs Head said: “It’s amazing when you think about it. We courted for about two years after that and then we got married. I’m not going to pretend it was all easy, we’ve had ups and downs like everyone else but you have to work through problems.”

After two years of being girlfriend and boyfriend they announced their intention to marry.

However, Mrs Head’s father had other ideas and refused to sign the form which was required in those days to allow someone under 21 to marry.

They eventually married five days after Mrs Head’s 21st birthday on September 19.

Her new husband had spent a few years in the Royal Navy but left shortly after they met to work at Surridge and Dawson newspaper depot in Brighton.

During the war, he was posted to the Pacific where he was helping to prepare to invade the Japanese mainland when the second atom bomb was dropped.

He said: “After, we had to go and rescue the British soldiers at the prisoner of war camps.

“Some of the conditions they were in were awful. Many didn’t make it home.”

The couple had their first child, Ron, in 1950 and went on to have six more children.

Ron, now 64, twins Maurine and Dennis, 63, Clifford, 62, Alan, 60, Keith, 58, and Susan, 53, were brought up by Winifred while Cyril worked all hours.

The pair first moved into a flat in Alexander Villas before moving to Buckingham Road, Manton Road, Highbrook Close and then Park Street, where they now live.

He said: “She’s brilliant. She pretty much brought up the children on her own. We both have a good sense of humour. You have to laugh about things don’t you. It would drive you mad if you didn’t.”

Mrs Head said: “We have had our health problems recently but we don’t like to complain. We support each other and just get on with it.”