They met at a wedding in London in 1933 and got married five years later.

Now Vera and Wilfred Washbrook celebrated 71 years of happily married life at their retirement home in Westbury-on-Trym.

They met when Wilfred's brother Fred married Vera's friend Edith. Wilfred asked Vera for a dance and they later agreed to go to the cinema together.

Vera and Wilfred, both now aged 96, were married on April 2, 1938 at the Enfield Methodist Chapel in north London. Later that year, Wilfred's job meant that they moved to Bristol.

Wilfred is probably best known in Bristol for the stationery shop he owned in St Paul's, first in Brighton Street and then in Newfoundland Road.

In the St Paul's riots of 1980, his Newfoundland Road shop was burnt and looted. When he heard the news, Wilfred drove there and parked as close as he could. He then ran to the shop, ignored fire brigade advice not to enter, and managed to salvage the accounts books. He then started the task of rebuilding the business from scratch, which he did.

The couple's first home in Bristol was a flat in Cotham and after that they lived in Shipley Road, Westbury; Cranleigh Gardens, Stoke Bishop; and Lampeter Road, Westbury.

They moved to the St Monica Trust retirement village, off Cote Lane, next to Badminton School, last year.

Soon after moving to Bristol, World War II broke out. Wilfred was in a reserved occupation, packing much-needed war supplies, and Vera spent most of the war bringing up the couple's eldest two children. Janet, who now lives in Canada, was born in 1940, and John, who lives in Norfolk, was born in 1942. Their third child Isabel, who lives in Portbury, was born in 1951.

When he was not working for industrial fastenings firm Bostitch, Wilfred was a fire warden and in the Home Guard. He also manned the anti- aircraft, or ack-ack, guns in Eastfield Road.

Vera said that the war years were not too hard on the family, although one day a bomb dropped near their house, causing a tile to fall off the roof and smashing a pane of glass in the front door.

She said: "We just carried on as normal. I tended to just get on with things. I wanted to have children. I didn't want to wait any longer. I wanted a family. I knew what I wanted. I'm very proud of my family."

Vera and Wilfred have seven grandchildren – Kathryn, Holly, Mark, Maria, James, Alyson and Iain and five great grandchildren – Chantelle, Benjamin, Henry, Samuel and Zachary.

When they were younger, the couple enjoyed going to classical music concerts at the Colston Hall, belonging to the Rotary Club and playing bowls. Wilfred played until he was 94 and he is an honorary life member of the Canford Park club in Westbury.

They have travelled extensively in Canada when they visited their daughter Janet and have also visited Corsica, Majorca and Norway, perhaps making up for the fact that they were not able to have a honeymoon.

Vera said: "The secret to our long marriage is give and take. My mother told me when I got married that women do 75 per cent of the giving."

Their daughter Isabel said: "My mum and dad had rough times and good times and they didn't give up in the rough times.

"They have been an inspiration to me, giving so much love. They have been great parents, great-grandparents and great great-grandparents."