Happy 78th Anniversary !

A couple who celebrated their 78th wedding anniversary last week have been named as Britain's longest-married couple. Frank and Anita Milford tied the knot on May 26, 1928 - the year the first £1 note came into circulation, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin and Harry Ramsden opened his first chip shop.

The Milfords are narrowly ahead of the husband and wife previously thought to be Britain's oldest living married couple, Harold and Lucy Allgood, who celebrated 77 years together in January.

Anita, 97, and Frank, 98, now have their eyes on the record for the longest-ever British marriage, set by Percy and Florence Arrowsmith, from Hereford, who were wed for 80 years.

"There's every chance we could break that record," said Mrs Milford.

"These days, marriages don't last long. A lot of people get married with the idea if it doesn't work out there's no worry, but we can't understand that."

Her husband, a retired dock worker, added: "We don't always see eye to eye and we do have a small argument every day. But that comes and goes. We are always here for each other."

Frank and Anita met in 1926 at a YMCA dance in the St Budeaux area of their hometown of Plymouth and they married two years later at Torpoint Register Office.

Mrs Milford said: "It was lovely day, but it was a quiet affair because we didn't have much money."

After they married, the couple moved to a bungalow in St Budeaux. They remained in Plymouth throughout the war but their two children, Marie and Frank, were evacuated.

The couple, who have five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, moved last year to the Warwick Park Nursing Home in Honicknowle, Plymouth, and still enjoy a range of hobbies including gardening, snooker and darts.

Mrs Milford said: "We still go down to the social club to see our friends. I like to play darts, but Frank had to give up - his eyesight isn't so good."

Elaine Clarke, 54, senior care assistant at the nursing home, said: "They are always by each other's side. When Mrs Milford was ill recently, she was in bed for ten days and her husband didn't leave her side once. They are still very much in love. I doubt we'll see anything like it again for a very long time."

The UK record for the longest-ever marriage was set by Mr and Mrs Arrowsmith - who celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on June 1 last year. Mr Arrowsmith died two weeks later.

IN 1928, King George V was on the throne and Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister. A pint of beer cost 2p and legendary Everton striker Dixie Dean set a record by scoring 60 league goals in one season. It was the year that the Equal Franchise Act was passed, allowing all women over 21 to vote, giving them the vote on the same terms as men. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic as a passenger. In the U.S., the first television sets went on sale for $75, bubble gum was a new craze and the quartz crystal clock was invented. Bob Monkhouse, Shirley Temple, Grace Kelly, Che Guevara and Idi Amin were born in 1928, and author Thomas Hardy died.