When Joan and Norman Percy Kirkbright were married they had just one week together before they were separated for five years by war.

But when the conflict was over they more than made up for their enforced separation.

The couple, who met in a church choir, have now been married for an impressive 68 years.

And with a firm belief in the importance of laughter, they still enjoy sharing a joke together.

Mrs Kirkbright, 86, pointed out that she had been a child bride' and added: "They all say he deserves a medal. They never say that to me."

She added: "My mother told me when I got married, what you do in the first two years is try to alter them to your way of thinking, and what you cannot alter just accept.

She joked: "I'm still working on him."

The couple, who live in Yeadon, were married at St John's Church, inset picture, where they were both choir members.

Mrs Kirkbright said: "We got married in July and he went away and I never saw him for five whole years."

But she stressed: "Never ever did I think that he would not come back - I never doubted that he would."

Mr Kirkbright, now 92, was posted to the Middle East where he worked in the medical corps, travelling from country to country as part of a bacteriological testing unit.

For a time he worked as an operating assistant when casualties were flooding in from the Western dessert during a major offensive.

When he came out of the forces he considered a civilian career in operating theatres but instead went into teaching.

His career saw him return to Littlemoor - where he himself had been a pupil - as well as to Benton House and then to Benton Park where he was head of maths.

Mrs Kirkbright said he must have taught hundreds, if not thousands, of pupils during his long teaching career - some of them now themselves retired.

"Because he has taught so many around here they do remember him," she said. "And of course you meet people on the bus and they say Hello Sir, it was my birthday yesterday and I was 70 odd'."

She stressed: "He would never say this himself - but you ask anybody and they would all say what a super teacher he was."

The couple, who went on to have a daughter, Sally, son John, and grandchildren Jonathan, Helen and James, have lived in the same house on Barfield Drivefor 62 years.

Mr Kirkbright said: "This house was a shell during the war and they finished it after.

"We ordered it at the beginning of the war and it was going to be £425. After they finished it, it was going to be £1,000 - which was unheard of."

The couple who celebrated their anniversary quietly this week, believe simple things are the key to a long, happy marriage.

"You have got to laugh," Mrs Kirkbright said. "And you have got to care for each other."