A COUPLE who met at a social club, and had the last waltz, are celebrating 70 years of marriage.

Dot and Fred Bryant, of Brinkley Crescent, Colchester, will mark the milestone on Tuesday.

The couple meet at a dance in Derby in July, 1944.

Fred, 91, from Colchester, was posted to Derby with the Army, where he worked in the catering section.

He said: “I had finished in the cookhouse and my mates said ‘let’s go out in Derby. I said no, as I’d had a long shift, but they literally dragged me. You might say it was fate.”

The couple’s first dance was a waltz to Who is Taking YouHome Tonight?, the last number of the evening.

Dot, whowas working for the Co-op delivering bread, said: “It was a nice waltz. The song was played at every dance.”

Fred walked Dot, and her parents, home.

The pair married on March 31 the following year in Derby. Dot said: “It was bitterly cold.”

They moved to Colchester in 1957, when Fred left the Army.

He became an insurance agent and went on to work as a salesman travelling the country. Dot got a job at Betts factory, working in the plastic section with Fairy Liquid caps.

The couple went on to have four children – Terry, Yvonne, Ken and Lynne. They now have 13 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and a great-great grandchild on the way.

Dot retired in 1985 and Fred followed four years later.

They are celebrating the anniversary with a meal with their large family.

Dot, 89, said: “I can’t believe it has been so long.”

Fred said: “Where have all the years gone? Time goes so quickly.

“We just work together and get things done.”