Colin was in the Royal Navy and we were introduced by mutual friends. We had such a laugh together that first night we met. We went to the friends house after leaving the pub. Later, he walked me home although he almost walked into every tree as he was a bit tipsy. He saw me to my door and was an utter get lemon and said he wanted to see me again. I said I would like that. We agreed he'd  come up the following  afternoon but I was unsure I would  see him again.  However, the following day I heard a knock on the door and it was Colin, he said he couldn't  remember which door it had been and had knocked on a few others. From that moment, when he was home, we were always together. My mum loved him from the start, although my dog was a bit unsure and growled every time he came near me. We got engaged on my birthday in 1975 and my sister gave us an engagement party. A few days later he went away for 6 months. I didn't know  where he was but we wrote lots of letters to each other. While he was away my sister helped me arrange the wedding for April 1976. He came home on boxing day 1975 and my brother in law drove me down in the early hours of the morning to pick him up from Portsmouth. We were so pleased to see each other. We got married and although we struggled sometimes we had a wonderful marriage. He couldn't  quite make it to our 40th anniversary. I knew when I met him that he would be the man I would marry and I never regretted  a day of our life together,  my only wish is that we had been  together for longer. It's  heartbreaking  to lose someone you love so much.