We've been married for 50 years '“ with a little help from Portsmouth's Royal Navy

Those were the words of Derek Faulds, of Lee-on-the-Solent, who celebrated his golden wedding anniversary with his wife Joyce on December 21.

Originally from Manchester, Derek moved to Portsmouth when he joined the Royal Navy at 16-years-old.

And meeting Joyce, nee Lightburn, was purely coincidental '“  neither of them knew they started a relationship that would last a lifetime.

'˜We met on a bus,' laughs Derek, '˜I went out with a few mates in Gosport and was on my way back to HMS Collingwood. We just got talking and it went from there.

'˜We were both 17 at the time.'

Soon after they met, the unpredictability of the service life separated the couple as Derek was posted to Singapore for two years with the navy.

'˜Joyce was still in Gosport and we kept in contact through letters and then met up when I got back,' explains Derek.

'˜I asked her to marry me when we were 19-years-old.'

However, their wedding may not have gone to plan but was definitely a day to remember.

'˜We had to bring the wedding forward because Joyce's mother had a heart attack a couple of weeks before and it wasn't looking good,' explains Derek.

But thanks to the kindness of the Royal Navy and Royal Hospital Portsmouth, Joyce and Derek, along with their three bridesmaids and Joyce's father visited Mrs Lightburn before visiting hours.

'˜With the traffic problem, my father-in-law was able to use the Captain of HMS Dolphin's barge to cross from Gosport to Portsmouth,' explains Derek.

This tightly-led naval operation resulted in CPO Derek Faulds and Joyce successfully tying the knot at St Mary's Church, Gosport, on December 21 1968.

After leaving the Royal Navy after 24 years and Joyce retiring as a special needs teacher at St Francis School, Fareham, the couple, both 70, are enjoying spending time with their family.

With four trips to Australia to visit their daughter and spending days with their son and three grandchildren, they are now looking forward to celebrating this great milestone with a trip to Bournemouth, a family meal and a holiday in January.

'˜He's so loyal,' says Joyce.

'˜I have loved her since day one,' says Derek.

'˜I love her personality '“ she is just fantastic.'