A ROMANCE that began over six decades ago in wartime Scotland, and blossomed over the past year, has led to marriage for a pair of octogenarians.

After being widowed five years ago, 86-year-old Robert Ralston’s thoughts turned increasingly towards his sweetheart from 62 years before and, after a tireless quest to find her, he tracked Elizabeth MacDougall to Pitlochry.

Shortly after rekindling their romance the couple tied the knot on Friday at Westlands Hotel.

Robert told The Courier, “We were fairly close friends in the later part of the war—I was a marine and she was a land girl but I only saw her on embarkation leaves when I was about to sail somewhere.

“We kept in touch but I was abroad for a year and when I left the forces we went in different ways.”

Robert went on to live and work in New Zealand for 30 years before returning to his hometown, Balfron in Stirlingshire. Meanwhile, Elizabeth settled in the south of England. Both married and Robert has two daughters.

After his wife’s death, Robert was stunned to learn Elizabeth lived in Pitlochry.

He said, “I got a number in Pitlochry a year past Thursday and we found there was still something left that had been started in earlier times.

“It is very enjoyable being together again—it just took 62 years apart to get here.”