'We're twice as rich now': Ten shilling notes for diamond wedding couple Ronald and Mary Nickolay who got engaged at Hull Fair

SHE used to ride on the back of his motorcycle with the wind in her hair and he proposed against the backdrop of Hull Fair.

Now, Ronald and Mary Nickolay, of Sutton, are celebrating 60 years of wedded bliss and were given unusual gifts to mark the occasion.

Among their presents from family were a doormat and two ten shilling notes, which matched items they received when they got married.

Mary, known to friends as Joyce, said: "We only had ten shillings to set up a home and buy everything, which is about 50p nowadays.

"We were also given a coconut door mat for the house as a wedding gift.

"To mark our anniversary, we were given a new one and my eldest son Mark put two ten-shilling notes in our card.

"He said now we'd be twice as rich as when we tied the knot.

"That's the kind of family we have and he managed to get the notes from the internet. I couldn't believe he even found them."

Mary, 78, and Ronald, 84, met on a trip to Southend-on-Sea and say they almost never married.

"Ronald was in the Navy and going with his friends and I was going with my mother, neither of us wanted to, but if we hadn't we would never have met," Mary said.

"I lived in London and Ronald used to take me on his motorbike around Buckingham Palace.

"When I first went on it, my feet were on the floor, but I soon got used to it and he would take it steady.

"He took me to Hull and when we visited his mother he said, 'This is where we will live when we get married' and that was that.

"I can remember it was Hull Fair week and we went on the rides and had a wonderful time."

After Ronald and Mary got married, he took his new wife back to Hull to set up the family home.

Mary admits she "cried all the way there" but would not have changed it for the world.

She said: "I missed my family at first but I loved Ronald and we have lived in Hull ever since.

"After my mother died, I didn't go to London much and it ceased to be my real home.

"But we were a close family and now we have a very close family."

The couple have four children – Jean, Anne, Mark and Kevin.

They also have eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, who attended their diamond wedding celebrations.

Mary said: "We went for a wonderful meal and all but one member of our family turned up, and that was only because of the sickness bug."

Ronald said he knew when he met his love that she was "the one".

He said: "It was obvious to me straight away that she would make a brilliant wife, she's very domesticated.

"We've got used to each other and we've spent a lovely 60 years together, happily married.

"At the end of the day, we just love being in each other's company and get on well."

Mary, who said the couple are still very happy, said: "It's great being married to Ronald. I do think it was fate that brought us together and I wouldn't ever want to be without him."