WWII veteran to marry first love after 72 years apart
World War II veteran, Roy Vickerman, 90, is set to marry his first love, Nora Jackson, 89, more than 70 years after he first proposed in 1944.
The couple first met in 1940 at school in Bucknall, Staffordshire. They got engaged in 1944, both aged 18, a week before Roy had to go fight in the D-Day Landings in Normandy. But when Roy returned home to England, he struggled to adjust to civilian life. Shell-shocked and broken, Roy broke off the engagement to Nora.
Both moved on with their lives, going on to marry and have children, and later grandchildren. However, for seven decades Roy regretted losing his childhood sweetheart and set about finding her. He eventually tracked her down after calling into radio show “Late Night Love”. With the help of the station, Roy found Nora, who was incredibly living just a mere two miles away from him.
At their reunion, they both discovered their partners had since passed away and immediately picked up where they left off.
“I knew him straight away, but I never thought I would see him again,” Nora said of their meeting. “It was a shock to see him, because it had been such a long time, but it was lovely. It was just like old times.”
A year on at Roy’s 90th birthday, Roy proposed to Nora for a second time – with the same engagement ring he proposed to her with 72 years ago.
“She knew I was going to propose because it was the original ring but the guests didn’t know,” Roy said. “I didn’t go down on one knee because I wouldn’t get up again, but we had the first dance.”
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