Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
George dumped me 72 years ago ... he has a lot of making up to do Reunited childhood sweethearts wed
THESE childhood sweethearts have finally made it down the aisle – 72 years after they broke up.
George Coffin broke Irene Lanning’s heart when he ended their teenage relationship to “spread his wings”.
Irene said, after their wedding: “He has a lot of making up to do. I was devastated when he broke up with me.”
After splitting, George and Irene, both now aged 89, went on to marry and have families, but ended up widowed.
The couple, were reunited last year at a funeral. Six months later, Irene accepted George’s marriage proposal and they wed nine days ago.
Irene wore a white and blue flowery dress, white jacket, pearl earrings and carried a white and blue posy as she walked down the aisle to The Sound of Music wedding processional.
George, a retired production engineer, said: “We are both very happy to have found each other again. I asked her to marry me very quickly. At our age you can’t afford to hang around. It’s lovely to have Irene here with me.”
Irene added: “I always wondered what happened to him. When we met up, the spark was still there. He’s still as handsome as he ever was.
“We get on like a house on fire. His hair might be white now, but he has the same smile and sense of humour I loved. I never thought we’d be married. It’s a fairytale.”
George and Irene, a former secretary, first met aged 14 in 1942, while living 200 yards from each other in Sutton Coldfield, West Mids. Irene wed twice but lost both husbands.
George was married to wife Sylvia for 65 years. They have 12 grandchildren between them.
At the service, in Blackwood Methodist Church, near their Sutton Coldfield home, Rev Stephen Froggatt, said: “This story really shows that love knows no limits.”