'Devoted' care home couple celebrate tying the knot on Armistice Day in WWII

War veteran Dennis Collins, aged 94, proudly wore his medals in bed on Armistice Day as he celebrated his 72nd wedding anniversary with his wife Doris, 92, at their care home.

Doris Collins met Dennis when she was 15-years-old and married him at the age of 21 on 11 November 1944. The couple decided to marry when Dennis discovered he was to be sent overseas with the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

Meanwhile Doris, who now walks with a frame, served as Lance Corporal in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the war. Throughout his absence, Dennis sent love letters to his new wife and the couple's love for each other survived their war-time separation.

The couple’s new home is now Lindsay Hall Nursing Home in Cleethorpes, which opened its doors to residents for the first time last September.

To celebrate the happy couple's wedding anniversary, the care home sent pipers from the North East Lincolnshire Pipe Band into Dennis' room on Armistice Day.

When he heard the pipes, Dennis requested the pipers play ‘Oh Danny Boy’.

Irene Fletcher, activities coordinator at the home said: “Doris and Dennis were so impressed when the pipers all arrived in Dennis’s room. They thought it was wonderful.

“They are both devoted to each other. Dennis’s eyesight is failing and every day Doris reads the paper to him.”

A two-minute silence was also observed at the home to commemorate Armistice Day and those who died in war, resulting in many of the care home's older people opting to stand for the duration of the silence, despite their frailty.

Meanwhile, care homes up and down the country have been commemorating Remembrance Sunday in their own way.

Residents at Hattonlea Care Home in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire paid tribute to Remembrance Day by decorating their war memorial with poppies.

The care home has a unique war memorial statue in its grounds, which was built to pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One.

The bronze statue of a Scottish soldier allows residents to commemorate those who died in war without having to travel far from the care home.

People living at Claremont Care Home in Whitletts, Ayrshire decorated their garden with clay poppies to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Residents and staff at the home, run by Bupa, hand-made and painted clay poppies, which they ‘planted’ in the home's Remembrance garden.

Carol Barr, home manager at Claremont Care Home, said: “Remembrance Day is always a landmark occasion for our residents and we wanted to create an event that allowed our residents to pay tribute to the occasion as actively as possible.

“We are very proud of everyone’s hard work and we will maintain the garden to keep the spirit and memories alive.”