Couple, 97, fall in love after moving in together just before lockdown
A PAIR of lovebirds have hit it off in lockdown after taking the plunge and moving in together – aged 97.
War heroes Robert Walsh and Lilian Grundy couldn’t bear the thought of being without one another so decided to hole up at Lilian’s days before Boris Johnson banned visits.
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Robert, who was a rear gunner in RAF U-Boat raids in the war, met Lilian, who helped build Lancaster bombers, at a Remembrance Day service last November.
They got on immediately and were meeting up three times a week when the pandemic hit – so decided they would take things to the next level.
Lilian, who lost her husband George 20 years ago, said: “We are very fond of each other. We have got the same sense of humour.
“He plays the ukulele and we sing songs from the war. We don’t drink a lot and we don’t swear so we are alright. We’re both 97 but we are all there.”
The traditional churchgoers sleep in separate bedrooms with Robert taking the spare room at Lilian’s in Prestwich, Gtr Manchester. They only moved in after getting the approval of their families.
But after a month together Robert, whose wife Vera died in 2010, said: “I have completely fallen for her.
“For us there has been a good side to this dreadful virus, getting to be together.”
Author Gary Bridson-Daley knew Lilian from interviewing her for his book, A Debt of Gratitude To The Last Heroes, and Robert from chats for future material.
He arranged for them to sit next to each other at the Remembrance Day event in Manchester Airport’s Concorde hangar last November.
Robert, who survived being shotdown by the Luftwaffe, said: “Gary invited me to the Concorde and I had said I wasn’t up for it – I’m very glad I changed my mind.
“We sat next to each other and got on and for some reason we swapped phone numbers. I telephoned her after the evening and we agreed to meet up.
“Since then we were meeting three times a week. When they were about to announce the lockdown we decided to move in as we were quite friendly.
“We are very happy together – we’re not bored at all. We make our own meals, we sit out in the garden and we never argue.
“The virus has been a bad thing in some ways but for us it’s been good. The more I see Lilian the more I like her. It sort of grows.”
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Lilian made parts for Lancaster Bombers during the war while her sweetheart partner George was shot by a sniper at Dunkirk and taken prisoner.
She waited five years for him to be freed when they got married and lived together until George passed away in 1995.
Robert was a Rear Gunner on the B24 Liberator on U-Boat hunting missions in the Mediterranean even surviving a crash landing when he was shot down by the Luftwaffe.
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