Couple die within hours of each other on 76th wedding anniversary

A couple from Coventry died within hours of each other on their 76th wedding anniversary.

Clifford Hartland died on July 29 at the age of 101, and his wife Marjorie, 97, passed away just 14 hours later.

Their only child Christine said her mother had died of a "broken heart", describing their marriage as a "perfect love story".

The 101-year-old died at a rest home, just hours after his wife was discharged from hospital with a broken leg.

“Afterwards, Mum just kept saying, ‘I can’t live without him’," Christine told the Coventry Telegraph.

“She was upset and I told her to think about all the happy times they’d shared in their marriage while she drifted off to sleep."

Majorie Hartland suffered a heart attack and died shortly afterwards.

“She died at 1am, and I like to think that’s exactly what she was doing," Christine added.

After marrying in Cardiff in 1938, the couple endured a traumatic first few years of marriage after Clifford was captured by Japanese soldiers in the Second World War and forced to build the Thailand-Burma railway line.

Marjorie received a letter from her husband's regiment telling her Clifford was missing and presumed dead, but she refused to believe it and would pray every day for his safe return.

Despite being tortured and starved, he was one of four soldiers from his regiment to survive and returned to the UK weighing just five stone.

The family moved to Coventry in 1947, and the ex-soldier worked for Morris Engines until he retired.

The couple's funeral will taken place tomorrow.

“They did every single thing together in life, so it’s only right they have a joint funeral, too.

“It’s a perfect love story. I’m devastated they’re gone but so happy for them - they’ve never really had to live without one another."