Couple who fled to Scotland to marry 60 years ago discovered they had accidentally bought back the motorbike they eloped on when they found their love note in the engine 

  •  Bob and Jean Smith were teenagers when they eloped to Gretna Green, on the Scottish border, in 1956
  •  He was 19 and worked as a head chef and she was a 17-year-old waitress at hotel in Cornwall at the time
  •  Parents refused to give permission because they were so young and they doubted strength of relationship
  •  The Smiths recently celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary and she says they still love each other 

Advertisement

A couple who disobeyed their parents to marry in Scotland 60 years ago have accidentally bought back the motorbike they eloped on - which still had their love note in the engine.

Jean and Bob Smith, who were teenagers living in Cornwall, tied the knot in secret in Gretna Green in 1956 because their parents considered them too young to wed.

They made the two-day 600 mile journey on a 1947 Royal Enfield Flying Flea motorbike.

Bob and Jean Smith with the Royal Enfield Flying Flea which they bought at a vintage rally, unaware it was the SAME bike they eloped on 60 years ago

Bob and Jean Smith with the Royal Enfield Flying Flea which they bought at a vintage rally, unaware it was the SAME bike they eloped on 60 years ago

The Wild One: Bob and Jean Smith on the motorbike in Newquay, Cornwall in 1957. They later had to sell the bike to pay the bills

The Wild One: Bob and Jean Smith on the motorbike in Newquay, Cornwall in 1957. They later had to sell the bike to pay the bills

They had to sell it a few years later to cover bills but when Bob, 79, recently spotted a similar model at a vintage rally he snapped it up for old time's sake.

But he was stunned when, as he repaired the crank shaft, he found inside a forgotten love note.

The Smiths realised it was his bike, which had survived all these years and come back to them like a boomerang.

Jean, 77, said: 'I could not believe it. It had both our names on and the year and place we were married. It said "This bike made our love possible".

'My husband couldn't even remember writing it. He normally writes a note in the crankshaft on all his bikes with his name so he knows which one he has done up - but this one was obviously extra special for us.'

The couple, who still live in Perranporth, say they have disproved their parents' fears that by marrying so early their relationship would not last. They have just celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary.

'We are just as in love as the day we married. I could not do without him,' said Jean.

Bob Smith sent this postcard to his mother in 1956, after she refused to give the couple permission to marry because they were still teenagers

Bob Smith sent this postcard to his mother in 1956, after she refused to give the couple permission to marry because they were still teenagers

They are planning a big family celebration in December with their three children Janet, 58, Connie, 55, and David, 54, as well as ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Up until the 1960s it was almost impossible for a teenage couple to get married in England without their parents' consent. That was why it was popular to elope and sneak across the border to get married in Gretna. 

The bike originally cost £22 but is now valued at £5,000. 

The Smiths with the motorbike
The Royal Enfield Flying Flea, now worth £5,000

Bob and Jean Smith (left) with the Royal Enfield Flying Flea. They bought the bike - now worth £5,000 - at a vintage rally but had no idea it was their old bike until they found the note

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.