Stuart and Annie Hebden were both delivered at the picturesque Hazlewood Castle near Tadcaster, which was used as an emergency maternity ward from the start of the Second World War 70 years ago until 1953.

And last Wednesday, they joined a garden party reunion for some of the 5,000 babies born in what is now a grand drawing room.

The pair – born eight months apart – knew nothing of the other's unusal birthplace until after a chance meeting in Selby in 1999. They fell in love and were married four years later.

Stuart, 66, said: "We had no idea when we met about the connection we had, it provides another link between us really."

The couple, who now live in York, also both had parents involved in the six-year conflict. Annie's father, pilot officer Frederick Birks, was tragically killed aged just 23 when his Spitfire crashed during a training exercise while Stuart's dad Norman built war aeroplanes.

Annie, 65, said: "It's amazing really, this place means so much to both of us.

"I never knew my dad because I was so young when he died, so to come back here is quite emotional. It's been a fabulous day."