 A devoted couple who died one week apart were laid to rest at the church where they married 70 years ago. Hundreds of family and friends attended the funeral of Bert and Mary Barnsley, both 93, who passed away after suffering heart attacks. When the couple tied the knot on Christmas Day, 1943, the vicar refused to ring the bells at Holy Trinity Church in Cradley Heath, West Mids, as they were used to warn of bombing raids. But the wedding bells tolled as the twin coffins arrived by horse-drawn cart. Bert’s cousin Margaret Martin, 76, said: “This is a day of celebration. You don’t get couples like them anymore. “They were all about family. It’s so lovely to think that they are now together for ever.”  Bert, a retired engineer who built casings for bouncing bombs made famous by the Dam-busters Raid during the Second World War, died at 9am on March 18. Just 30 minutes after his death, Mary had a heart attack. She passed away at 9am on March 25. The couple, who had no children, stayed in the same house all their married lives. Niece Elaine Arnold, 65, a retired care assistant, said: “It was like open house at their home. Everyone gravitated around them. "Their death is like losing your parents all over again.” Elaine’s husband Keith, 61, a children’s homes manager, added: “They would hold hands and greet each other with lots of kisses and hugs. “They shared a bed right up until the end. They really couldn’t live without each other.” Mirror
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