The love that bound Clifford and Marjorie Hartland was invincible. It under-pinned the 76 years of their strong and stead fast marriage. It carried them through the dark days of World War II， and when Clifford， a prisoner of the Japanese， was listed as missing， presumed dead， his wifes faith that he was， in fact， still alive sustained her.

It succoured them in sickness;it buoyed them in heaIth. And when death threatened to part them last month， it was love that kept them together. Clifford died， aged 101， at the care home in Coventry. Then Marjorie， 97， slipped away just 14 hours later on their 76th wedding anniversary.

The Happy Couple

Theirs was a life of happy routine， of small， shared pleasures. Clifford had worked as a factory foreman at the Morris car plant in Coventry.

Marjorie was a home-maker， an accomplished cake-baker and talented seamstress. They both danced， and Clifford loved carpentry and would make furniture in his garden shed.

He and Marjorie had met in her native Cardiff in a shirt factory， where Clifford was a cutter and Marjorie a machinist. Theym arried in 1938， but their lives together were abruptly interrupted by the war.

The Precipitate War

Clifford joined the 7th Coast Regiment Royal Artillery and was sent to Singapore， where in 1942 he was one of thousands of British soldiers who surrendered to the Japanese.

The three years he endured as a POW were hellish. He was one of the 60，000 Allied prisoners forced to work on the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway， or Death Railway.

Almost 13， 000 Allied troops perished， labouring in the murderous heat of the swamps to build the railway. From Cliffords regiment， 700 men went out and only four came home.

“It was，”says Christine， their daughter， “down to luck， faith and l firmly believe his love of my mum， and his determination to get home to her， that Dad cheated death so many times.

He was in the last carriage of a train which was blown up crossing a bridge. The explosion killed everyone but the men in Dads carriage， and afterwards he remembered picking his way through dismembered bodies.

Then he was caught smoking banana leaves and a Japanese officer pushed a poisoned bamboo shoot right through his leg as a punishment. The leg seeped poison; the scar was visible all Dads life.”

Cholera swept through the camp in which Clifford was held. Many perished， but he escaped the deadly epidemic.

Tenacious Marjorie

Back in Cardiff， Marjorie sewed parachutes for the troops and waited for the only man shed ever loved. Her hope was tested but never extinguished.

“When Dad went to war， Mum was devastated，”says Christine.

Optimistic and Tough Clifford

Clifford barely spoke about his war. Its secrets the atrocities of forced labour：starvation， torture， disease remained locked in his mind. They emerged in snippets of information， and in the nightmares that plagued him.

“Dad said very little，”says Christine. “When my son， Barry， asked what he did in the war， he smiled and said：‘Me and another bloke built a bridge.”

It was a typically modest response：although Clifford remained， until his death， a stalwart of the Burma Star Association formed by veterans who served in the Far East-he never glorified his war. “She was desperate for him to come home. She wrote to him but they came back marked‘unread. Shed no idea where he was， but she kept writing. She always believed he was alive.”

Yet Marjorie had no reason to sustain hope. On March 4， 1942， the bleak missive had arrived from the Colonel-in-Chief of Cliffords regiment， informing Marjorie that her husband was presumed dead. Marjorie was urged to consider herself a war widow and claim the pension to which she was entitled.

But she did neither. Instead， each day on her way to work at the factory， she stopped at a church and prayed for her husbands safe return.

She continued to write to him， too. “Dearest Cliff， ”read one note dated October 3， 1944， “I am well. Hope you are. Am still working and keeping home going. All my love，  Marge.”Another， dated Christmas Day 1944， reads：“Am home with Mam. We all send our love. Hope you are home soon. God bless you. Love， Marge.”

Although the notes were returned， and Clifford never received them， Marjorie refused to capitulate to despair.

The Hero Came Back

Then， on September 2， 1945， Clifford had the luckiest escape of his life. In the sweltering heat， he had been ordered by his captors to dig his own grave. When he had finished， he stood on its brink， waiting for a firing squad to shoot him.

And then came the news that the Japanese had formally surrendered to the Allies;his life was spared.

Two months later， he retumed home to a heros welcome. His military conduct， reported his Army testimonial， had been“exemplary”. There was jubilation at the little home where Marjorie had waited. “Welcome Home Cliff”read a notice over the front door.

Cliffords ordeal had been merciless， but he neither complained nor boasted of his exploits. And his solid mind remained inviolable to psychological damage.

Spending Their Remaining Days Happily

Clifford and Marjorie lived in the same house in the Coventry suburb of Stoke Heath for 60 years. They loved each other to their last breaths.

At Christines home， when I visit， the bouquets in memory of her beloved parents are still fresh. The scent of lilies and roses hangs in the air. Christines floral tribute to her mum is a vast spray of pink and lilac blooms. Her dads is green and yellow the colours of the Burma Star Association.

And out in her garden， two clematis trees bloom side by side. Christine bought them after her parents died and has called them Clifford and Marjorie. And already the green tendrils of their leaves have begun to entwine.

克里福德·哈特蘭和玛乔丽·哈特兰之间的爱情坚不可摧。这份爱使他们持续了76年的婚姻愈加坚固，这份爱伴随他们走过了二战的黑暗岁月。当时，克里福德沦为日本的战俘，被列为失踪人员，并认定他已死亡，但他的妻子却坚信他仍然活着，而正是这样的信念支撑着她。

这份爱，在他们患病的时候给了他们慰藉;这份爱，在他们健康的时候给了他们支持。当死亡威胁着要把他们分开时，正是这份爱，让他们永不分离。上个月，克里福德死于考文垂的老人护理中心，享年101岁。在他死后仅仅14小时，在他们76年结婚纪念日的那一天，他的妻子，97岁的玛乔丽也悄然离世。

幸福的一对

他们生命里的每一天都是幸福的，充满了小小的、共有的喜悦。克里福德曾是考文垂市莫里斯汽车制造厂的工头。

玛乔丽则是一个家务能手，一个技艺娴熟的蛋糕师傅和能干的女裁缝。他们都跳舞，克里福德喜爱干木匠活，他会在自己花园的棚子里做家具。

他和玛乔丽在玛乔丽的家乡卡迪夫的一家制衣厂相识，在那里，玛乔丽是一名裁剪工，而克里福德则是一名机械师。他们于1938年结婚。但他们的婚姻生活很快被战争给粗暴地打断了。

突如其来的战争

克里福德参加了皇家炮兵第七海岸团，并被送到新加坡参战。1942年，他和成千上万的英国士兵一起成了日本的俘虏。

在战俘营的三年生活如地狱一般残酷。他和6万名盟军战俘一道被迫修建缅泰铁路，或称“死亡铁路”。

有大约1.3万名盟军士兵在散发着致命热气的沼泽地里修建这条铁路时死亡。克里福德所在的团一共有700人，然而只有4个人安全回家。

他们的女儿克里斯汀说：“是因为运气、信念还有——我坚信——他对妈妈的爱，他要回到她身边的坚定决心，才使得爸爸一次次地逃过死亡的魔掌。

爸爸曾经乘坐的一列火车在过桥时遭到轰炸，几乎所有人都在爆炸中死去，只是因为爸爸坐在这列火车的最后一节车箱，才幸免于难。此后，他记得他是从四分五裂的尸体堆中择路爬了出去。

接着，他因为抽香蕉叶而被日军看守抓住，一名日军军官用沾有毒素的竹尖扎入他的大腿以示惩戒。他的腿上渗入毒液，这个伤疤清晰可见，一直伴随着父亲的一生。”

一次，克里福德被拘押的那个营地霍乱肆虐。许多人死于疾病，但他却逃过了一劫。

坚韧的玛乔丽

而在卡迪夫，玛乔丽则在为军队缝制降落伞，并日日夜夜等待着她唯一深爱的人归来。她的希望受到考验，但从未破灭。

“当爸爸去参战的时候，妈妈伤心欲绝，”克里斯汀说，“她急切地盼望他回家。她给他写信，但这些信都被退了回来，上面盖着“未阅”的章。她不知道他在哪里，但她仍然坚持写信。她一直相信他还活着。”

然而，玛乔丽没有任何理由继续她的希望。1942年3月4日，克里福德所在部队的上校给她带来了坏消息，通知她说她的丈夫已被断定死亡，并催促玛乔丽承认自己是个战争寡妇及索取她应得的抚恤金。

但她什么都没做。相反，她每天到工厂上班时，都要在途经的一座教堂前停下来，在那里祈祷她的丈夫平安归来。

她继续写信给他。在一封日期为1944年10月3日的信里写着：“我最亲爱的克里夫（克里福德的爱称）：我很好，希望你也是。我仍然在上班和持家。全心爱你的玛吉（玛乔丽的爱称）。”在另一封日期标明为圣诞节的信里写道：“我和妈妈在一起。我们互致爱意。希望你能很快回家。上帝保佑你。爱你的玛吉。”

虽然这些信件都被退回，克里福德也从未收到它们，但玛乔丽还是拒绝向绝望屈服。

英雄凯旋

然后，1945年的9月2日，克里福德时来运转。那天，在夏日蒸腾的滚滚热浪中，日军军官命令他去挖掘自己的坟墓。他挖完了之后，站在坟墓的旁边，等着让行刑人员向他射击。

就在这时，传来了日本向盟军正式投降的消息，他的命保住了。

两个月后，他回到了家乡，受到了英雄般的欢迎。而在玛乔丽等待他归来的小屋里，也举行了一场欢迎仪式。在门前挂着一个横幅，上面写着：“欢迎回家，克里夫。”

乐观坚强的克里福德

克里福德几乎从未谈起他的战争经历。其中的秘密——被残暴奴役的痛苦、饥饿、折磨、疾病——这一切都锁在他的脑海里。这些秘密只出现在他的只言片语中，出现在夜夜折磨他的噩梦中。

“爸爸说得很少，”克里斯汀说，“我的儿子巴里问他在战争中做了些什么，他笑着说：‘我和其他家伙一起修了座桥。”

这真是一个非常谦逊的回答。虽然他至死都是由曾在远东战场服役的老兵组成的缅甸之星联谊会的忠实会员，他却从来没有美化他的战争。

虽然克里福德遭受了残酷无情的苦难，但是他既没有抱怨也没有夸耀他的经历。他以坚强的意志顽强地抵御着战争给人带来的心理伤害。

安度晚年

克里福德和玛乔丽在考文垂市的郊区斯托克·希思一起住了60多年。他们互相深爱着对方，直到生命的最后一刻。

在克里斯汀的家里，为纪念她挚爱的父母而放置的花束依然新鲜。空气中弥漫着百合和玫瑰的芬芳。克里斯汀献给母亲的是一大簇粉红的丁香花，而献给父亲的是则是绿色和黄色的花朵——这两种颜色正是缅甸之星联谊会会徽的颜色。

在屋外的花园里，两棵铁线莲树并排地开着花。这两棵树是克里斯汀在她父母死去之后买来栽下的，她管它们叫“克里福德”和“玛乔丽”。如今，这两棵树的卷须已经开始缠绕在一起了。