It took 40 years, a private detective and a plane ride from the other side of the world for English rose Eileen Murphy to say yes to her World War II Romeo, Ron Nelson.
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On this day in 1988, the two lovebirds were finally preparing for their nuptials. The pensioners were planning their wedding and a life together on Ron's banana farm near Murwillumbah on the North Coast of NSW.
Romance blossomed during the war when Ron was stationed with the Royal Australian Air Force in the northern English town of Metheringham.
"She was working in the canteen and I was head mechanic at the site. She was beautiful, always a laugh and the woman of my dreams," Ron said. But when he finally popped the question she refused him and Ron returned to the farm heavy-hearted, where he has lived ever since.
"I married again but I couldn't get Eileen out of my head," said divorcee Ron.
Forty years later Eileen changed her mind and flew all the way to Australia to tell her former lover. She couldn't find her Aussie lad, and returned to England just before Christmas, several-thousand dollars out of pocket. But not before she had hired private investigator Ross Cameron to try to find Ron.
It took Cameron, from Palm Beach on Queensland's Gold Coast, about a month to trace Ron to his banana farm in NSW. He said he telephoned 92 Ron Nelsons living in Australia - and did his work for free.
"Eileen was over the moon when I phoned her with the good news," he said.