Golden years for couple who won fight to wed

As lovestruck teenagers, June and Keith Garfield were forced to get permission from the courts to marry after their family refused to give them their blessing.

Their plight even caught the attention of the Express & Star, which featured their quest for the right to tie the knot on the front page.

And today the couple were celebrating 50 years of wedded bliss – as they told how they have never regretted the decision to fight for their romance and have told each other they loved each other every day since.

"We have always been very happy," said Mrs Garfield, now 68.

"We were pretty determined to get married, we just made the decision and never looked back."

The pair were forced to ask Walsall Matrimonial Court for permission to tie the knot after Mr Garfield's mother Elsie Bryan refused to sign consent forms to allow the lovebirds to get hitched.

They were finally able to get married on April 5, 1962, at Walsall Register Office, two days after magistrates granted them the right to marry.

June, née Faulkner, was 18, while Keith was 19 – which meant they were under the age of consent for the time, which was 21, and needed either parental or court permission to walk down the aisle.

The happy couple made front page news of the Express & Star as they emerged from the matrimonial court victorious, and again on their wedding day.

"I didn't even realise we were going to be in the paper until I came home and saw it," she said.

"It was quite a surprise."

The article on April 3, under the headline "Now they can wed – Magistrates say yes", featured a picture of the couple and a brief summary of the hearing.

It read: "A young couple left Walsall Matrimonial Court smiling happily today and set out to the shops to find a wedding ring. They had been granted permission to marry by magistrates.

Chairman Mrs GN Walters told them: "We hope you will make a great success of it and pull together, as you are both very young."

It went on to describe how Mr Garfield's mother had opposed their application to wed after he proposed to his young bride-to-be.

Former bus driver Mr Garfield, now 69, said: "We decided we would get married within a month, but knowing as we did my mother would object, we went straight away to the registry office and booked a special licence.

"That was the Tuesday, at about 12.30pm. We got married as soon as we could, at 10.30am on Thursday," he said.

"The article is now hanging on the wall in our hallway, where it has always been. We like to look back at it."

Housewife Mrs Garfield said they had met while living near to each another. She lived in Beddows Road, Ryecroft, while he lived in Teddesley Street, Butts.

"He had a scooter so I thought he was rich," she joked.

Now living in Rocket Pool, Bilston, the pair have had six children – David, Darren, Denise, Keith, Matthew and Victoria – as well as 11 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Five years ago the couple decided to renew their vows in a lavish ceremony they could never afford as teenagers.

"We renewed our vows because we got married at a registry office, and we were very poor to start with," Mrs Garfield added.

"We decided we would have a renewal at a church and chose St Peter's in Walsall as that's where we would have done it back then if we could have done, and at the exact same time too. I had a white wedding."

To celebrate their milestone 50th anniversary the happy couple were today celebrating with family.

"I think the secret to staying happy is to never argue over money. If you don't have it, there's nothing you can do," said Mrs Garfield.

And Mr Garfield added: "You should always tell your wife you love her. I have done that every day since we have been married."