Our life together charted through the pages of Express & Star

June and Keith Garfield have bought the Express & Star every day since they got married – and have even made the news themselves on several occasions.

The couple first appeared on the front page in 1962 when they were forced to get permission from Walsall Matrimonial Court to tie the knot, after Mr Garfield's mother Elsie Bryan refused to sign consent forms to allow the young lovebirds to get hitched.

The article, on April 3, recorded them emerging from the court – and it now hangs in their hallway.

Half a century on, and the couple celebrated their golden wedding last month with another article in the Express & Star.

That was seen by a number of old acquaintances, who called the newspaper's newsroom and have now rekindled friendships from years ago.

June's old schoolfriend Brenda Hodgkins was among them, as was Keith's former landlady Joyce Twigger, who stood by him through the court hearing.

"We met up with Joyce just the other day and it was just wonderful – we talked about the old times, when we lived in her front room when we had just got married," Mrs Garfield said. "It was very emotional."

The Express & Star has moved with the times in recent years, with the launch ofthe internet, its app and by reaching a new generation of readers through Twitter and Facebook.

But, fundamentally, its strength remains the people of the Black Country and Staffordshire who are its subject and who continue to make it part of their lives.

When Mr and Mrs Garfield were married, they were proud to announce their union in the newspaper.

"It meant the world to me," said Mrs Garfield, aged 68.

"I had kept an original cutting in an album since that day, but it got ripped so my eldest son David contacted the paper and got a copy of the front page."

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.

With the headline "Now they can wed – Magistrates say yes", 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."

The happy couple made front page news again two days later, on their wedding day, and featured them again on their 40th anniversary.

Former bus driver Mr Garfield, now 69, added: "June had been saying for years that she wanted to get in touch with Brenda. It's fantastic that she was able to got in touch through the paper."

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. Mrs Garfield said her husband reads the paper cover to cover every day. She said: "It takes him about four hours – he gets real value for money."

* Tomorrow: The Express & Star's importance to business