Love conquered early prejudice over mixed marriage

Vera Jeffries was thrown out of home at the age of 18 by her father after she was spotted in the street holding a friend's West Indian baby.

Devastated, she left Stoke and went to live in Stafford and before long met her husband-to-be Colliston Edie on a night-out in Walsall. Love grew when she became a child-minder to his two younger sisters and, ahead of their time, the couple decided to have a 'trial marriage'.

Three years and two children later they decided the experiment had worked and got married at Walsall Register Office, then in Leicester Street.

But early married life was not easy for the newlyweds, with Colliston, known as Carl, and Vera being refused accommodation when they were looking for a place to rent for the family. Carl was also turned down of jobs on account of his race.

But they persevered in the face of adversity, and today their cosy home in Ripon Road, Walsall, is covered in framed photographs of happy family occasions through the decades.

The pair, both now in their seventies, admit it was not love at first sight for either of them.

"But love grew, and it lasted," said Carl, a former furnace worker. "There have been ups and downs but if you like the same things, it goes a long way."

Vera's father, a police officer, died months after he threw her out but she still did not return home for nine years, unsure of the reception she would get.

"Carl kept saying he hadn't met my family and asking if I was ashamed of him. So I went and knocked at the door with the two boys while Carl stayed up the street. My mother didn't recognise me – I had to tell her who I was – but when she realised she welcomed us with open arms and told me to fetch Carl.

"Every time we spoke after that, she always asked how Carl was, and his mother and stepfather were the same. Except for my father, both our families accepted our relationship without question."

Carl, 76, who travelled from Jamaica to join his mother in Hospital Street, Walsall, in 1963, said he often feared 'being beaten to a pulp' because of his ethnic heritage but learned to avoid trouble.

He moved on to become a HGV driver and also a taxi driver while Vera also contributed to the family income by working as a power presser and also in milling.

Now retired, they enjoy meeting up with their family, including four grandchildren – Charlotte, Claire, Letisha and Saskia, aged from 18 to 29 – and six great-grandchildren.

They will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary with family and friends at a party in their honour at the Holiday Inn, Walsall.