Match made through newspapers as Sedgley couple celebrate diamond wedding anniversary
‘Hello girl’ and ‘Mr Bayliss’ who met over the telephone celebrating 60 years of marriage.
It was a match made through newspapers and the Express & Star had a vital role in bringing together a Sedgley couple who are celebrating 60 years of marriage together.
Ron and Hilary Warrilow first started talking when he would phone stories and football match reports over to the Wolverhampton Telephone Exchange where she worked.
Ron was known in the office as 'Mr Bayliss' after the Bayliss news and sports agency he was working for in his first journalism job after answering a job advert in the Express & Star.
The Saturday afternoon chats would become a regular feature of their working life until they arranged to meet.
The couple had their first date at the Clifton Cinema, Sedgley in 1963 and had a shared love of musicals, including West Side Story which they would go and see in London.
They got married in England's World Cup winning year on April 29, 1966 - fitting for Ron who covered Wolves and West Bromwich games alternately for many years, with Stan Cullis being the first manager of the former he worked with - he also regularly chatted to Jimmy Mullen, Peter Broadbent and Billy Wright.
After leaving Bayliss he then set up his own successful news agency where he was a regular at courts around the Midlands, election counts, and also worked on many big cases like the Carl Bridgewater murder.
Ron said: "Not only did that advert in the Express & Star set me up for the wonderful career I have enjoyed, it helped me meet my future wife and we have been very happy over the years.
"Hilary would go on to work at Beatties after being at the exchange and she has had to put up with long hours for me, quite a lot of travelling and late nights and of course sport though luckily she does like football and is involved in the organising of the JW Hunt Cup."
Hilary said: "We hit it off on the phone and whenever Ron would phone a story or match report in, it seemed to be me who would take the call - he called me one of the 'hello girls’ and it caused quite a bit of amusement in the office. It was probably fate which brought us together.”
The couple, both 82, who still live in Sedgley, will celebrate their diamond wedding at home with family including their son and daughter, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
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