Devoted 90-year-old identical twins have spent their lives sharing jobs, holidays and even a WEDDING DAY
Maureen Newton and Gwen Jones are completely inseparable, and still speak on the phone every day
THESE identical twins have lived the same lives for an incredible 90 years - sharing jobs, holidays and even a WEDDING DAY.
Born just 15 minutes apart, Maureen Newton and Gwen Jones always loved pretending to be each other - and managing to confuse even their own husbands with the stunt.
The inseparable duo shared their big day together and tied the knot at exactly the same time - saying their vows in unison.
Maureen and Gwen were walked down the aisle by their proud dad Alb Sadler, a bookmaker, who held one twin on each arm.
The sisters wed in September 1950, holding the same bouquets and wearing identical £3.50 wedding dresses as they wed in front of 100 guests.
They now live just seven miles apart in Newport, Gwent, after lives spent working in the same factories and going on the same holidays.
Gwen said: "Our mum Rosie had no idea she was expecting twins and then I popped out! We have always loved being identical twins.
"It was impossible to tell us apart - on our first day at school we had our initials 'M' and 'G' pinned onto our clothes so the teachers would know which one of us they were speaking to.
"Even Dad would get me confused with Maureen all the time. We thought it was very funny."
At school, the girls were in the same class and were completely inseparable - their favourite games were whip, skipping, hopscotch and marbles.
Gwen said: "When we left school we started work we got jobs in the same factory. And when it came to boyfriends we loved nothing more than pretending to be each other.
"Mind you, it didn't always go down too well with the boys! We both loved reading magazines with glamorous stars like Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardener."
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Gwen added that during the war the pair were very popular, and people made a lot of fuss of them.
She explained: "We knew a dressmaker and we'd show her photographs of what the stars would be wearing and she'd whip up exact copies for both of us.
"We'd go out dressed up in our matching outfits feeling like film stars."
The pair fell in love as young ladies, although it took Mel three years longer to find her dream man.
Maureen met Johnny when she was 19 and Gwen met her husband, Mel, when she was 22.
But when the twins both accepted marriage proposals there was only way to go - a joint wedding.
Maureen said: "Gwen went shopping with our mother and came back and said to me 'that's your wedding dress'.
"When we got married our dad walked us down the aisle holding one of us on each arm.
"There was quite a crowd outside the church to welcome us because it was unusual for a double wedding to happen.
"We said our vows together and our husbands-to-be wore the same suits as each other."
The foursome went on holiday together to Blackpool, and they even bought matching nighties with blue bows on them.
Maureen married John Newton, who sadly died aged 65, after meeting him at a dance. The couple have two sons – John and Paul.
Gwen married Melvin Jones, now also 90, who she met while working at the factory - and they went on to have daughter Linda Stevens.
Melvin, a machine operator, would wait with a bag of toffees at work to give to Gwen in the mornings – but would get confused and give them to Maureen by accident.
Gwen said: "We all loved going dancing together - jiving and jitterbug were two of our favourites - both fast swing dances that were really popular at the time.
"We both loved renditions of 'I'll be Seeing You' sang by Bing Crosby and 'I'm in The Mood' by Glenn Miller.
"But we didn't drink alcohol so a sparkling bitter lemon would last us the whole night."
The nonagenarians have seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren between them.
They have been bridesmaids together ten times and have enjoyed holidays to Canada, Weymouth and Cornwall together.
Maureen's daughter-in-law, Sian Newton, said: "They're still very close and I think keeping in touch each day is something that is very important to them and makes them happy."
Gwen said: "Just recently we celebrated our 90th birthday together. In line with tradition we wore matching outfits - black skirts and grey jumpers.
"It was so wonderful seeing our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all together.
"It made us chuckle to see some of the younger ones getting us mixed up because we still look so alike.
"We still talk every day. We can't get out as much as we did and we are both a bit deaf.
"But we love nothing more than reminiscing about the wonderful lives we've had. In 90 years we can honestly say we have never fallen out once.
"I can't imagine out lives without each other. We really are two halves of the same whole."
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