Two inseparable twin sisters have led identical lives for 90 years – sharing the same jobs, same holidays and even their wedding day.
Maureen Newton and Gwen Jones, from Newport, Gwent, were born 15 minutes apart, and look the spitting image of one another.
The pair both married in September 1950, wearing matching bridal gowns that cost £3.50 and even saying their vows in unison.
Maureen and Gwen now live just seven miles apart after lives spent working in the same factories and going on the same holidays.
The sisters still talk every single day – and claim that they have never once fallen out.
Twins Maureen Newton (far right) and Gwen Jones, (second from left) from Newport, Gwent, have led identical lives for 90 years – even sharing the same wedding day
Gwen explained her mother’s surprise on realising she was having twins while giving birth.
‘Our mum Rosie had no idea she was expecting twins and then I popped out! We have always loved being identical twins,’ she said.
‘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.’
The pair, pictured with their mother Rose (front), were born 15 minutes apart and look the spitting image of one another
Now, the sisters (pictured with friend Margaret, centre) live just seven miles apart and still talk to each other every day
At school, the girls were in the same class and were completely inseparable – with their favourite games being whip, skipping, hopscotch and marbles.
The twins explained how they enjoyed causing mischief by posing as the other sister.
‘When it came to boyfriends we loved nothing more than pretending to be each other,’ Gwen said. ‘Mind you, it didn’t always go down too well with the boys!’
She says that during the war the pair were very popular and people made a lot of fuss of them.
‘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,’ she said.
Gwen (pictured as a baby with Maureen) said their mother didn’t realise she was expecting twins until giving birth
Growing up, the identical sisters enjoyed confusing people by pretending to be one another
‘We both loved reading magazines with glamorous stars like Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardener.
‘We’d go out dressed up in our matching outfits feeling like film stars.’
The pair then both fell in love, although not exactly at the same time. Maureen met John when she was 19 and Gwen met her husband, Melvin, when she was 22.
But when the twins both accepted their marriage proposals, they decided there was only one way to go – having a joint wedding.
Maureen said: ‘Gwen went shopping with our mother and came back and said to me: ‘that’s your wedding dress.’
Gwen (left) said that she and Maureen liked wearing matching outfits, and got a lot of attention when they were younger
‘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.’
Maureen said that after they got married together and went on a honeymoon to Blackpool they even bought matching nighties that had blue bows on them.
She married John, who sadly died aged 65, after meeting him at a dance and went on to have two sons – John and Paul.
The pair wore identical bridal gowns on their wedding day in 1950, as well as carrying matching bouquets
Gwen married Melvin, now also 90, who she met while working at a factory, and 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.
Gwen says: ‘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.’
Gwen and Maureen have seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren all together.
Maureen married husband Johnny (left), while Gwen married Mel (right) in front of 100 guests
They have been bridesmaids together ten times and have also enjoyed holidays to Canada, Weymouth and Cornwall together.
Maureen’s daughter-in-law, Sian Newton added: ‘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 says: ‘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.’