Northampton twins Margaret and Maureen, 83, speak of parallel lives

Two twin sisters who have stuck together for the past 83 years have spoken of the incredible parallel lives they share.

Margaret and Maureen Beckwith, who are identical, were evacuated to Northampton in 1940.

They both worked in the same place doing exactly the same job, often wear the same outfits and now live in adjacent streets of similar names.

Margaret is the oldest, beating Maureen into the world by just five minutes.

The sisters both went to school in Main Road, Far Cotton and went on to Rothersthorpe Road Secondary School, because "we weren't clever enough to pass the eleven plus".

They both became machinists at Lincoln Models - a dress-making factory on Clarke Road in Northampton.

They also married, becoming Margaret Wright and Maureen Hallett.

The biggest difference in their lives is probably their families - while Margaret has six children, Maureen has one.

Margaret's offspring have yet to have any twins of their own, but Maureen's son has teenage twins.

They have the same hair style, wear the same glasses and often put on the same clothes.

Margaret said, as a youngster, she did not want to be seen in the same outfit as her sister.

"I hated it because people used to stare," she said.

"She's even come down and knocked on my door, and I've looked and said, 'I shan't be a minute', and she's said, 'Where are you going?'.

"I said, 'To change my top because it's the same as the one you've got on'."

Nowadays they insist they do not contact each other to agree on an outfit, but end up dressed identically anyway.

Their twin telepathy does not just extend to clothing.

Margaret said: "She'll phone me up and say, 'How have you been today?', and I'll say, 'A bit iffy', and she'll say, 'I've not been very well', so she knew that I wasn't feeling 100% because she wasn't."

Even though they do not live in the same place, they are not far from each other, with Margaret residing on Queen Eleanor Road and Maureen on Queen Eleanor Terrace. They also go to the same 'keep fit' class.

Margaret married an identical twin, but Maureen decided not to follow suit and marry his brother.

Maureen said: "They were identical but they were different - they wasn't like us, thinking the same."

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830