Twin brothers who were born just before the outbreak of the Second World recently celebrated their 83rd birthday. Tony and Peter Rogers were born and raised in a two up two down house and have remained close to one another.
The brothers, from Cheshire, even worked together as painters and decorators in the county's famous Grosvenor Hotel. Peter had already worked there for 24 years prior to his first 'retirement'.
There they were affectionately known as "the decorating twins" and even featured in a special Grosvenor Hotel magazine produced for guests. While at the Grosvenor, they often caused confusion among staff and guests, including Stars in their Eyes host Matthew Kelly, Cheshire Live reports.
The celebrity got chatting to Tony before bumping into Peter and saying how good it had been to chat to him, much to Peter's bemusement. He thought Tony was pulling his leg when he said his twin also worked there and was stunned when Tony went and fetched Peter.
They have just celebrated their 83rd birthday with a family party at Peter and his wife Sandra's home in Hoole. And this prompted Tony's proud granddaughter Holly Cunliffe, 26, from Little Sutton to contact Cheshire Live to see if we could help them to find out if they are the oldest identical twins in Chester.
We went to meet Tony, Peter and Holly to find out more about their fascinating story. Peter, who has two sons and three grandchildren, proudly informed us that he is five minutes older than Tony, explaining that the two slept in a crib made out of a wardrobe drawer when they were born at home in Pitt Street in Newtown in June 1939.
Pitt Street sadly no longer exists as the houses were demolished in the 1960s, with the high rises opposite the bus station built in their place. War broke out when the twins were just three-months-old, with the Rogers family and their fellow Chester residents working hard to make a living and raise families in tough conditions.
Holly told CheshireLive: "We'd love to know if they are the oldest identical twins in Cheshire. It's really hard to tell them apart. They mirror each other.
"One is left handed and one is right handed. When walking they basically walk in symmetry. Sometimes they make the same gestures and hand movements too and when they turn to wave and say goodbye they do this at the same time.
"There are some funny moments. My grandad's twin will be walking through Chester and friends will say hi, thinking they have bumped into my grandad."
She added that the twins, whose star sign is that of the twins, Gemini, also had pacemakers fitted exactly a year apart. Tony's wife Jeanette also recalled a funny moment when a friend thought she'd seen Tony in Chester Market with "another woman", when they'd actually seen Peter and his wife Sandra.
Holly was even inspired to base a university photography project on her grandad and his twin, since the theme of the project was doppelgangers. She is in the final year of a fine art and photography degree at the University of Chester.
Growing up, Peter and Tony tended to be dressed in identical clothes, showing us an adorable photo taken when they were around three, with cute matching little velvet suits, blue shoes and curly golden locks. The brothers, who still see each other several times a week, both grew up to become painters and decorators, starting with apprenticeships in the city.
Tony recalls how he did his apprenticeship at W.E. Williams and Son, which was located close to where Northgate Church still stands to this day. The building is sadly no longer there but Northgate Church can clearly be sign on the right of the picture. Tony worked for a number of companies, latterly at the Grosvenor Hotel in the heart of Chester.
Peter and Tony's parents Paul and Mary had three other children - daughters, Kathleen, who sadly died in 1968, and Pauline, who died 18 months ago and they have a younger brother Graham, 75.
Tony, who has two children and two grandchildren, said of their upbringing: "We lived in a two-up, two-down. If we wanted to have a bath we brought the old tin bath in from the back yard to put in front of the fire and boil water for it. Some families had six kids living in a little terraced house.
"Most of the time me, Peter and Graham slept with our dad and Pauline and Kathleen slept with my mum in another room.
"When war broke out my dad went into the army but he had to come home due to hearing problems."
He added: "There were lots of pubs in our community, including the Prince of Wales, which my grandad used to go in. It was a close knit community to grow up in."
The brothers reminisced about knowing a fair number of twins when they were growing up but sadly they had all since passed away. They also mentioned that they hadn't had to do their National Service, which was a kind of peacetime conscription introduced in 1947, due to being in apprenticeships.
Asked about any other differences or similarities between the twins, Peter, joked: "I'm the serious one - so everybody says."
Tony, who lives in Saltney, said: "We were born in Newtown and I remember there being four sets of twins in our community.
"A lot of people ask us about any similarities, being identical twins. We do think alike sometimes and we've both got a sweet tooth. I'm left handed and Peter is right handed.
"It's funny when people come up to us and say 'are you twins?' and you can see them staring at us. We'd love to know if we are the oldest identical twins in Chester. We certainly don't see many twins around."
Peter said: "We have had tourists come and ask to take pictures of us. This has happened a few times when, for example, we were in The Boot pub in Chester. We're like a Chester tourist attraction!"
Other adventures over the years have included a trip to California in the US to meet their idol, American singer-songwriter Frankie Laine, famous for singing the Rawhide theme tune. Tongue firmly in cheek, Laine's wife Marcia apparently referred to Peter and Tony as "the terrible twins from Great Britain."
