Britain's oldest identical twin dies, aged 105, three years after her sister

"The pair who called themselves the Twinnies were born on 28 August 1920. The siblings were Britain's oldest identical twins and claimed their long life was down to balancing wine and chocolate with exercise and healthy food and having a big group of female friends. They had just turned 19 when the second world war was declared in 1939 and both sisters worked during the conflict. Whitehead, the eldest by a few minutes, worked as a radar operator during the war."

"The widowed Sivyer, a radiographer who treated members of the armed forces returning from the Normandy beaches, had three children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. After the war she became a physicist assistant and worked for the health service until she was 64. The sisters lived together in their childhood home, built by their grandparents, during the Covid lockdown."

Kathleen Whitehead, born 28 August 1920, died peacefully this month at age 105, three years after her identical twin Dorothy Sivyer, who died in July 2022. The sisters called themselves the Twinnies and credited their long lives to balancing wine and chocolate with exercise, healthy food, and a large group of female friends. Both worked during the Second World War: Whitehead served as a radar operator, while Sivyer was a radiographer treating armed forces returning from the Normandy beaches. After the war Sivyer worked as a physicist assistant in the health service until 64. Whitehead worked in advertising, then as a primary school teacher, later rekindling her love of art. The sisters lived together in their grandparents' home, celebrated their 100th birthday in 2020, and reported never having quarrelled.

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