UK's oldest twins, 104, on their secret to a long life
10.02.2024 - 19:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Elma Harris and Thelma Barratt - the oldest twins in Britain at 104 years old - say a daily dram of brandy is their secret to living so long. The Stockport-born sisters, who now live together in a care home in Lancashire, were only 19 when the Second World War started.
The siblings have lived through 22 different prime ministers and have watched three monarchs being crowned. Elma said: "If you feel young, you stay young." When they were 14, Elma and Thelma found jobs as packers and labellers at Smiths Crisps on their way home from school one day.
They both stopped working when they got married just a few months apart, around the time the war broke out. Bill Hewitt, Elma's husband, was a carpenter, Joseph Barratt, Thelma's husband, was a hatter. Some time later, Elma took up work at Fairey Aviation's factory, helping make parts for the RAF during the war.
There was a time during the war that Thelma was unsure about her husband. He was held captive in a prisoner of war camp in Italy, where he met Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, famous for losing his legs doing acrobatics.
In 1959, Thelma and Joe ran a pub in their hometown of Stockport before leaving when their son Tony was a baby. In their opinion, the best part about being twins is never being without company.
Elma, who was blessed with six great-grandchildren, expressed: "You didn't need pals. We always had each other." She also admitted that the twins did not always get along smoothly during their younger days, saying they could be close to "scratching one another's eyes out sometimes".
Discussing her personal life, she revealed that her first husband Bill passed away shortly after the war, while Thelma's spouse Joe made a living as a hatter in Stockport.
Thelma