Bill and John Bowdler, from Birmingham, are the UK's oldest identical twins at 82 years old. They have shared a home, dressed identically, and pursued the same careers for their entire lives. The lifelong bachelors have been inseparable since their birth on March 21, 1944, and continue to do everything as a pair—including working the exact same two jobs.
Identical careers and lifestyle
After leaving school in 1960, both joined the same wholesale distribution company in Birmingham. When the business collapsed, they switched careers together, retraining as postmen—a role they fulfilled for more than 17 years, covering neighbouring rounds. Now retired, John selects their coordinating outfits most days, a custom that began with their mother Agnes.
John said: "We've always been inseparable, from birth although I was born 20 minutes earlier than Bill so I was on my own for a little bit. We do literally everything together and I couldn't imagine it any other way. We're that alike we can't even tell ourselves apart in old photographs."
Shared medical experiences
They even required a cataract operation on the same eye at the same time, carried out in the same surgery. The twins astonished opticians during their routine eye examination when it emerged that both required cataract surgery on the identical eye. The duo underwent their procedures at Newmedica in Birmingham just one month apart.
Bill said: "We've both had the right eye done. John had his done in April, mine in May. John is having his left eye done in July then mine in September. We went to Specsavers and they saw the cataract. We both went to Specsavers together and that's when they found it, at the same time."
Professor Sai Kolli, consultant at Newmedica Birmingham, said: "They're the first twins we've had as patients here, and it must be such a rare occurrence to have them both have the same procedure on the same eyes."
Unbreakable bond
The lengthiest period they were separated came when John underwent a fortnight's recovery from appendicitis in hospital, followed by another 12 weeks away from work. They do their shopping together, visit the bingo, support their cherished Aston Villa, and even take holidays together. While they consume identical meals daily, John discloses the sole distinction between them is his aversion to brown sauce, whereas Bill slathers it on everything.
Bill added: "We go on holiday together. We shop together. People will often mix us up, which can be quite a funny thing. It's odd because we're not a family of twins. The only other twins our family were a pair of girls from the 1870s, and that's it. For us, being together is like habit now. We can't break it."
Health benefits of togetherness
On why their relationship benefits them, John added: "We're 82 but we feel 70. There's people on our estate, our former school mates, and they're hobbling around or in wheelchairs. We're definitely one of the oldest sets of identical twins in the world. We have each other so we can keep each other fit. We just keep active. It keeps us ticking and alive."
