A Murthly man has told of his surprise at discovering he shares a record with his long-time friend.
Last week The Courier reported that Bernard McLuskey had claimed that he and his brother William could possibly be the heaviest twins ever born in Scotland.
However, his friend Henry Neil has revealed that the McLuskeys only equalled a record he and his twin Adam had set more than 10 years previously, when they were born in Ayr on July 12 1932.
Like Bernard and William, one twin was 9lb while the other was 8lb 8oz. However, while Bernard was the heavier twin in his set, Mr Neil was the lighter of the two in his case.
The former Perth Academy music teacher said: “I didn’t know Bernard and William were the same (as us) but he was the heavier twin and I was the lighter.
“He was telling me it was quarter of an hour between him and his brother but for us it was only five minutes.”
He said their conception had come as something as a surprise to his parents Adam and Carrie as there was a large age gap between the twins and their older sister Isa and they had resigned themselves to having a small family.
The 83-year-old said: “We had a sister who was seven years older they thought they had finished having a family after so long but then they found my mother was expecting twins.
“She must have been 31 or 32, which in those days was quite late to have a child. We were born by natural birth. My mother must have been enormous.”
He attributed their high birth weight to their father’s profession.
Mr Neil said: “He was a dairyman, so we must have been nourished with plenty of milk.”
Their record was noted by the local newspaper, which awarded the family £10 in recognition.
Mr Neil’s brother died at the age of 47. Mr Neil was made head of the music department of Perth Academy in 1975, having moved from Buckhaven High.