Record-breaking Rustington twins celebrate their 70th birthdays one day apart

A pair of record-breaking babies from Zachary Merton Hospital in Rustington have recently celebrated their 70th birthdays.
Edward and David GallagherEdward and David Gallagher
Edward and David Gallagher

David and Edward Gallagher are twins with a twist, as they were born on two different days – May 27 and 28, 1949.

At the time David and Edward were born to their mother May Gallagher in 1949, they broke the record for being the heaviest twins born at Zachary Merton Hospital in Rustington, both weighing more than 8lbs.

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Their father was Cyril Gallagher, notable for being the locksmith for many years in Rustington and living there from when he was born until he died at 90 years old.

Edward and David attended Rustington County Primary School from 1954 to 1960 and then the Andrew Cairns Secondary Modern School for Boys in Littlehampton from 1960 to 1965 for David and 1966 for Edward.

David undertook an apprenticeship with Sea Lane Garage, the VW dealers in the ’60s, and then moved up to Kingston upon Thames to run the workshop in a Saab dealership.

In 1974 he then went to a teacher training college in Bolton to train to teach motor vehicle work, but went on from there to Lancaster University to do a degree.

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After that, David moved to Bradford and ran his own garage for 11 years, got married and had three children before moving down to Worcester where he sold engine diagnostic equipment for Sun Electric and for Bosch over the next 19 years.

David’s last job for nine years until he retired two years ago was as an apprentice assessor for PSA Peugeot Citroen during which he used his teaching qualification and trained apprentices.

David now lives in Llanelli, South Wales, and his three children are married and live in Coventry, Morocco and Australia.

Edward worked for a couple of years in London before going back to college and university to gain a maths degree.

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He then pursued a career in computing, working for NG Bailey in Bradford and then Ayrshire Council in Scotland, finally starting his own software programming company.

He and his family live in Glasgow. They have four children who are all married and live in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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