Sister of Haverfordwest's silent twins speaks out on new film

The film is based on the lives of June and Jennifer Gibbons, real-life identical twins who grew up in Haverfordwest.

June and Jennifer were the daughters of Caribbean immigrants Gloria and Aubrey Gibbons who moved from Barbados to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s.

June (left) and Jennifer grew up speaking a special language to each other while being selectively mute to everyone around them, but elder sister Greta said there were many myths about the pair that were untrue and that they were just in their own little bubble. (Image: Western Telegraph) (Image: Western Telegraph)

The twins were born in 1963, at a military hospital in Yemen where their father, a technician with the RAF, had been deployed.

The family soon relocated - first to England, and then to Haverfordwest in the 1970s.

Described as being ostracized, with the twins and their siblings being the only black children in the community, teachers at Haverfordwest County Secondary School, which the girls attended, said they used to let the pair leave early to avoid being bullied.

The twin sisters became inseparable, speaking a special language to each other that only they understood while becoming selectively mute to everyone around them.

In their later teenage years, the twins began using drugs and alcohol and went on a spree of crime and vandalism, after which were sentenced to indefinite detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Jennifer (left) and sister June met journalist and mental health campaigner Marjorie Wallace who extensively interviewed the pair. The film is based on her book. (Image: PA Media) (Image: PA Media)

They remained at Broadmoor, a high-security mental health hospital, for 11 years alongside the likes of Ronnie Kray and the Yorkshire Ripper.

Tragically Jennifer died of acute myocarditis, a sudden inflammation of the heart, on the girls’ release from Broadmoor to the more open Caswell Clinic in Bridgend.

The film, The Silent Twins, opened to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival and has since gone onto win several awards, most recently actresses Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright won the award for best joint lead performance as June and Jennifer at the 25th British Independent Film Awards.

Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright won the award for best joint lead performance as June and Jennifer at the 25th British Independent Film Awards. (Image: Ian West/PA)

 However, speaking exclusively to the Western Telegraph after the film made its premier at Cannes, the twins’ sister Greta said she was opposed to the production and that the actresses had not met June, who now lives a quiet life in Milford Haven.

“Who are you educating? What is the point in doing this?” said Greta.

“It is poking fun at them. The actresses have not even met June, yet they feel they can portray her in a film. “What they are trying to portray is not true. I will not be watching it.”

READ MORE:

• Sister of 'The Silent Twins' tells of torture at Jennifer's death
• The Silent Twins: Hollywood movie about Haverfordwest sisters

Greta summed up the whole sad tale by saying while the family are still scarred by what happened, they just want to move on.

“Just forget about it,” said Greta. “Now, let them have a peaceful life.”