The Silent Twins: A Tale of Isolation and Intrigue

Early Life

On April 11, 1963, in the bustling environment of a military hospital in Aden, Yemen, June and Jennifer Gibbons came into the world. These Welsh identical twins, born to Caribbean immigrants Gloria and Aubrey Gibbons, would later captivate the world with their perplexing silence and enigmatic bond. As a part of the Windrush generation, their parents had moved from Barbados to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Gloria, a housewife, and Aubrey, a technician for the Royal Air Force, were also parents to three other children: Greta, born in 1957; David, born in 1959; and Rosie, born in 1967.

Aubrey's work led the family to Coventry in 1960, and by 1974, they found themselves in Haverfordwest, Wales. Here, the twins faced a challenging childhood. As the only black children in their community, June and Jennifer were often ostracized, a trauma that led to their early dismissal from school to avoid bullying. Their speech, a rapid Bajan Creole, evolved into an almost undecipherable language—a symptom of their speech impediment that June would later describe as "nobody understood us, so we stopped talking."

Their communication developed into what many believed to be cryptophasia, a secret language shared only between them. Yet, June refuted this, attributing the misunderstanding to their speech impediment. Even their parents struggled to understand them, forcing the twins to point at objects they wanted. Attempts at speech therapy failed, largely due to their reluctance to speak out loud and the family's frequent relocations. Eventually, the twins spoke only to each other and their younger sister, Rose.

Creative Expression and Isolation

Growing increasingly withdrawn, the twins spent their time in seclusion, crafting intricate plays with their dolls. Their creative talents flourished, and inspired by gift diaries received at Christmas in 1979, they embarked on writing careers. They enrolled in a mail-order creative writing course, maintaining extensive diaries while concocting stories, poems, and novels set predominantly in the United States, particularly Malibu, California. Their narratives often featured bizarre and criminal behavior.

June’s novel, "The Pepsi-Cola Addict," narrated the tale of a high-school student seduced by a teacher and later preyed upon by a guard in a reformatory. The twins funded its publication through a vanity press, making it one of the few accessible works. Initially available in only 89 libraries worldwide, it was republished in October 2022 by Cashen's Gap and later as a paperback by Strange Attractor in May 2023. Their other literary endeavors, including Jennifer’s "The Pugilist" and "Discomania," faced publication challenges. Yet, Jennifer's works are slated for future releases, with "Discomania" set for publication in 2025, featuring a foreword by David Tibet of Current 93.

Hospitalization and Legal Struggles

In their teenage years, the twins' lives took a darker turn as they began experimenting with drugs and alcohol. 1981 marked a pivotal year when their criminal activities—vandalism, petty theft, and arson—culminated in a psychiatric assessment and subsequent transfer to Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security mental health facility. Sentenced in 1982 to indefinite detention under the Mental Health Act, the twins endured eleven years at Broadmoor. June later lamented the harshness of their sentence, attributing it to their selective muteness, which she claimed led to their lengthy confinement.

High doses of antipsychotic medications dulled their creativity, and Jennifer developed tardive dyskinesia, a disorder causing involuntary movements. Despite these challenges, they managed to continue writing diaries and joined the hospital choir. Journalist Marjorie Wallace brought their case to light, documenting their story in her book, "The Silent Twins," published in 1986.

Jennifer's Death and June's Liberation

Throughout their time at Broadmoor, the twins harbored a chilling belief that one must die for the other to live freely. Jennifer ultimately agreed to sacrifice her life. In March 1993, during their transfer to Caswell Clinic in Bridgend, Wales, Jennifer suddenly fell ill. She succumbed to acute myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, shortly after arrival. An inquest found no evidence of drugs or poison in her system.

June later recounted Jennifer's odd behavior before her death, including slurred speech and a foreboding sense of dying. After Jennifer's passing, June expressed a sense of liberation, proclaiming, "I'm free at last, liberated, and at last Jennifer has given up her life for me." Jennifer was laid to rest in St. Martin's Cemetery, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Life After Jennifer

Following her sister's death, June gradually integrated into society. By 2008, she lived independently near her parents in West Wales, free from psychiatric monitoring and accepted by her community. She chose to leave the past behind, despite the deep scars left by their incarceration, which her sister Greta blamed for ruining their lives and neglecting Jennifer's health.

Cultural Impact and Media Portrayals

The story of the Gibbons twins has inspired various media adaptations. In 1986, their tale was dramatized in a BBC2 television film, "The Silent Twins," followed by a 1994 BBC1 documentary, "Silent Twin – Without My Shadow." Their lives also inspired the 1998 Manic Street Preachers song "Tsunami" and a 2011 play, "Speechless," based on Wallace's book.

In 2022, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczyńska released a feature film, "The Silent Twins," starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance. The twins' legacy continues to intrigue audiences, with their story featured in Angeline Morrison's 2022 album "The Sorrow Songs" and a 2023 BBC podcast, "June: Voice of a Silent Twin," offering an in-depth interview with June Gibbons.

Sources

For more information, visit the Wikipedia page on June and Jennifer Gibbons.