3 cheers! Triplets defy the odds to turn 80
THEY were born at a time when the chances of triplets surviving were very slim.
But Mary Bloxham, Margaret Coleman and Georgina Leech have now celebrated their 80th birthdays, toasting the occasion with a small glass of sherry.
The identical sisters – who are among the oldest triplets in Britain – gave their mother quite a surprise when they arrived in May 1937 – as she had only been expecting to have one baby.
Miss Bloxham said: ‘No one knew we were coming, it was all quite a shock.’
The triplets – born to George and Mabel Bloxham, who already had a four-year-old son Eric – arrived in the middle of the night on May 20, each weighing just over 4lb.
The nurse who helped deliver them recorded their birth times and weights on the back of a Pioneer matchbox – which the sisters still treasure.
Their mother also tied pieces of coloured wool around their wrists to tell them apart. Miss Bloxham said: ‘I had a pink one, Margaret green and Georgina yellow. Without that bit of wool there could have been trouble!
‘Our mum made most of our clothes growing up and she always used a bit of pink in mine, green in Margaret’s and yellow in Georgina’s.’ Their birth was marked with a letter from Buckingham Palace and a cheque for three pounds, as part of a scheme supporting parents of twins and triplets.
Throughout their childhood in Hall Green, Birmingham, the sisters shared a room, wore matching clothes and were very close. Miss Bloxham said: ‘People can tell us apart more easily today ... but when we were younger and when we dressed the same it was a lot more difficult.’ Mrs Leech said they ‘had the happiest childhood together’, adding: ‘We were inseparable and we’ve never fallen out in all the years.’
Mrs Coleman, who worked for Boots for 44 years, married husband Michael in 1962, staying in Birmingham. Mother-of-two Mrs Leech worked for Solihull council and wed John Leech in 1965. They moved not far away to Coventry. Miss Bloxham, who also worked for the council, stayed in the family home until 2010, and now lives next door but one to the Colemans.
The three, who have all been in the Guides for 73 years, celebrated their 80th birthday with a family party. Mrs Coleman said: ‘It’s fantastic!’
‘We’ve never fallen out in all the years’