SIX SETS OF TWINS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 October 1938, Page 8

SIX SETS OF TWINS

A WORLD’S RECORD. ESTABLISHED BY WANGANUI MOTHER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WANGANUI, October 20. The world record as a mother of twins, which has been claimed on behalf of Mrs H. M. Gilbert, West Croydon, London, who gave birth to her fourth set in 1928, is eclipsed by Mrs R. Hammond, Surrey Road, Springvale. Wanganui, who has had six sets, five of whom are alive today. Of Mrs Gilbert’s twins only three sets are living. Interviewed tonight, Mrs Hammond proudly showed photographs. “This is how we started off,” she said, and handed over a family group of five, consisting of the father, mother, eldest girl and boy twins, George and William. “This is how we were two years ago at Christmas,” said Mrs Hammond, showing a much larger family group. The first set of twins were girls, who died while in infancy; the second set, George and William, now aged about 35, are in Australia; the third set, Richard and Emma, are in Wanganui; the fourth set, John and Charles, of whom John is in Wellington and Charles in Wanganui; the fifth set, Alexander and Annie, both of Wanganui; and the sixth set, Ivy and Jim, both of Wellington. The youngest child is David, a lad of 16, who is living with his parents. Two of Mrs Hammond’s daughters have given birth to twins. Mrs Hammond has lived in Wanganui all her life. Her husband is employed on the Wanganui Wharf. Asked to state their ages, Mrs Hammond clasped her hands to her head and said she would get a headache. She was glad to have had such a large family, but she seemed to have had more than her share of children’s illnesses like mumps and measles. The five sets of twins living were all grown up and well. The Christmas gathering I two years ago was the greatest joy she had ever experiehced. \