Death denies meeting of twins
The late Les Darvall in happier times
with his wife Virginia and their pet dog
Lertie
Ronelle Ramsamy
THE anticipated reunion of twin brothers who
discovered each other after 63 years sadly
did not come to fruition, after the Richards
Bay twin eventually lost a long battle with
cancer.
Birdswood resident Les Darvall, who recently
discovered that he had a twin brother in
England, passed away on 22 July at The Bay
Hospital.
Unable to converse, Les received his last
telephone call from his brother Peter
Darvall at approximately 1.30pm, before he
died at 3.25pm.
The brothers first found out in December
last year that they were twin siblings.
While Les had remained with his biological
mother, Peter was given up for adoption in
1943 soon after birth.
Peter then moved to England with his foster
family in 1959, under the foster name of
Douglas Malcolm.
But, thanks to the investigative work of a
local detective and an original birth
certificate retrieved from the South African
Home Affairs Department in January, the
brothers were able to establish contact.
Daily
According to Les’ wife, Virginia, they were
in constant contact over the phone even
towards the end.
‘Peter phoned the hospital on a daily basis
to find out how Les was doing.
‘Their hopes never faded that one day they
would still meet,’ said Virginia.
During his month long hospital stay,
Virginia says Les could not wait to go
fishing with his brother.
‘He really looked forward to meeting Peter
and they would always laugh and joke with
each other on the phone.
‘Les would have wanted Peter to be happy and
not mourn for him,’ said Virginia.
Peter, who was awaiting his passport from
the UK Home Office is reportedly taking the
news of Les’ death badly.
‘He spoke to Les a week before his death and
believed that Les would recover and they
would be able to see each other.
‘I will be giving Les’ personal belongings
to Peter in remembrance of his brother,’
said Virginia.
Acknowledging tremendous public support,
Virginia says she was able to spend a month
with Les at the hospital before his death.
‘Les was a loving, God-fearing person, who
told me everyday how much he loved me.
‘On the day of his death, he told me that he
just wanted to go home, and he departed
peacefully,’ said Virginia.
Although they were unable to meet, Virginia
believes it was a miracle that the twins
were able to find each other before Les’
death.
Peter wrote a moving poem that was read out
at Les’ memorial service.
