Twins Aidan and Alex Trembath are to go their separate ways for the first time in 19 years after they completed their Royal Navy initial training.
The twins, from Par, Cornwall, joined the Royal Navy in January, with Alex the first to embark on the ten-week intensive training course, and Aidan joining his brother at HMS Raleigh, Torpoint, a week later to complete the course as part of a different class.
Alex said: "To be split up for the first time in 19 years and take on a new leg of the journey in our lives was strange, to say the least. However, it was good to see how we would cope in the company of new people in a completely different environment.
"When Aidan arrived it was good to know that I still had someone who knew me so well to have a chat with, especially when times were hard. He would boost my morale."
For Aidan, having his twin brother a week ahead of him was a real advantage.
"Having a person in training I recognised certainly made training a little less alien," he said. "Also, with him being a week ahead of me meant that he could give me the details of what was coming up. Alex also came over to my accommodation to help me with my kit, which was a massive help."
Initial naval training is an intensive course designed to turn raw recruits into military personnel. It culminates with the passing out parade attended by families and friends, which for the twin's parents meant two consecutive Fridays at HMS Raleigh. The brothers missed one another's parades, though, as Aidan was undertaking his final assessment when Alex was stood on the parade ground and when it was Aidan's turn, Alex had already left Raleigh for his specialist training.
The twins, who are both former pupils of Fowey Community College and Truro College, agreed they wouldn't have passed their training without the support of their family.
Having completed their initial training, the twins have been separated once more. Alex has moved to HMS Collingwood, where he is learning his trade to become an engineering technician. Aidan has remained at HMS Raleigh, where he is undergoing training at the Royal Navy Submarine School to qualify as a warfare specialist.
