William Francis Riley and James Augustus Riley in Pawtucket on this date in 1931 to the late Margaret Cecelia McSally (1900-1938) and Patrick Joseph Riley (1900-1985).

The “twins” grew up on Perrin Avenue in the Darlington section of Pawtucket along with their two older sisters, Barbara (1927-2015) and Joan (1929-2019). The identical brothers were inseparable and enjoyed their early years as youngsters, most likely oblivious to the deepening Depression. The kids were blessed to have a dad with a steady job, a great mom, a grandmother McSally (Margaret A Corbishley (1877-1940), and a relatively new house which was built in 1925.

All seemed well until June of 1938, when their mother died. Margaret Cecelia Riley was 38 and the twins were 7 years old, Barbara was 10 and Joan 9.

 Billy and Jimmy 1935

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  •                  Jimmy and Bill April 1938

The twins attended JC Potters School, Goff Junior High and Pawtucket East High School (now named Tolman), graduating in 1948. Let’s just say that school wasn’t the highest priority for the boys, but they got through it. Here are their graduation pictures.

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As best as I can determine, the boys were the first set of twins in the family. Not until Elizabeth and Caitlin were born to Kevin and Gail Mulligan did another set of twins appear.

Billy and Jimmy had a separate language, which they used to communicate with each other in times of, shall we say, stress or mischief. The term for such communication/language between twins is called Cryptophasia. Their father said that it used to drive their teachers mad. The twins also used their language while caddying together on the golf course to make comments about the golfers’ game, or lack there of.

After high school, both joined the Navy and found themselves doing shore patrol (SP’s) in Newport! Jim said that they used their “special communication skills” to help deal with the unruly servicemen in the bars and on the streets of Newport. In the 1950’s, certain parts of Newport were better known as a “bucket of blood.” Newport was not the charming seaside city it is today. Couldn’t figure out why these two guys were assigned to shore patrol duty, when they stood just about 5’8″ and weighed around 145 lbs. It wasn’t until quite a few years later that one of their longtime buddies told me, “Nobody wanted to pick a fight with either one of the twins, cuz you’d lose and lose badly.” Enough said.

Bill had his fill of the Navy after a few years and came back to Pawtucket, where he worked in the City’s Housing Authority. Billy never married, struggled with life, and left us in March of 1966.

Jim adapted and stayed in the service for some 24 years, before he retired and moved back to the city. He told me that the Navy took him around the world three different times, and he saw things he never would have seen if it wasn’t for the service. Jim also never married. There was a special young woman in Yokohama, Japan. It was a different time back then and attitudes aren’t what they are now. So a singular life he led, until his passing in December, 2004.