Identical brothers on HMS Queen Elizabeth say life as a twin on carrier 'has its perks'

The 29-year-old naval duo, who grew up in Portsmouth, are part of the 700-strong ship’s company of HMS Queen Elizabeth – which itself is identical counterpart to HMS Prince of Wales.

And not only are the two lads twins, they also share the same job – as leading airmen, working on the aircraft carrier’s flight deck.

Kurtis who was met by his three-year-old son, Harry, jokingly said having a twin on board had its perks as they could pretend to be each other, adding: ‘He does the duties so I've got perks as I don't have to do as many.’

Luke added: ‘Everyone seems to know us. They think we go around the galley twice.’

The pair were both met by their family as they returned to their home city.

Kurtis, who now lives in Gosport, said the toughest part of the deployment was when the F-35B stealth jets were embarked on the ship, which saw his team working non-stop, round the clock for five weeks.

Asked what life was like on board with his brother, he added: ‘Some people would think it’s easy because you’ve got your family with you but like every sibling we do bicker and do have little arguments but I wouldn’t want to go anywhere in the navy without my brother because he is the best person I know.’

Also serving on board are Portsmouth brothers Leading Hand Mark Colman, 37, and Petty Officer Richard Colman, 35.

This is the first time the pair have served on the same ship after having notched up more than 33 years of naval service between them.

Mark said: ‘It is nice having your brother on ship because you can have that deeper conversation about home. It’s also nice to just spend time with your family.’

Younger brother Richard added: ‘He can outrank me on age but I can give him jobs to do.’