VE Day & the Brethren of the Lord Leycester
For the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we are exploring the lives of the soldiers who fought in the Second World War who came to live here as a Brother of the Lord Leycester. The Lord Leycester Hospital has housed over 450 military veterans, each with their own story to tell.
One such veteran was Brother Herbert William Twissell.
Early Life & Enlistment
Born in Warwickshire in the final months of the First World War, Herbert William Twissell would go on to work as a machinist in Coventry prior to enlistment.
Initially enlisting into the 7th Royal Tank Regiment on the 17th August 1936, Twissell would later be detached from 1938 to January 1939 in the Royal Armoured Corps and again, in Palestine with the Royal Scots Greys.
Brass plaque displaying Twissell’s name and service no.
Service & POW
When the war broke out on 1st September 1939, Twissell would serve as a Lance Corporal in the Royal Tank Corps. First, he would fight in France where he would find himself hiding for hours in a river to avoid capture by the Germans, before being evacuated at Dunkirk.
Three months later, he would end up in North Africa with the 6th Royal Tanks. He would serve here until June 1942 when he was wounded in Libya and taken prisoner by Italians as a POW. He would later be handed over to the Germans where he would spend the rest of the war in Poland as a prisoner.
Post War
Herbert William Twissell would return to England after nearly 3 years as a prisoner of war at the end of the Second World War and would be released from service on the 13th of May, 1946.
Major S Seymour of the Royal Tank Corps gave the following report in Twissell’s discharge notes:
“He is a keen and hard worker, conscientious and painstaking in all he does. Can be relied upon to do good work at all times. He is trustworthy, sober and honest.”
After retiring from being a manager at the Co-Op in Coventry, Twissell joined the Lord Leycester Hospital in 1980 as a Brother.
If you are interested in learning more about the Masters and Brethren who lived through the Second World War, make sure to join us on the 8th of May to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day (https://www.lordleycester.com/lord-leycester-events/ve-day/).
