My great grandad William “Bill” Ridgwell was part of the home guard in Windsor during the Second World War where he met my to be great nan Joyce who worked at the sweet counter in Woolworths. My great grandad was not able to properly enlist in the war as a soldier due to an eye injury sustained as a child. They started dating through the war which led to daily letter exchanges that amassed to the hundreds.
Joyce’s dad, William Twitty, was a well respected and equally feared CQMS of the Grenadier Guards based in Windsor. Twitty was part of the BEF that invaded France at the start of the war, with his last duty of active combat being part of the retreat at Dunkirk. Twitty sustained life changing injuries on the beach after a Stuka bomb landed a few feet away from him and severely damaged his hand and arm. As a result Twitty took on more training and CO roles with his guards and Sandhurst.
Twitty, during his return from France, found out of the relationship between his daughter Joyce and Bill and was fuming. As a result, Twitty did everything in his power to stop the romance. The name Twitty carried so much influence that when soldiers and GIs would try and flirt with my Nan at the sweet counter, they’d run a mile after hearing of her surname.
This letter was sent from Twitty to Bill expressing the deep emotions and anger behind their secret relationship. Twitty had threatened Bill with court martial, police involvement and trouble with his COs, which as a member of the home guard, was a massive extreme.
Ultimately Twitty had enough of the relationship and used his rank to speak to COs of the BEF in Africa and India and got Bill sent off to war.
This departure only made the romance between Bill and Joyce stronger with letters sent daily.
By 1945, Twitty and Bill were like father and son. They kept every letter from the war, which after their passing a few years ago, many were buried with them. The family have a few left but this is the standout of ours.
