Richard Cecil was born at 132 Lexham Gardens, Kensington in 1916 to Richard Haynes Twining and his wife Ellen Irene Rosalind Tweed. His paternal grandfather was a banker and his maternal, a stockbroker. His father, also a stockbroker, was a well-known cricketer, playing for Middlesex and Oxford University and being President of the MCC in 1964.

He was educated at Eton and Matriculated in 1935. He graduated with a 4th in history in 1938.

He joined the Welsh Guards and was a 2nd Lieutenant with 4 Company in the retreat from Dunkirk.

The diary of the 2nd Battalion for 24 May 1940 states

0030hrs
Dover was reached.
0430hrs
2 W.G. proceeded by train to Fleet and thence to Camp at Tweseldown Race Course reaching it about 1030hrs.
1830hrs
2. W.G. proceeded by rail to Colchester and went into Cherry Tree Camp.

2/Lieut. R.C. TWINING, 2/Lieut. E.G.F. BEDINFELD and less than 20 men of 4 Coy joined the Bn later in the morning at Tweseldown Camp, having arrived by destroyer at Dover just before the Bn left for Fleet. From their reports an unfortunate misunderstanding or error of judgement had occurred before the bulk of the Bn had been embarked, resulting in the loss of most of the officers and men of 2 and 4 Coys. The Coys were stated to have been in one of the big sheds on the quay in rear of the Station. Attempts had been made to contact forward, when “an officer” is stated to have told Capt. J.H.V. HIGGON (O.C. 4 Coy) that the last destroyer had left. After a short conference between O.C. 2 Coy and O.C. 4 Coy, it was decided to strike out through the German ring along the coast in the direction of Etaples.
2/Lieut. TWINING and 2/Lieut. BEDINGFELD and a proportion of 4 Coy (number unknown) became early cut off from the remainder as a result of encountering fire more than once down the streets up which they were advancing. Having lost touch with their Coy they decided to return to the quay and were soon taken off in a Destroyer.

He was promoted Lieutenant with effect from 1 January 1941 and in March he was commanding a Platoon at West Byfleet where an Ant-Tank Company had been formed.

In March 1943, he married Lorna Althea Holt nee Ravenhill, the widow of Pilot Officer G.C.A. Holt who had been killed on 15 October 1942.

Richard Cecil Twining was killed, days later, on 9 April 1943 in the final days of the war in North Africa.

He is buried in Enfidaville War Cemetery Plot II. B. 17.

Lorna Twining married Desmond Clive Chichester in 1946 and died in 1948 having just given birth to a son.