Life
In 1927, he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards. In 1935 he married Angela Claire Louise, daughter of William Dudley Ward, a Conservative Member of Parliament. They went on to have two sons and three daughters.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939 Laycock's interest in science led to his being appointed to the chemical warfare section of the British Expeditionary Force in France. This was a dead end position, and Laycock was sent home to attend the Staff college, thus missing the Battle of France. In the summer of 1940 Winston Churchill appointed Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes as head of Combined Operations, and Keyes soon sent for Laycock, whom he knew by reputation. Laycock was then a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards and had just received a posting to India. The actor David Niven later claimed that he had introduced Laycock to the Commandos, as Laycock was related to his wife Primula Susan Rollo. Niven claimed to have helped to arrange for Laycock to be interviewed by Dudley Clarke, which resulted in another officer being assigned to India and Laycock going on to form Number 8 Commando.
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Famous quotes containing the word life:
“We hear a great deal of lamentation these days about writers having all taken themselves to the colleges and universities where they live decorously instead of going out and getting firsthand information about life. The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.”
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