Ian William Tweddell was born on 12 January 1917 in County Durham, England. He emigrated to Canada with his parents in 1921, settling near Lashburn, Saskatchewan. Tweddell was educated in Lashburn and Prince Albert, prior to enrolling at the University of Saskatchewan, where he received a BSc in Civil Engineering (1948). He went on to the University of Manitoba, earning an MSc in Community Planning. He served in the RCAF and RAF from 1941 to 1945, and was a prisoner of war in Germany from 1942 to 1945. Tweddell worked as a surveyor, throughout Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Yukon. He joined the faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in 1957 as a Lecturer, and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1962. Tweddell remained with the College of Engineering until his sudden death on 23 June 1975.