The Wartime Memories Project - The Second World War

Those who Served - Surnames beginning with R.

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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

HW Riddell .     British Army

HW Riddell served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Riddett .     British Army Royal Armoured Corps

Riddett served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




SC Riddett .     British Army 7th Queens Own Hussars

SC Riddett served with the 7th Queens Own Hussars British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Sea. Andrew Riddle .     Royal Navy HMS Warspite

I believe Andrew Riddle served on the Warspite during WW2, any info please contact me.




E Riddle .     British Army Kings Own Scottish Borderers

E Riddle served with the Kings Own Scottish Borderers British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




L/Cpl. George Leonard Riddle .     British Army 4th Btn. Welsh Regiment   from Redruth, Cornwall

I know little of my dad's time in the Army which was from 1940 - 1946, his name was Lennie Riddle. His close friend George Harris, also from Redruth, served along side him.




Sgt. Leonard William George Riddle .     British Army 2nd Btn Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry   from Falmouth Cornwall

(d.25th May-4th June 1940)

Leonard Riddle was killed in action during the retreat to Dunkirk and was fighting along side a man called Arthur Bowers who survived and witnessed Leonard getting killed by a German sniper, shot in the head.

Leonard's brother, Howard George Aubrey Riddle, was a blacksmith 3rd class on HMS Repulse and was killed when the ship was torpedoed on 10th Dec 1941. Their father, George Aubrey Riddle, survived the First and Second World Wars with just the end of his pipe being shot off whilst laying telephone lines in the trenches at Ypres during WW1.




Pte. Wilfred Harold Riddle .     British Army Queen's Royal Regiment West Surrey   from Godalming, Surrey

(d.6th Feb 1941)

Wilf Riddle was my uncle and he was born in 1918, one of twins. The other twin, Leslie, died shortly after birth. The twins were allegedly the result of an affair that their mother had during the War while her husband was away.

He joined the army on 27th July 1940 and was a Private in the Queens Royal Regiment (West Surrey) - regimental number 6102539. He was part of a D.E.M.S. (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) unit serving on board the S.S. Maplecourt, a Canadian ship owned by the United Towing and Salvage Company Ltd. It was in a convoy on a voyage from Montreal to Liverpool with a cargo which included 1540 tonnes of steel for the war effort. The ship left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 22nd January 1941.

At 1600 on 6th February, 1941, the Maplecourt made an SSSS (a radio signal meaning 'I have been torpedoed by a submarine') call in position 55.39N/15.56W. 1 hour and 32 minutes later, the Maplecourt was officially stated as sunk. At 1741, the Harvester escort ship was told to detach a portion of the escort to hunt for the submarine. There was one other soldier belonging to the D.E.M.S. personnel killed on board and he was George F Brimicombe, Private, Queens Royal Regiment (West Surrey) - regimental number 611787 and also a John A Lockhart who was an Ordinary Seaman in the Royal Canadian Volunteer Reserve. The crew of the SS Maplecourt numbered 37. There were no survivors. The U-boat that fired the torpedo was U-107, captained by Gunter Hessler, who had married Ursula, the daughter of Admiral Karl Donitz, in November 1937.




WO2 Robert Alexander Riddoch .     Royal Air Force 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron   from Okanagan Center, BC, Canada

(d.25th Jun 1944)

Robert Riddoch was my great Uncle. He was trained in Canada and attached to the RAF where he served with the RAF stationed at Dunholme Lodge. The Squadron identity letters were KMJ and the serial number was ND 751. He flew on bombing missions as part of the crew captained by Flt Sgt DE Aiken. He signed on on March 31 1944 and flew operations all in Lancaster MKIII aircraft. The aircraft left at 2330 and the raid was against Pommerval.

He flew missions were on April 20th, 22, 24, 26, 28th, May 11, May 19th, May 21, May 22, May 27th, May 31, June 2, June 5, June 6 June 8, June 9, June 12 and June 24. He and the crew never returned from the June 24 mission and were listed as missing in action but later confirmed dead. Date of death is listed as June 25, 1944.

Crew members were:

  • P/O Douglas Aiken RCAF Pilot,
  • Sgt John Hare- air gunner,
  • Sgt Horace A Lewarne- flight engineer,
  • F/Sgt Sidney Rawson- wireless operator,
  • WO Robert Riddoch RCAF-navigator,
  • PO Alfred M Simmons RCAF- air bomber.
Robert Riddoch was twenty three years old when he was shot down and died. He and all of the flight crew are buried in a mass grave in a church cemetery at Criquetot-Sur-Longville Churchyard Seine Maritime France and it is a joint grave for them and he is in grave 3. The village church is about 17 Km south of Dieppe and one Km east of the N 27 road from Dieppe Totes. His name is in the book of Remembrance in Canada. For his sister and his wife life would never be the same and closure never came to his sister Dorothy Johnstone.




Alfred Roger Rider .     British Army 11th Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps   from Seven Kings, Essex




JF Rider .     British Army

JF Rider served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Richard Rider .       from Flint, Michigan

My husband was a POW, captured an Anzio. His camp was 7B.




PA Ridge .     British Army

PA Ridge served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




TK Ridge .     British Army Royal Armoured Corps

TK Ridge served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Ord Sigs Godfrey John Ridgley .     Royal Navy HMS Royal Arthur

My dad, Godfrey John Ridgley, served aboard HMS Royal Arthur from May 15th 1941 until 24th September 1941. He was a Ordinary Signalman.

I came across his Navy history whilst sorting out my mother's house and found he went on to serve on Pembroke, Badger, Paris, Europa, Laulia and Mayina, finishing in May 1946 aboard Europa.




KE Ridgley .     British Army 17/21st Lancers

KE Ridgley served with the 17/21st Lancers British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Kenneth Leslie Ridgley .     British Army

Kenneth Ridgley served with the British Army. I had his dogtags and was very pleased to get them home to his family.




Cpl. Ronald Ridgley .     British Army 5th Btn. S.Coy Royal Berkshire Regiment

Ronald Ridgley served with the 5th Royal Berkshire Regiment, S. Company. These are his recollections of D.Day

After a fairly rough crossing, we arrived off Bernieres, part of Juno beach. Alongside our L.C.T was an L.C.F fitted with all kinds of anti aircraft guns, which were putting up a curtain of fire, that any attacking aircraft would have to fly through. When the ramp went down, the first thing I saw was a row of dead Canadians laid out on the beach. A flail tank was beating a path through the mined sands, so we knew that if we kept to the tank tracks it would be fairly safe. The water wasn't very deep, so I got the motorbike ashore that I had to get on to the beach for an officer to use from then on. Meanwhile the Platoon had got our six guns and towing carriers ashore, ready to move inland. We were held up for a while by snipers in a nearby church tower, but I imagine the Navy put a couple of shots through that, as they soon came out., were disarmed and marched away as prisoners. Others memories of that day were of a Free French man walking along the beach pointing out gun sites and of German prisoners being made to carry the wounded down to the boats to go back to England. All this time the Navy shells were screaming overhead at targets inland. Our job was to move inland to form an anti tank screen around the beachhead between the sea and Caen. Caen was known to be the base of the German army in that area, so it was thought that any counter attack would come from there.




A Ridgway .     British Army Kings Liverpool Regiment

A Ridgway served with the Kings Liverpool Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Pte. Cyril George Ridgway .     British Army 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards   from St Albans

Cyril Ridgway enlisted into the Grenadier Guards in November 1939 and was transferred to 3rd Battalion in June 1940 after the fall of France so remained in England. After spending time in hospital at Louth, Lincs, in January 1941, Cyril was soon transferred into the RAMC, and served in J Company 1st Depot, Crookham, Hants from 15th of Feb 1941.




Walter Ridings .     British Army Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers   from Liverpool

My grandfather, Walter Ridings, was from the City of Liverpool. Sadly I know so little of his WW1 history. In WW2 he was a sergeant in REME and served in the Middle East and India.




Lt. Walter Leopold Ridl MC..     Union Defence Force 12th Field Squadron South African Engineering Corps   from Durban

Walter Ridl served as a Lt. in the South African Engineering Corps, in both North Africa and in Italy with the 6th SA Armoured Division, 12th Motorised Brigade, 12th Field Squadron. He was awarded the Military Cross, for "cool courage, leadership and devotion to duty" for opening up the road (clearing mines) between Monte San Martino and Monte Caprara on the morning of 16 April 1945. The citation reads " Although Lt W L Ridl and his party were heavily mortared, shelled and constantly harassed by enemy small arms fire, they continued their task undaunted, achieving what they set out to do." From the citation on being awarded the Military Cross on 25 May 1945 by Field Marshall H R Alexander, Filed Marshall, Supreme Allied Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Theatre




Lt. Walter Leopold Ridl MC..     Union Defence Force 12th Field Squadron South African Engineering Corps   from Durban

Walter Ridl's citation for the Military Cross.

Walter Ridl was awarded the Military cross for his actions on the 16th April 1945.




Sergeant Andrew Ridley .     RAF Volunteer Reserve air gunner 102 Sqdn.   from Newcastle

(d.7th Sep 1943)

Unfornatle the only details I have are from my father who has passed away, but I would be keen to hear from any members of the squadron that served with my Uncle and possibly the pilot/captian of the Halifax, who visited the family after the war, after being freed from a POW camp.




E Ridley .     British Army

E Ridley served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch.

Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.




Sargeant J A Ridley .     RAF 578 Squadron (d.11th September 1944)

Handley Page Halifax III, NA568 LK-Q, took off 11th September 1944 16.04 hrs, Op: Gelsenkirchen. The aircraft was hit by flak and crashed 18.30 hrs. in Kirchhellen. All crew survived and made POW except Sgt J A Ridley who sadly was killed. Sgt J A Ridley is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.

Crew:

  • P/O T S Coram RAAF
  • Sgt L Blundell
  • F/S J M Tregoning
  • F/S J Callingham RCAF
  • Sgt C Inge
  • Sgt J A Rix
  • Sgt J A Ridley




  • Pte. J. Ridley .     British Army Pioneer Corps (d.17th Jun 1940)

    Pte. J. Ridley of the Pioneer Corps lost his life in the sinking of the Lancastria.




    Joseph Ridley .     Royal Navy HMS Manchester   from Birmingham

    I am an American and was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the war. My father brought a British sailor home, who he met in a bar and befriended. He was Joe Ridley and his ship, HMS Manchester, had been torpedoed and was being repaired in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Joe became a regular house guest. I was only about three years old and he took me to the zoo and other places.

    At that time we had what we called "blackouts", whereby the sirens would go off at night, the searchlights would scan the sky for German bombers and all lights, by law, had to be turned off. The American public did not know that the Germans did not have bombers that could reach America, but the Roosevelt administration would not let them know that so as to keep up as much war sentiment as possible.

    Joe Ridley told my mother that his city of Birmingham had been bombed and that the safest place in the house was under the stairwell, which would possibly be the only part of the house left standing if bombed. My mother would then round up the "nippers" (not a word understood in America) as instructed by Joe and park us under the stairwell. Needless to say, no bombs.

    In recent years I have wondered what happened to Joe, particularly as I have been to England quite a few times as a tourist and on business. I would have loved to have found that he was alive and paid a surprise visit. I did some research on the Royal Navy archives and learned of the Manchester sinking after it left Philadelphia and went to the Mediterranean. I was never able to find any information on Joe Ridley but I still remember him in his uniform. If anyone knows of Joe please contact me.




    Stoker Tom Ridley .     Royal Navy HMS Pembroke   from Sheffield




    Bandmaster Albert E. Ridout .     Royal Navy HMS Nelson (d.12th Aug 1942)





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