RIDDER, Henry
(Service number 9/195)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 02/09/1888 | Place of Birth | Geraldine |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Ferndale, Mataura | ||
| Occupation | Farm hand | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Frederick C. RIDDER (father), Lochiel, Southland | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Otago Mounted Rifles | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Ruapehu or Hawkes Bay | ||
| Embarked From | Port Chalmers, Dunedi | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 25 August 1960 | Age | 71 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Invercargill | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Eastern Cemetery, Invercargill | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Henry Ridder, known as Harry, was born on 2 September 1888 at Geraldine, the oldest son of Frederick Christopher (Friedrich Christoph) and Anna Maria (née Rathgen) Ridder. In 1902 Harry transferred from New Brighton School to Waihaorunga School. The family afterwards moved to Lochiel, Southland. On the outbreak of war, Henry promptly enlisted. He was a farm hand at Ferndale, Mataura, and named his father as next-of-kin – Frederick C. Ridder, Lochiel, Southland. Trooper H. Ridder embarked with the Otago Mounted Rifles of the Main Body on 16 October 1914, departing from Port Chalmers for Suez, Egypt. Wounded at the Dardanelles in June 1915, Henry Ridder returned home by the “Tahiti” in September 1915. “Trooper Henry Ridder (Otago Mounted) is twenty-six years of age, and the eldest son of Mr F. C. Ridder, Lochiel. He worked chiefly on his father’s farm, but when war was declared he was contracting in the Mataura district. He left the team for the farmer to finish the work himself, and promptly enlisted, going home to say good-bye to his parents. He left next morning for Tahuna Camp. Before sailing he applied for leave to go home again for a day or two, but was refused, the date of sailing being too near.” [Lyttelton Times, 1 July 1915.] In 1916, he married Mary Macgregor Brass, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. After Mary’s death in 1942, he married Alice Jane Ridder. Henry died on 25 August 1960 at Invercargill, aged 71, and was buried in the Eastern Cemetery, Invercargill.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [06 August 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 August 2021]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch) [07 August 2021]; Eastern Cemetery headstone image & burial record (Invercargill City Council) [07 August 2021]; Lyttelton Times, 1 July 1915, NZ Herald, 13 September 1915 (Papers Past) [09 August 2021]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.