Robert Edward Dudley Ryder
Encyclopedia
Robert Edward Dudley Ryder VC
(16 February 1908 — 29 June 1986) was a Royal Navy officer and a British
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth
forces. He became a Conservative
Member of Parliament
after retiring from the navy.
, CIE
, DSO
, Surveyor General of India
, and Ida Josephine Grigg. He was a great-grandson of the Right Reverend Henry Ryder
, youngest son of Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby
. Ryder had two brothers; both were killed in the Second World War. Lisle Charles Dudley Ryder died in the Le Paradis massacre
of 1940 in France. Ernle Terrick Dudley Ryder died in captivity after the defence of Singapore
. Ryder was educated at Hazelhurst School and Cheltenham College
before he entered the Royal Navy
in 1926.
on the battleship
HMS Ramillies from 1927 to 1929. As a Lieutenant he served in the submarine
HMS Olympus
as part of the 4th Flotilla in China from 1930 to 1933. Ryder also commanded several expeditions. This included captaining the ketch Tai-Mo-Shan on a 16,217 mile voyage from Hong Kong
to Dartmouth, England during 1933–1934. From 1934 to 1937 he captained the schooner Penola during the British Graham Land Expedition
in Antarctica.
When the Second World War started, Ryder was serving as a Lieutenant Commander
on HMS Warspite. In 1940, he was promoted to Commander
of the frigate
HMS Fleetwood and in 1941, he went on to captain the Prince Philippe which sank after a collision in the Firth of Clyde
. Ryder, now a Commander
led the St. Nazaire Raid
, codenamed Operation Chariot. This was a successful operation to destroy the "Normandie Dock" in the German
Naval base in the town. The stated aim of the operation was to deny large German ships, particularly the German battleship Tirpitz
, a base on the Atlantic
coast. For his actions during this operation he was one of five people awarded the Victoria Cross
, the highest award for valour of the British Empire
.
The official citation:
His medal is held by the Imperial War Museum
, London
.
attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, Seine-Inférieure
on the Northern coast of France
on 19 August 1942. The Dieppe Raid
was largely a failure but it helped influence planning for Operation Overlord
, the landings at D-Day. Ryder achieved a final rank of Captain
in 1948. He commanded the research vessel Penola on the Rymill Expedition to the Antarctic and later served as naval attaché
at Oslo
.
candidate for Merton and Morden
at the 1950 general election
. He was elected and served as the MP
for five years. He died on 29 June 1986, whilst on the yacht Watchdog during a sailing trip to France
. He is buried in Headington Crematorium, Oxford.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(16 February 1908 — 29 June 1986) was a Royal Navy officer and a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces. He became a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
after retiring from the navy.
Early life
Ryder was born in India in 1908 to Colonel Charles Henry Dudley Ryder, CBOrder of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, Surveyor General of India
Surveyor General of India
The Surveyor General of India is the Head of Department of Survey of India, a Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology of Government of India. He also happens to be the senior most member of the Survey of India Service, an organized engineering service under the Union of India....
, and Ida Josephine Grigg. He was a great-grandson of the Right Reverend Henry Ryder
Henry Ryder
The Right Reverend the Hon. Henry Dudley Ryder was a prominent English Evangelical Anglican clergyman in the early years of the nineteenth century...
, youngest son of Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby
Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby
Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby was a British peer and Member of Parliament.Harrowby was the son of Sir Dudley Ryder, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. He was elected to the House of Commons for Tiverton in 1756, a seat he held until 1776. On 20 May 1776 he was raised to the peerage as...
. Ryder had two brothers; both were killed in the Second World War. Lisle Charles Dudley Ryder died in the Le Paradis massacre
Le Paradis massacre
The Le Paradis massacre was a war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein...
of 1940 in France. Ernle Terrick Dudley Ryder died in captivity after the defence of Singapore
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
. Ryder was educated at Hazelhurst School and Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
before he entered the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1926.
Naval career
Ryder served on several ships throughout his career. He served as a MidshipmanMidshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
on the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS Ramillies from 1927 to 1929. As a Lieutenant he served in the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
HMS Olympus
HMS Olympus (N35)
HMS Olympus ' was an Odin class submarine, a class originally designed for the Royal Australian Navy to cope with long distance patrolling in Pacific waters.Olympus was built to the same design for the Royal Navy....
as part of the 4th Flotilla in China from 1930 to 1933. Ryder also commanded several expeditions. This included captaining the ketch Tai-Mo-Shan on a 16,217 mile voyage from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to Dartmouth, England during 1933–1934. From 1934 to 1937 he captained the schooner Penola during the British Graham Land Expedition
British Graham Land Expedition
A British expedition to Graham Land led by John Lachlan Cope took place between 1920 and 1922. The British Graham Land Expedition was a geophysical and exploration expedition to Graham Land in Antarctica between 1934 to 1937. Under the leadership of John Riddoch Rymill, the expedition spent two...
in Antarctica.
When the Second World War started, Ryder was serving as a Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
on HMS Warspite. In 1940, he was promoted to Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Fleetwood and in 1941, he went on to captain the Prince Philippe which sank after a collision in the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
. Ryder, now a Commander
Commander (Royal Navy)
Commander is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is immediately junior to captain and immediately senior to the rank of lieutenant commander...
led the St. Nazaire Raid
St. Nazaire Raid
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined...
, codenamed Operation Chariot. This was a successful operation to destroy the "Normandie Dock" in the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Naval base in the town. The stated aim of the operation was to deny large German ships, particularly the German battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
, a base on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast. For his actions during this operation he was one of five people awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest award for valour of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
Victoria Cross
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the Victoria Cross for daring and valour in the attack on the German Naval Base at St. Nazaire, to:
Commander Robert Edward Dudley Ryder, Royal Navy.
For great gallantry in the attack on St. Nazaire. He commanded a force of small unprotected ships in an attack on a heavily defended port and led H.M.S. Campbeltown in under intense fire from short range weapons at point blank range. Though the main object of the expedition had been accomplished in the beaching of Campbeltown, he remained on the spot conducting operations, evacuating men from Campbeltown and dealing with strong points and close range weapons while exposed to heavy fire for one hour and sixteen minutes, and did not withdraw till it was certain that his ship could be of no use in rescuing any of the Commando Troops who were still ashore. That his Motor Gun Boat, now full of dead and wounded, should have survived and should have been able to withdraw through an intense barrage of close range fire was almost a miracle.
His medal is held by the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Later naval career
Ryder took part in the AlliedAllies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, Seine-Inférieure
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
on the Northern coast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 19 August 1942. The Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
was largely a failure but it helped influence planning for Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, the landings at D-Day. Ryder achieved a final rank of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
in 1948. He commanded the research vessel Penola on the Rymill Expedition to the Antarctic and later served as naval attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
at Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
Later life
Following his naval career, he stood for election to the Houses of Commons as the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for Merton and Morden
Merton and Morden (UK Parliament constituency)
Merton and Morden was a parliamentary constituency in what was then the Merton and Morden Urban District, but is now part of the London Borough of Merton...
at the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
. He was elected and served as the MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for five years. He died on 29 June 1986, whilst on the yacht Watchdog during a sailing trip to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He is buried in Headington Crematorium, Oxford.
Awards
- Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
; gazettedLondon GazetteThe London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
19 May 1942 - Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- Croix de guerreCroix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
- 4 Mentions in despatches:
- 2 October 1942
- 10 November 1944
- 15 December 1944
- fourth date unknown
- Polar Medal with claspPolar MedalThe Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1857 as the Arctic Medal and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904.-History:...
External links
- Robert RYDER of Cheltenham College
- Location of grave and VC medal (Oxfordshire)
- HMS Campbeltown and the Raid on St. Nazaire (detailed description of the action)
- The St. Nazaire Society (Operation Chariot)