Sydney Robert Ridge was born on the 22nd of March 1918, according to the 1939 National Register, which was taken on the 29th of September 1939. He was the son of John & Mary Elizabeth Ridge (nee Parry) who had married in the same registration district in the December quarter of 1912 (Oswestry Vol. 6a Page 1590).
We see the young family living at 1, Hen Barns, West Felton, Oswestry on the 19th of June 1921, the day that the census was taken. Head of the household was John Ridge, 32 years, and 8 months old, born in Llanfair, Montgomeryshire, he was a Farm Worker for J. Denson, Farmer at Lees Farm, Rednal, West Felton, Oswestry. Mary Elizabeth Ridge was 30 years old an had been born in Dudleston, Shropshire, she was doing ‘Home Duties’ at home. Their children were John Edwin Ridge, 8 years and 1 month old, born in Oswestry, Shropshire, Randal Parry Ridge, 6 years and 5 months old, William Thomas Ridge, 5 years and 4 months old and Sidney Ridge 3 years and 3 months old. They had been born in Henbarns, Shropshire.
So, I have no information about Sydney, after the 1921 census, so his early & teenage years are a mystery. Any information on his life would be gratefully received so we can, perhaps, show the person, rather than just his name, he made such a sacrifice for us all to have freedom.
The National Register is a source of birth dates and occupations of each household. I believe that he was part of a large family. One brother who was born before him was William T. Ridge, born on the 8th of February 1916 and himself, Sydney R. Ridge, born on the 22nd of March 1918 they are seen on the 1939 National Register, but there are 6 closed or redacted records on the register and I believe that Richard M.A. Ridge was one of the 6, he was to die 2 days after Sydney. Head of the household was John Ridge, born on the 17th of October 1888 and he was a Dairy Farmer. His wife Mary E. Ridge had been born on the 9th of February 1891 and was also a Dairy Farmer. William T. Ridge, above, was a Steelworks Labourer (Heavy Worker) and also Sydney R. Ridge was a Contractor’s Labourer, (Heavy Worker).
As stated previously re the Closed records, the National register states that “For individual people, records remain closed for a century after their birth (the 100-year rule), unless it can be proven that they passed away before this milestone.”
Sadly, also, as you can see on the Hope WW2 War Memorial, he was not the only member of this household who was to sacrifice his life for us all, his brother, Richard M.A. Ridge, was also to lose his life and ironically, 2 days after Sydney, but in Belgium.
Sydney was about 21 years old when war was declared, but he was not in the Armed forces then as he is seen on the 1939 National Register.
Sydney may have been conscripted as he was 21 in 1939, he would have been required to enlist or he would be conscripted.
Your Country needs you. – On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed a more wide-reaching measure. The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription on all males aged between 18 and 41 who had to register for service.
We do know that Sydney met and eventually married Joyce Margaret Streeting on the 4th of July 1942 at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, Upton Lovell, Wiltshire, he was 24 years of age. I am assuming that he met her whilst he was in training, but I do not know, so any information would be appreciated.
Whatever happened, he was to find himself in the Welsh Guards, who the previous year had suffered a catastrophic event on the 30th of June 1944, when Welsh Guardsman John Frederick Fernyhough, who is remembered on the Hawarden WW2 War Memorial, was killed with 19 others by a Vi Bomb on the 30th of June 1944 whilst at Imber Court during a sports day, he was 32 years of age. They were training for the war. Please click on the link to read his story.
Welsh Guards From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Guards
Second World War
The Welsh Guards were increased to three battalions during the Second World War. The 1st Battalion fought valiantly in all the campaigns of the North-West European Theatre. The 2nd Battalion, part of the 20th Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards), fought briefly in Boulogne, France, in late May 1940 whilst the 1st fought in the battles of Belgium and France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) GHQ Troops. In May 1940 at the Battle of Arras, the Welsh Guards gained their second Victoria Cross by Lieutenant Christopher Furness, who was subsequently killed in action. The 1st Battalion was subsequently part of the retreat to Dunkirk, where they were involved in the legendary Dunkirk evacuation that saw nearly 340,000 Allied troops return to the United Kingdom, against all odds.[3]
Men of 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards in Arras, France, 14 February 1940.
The 3rd Battalion, Welsh Guards, which was formed at Beavers Lane Camp in 1941, fought throughout the arduous North African Campaign, in the Tunisia Campaign and the Italian campaigns in 1943.[3]
While they battled on in those theatres the 1st and 2nd joined the Guards Armoured Division, with the 1st Battalion being infantry, assigned to the 32nd Guards Brigade, and the 2nd Battalion being armoured, part of the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade. The two battalions worked closely, being the first troops to re-enter Brussels on 3 September 1944 after an advance of 100 miles in one day in what was described as ‘an armoured lash unequalled for speed in this or any other war’ led by Major-General Sir Allan Henry Adair, the divisional commander.[4]
32nd (Guards) Infantry Brigade
Headquarters, 5th (Guards) Armoured Brigade and Signal Section
1st (Armoured) Bn. Coldstream Guards
5th Bn. Coldstream Guards
2nd (Armoured Reconnaissance) Bn. Welsh Guards
1st Bn. Welsh Guards
Please click on the link – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guards_Division_(United_Kingdom) -Guards Division (United Kingdom)
Sydney must have experienced this in September 1944:-
Just to give a flavour of what they all went through in the 1st Bn. Welsh Guards:-
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/32nd-guards-infantry-brigade-september-1944.77210/#post-830426 (Just a part of what is on this website) – Thanks to “dbf (Moderatrix)”
War Diary: 1st Battalion WELSH GUARDS, Jan – Dec 1944
September 3
The Battalion left at first light and after a short halt at 0630 hours to line up with the 2nd Battalion WELSH GUARDS, the advance continued, the tanks in front doing anything up to 40 m.p.h. as an American Armoured Division had preceded us as far as TOURNAI but after that we were going over unliberated territory, and in every village the WELSH GUARDS Group got a terrific welcome.
The first check came at LEUTZ [?LEUZE], when some Infantry with a few Anti-Tank guns were well astride the road, and a staged attack which took a bit of time was put in by Prince of Wales Company and the leading tanks.
After this opposition had been successfully overcome, without any casualties to ourselves, though considerable casualties to the enemy, the advance continued, with checks only at ENGHIEN and HALLE……
I have found no Casualty Lists, so I do not know what happened to Sydney, but when he died he was initially buried, probably where he died or nearby, at a place identified as “Isolated Ohrte”, Map ref. Sh N2 MR V951445. He was then reburied on the 24th of July 1947 in the cemetery he now rests in.
Excerpt from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Citation for Sidney:-
HISTORY INFORMATION
The site of Rheinberg War Cemetery was chosen in April 1946 by the Army Graves Service for the assembly of Commonwealth graves recovered from numerous German cemeteries in the area. The majority of those now buried in the cemetery were airmen, whose graves were brought in from Dusseldorf, Krefeld, Munchen-Gladbach, Essen, Aachen and Dortmund; 450 graves were from Cologne alone. The men of the other fighting services buried here mostly lost their lives during the battle of the Rhineland, or in the advance from the Rhine to the Elbe.
I believe that Joyce Margaret Ridge remarried at the St. John the Baptist Church in Stockton, Wiltshire (Warminster Vol. 7c Page 1745) to Harold T. Bennett.
I believe that John Ridge died on the 11th of January 1961 and was buried at Fron(sic) Bache Cemetery, where I believe Mary Elizabeth was to follow him a few years later.
Mary Elizabeth Ridge died on the 16th of April 1966 as her probate shows:- RIDGE, Mary Elizabeth of the Hollies, Vron Vache, Llangollen, Denbighshire died 16th of April 1966 at Meadowslea Hospital, Penyffordd, Flintshire. Probate London 6 June to John Edwin RIDGE, Agricultural Fitter and Dudley Raymond RICHARDS, solicitor.
Sydney was loved and missed by his family, who made sure that he and his brother Richard were remembered by adding their names to the Hope WW2 War Memorial, to be remembered for perpetuity.
