George cross recipient. On 19th April 1918, at Brocton Camp, a recruit under bombing instruction dropped a Mills bomb in the throwing bay after pulling the pin out. Lacking the presence of mind to escape, Rifleman AJ McCurdy kicked the bomb towards the entrance and retreated to the inner end of the bay. Ridling, the bombing officer, seeing the man's danger, went to him, seized him by the arm and started to carry him out of the bay, but the bomb exploded before he could get clear. McCurdy was only slightly hurt thanks to Ridling's action. Ridling was severely wounded in the groin during the action and was once again hospitalised. On recovery he was appointed Assistant Adjutant to the 5th Reserve Battalion in addition to his normal duties. In 1919 he was promoted to Temporary Captain came with the job of Education Officer in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Education Scheme. He was demobbed in December 1919 just around the time of the publication in the London Gazette of his Albert Medal in Bronze.
George cross recipient. On 19th April 1918, at Brocton Camp, a recruit under bombing instruction dropped a Mills bomb in the throwing bay after pulling the pin out. Lacking the presence of mind to escape, Rifleman AJ McCurdy kicked the bomb towards the entrance and retreated to the inner end of the bay. Ridling, the bombing officer, seeing the man's danger, went to him, seized him by the arm and started to carry him out of the bay, but the bomb exploded before he could get clear. McCurdy was only slightly hurt thanks to Ridling's action. Ridling was severely wounded in the groin during the action and was once again hospitalised. On recovery he was appointed Assistant Adjutant to the 5th Reserve Battalion in addition to his normal duties. In 1919 he was promoted to Temporary Captain came with the job of Education Officer in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Education Scheme. He was demobbed in December 1919 just around the time of the publication in the London Gazette of his Albert Medal in Bronze.
Bio by: Paul Barnett
Advertisement
See more Ridling memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
