A Foot Soldier
Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Granville Leveson Dudley Ryder TD Royal Artillery
The Man Hugh Granville Leveson Dudley Ryder was born on 26th January 1900 in Clifton, Bristol son of Reverend Algernon Charles Dudley Ryder, a clergyman with the Church of England and Constance Eugina Ryder nee Smith. He was one of seven children, Mary Constance Eugina born in 1890, Algernon Frederick Rowland Dudley 1891, Cecily Blanche Dorothy 1893, Phillipa Constance Marian 1895, Joan Florence Helen 1897 and Dorothy Evelyn Frances 1900. He was christened on 8th May 1900 at Trowbridge. In the census of 1901 the family were living in St James Rectory, Church Street, Trowbridge with a total of eight staff, a Governess, a Cook three Nurses, a Parlour, House and Kitchen maid. 10 years later in 1911 the family had moved to The Rectory Maresefield, Uckfield in Essex and Hugh was listed as a student. They now had a Governess, Cook, Nurse, House, Parlour, Children’s, Kitchen and Lady’s Maids working for them. On 17th December 1919 Hugh was Commissioned into the North Staffordshire Battalion as 2nd Lieutenant, resigning his Commission on 6th October 1920 and transferring to the General Reserve of Officers, where he remained at the same rank for a number of years. On 2nd March 1926, aged 26 Hugh married Diana Vivian Makins, daughter of Sir Paul Augustine Makins, 2nd Bart and Gladys Marie Vivien, they married in the Parish of St George, Hanover Square, London and had two children Jane Christine born on 19th May 1927 and Hugh Adrian Dudley born on 30th August 1930 but who sadly a few months later on 10th February 1931. They lived at 22 Lancaster Gate, London. Hugh became a Stockbroker working at 10, Old Broad Street in the City of London as a Partner in the firms of James Capel & Company and by 1935 was living with his family at 12A Oxford Square. On 4th April 1938 Hugh resigned his Commission in the North Staffordshire Regiment Regular Army Reserve of Officers and enlisted into the Territorial Army, as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 80th Anti Aircraft Regiment with service number 78588, and promoted to Lieutenant, Acting Captain and substantive Captain on 23rd August 1939. During World War II he was promoted to Temporary Major and saw service with the 88th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment in the Middle East and Mentioned in Despatches in December 1942 for gallant and distinguished services between November 1941 and April 1942. He then became the Military Attaché in Athens between 1943 and 1945 and for his war time service was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star with 1st Army clasp, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45 with MiD and the Greek Medal for Outstanding Acts. Following the war Hugh remained in the TA being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 1st May 1947, and admitted to the Worshipful Company of Patternmakers on 24th March 1949. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration ‘Territorial’ in the London Gazette of 20th June 1950 and transferred to the TA Reserve of Officers, ceasing to belong to them on 16th April 1955, aged 55, having reached age limit of liability for recall. By now Hugh was living at 20 Devonshire Place, St Marylebone with Diana. Sadly on 12th December 1951, Diana died, leaving £23,507 17s 7d, and on 12th June 1955, Hugh re-married to Patricia Geraldine Peto, nee Browne, daughter of Gerald Macleay Brown in Westminster. Little detail is known of Hugh’s later life except that he died on 9th March 1983, whilst living at 47 Burton Court, Franklins Row, London, leaving £30,615.00.
The Story The group of medals awarded to Hugh Granville Leveson Dudley Ryder were acquired in October 2014 and of interest because of the Greek award and the Worshipful Company of Patternmakers Medal that came with the group. As usual a trawl of the internet, Ancestry.uk, the London Gazettes and his will in London, enabled the above brief biography to be pieced together. Sadly no confirmation can be found that Hugh Ryder was formally awarded the Greek Medal For Outstanding Acts, and the ribbon is the wrong colour for a war time award. However it is possible, that the award was made later, after 1950 with the new ribbon, and that it was not recorded in the London Gazette. The award is likely as Hugh served as the Military Attaché in Athens from 1934-45. His medal award certificate also makes no mention of the 1st Army clasp nor the Mention in Despatches, however the MiD has been confirmed in the London Gazette and he was in the 88th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment in North Africa who were entitled to the 1st Army clasp. Some further ongoing research may uncover more detail
Medal For Outstanding Acts (Greece) Instituted on 11 November 1940 after the outbreak of hostilities with Italy it is a renewal of the Medal of Military Merit. It used the existing stock of the Medal but with the addition of a bronze-gilt bar with the date 1940 to its riband and was awarded in just one class (Romanoff, 1987). The Medal was later changed in the early 1940's to another bronze or oxidised copper medal of a Greek cross embellished with the crowned cypher of King George II. A laurel wreath is placed upon the cross and crossed swords protrude from under the cross. It is pendent on the royal crown by the riband of the Medal of Military Merit. This medal was reinstituted around 1950 as the Distinguished Conduct Medal 1950 with the riband changed to yellow with a red stripe towards each edge. It was awarded in one class and bestowed upon members of the Armed Forces and civilians for acts of great merit and loyal service during the Second World War and the internal Greek conflicts up to 1952. The Medal awarded to New Zealanders during the Second World War used the second medal design and the riband of the Medal of Military Merit without any bars added. They were manufactured by Spink and Sons, Limited of London and are of the type shown in the photo above. They are commonly referred to as the Greek Distinguished Conduct Medal, the Greek Distinguished Service Medal, the Medal for Outstanding Service and the Medal for Outstanding Acts in the London Gazette and the official New Zealand war histories.
Hugh Ryder's Worshipful Company of Pattern Makers Medal
Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Granville Leveson Dudley Ryder's World War II Medal Certificate showing the five awards, but interestingly not the MiD or 1st Army Bar.
The Worshipful Company of Patternmakers It is not possible to say when the assumption of the Company’s Arms took place, but the Arms are engraved on the Company’s Cromwell Chalice, which was inscribed in 1693. The Arms were formally granted in 1998 and are:
'Gules on a chevron argent between three pattens, or, tied argent, the ties lined azure, two cutting knives conjoined sable. In the middle chief point two knives in Saltire of the third.' The Company motto, 'Recipiunt foeminae sustentacula nobis', may be translated as ‘Women receive support from us’ .
The first record of the ‘Mystery of Patynmakers’ is in the year 1379. For some time after there was a thriving trade in the City of London centred on Rood Lane, in which the church of St Margaret Pattens now stands. The patten was a form of under-shoe consisting of a ring to which a wooden platform or sole was fastened by metal uprights. By fastening the shoe on top of this with a leather strap, the wearer could walk through the mud of the City and arrive clean shod. With the paving of the streets, the trade died out and it is thought that the last working pattenmaker died in the 19th century. However, a pattenmaker was still listed in a trade reference in the 1920s. The Company’s early records were believed lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Company was incorporated by Royal Charter by King Charles II in 1670 and granted Livery in 1717. In 1981 the Company was granted a third Royal Charter which gave it additional powers, including that of appointing a Warden to the Trade. This Charter also conferred upon the Company the power to appoint a patron. The Company has been particularly proud that HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GVCO accepted this office; he has expressed particular interest in design matters within the shoe trade. In 1976 a close association was formed with the shoe trade. Despite a diminishing workforce in the United Kingdom, the manufacture and sale of footwear is still important and about 25% of the Livery membership is associated in some form with that trade. Only the ‘Great Twelve’ Livery Companies attend the Lord Mayor’s Show by right, but the Pattenmakers have been accorded the singular privilege of joining the civic procession every third year. This situation stems from the 1600s when the Pattenmakers had their own procession on the same day as the Lord Mayor’s. The intermingling of the two processions, as each moved from tavern to tavern, eventually led to the present and doubtless more peaceful arrangement.
The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers was awarded its first Royal Charter in 1670 and livery status in 1717, is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The most common pattens made since the 12th century in London and other European centres took the form of a shaped wooden platform with leather or cloth straps to hold the shoes upon it, and a cast-iron ring and uprights beneath. In the 18th century pattens for elegant ladies were made to match their shoes in fine silk or embroidery. Thus the trade embraced the skills of carpentry, leatherworking, blacksmithing and embroiders. Pattens were worn principally by women, giving rise to the Company's motto Recipiunt fœminæ sustentacula nobis meaning 'Women receive support from us' but men's and children's examples also exist. Trade and craft associations have flourished all over Europe for many centuries, but the City of London companies, now collectively known as the Livery, are unique in their survival, number and diversity. The social and economic conditions which gave birth to the original guilds have long since been overtaken by the development of industry and commerce, but the livery companies still flourish today as living institutions. Their survival has been achieved by doing what they have always done: fostering their trade in a wide context, serving the community, and embracing modern skills and professions. Today there are 110 livery companies in the City of London. An order of precedence was established in 1515 according to company wealth. To settle a dispute the Skinners and Merchant Taylors take positions six and seven on alternate years (hence the expression 'being at sizes and sevens'). Some companies such as the Goldsmiths, Fishmongers, Saddlers and Gunmakers are still active in their trade. Others such as the Horners and Fan Makers have changed to modern equivalents (plastics & air-conditioning) whilst many have lost their trade. The demand for pattens died out at the end of the 19th century, when roads and pavements were much more commonly surfaced. Hence the Pattenmakers represented a lost trade and needed to reinvent itself. It did so by continuing a strong membership of leading figures from the shoe trade and by encouraging the development of the trade through the awards for young managers and grants to students learning the design and manufacturing skills required. More recently, it has found a new and unique niche amongst the livery companies by supporting in many ways the production of orthopaedic shoes for those, particularly in the armed services, who have had severe leg and foot injuries. It is not certain whether in the past the Pattenmakers Company had its own Livery Hall. Over the centuries many Livery Halls have disappeared. Some were sold when money was short, some closed when the original companies were disbanded or absorbed into others and some have been destroyed - many in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Without their own Hall, they take the opportunity to make use of the many very fine Halls of fellow Livery Companies within the City of London. Click here to see more about the Worshipful Company of Patternmakers
'Gules on a chevron argent between three pattens, or, tied argent, the ties lined azure, two cutting knives conjoined sable. In the middle chief point two knives in Saltire of the third.' The Company motto, 'Recipiunt foeminae sustentacula nobis', may be translated as ‘Women receive support from us’ .
The first record of the ‘Mystery of Patynmakers’ is in the year 1379. For some time after there was a thriving trade in the City of London centred on Rood Lane, in which the church of St Margaret Pattens now stands. The patten was a form of under-shoe consisting of a ring to which a wooden platform or sole was fastened by metal uprights. By fastening the shoe on top of this with a leather strap, the wearer could walk through the mud of the City and arrive clean shod. With the paving of the streets, the trade died out and it is thought that the last working pattenmaker died in the 19th century. However, a pattenmaker was still listed in a trade reference in the 1920s. The Company’s early records were believed lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Company was incorporated by Royal Charter by King Charles II in 1670 and granted Livery in 1717. In 1981 the Company was granted a third Royal Charter which gave it additional powers, including that of appointing a Warden to the Trade. This Charter also conferred upon the Company the power to appoint a patron. The Company has been particularly proud that HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GVCO accepted this office; he has expressed particular interest in design matters within the shoe trade. In 1976 a close association was formed with the shoe trade. Despite a diminishing workforce in the United Kingdom, the manufacture and sale of footwear is still important and about 25% of the Livery membership is associated in some form with that trade. Only the ‘Great Twelve’ Livery Companies attend the Lord Mayor’s Show by right, but the Pattenmakers have been accorded the singular privilege of joining the civic procession every third year. This situation stems from the 1600s when the Pattenmakers had their own procession on the same day as the Lord Mayor’s. The intermingling of the two processions, as each moved from tavern to tavern, eventually led to the present and doubtless more peaceful arrangement.
The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers was awarded its first Royal Charter in 1670 and livery status in 1717, is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The most common pattens made since the 12th century in London and other European centres took the form of a shaped wooden platform with leather or cloth straps to hold the shoes upon it, and a cast-iron ring and uprights beneath. In the 18th century pattens for elegant ladies were made to match their shoes in fine silk or embroidery. Thus the trade embraced the skills of carpentry, leatherworking, blacksmithing and embroiders. Pattens were worn principally by women, giving rise to the Company's motto Recipiunt fœminæ sustentacula nobis meaning 'Women receive support from us' but men's and children's examples also exist. Trade and craft associations have flourished all over Europe for many centuries, but the City of London companies, now collectively known as the Livery, are unique in their survival, number and diversity. The social and economic conditions which gave birth to the original guilds have long since been overtaken by the development of industry and commerce, but the livery companies still flourish today as living institutions. Their survival has been achieved by doing what they have always done: fostering their trade in a wide context, serving the community, and embracing modern skills and professions. Today there are 110 livery companies in the City of London. An order of precedence was established in 1515 according to company wealth. To settle a dispute the Skinners and Merchant Taylors take positions six and seven on alternate years (hence the expression 'being at sizes and sevens'). Some companies such as the Goldsmiths, Fishmongers, Saddlers and Gunmakers are still active in their trade. Others such as the Horners and Fan Makers have changed to modern equivalents (plastics & air-conditioning) whilst many have lost their trade. The demand for pattens died out at the end of the 19th century, when roads and pavements were much more commonly surfaced. Hence the Pattenmakers represented a lost trade and needed to reinvent itself. It did so by continuing a strong membership of leading figures from the shoe trade and by encouraging the development of the trade through the awards for young managers and grants to students learning the design and manufacturing skills required. More recently, it has found a new and unique niche amongst the livery companies by supporting in many ways the production of orthopaedic shoes for those, particularly in the armed services, who have had severe leg and foot injuries. It is not certain whether in the past the Pattenmakers Company had its own Livery Hall. Over the centuries many Livery Halls have disappeared. Some were sold when money was short, some closed when the original companies were disbanded or absorbed into others and some have been destroyed - many in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Without their own Hall, they take the opportunity to make use of the many very fine Halls of fellow Livery Companies within the City of London. Click here to see more about the Worshipful Company of Patternmakers
Medal Details
- 1939-45 Star: Unnamed as issued.
- Africa Star: Unnamed as issued
- Italy Star: Unnamed as issued
- Defence Medal: Unnamed as issued
- War Medal 1939-45: Unnamed as issued.
- Efficiency Decoration: 1950
- Medal for Outstanding Acts: 1940
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