Officer's riding boots

A pair of First World War leather riding boots belonging to Captain Richard (Dick) Erroll Wardell Riddiford, OBE MC.

Riddiford served in the New Zealand Division on the Western Front. He performed a variety of roles for the division, including spells as Camp Commandant of the New Zealand Division Headquarters and Aide-de-Camp for the Division's commander, Major-General Andrew Russell. Riddiford was a very capable soldier and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for rescuing men from no man's land during the Battle of the Somme. Later he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his 'exceptional ability'.

Riddiford survived the war and planned to return to New Zealand to marry his sweetheart and begin a career in politics. Tragically he never made it home. He died in England in 1919 after contracting influenza on a ship crossing the English Channel from France.

• See also: entry for Richard Riddiford in Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database

Image courtesy National Army Museum Te Mata Toa
Accession Number: 2006.256
Permission of the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.