| James Foster Riddell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 1861 |
| Died | 26 April 1915(1915-04-26) (aged 53) St Julien, Belgium |
| Buried | Tyne Cot |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1880–1915 |
| Rank | Brigadier-general |
| Unit | Northumberland Fusiliers |
| Commands | 3rd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers 2nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers 149th (Northumberland) Brigade |
| Battles / wars | |
| Alma mater | Wellington College, Berkshire |
Brigadier-General James Foster Riddell (October 1861 – 26 April 1915) was a British Army officer who was killed on the Western Front whilst in command of the 149th (Northumberland) Brigade.
Biography
Riddell was commissioned into the British Army as a second lieutenant in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers on 11 August 1880, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1881. He served in the Hazara Expedition of 1888, where he was mentioned in despatches, and the following year was promoted to captain on 18 November 1889.
In October 1899 the Second Boer War broke out between the United Kingdom and the Boer Republics in what is now South Africa. Riddell served with the 2nd Battalion, which embarked for South Africa in November 1899 and was placed in a brigade under General Sir William Gatacre. Riddell took part in operations in Cape Colony, south of Orange River, from 1899 to 1900, during which he was promoted to major on 10 January 1900. He was appointed 2nd in command of his battalion on 23 November 1901. The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in June 1902, and the 2nd Battalion stayed in South Africa until January 1903, when Riddell commanded 357 officers and men who left Cape Town for home on the SS Aurania.
He later served in World War I in France, where he was killed on the Western Front in April 1915.
References
- Davis, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (1995). Bloody Red Tabs - General Officer Casualties of the Great War, 1914-1918. London: Leo Cooper, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Hart′s Army list, 1903
- "Naval & Military intelligence - Troops leaving South Africa". The Times. No. 36989. London. 28 January 1903. p. 10.