Family History, Pidduck Chart 0201 William John Pidduck and Margaret "Maggie" Sarah Hills

1891 15 Denmark Road, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, Kent. William John and his father were living with William's grandparents, William and Hannah PIDDUCK
1901 15 Finsbury Road, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, Kent
1911 Not found
"Will" served in the 2nd Worcester Regiment during World War 1. The only official information available is his Medal Card which gives his rank as Sergeant in the Machine Gun Corps. The medals awarded were: British War Medal, 1914 Star, Victory Medal with Clasp and Roses. The family have in their possession a photograph of "WILL" signed by him and dated 1917 "The Somme". As understoof by family members he was injured during the war and taken to the Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich for treatment where he met Maggie HILLS an auxilary nurse there, formed a friendship and they later married For most of his working life he was employed as a Mental Nurse.
1957 PIDDUCK William John of 59 Woolwich-road Bexleyheath Kent died 1 February 1957 Probate Peterborough 6 May to Ernest Edward John Pidduck manufacturers clerk. Effects £2296 14s. 4d. (National Probate Calendar)

"Mr and Mrs PIDDUCK, 11 Lion Road, Bexleyheath wish to thank all kind friends and neighbours for their sympathy and floral tributed during their recent sad bereavement (Bexley Observer, 30 April 1926)

Information from Forces War Records sent by John TERRY 1/11/2014
1st entry
First Name: Dennis Frederick
Initials: D
Surname: PIDDUCK
DOB: Circa 1924
Age: 20
Birth County: Kent
Nationality: British
Resided County: Kent
Resided Country: England
Date of Death: 24/09/1944
Incident Details: Killed in Action, Originally reported missing. Shot on 18 September 1944? whilst attempting to swim the Rhine, with Pte J Young, South Staffordshire Regiment. Their bodies were washed ashore in the garden of a schoolteacher at Elst, who hid the bodies fro
Information: Son of William John and Sarah Pidduck; husband of Sylvia Joyce Pidduck, of Wigginton, Hertfordshire
Further Information: Task and operation details: Operation MARKET; Airborne operation to capture the Rhine bridge at Arnhem 17-26 Sep 44
Rank: Serjeant
Rank (2nd): Glider Pilot
Service Number: 14409988
Duty Location: Western Europe Campaign 1944-45
Campaign Medals:
War Medal 1939-1945
As with most Armed Forces Serving Personal during the conflict of World War Two, Dennis Frederick PIDDUCK was entitled to the War Medal 1939-1945. This medal was awarded to all full time service personnel who had completed 28 days service between 3rd September 1939 and the 2nd September 1945. Eligible personnel who had been “Mentioned In Despatches” during the War were entitled to wear a bronze oak leaf emblem on the ribbon. Those eligible for a campaign star, yet who had their service cut short by death, wounds or capture by the enemy, still qualified for this medal.
1939-45 Star
Given the information available to us it is likely that Dennis Frederick PIDDUCK was awarded the 1939-45 Star for operational Service in the Second World War between 3rd September 1939, and 2nd September 1945.
Dennis Frederick PIDDUCK would have been awarded this star if their service period was terminated by their death or disability due to service. Also the award of a gallantry medal or “Mention In Despatches” also produced the award of this medal, regardless of their service duration.
Fighter Aircraft Crew who took part in the Battle of Britain (10 July to 31 October 1940) were awarded the "Battle of Britain" bar to this medal. In undress uniform, a silver-gilt rosette was worn on the medal ribbon to denote the award of this clasp.
Service: British Army
Regiment: glider pilot regiment
Glider Pilot Regiment during World War 2
Formed: 1941
Disbanded: 1957
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a specialist British unit of the Second World War. The Regiment was responsible for crewing the British Army’s cargo gliders and saw action in the European Theatre in support of Allied airborne operations.
The Glider Pilot Regiment was part of the Airborne Force of 5,000 ordered to be formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941. The use of assault gliders by the British was prompted by the German assault on Eben Emael fortress. The Regiment was formally inaugurated on 24 February 1942 as part of the Army Air Corps which then comprised the Glider Pilot Regiment, the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service.
Volunteers were called for from Army units and after military and RAF aircrew selection tests they were subjected to a rigorous regime of military training designed to make them "Total Soldiers". This was to train them to use all weapons and equipment of the fighting soldiers they carried into battle so that they could fight alongside them on the ground.
The man behind this concept was Colonel George Chatterton, a charismatic leader and a ruthless disciplinarian. His experience as a pre-war RAF fighter pilot and subsequently an infantry officer fitted him well to the task of turning highly trained determined soldiers into skilful pilots. The motto of the Regiment was "Nothing is Impossible".
Among the types developed were the 28 trooper Airspeed Horsa and the 7 ton capacity General Aircraft Hamilcar cargo glider. The General Aircraft Hotspur was used for training the pilots who formed the Glider Pilot Regiment.
The Horsa gliders were capable of carrying 28 fully armed and equipped airborne soldiers, or a Jeep and trailer or gun. They greatly enhanced the mobility and force of the otherwise lightly armed airborne troops. A larger glider, the Hamilcar, could even carry a seven ton tank. A smaller American glider, the Waco CG-4A, officially called the Hadrian by the British, but "Waco" by the pilots and soldiers, was used in Sicily and in Burma. The Waco’s steel frame was better suited to jungle operations than the wooden Horsa.
The advantage of the glider was that it could deliver an airborne platoon with all its equipment to a precise spot, day or night, to achieve surprise. The most spectacular example of this was the capture of the Orne bridges in Normandy on D Day. A similar number of men dropped by parachute would be spread over a large area. Gliders also carried the heavier equipment of the Parachute Regiment, Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. The most famous actions were the taking of the Pegasus Bridge during the invasion of Normandy, Operation Dragoon (the invasion of southern France), Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) and Operation Varsity (Crossing of the Rhine). Out of the 2,596 gliders dispatched for Operation Market Garden, 2,239 gliders were effective in delivering men and equipment to their designated landing zones.
Massed airborne landings at Sicily, Normandy and Arnhem achieved success but at great cost. The Airborne Forces at Arnhem did not lose the battle, they were ordered to hold for two or possibly three days, they held out for eight days. The Regiment’s casualties were the highest at Arnhem, 90% were killed, wounded or taken prisoner of war.
These losses were made up by the secondment to the Regiment of Royal Air Force pilots and several hundreds of them took part in the greatest and most successful airborne operation of the war, Operation Varsity, the Crossing of the Rhine. The RAF pilots acquitted themselves with great gallantry, in the air and on the ground, 60% of the Regiment’s killed in action on that day were RAF pilots seconded to the Glider Pilot Regiment.
The very heavy casualties sustained by the gliders in the war brought an end to the assault glider. Their operational role is now carried out by the support helicopters of the Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force.
After the war, former Army glider pilots took part as light aircraft pilots in the Korean War and other emergencies. Eventually these pilots joined with the Royal Artillery Air Observation Post squadrons to form today’s Army Air Corps. The Army Air Corps supports the Glider Pilot Regimental Association and represents the Regiment at commemorative occasions
Squadron/Battalion: E Squadron, 2nd Wing
Component: Both Wings (7 Squadrons)
Crew: Sgt D F Pidduck
Commemorated: Rhenen (Elst) General Cemetery, Utrecht, Netherlands. Row 15. Grave 4
2nd ENTRY
First Name: Dennis Frederick
Initials: D F
Surname: PIDDUCK
DOB: Circa 1924
Age: 20
Birth County: Kent.
Nationality: British
Resided County: Kent.
Date of Death: 24/09/1944
Information: SON OF WILLIAM JOHN AND SARAH PIDDUCK; HUSBAND OF SYLVIA JOYCE PIDDUCK, OF WIGGINTON, HERTFORDSHIRE.
Rank: Serjeant
Service Number: 14409988
Campaign Medals:
War Medal 1939-1945
As with most Armed Forces Serving Personal during the conflict of World War Two, Dennis Frederick PIDDUCK was entitled to the War Medal 1939-1945. This medal was awarded to all full time service personnel who had completed 28 days service between 3rd September 1939 and the 2nd September 1945. Eligible personnel who had been “Mentioned In Despatches” during the War were entitled to wear a bronze oak leaf emblem on the ribbon. Those eligible for a campaign star, yet who had their service cut short by death, wounds or capture by the enemy, still qualified for this medal.
1939-45 Star
Given the information available to us it is likely that Dennis Frederick PIDDUCK was awarded the 1939-45 Star for operational Service in the Second World War between 3rd September 1939, and 2nd September 1945.
Dennis Frederick PIDDUCK would have been awarded this star if their service period was terminated by their death or disability due to service. Also the award of a gallantry medal or “Mention In Despatches” also produced the award of this medal, regardless of their service duration.
Fighter Aircraft Crew who took part in the Battle of Britain (10 July to 31 October 1940) were awarded the "Battle of Britain" bar to this medal. In undress uniform, a silver-gilt rosette was worn on the medal ribbon to denote the award of this clasp.
Service: British Army
Regiment: Glider Pilot Regiment, AAC
Battalion: 2nd Wing
Archive Reference: WO 304/18
Commemorated: Netherlands
Place of Death: Western Europe Campaign, 1944/45
Collections: UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945
Information for Sylvia Joyce PIDDUCK
1944 Wigginton, Hertfordshire (Forces War Records for medals of husband)

1954 Ralph Walter J LITTLE aged 24 a Royal Marine, his wife Audrey Margaret aged 24 a Housewife and Anthony LITTLE aged 2 child are on the UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, they were on the "Warwick Castle" which had sailed from New Plymouth, New Zealand and had called at Mombasa, Dar-es-Salaam, Beira, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, Ralph and his family had come from South Africa and were going to 56 Woolwich Road, Bexley Heath, Kent

This is a Chart for William John Pidduck and Margaret "Maggie" Sarah Hills