The Barry Hobbs Collection of Great War Medals

Three: Private F. Rideout, 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment, who was killed in action during the Battle of La Bassée on 13 October 1914

1914 Star, with clasp (5967 [sic] Pte. F. Rideout. Dorset: R.); British War and Victory Medals (5987 Pte. F. Rideout. Dorset. R.) good very fine (3) £200-£240

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Barry Hobbs Collection of Great War Medals.

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Frederick Rideout was born in 1879 at Fontmell Magna, Dorset and attested for the Dorsetshire Regiment at Shaftesbury, Dorset in June 1899, with Regimental number 5987. He served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 16 August 1914 and, following his battalion’s participation in the fighting at Mons (and the Retreat), the Marne and the Aisne, he was killed in action on 13 October 1914 during the Battle of La Bassée. On this date his battalion had been heavily engaged in fighting along the La Bassée Canal, advancing from positions along the Pont Fixe-La Plantin road and engaging the enemy in front of Givenchy. Over 400 officers and men were reported killed, wounded or missing in the fighting with the bodies of some 130 of the latter later being found by a burial party.

Ray Westlake in British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914 summarises a few incidents described in the regimental history that occurred during the fighting on 13 October 1914:
‘A number of Germans came forward from Givenchy carrying lances and were at first taken to be French cavalry. Another group, about a battalion, advanced with hands up as if to surrender. The battalion ceased fire in order to allow the men to come in, but upon reaching the Dorsetshire line, the Germans rushed their positions and opened fire. The history also notes how Lieutenant-Colonel Bols fought alongside of Lieutenant Pitt, the officers taking up rifles from the dead and firing into the oncoming enemy. The Colonel was wounded and subsequently taken prisoner. However, having been told to lie on a stretcher and wait to be attended by a doctor, he managed to escape back to his battalion at Pont Fixe.’

Private Rideout was the son of Henry and Mary Rideout of Fontmell Magna and, having no known grave, is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, France.