Naval Career
Ryder served on several ships throughout his career. He served as a Midshipman on the battleship HMS Ramillies from 1927 to 1929. As a Lieutenant he served in the submarine HMS Olympus as part of the 4th Flotilla in China from 1930 to 1933. Ryder also commanded several expeditions. This included captaining the ketch Tai-Mo-Shan on a 16,217 mile voyage from Hong Kong to Dartmouth, England during 1933–1934. From 1934 to 1937 he captained the schooner Penola during the British Graham Land Expedition in Antarctica.
When the Second World War started, Ryder was serving as a Lieutenant Commander on HMS Warspite. In 1940, he was promoted to Commander of the frigate HMS Fleetwood and in 1941, he went on to captain the Prince Philippe which sank after a collision in the Firth of Clyde. Ryder, now a Commander led the St. Nazaire Raid, codenamed Operation Chariot on 28 March 1942. This was a successful operation to destroy the "Normandie Dock" in the German Naval base in the town. The stated aim of the operation was to deny large German ships, particularly the German battleship Tirpitz, a base on the Atlantic coast. For his actions during this operation he was one of five people awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour of the British Empire.
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