His parents Alfred and Eliza were from Newton Abbot, Devon and had emigrated to Australia, setting up home in Sydney where Clifford was born in 1893, the youngest of five sons.
Enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1916, his unit set sail from Melbourne to fight the war in Europe on board RMS Omrah in the following January. One month later and Ryder found himself at Castle Bromwich airfield. Having trained as a motor mechanic in civilian life, he was soon put to work as a fitter maintaining and repairing aircraft.
Castle Bromwich airfield had been set up in 1915 to train new pilots. Airmen from Commonwealth countries and from the United States trained there with British recruits.
These were early days in the history of flight. In little more than a decade from the first successful powered flight, aeroplanes were being used in warfare. Understandably, accidents were common. At Castle Bromwich there were over 70 incidents with some 30 deaths and over 50 crew injured, many seriously.
Clifford Ryder’s unit had been posted to Warloy Baillon near Amiens in France; some were there already. The intention was that all would be over in France before the end of the year.
On 10th April 1917 Corporal Ryder took off from Castle Bromwich on a training flight in a Sopwith 1½ Strutter biplane with 2nd Lieutenant John Williamson in the pilot’s seat.Ryder sat aft in the gunner’s position. It was their last flight. Although the cause of the crash is unknown, the result was that the plane fell to earth in fields near Ullesthorpe in Leicestershire.
Williamson seems to have died on impact; Ryder was taken to Ullesthorpe Military Hospital (now a hotel) and died shortly after arrival there.
He was brought back to Castle Bromwich and buried with full military honours in the graveyard opposite the church of St Mary & St Margaret.
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