Daniel Johnston Riddiford (11 March 1914 – 26 October 1974) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

Early life

Riddiford was born in

Featherston Featherston is a surname of English origin, at least as old as the 12th century. The link with "Featherstone" is probably not traceable, but people researching both spellings (and others such as "de Fetherestanhalgh") contribute to the collection o ...

in 1914 a grandson of "King" Riddiford and Sydney Johnston of Oruawharo. He was educated in the UK at

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

, Somerset, and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. He gained an MA in Modern Greats from Oxford, and also an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

. From 1932 to 1937, he farmed in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

on family-owned land. For a number of years Riddiford was also a director of '' The Dominion'' newspaper (now ''The Dominion Post'').

Military service

He joined the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

in 1939 and was an officer with the

Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an off ...

. He was a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

in Italy from 1941 until his escape in 1943. He was awarded the MC in World War II. From 1946, he had a law practice in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Political career

Riddiford contested the electorate in the , but was beaten by the incumbent,

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Michael Moohan Michael Moohan (27 April 1899 – 7 February 1967) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Seldom known to anyone by anything other than "Mick", he was a major organizational figure in the Labour Party's early history and went on to b ...

. In the , he stood in the electorate and defeated the incumbent, Labour's

Frank Kitts Sir Francis Joseph Kitts (1 May 1912 – 16 March 1979) was a New Zealand politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Wellington, holding the post from 1956 to 1974. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for between and 1960. Early life ...

. Riddiford's win in Wellington Central was considered a surprise as the electorate had been held by Labour for the previous 42 years as well as Riddiford's rather aristocratic manner of campaigning which many thought unsuitable within an urban liberal electorate. In 1970 he suffered a heart attack. Riddiford would remain in Parliament until 1972, when he retired and succeeded by

Ken Comber Kenneth Mark Comber (20 January 1939 – 6 December 1998) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party, and an accountant. Biography Early life and career Comber was born in New Plymouth in 1939. He received his education at St Joseph ...

. Under

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

, he was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

(1969–1972) and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

(1971–1972).

Family

He married his wife, Yvonne Ada Westmacott, in 1952.

Earle Riddiford Harold Earle Riddiford (13 October 1921 – 26 June 1989) was a New Zealand mountaineer, lawyer and farmer who went on three mountaineering expeditions to the Himalayas in the 1950s; the first New Zealand expedition to the Garhwal Himalaya in 1951 ...

a notable New Zealand mountaineer and a lawyer was also a cousin.

Notes

References

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Riddiford, Dan 1914 births 1974 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War II People educated at Downside School Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates Attorneys-General of New Zealand Alumni of New College, Oxford University of New Zealand alumni New Zealand prisoners of war in World War II New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross People from Featherston, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Unsuccessful candidates in the 1957 New Zealand general election

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

Justice ministers of New Zealand Johnston family