PEDDER, Richard Robert Newsham (Lt Col)

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Pedder was commissioned as an officer on the 27th August 1924 and served with the Highland Light Infantry until the outbreak of WW2.

As Commanding Officer, No. 11 (Scottish) Commando, which later became "C" Battalion of Layforce, he was killed in action during the raid at Litani River, Syria.

 

Winston Churchill later wrote: " Their advance (referring to the Australians) was aided by a daring raid by No.11 Commando, which was landed from the sea behind the enemy lines. In this devoted stroke the Commando lost its leader Colonel Pedder, and all its other officers were either killed or wounded, together with nearly 120 other ranks, or a quarter of its total strength."