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There was only one original Riddalls family in Folkestone. This was the family of John and Selina Riddalls, my great grandparents, who arrived in Folkestone in 1897.
This family was originally from Devon and the History of the Riddalls families in Tavistock can be traced back to the start of the Parish Registers in that town. They were principally Agricultural Workers, Blacksmiths, Shoemakers and later Miners.
John Riddalls senior was an agricultural worker and lived with his wife Susan and family in some very isoltated farms around Tavistock and on the edge of Dartmoor. Surprisingly his son, John, aged 16, signed for the Royal Navy as a “boy” in 1871. He was only 5ft 2in and weighed 7st 4lbs but he signed initially for 10 years. He had an excellent record at Dartmouth and, despite the very hard life endured by naval personnel in those years, he rose to be a Chief Gunnery Instructor by 1891. When he retired in 1897 he had been a Customs Officer in Lincolnshire, had sailed to the Far East and Africa and had been CPO at Seasalter Cliff Battery, Kent.
After his retirement, John Riddalls and his wife Selina moved to Folkestone where he became a publican. He was Landlord of The Perseverence from 1897 – 1901 and The Princess Royal 1901 – 1905. He died in The Star and Garter Home for retired Naval personnel at Sandgate in 1929.
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