Obituary Mr A. J. Riddell

Press, 11 July 1989, Page 5

Obituary Mr A. J. Riddell

PA Wellington Mr A. J. Riddell, who every year raised the flag at his home to mark Sir Robert Muldoon’s birthday, has died at the age of 81. A former bills officer at Parliament, Mr Riddell was a fan of the former Prime Minister, Sir Robert, and raised the flag on his Brooklyn residence every year on September 23. Born in Dunedin and a sheep and fruit farmer in Central Otago, he once described his experiences in the Depression as surviving “in solitude, living in a suitcase, determined to be self-reliant, believing honesty was the only policy and that an ounce of loyalty was better than a ton of cleverness.” Mr Riddell moved to England where he worked as a steward to the Marquis of Willingdon. He enlisted with the British Army at the outbreak of World War 11, serving for five years. He was a passenger on the first flying boat service to New Zealand and carried with him a personal message from Field Marshal Lord Birdwood. The message was to Lord Birdwood’s old friends and comrades in New Zealand whose bravery, he said, he would never forget. At Parliament, Mr Riddell met and regarded as his friends, the Labour Prime Minister, Norman Kirk, National Prime Ministers, Sir Keith Holyoake and Sir Robert Muldoon and former Island Bay member of Parliament, Gerald O’Brien. A stroke prevented him from writing a book about the “comings and goings,” at Parliament.