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221072 Rflmn. Thomas Geddes Ritchie British Army 2nd Btn. Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) from:Langholm, Dumfriesshire (d.26th October 1917) Rifleman Thomas Geddes Ritchie was wounded in September 1917, at Paschendaele on the Western Front and died the following month after being sent back to the UK to hospital in Darlington. He had volunteered in 1914 for the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own). Rifleman Ritchie was 22 when he died. His family have a letter he wrote to his father in his native Langholm in Dumfriesshire after the Battle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915. It is thought to be one of the very few letters still surviving which is an ordinary private soldier’s account of the battle which was one of the most wasteful of life in the entire WW1 with more than 11,000 British killed, wounded and missing in just two or three days. Rifleman Ritchie survived to fight in other battles until the Third Battle of Ypres when he was mortally wounded. Research by his family recently has shown that Rifleman Ritchie fought only yards from a young Austrian lance corporal, Adolph Hitler, who was serving as a messenger with the 16th Bavarian Reserve in the Battle of Aubers Ridge. Hitler survived Aubers Ridge unscathed and it is quite a thought that Rifleman Ritchie could have changed the course of history in a way he could never have imagined with one lucky shot. Rifleman Ritchie is buried in the family grave in the Wauchope Cemetery, Langholm. Please type your message:      We recommend you copy the text about this item and keep a copy on your own computer before pressing submit. Your Name:             Email Address:       @ **Please put first part of your email, (before the @ sign) in the first box, and the second part in the second box. Do not include @, it is automatic. Do not enter your full email in each box or add an @ sign or random spaces.**