He served on H.M.S. "Airedale" (image above) which was a Hunt Class Destoyer (type 111) built on the Clydebank in Scotland by John Brown Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. She was launched on 12th August 1941 as the first naval ship to carry the name. She was largely funded through the Warship Week National Savings campaign and adopted by the civil community of Spenborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire. She was designed as a small fast ship to protect convoys from submarines and aircraft attack.

Her first assignment, in February 1942, was for escort duties at Scapa Flow and she escorted the Russian Convoy PQ11 with HM Escort Destroyer "Middleton" and three trawlers. She was detached from PQ11 and took passage for Gibralter as an escort to ss Queen Victoria. In March and April, she sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, Simonstown and Alexandria. She was deployed with HMS escort destroyers "Beaufort" and "Dulverton" to assist HM Destroyer "Jackal" returning in tow to Alexandria after an air attack. She then joined destroyers of the 5th Flotilla and Fleet Destroyers for escort of the relief convoy MW11 (Operation Vigorous) to Malta. On the 15th June 1942, the vessel came under selected attack by twelve dive bombers north east of Derna Libya. 2 hits aft resulted in a major outbreak of fire and the magazine exploded. The order to abandon ship was given and she was scuttled by a torpedo from her sister ship "Aldenham" and gunfire from HMS "Hurworth". There were 133 survivors and 44 were unaccounted for. Richard's remains were not recovered.