Background
Gidden was born in Hampstead on 15 March 1910.
Gidden was born in Hampstead on 15 March 1910.
He attended University College School in Hampstead, and joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as a Temporary Sub-Lieutenant in 1940.
He served at HMS President with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and was cited for making safe a mine which had fallen on Hungerford Bridge on He served in HMS Collingwood (Gosport) and HMS President (London), both shore establishments, and became an expert in bomb and mine disposal. The notice for this award appeared in the London Gazette of 14 January 1941. On the night of 16/, a Luftwaffe air raid had destroyed several trains, halted underground services and prompted the evacuation of the War Office after an unexploded bomb was found on Hungerford Bridge, the main bridge into Charing Cross Station.
Gidden found the mine had come to rest across the railway"s live high voltage line and that he would have to turn it over to reach the fuse.
Working from dawn, it took six hours for him to make the device safe, at times having to ease the distorted casing back with a hammer and chisel where it had melted onto the live "third rail". Notice of the award appeared in the London Gazette of 9 June 1942.
He rose to command a mine clearance section and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in 1942. He was appointed to HMS Nile, Egypt at that time.
In 1944 he was Staff Officer to the Commander in Chief, Mediterranean (HMS Byrsa), and took part in the clearance of mines from the Scheldt channel in November 1944.
He returned to HMS President in London in 1945. Gidden returned to civilian life at the war"s education He died in 1961 and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, London, on 23 December 1961.
He is commemorated on his family grave at Hampstead Parish Church.