Ronald Sidney Ridgway was born on April 17, 1923 in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. He began studies at Sheffield University in 1941. He became a member of the University Air Squadron, enlisted and was mobilized in May 1942. Following initial training in England, Ridgway was posted for training as Observer to Canada. He was commissioned in 1943 and served in India, Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant in July 1945 and released from active duty in August 1946. Following his return, Ridgway earned a BA from Sheffield University in 1948. He immigrated to Canada in 1951, where he earned an MA from the University of Manitoba (1953). He first joined the University of Saskatchewan as an instructor in French in July 1953. Ridgway earned a Docteur de l'Université from Université d'Aix-Marseille in 1958. He served as Head of the Department of French and Spanish from 1965 to 1976 and served as acting head of Germanic Languages in 1973. The high regard in which Ridgway was held by his peers is evident both in the reviews of his scholarly work and in the numerous university committees on which he was asked to serve. Ridgway was awarded Professor Emeritus status upon his early retirement from the University in 1985. Ridgway died in Saskatoon in December 2002.