Richardson was born in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, to Col. John Mervyn Archdall Carleton Richardson.
He studied at Eton College before joining the British Army in 1902.
He left the Army in 1920, later becoming aide-de-camp to the Duke of Abercorn.
[1] In 1949, Richardson was appointed as an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Senate of Northern Ireland, serving until 1957.
[2] He also stood for the party in Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 1950 general election; he took second place with 48.1% of the votes.