Join us in remembering Arnold Ridley, the only member of the original Dad’s Army cast to have served in both world wars – as well as signing up for the Home Guard.
Arnold endured horrific hand to hand combat in the trenches at the Somme in 1916.After being accepted into the Somerset Light Infantry, he was posted to France and within days of arriving was hit by shrapnel and shot through the thigh. He returned to the front from convalescence only to be sent over the top twice during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The first time was at Delville Wood, where many of his comrades fell. During a second attack at Gueudecourt, now as a Lance Corporal, Arnold’s battalion took even more devastating losses from machine gun fire.
When the survivors reached the German trenches, they pushed back the enemy troops with bayonets and bombs, before Arnold was knocked to the ground by a rifle blow to the head. A German soldier lunged with a bayonet, but Arnold survived by deflecting the blade into his groin instead of his stomach. The next blow pierced his left hand and wrist. Arnold came round in a field hospital. It took 15 ops to save his hand and he was invalided back home.
Arnold volunteered for the Intelligence Corps in WW2, making films in France. After being discharged on medical grounds, he joined the Home Guard, before touring bases, entertaining the troops. While he described the First World War in detail in his unpublished autobiography, Arnold could not write about WW2. He said: “To recount events, I would have to relive them. I am too afraid.” He suffered horrific nightmares and regularly woke drenched in sweat. He was terrified he would black out on stage but was such a brave man and kept acting when he could – bringing joy to millions in his role as Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army.
Arnold passed away, aged 88, on March 12, 1984.
Cliff Jones
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