ArnoldRIDLEYActor and playwright Arnold Ridley, best known for playing the bumbling and ineffectual medic Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army, died on 12 March, 1984, aged 88.
The wartime sitcom was a huge success and Mr Ridley - along with the rest of the cast, including Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier - was taken into people’s hearts as one of their favourite comic actors.
However, he was not only respected and admired as an actor but also as a playwright, achieving notable success with The Ghost Train.
William Arnold Ridley was born in Bath, Somerset on 7 January, 1896. As a child he attended Beechen Cliff School before enrolling at Bristol University.
He went on to serve overseas in both world wars, unlike his Dad’s Army character who was a member of the Home Guard. In the First World War he fought on the Somme in France and suffered wounds that affected him throughout his life.
In one incident his left arm was so badly damaged it was rendered virtually useless. His legs were riddled with shrapnel and he suffered habitual blackouts, a reminder of the vicious blow to the head he had taken from the butt of a German soldier’s rifle.
It was the injuries he sustained in the war that curtailed his promising rugby career. He had played centre-three-quarter for Bath and was regarded as a player of great talent. He was to return to the club in the 1950s to serve as president.
When the war finished, Mr Ridley followed his calling into the acting profession. He was not only a talent on the stage; he was also an acclaimed author and playwright. He became well known for writing The Ghost Train in 1923 which later became a film starring Arthur Askey. He also enjoyed a prolific writing career, producing more than 30 plays including The Wrecker, Keepers of Youth and The Flying Fool.
Between the two world wars Mr Ridley tried but failed to establish a film company. Putting these ambitions on hold, he decided to rejoin the army in 1939 when the Second World War broke out and was awarded the rank of Major. He again saw action on the front line with The British Expeditionary Force which was stationed in France. However, Mr Ridley could not complete his tour of duty and was eventually discharged due to poor health.
After the war, in 1946, Mr Ridley married the actress Althea Parker and together they had a son. It was at this time that his creative spark was reignited. Undeterred by the end of his time in the military, he returned to the acting profession and continued achieving a considerable amount of success. He appeared in the 1964 British comedy Crooks in Cloisters, as well as taking the role of Doughy Hood in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers during the 1960s.
But it was not until the late 1960s and 1970s that Mr Ridley could have been regarded as a household name. He was offered the part of Private Charles Godfrey, the gentle and mild mannered platoon medic, in one of the UK’s classic sitcoms, Dad’s Army. It was to be a career-defining role.
Mr Ridley was still acting and much loved well into his eighties. It was in his twilight years that his talent was recognised and in the Queen’s New Year Honours List of 1982 he was awarded the OBE for his services to acting and the theatre
He died in hospital in Northwood, London in 1984 and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium. After he died his large collection of theatrical memorabilia, which he had built up throughout his life, was donated to the University of Bristol.
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