Another soldier fades away

Press, 14 March 1984, Page 14

Another soldier fades away

NZPA-PA London The actor, Arnold Ridley, who played the doddery Private Godfrey in the “Dad’s Army” television series, died yesterday in hospital. He was 88. A member of his family said that he had been in hospital for about a week after a general deterioration in health. Wounded three times in

World War I, Ridley had been unsteady on his feet for some years, and when he received his 0.8. E. insignia from the Queen in 1982 he was in a wheelchair. He first appeared on stage in 1913, but had not worked for some years because of general ill-health. Before he became known to TV viewers towards the end of his life as Private

Godfrey, he had established a reputation with plays like “Ghost Train” and “Keepers of Youth,” an indictment of the private school system. His death diminishes still further the number of surviving actors from “Dad’s Army.” In November last year, John Le Mesurier “conked out” — as he himself called it — at the age of 71. He

played the world-weary and modest Sergeant Wilson. The long-suffering Captain Mainwaring — Arthur Lowe — died in April 1982, aged 66. The veteran Scots actor, John Laurie — the cantankerous Private Fraser — died aged 83 in 1980. “Dad’s Army” ran for nine years, ending in 1977. although repeats have been screened since.