Arnold Ridley

Arnold Ridley, born William Arnold Ridley on 7 January 1896 and died on 12 March 1984, was an English playwright and actor. Early in his career he became known for writing the 1925 play The Ghost Train, a tale of passengers stranded at a haunted railway station that ran for 665 consecutive performances in London's West End and was filmed several times. He wrote more than thirty other plays and some screenplays, and worked as an actor in the theatre, on radio as the village baker in The Archers and in the early years of the television serial Crossroads. In later life he became a household name as the gentle, elderly platoon medic Private Godfrey in the British television sitcom Dad's Army, which ran from 1968 to 1977, and he also appeared in its feature film and stage versions. He was appointed an OBE in 1982 for services to the theatre.