Arnold Ridley
5 quotes
Biography
William Arnold Ridley was an English playwright and actor, known early in his career for writing the 1925 play The Ghost Train and later in life for the British television sitcom Dad's Army (1968–1977), in which he played the elderly, bumbling Private Godfrey. He also appeared in such Dad's Army spin-offs as the feature film version and the stage production.
"I thought I was doing my duty for my country. I didn't know I was going to be treated like a convict. Did it make better soldiers of the callow youths we were then? I doubt it."
"I didn't go to France to murder people."
"It wasn't a question of if I get killed, it was merely a question of when I get killed."
"I always remember my disappointment the next morning when I found that my hand was still on because I thought, well, if I lost my hand I'm all right, I shall live, they can't send me out without a hand again. I was 20 then, it's not altogether a right thought for a young man to hope that he's been maimed for life."
"Yes, sir. My battalion is famous for self-inflicted wounds and just to make sure I cracked my skull with a rifle butt as well and ran a bayonet into my groin."