Fans of the classic British comedy *Dad's Army* will remember Private Charles Godfrey as the gentle, slightly forgetful platoon first aider who often asked to be excused. The show, which aired from 1968 to 1977, followed the Home Guard antics of Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson, Lance Corporal Jones, and Private Pike. But while Godfrey’s fictional backstory surprised his fellow platoon members, the real story of the actor who played him is even more remarkable.
In the series, Private Godfrey reveals that he was a conscientious objector during the First World War. This admission initially shocks the other members of the Warmington-on-Sea platoon. However, their opinion changes when they learn the full details of his wartime service. During the Battle of the Somme, Godfrey went out into no man’s land to rescue wounded soldiers, carrying them back through mud and barbed wire while under fire. For this bravery, he was awarded the Military Medal.
The character’s story reflects a real and complex chapter in British military history. When conscription was introduced in 1916, conscientious objectors had to appear before tribunals. Some were given exemptions, while others were placed in non-combat corps. These men wore the uniform and performed manual labor but did not fight. They were often disparaged by the press and public, with the Non-Combat Corps sometimes being referred to as the “Non-Courage Corps.”
There were also conscientious objectors who volunteered for dangerous roles, particularly in the Army Medical Corps. These men served as stretcher bearers, putting themselves in harm’s way without firing a rifle. The fictional Private Godfrey was one of them. There were real men like this too, including William Coltman, a conscientious objector from Staffordshire who became the most decorated non-commissioned officer in the British Army during the First World War without ever firing a shot.
The actor who played Godfrey, Arnold Ridley, had a very different wartime experience. Born in 1896 near Bath, Ridley was an accomplished sportsman at the University of Bristol. When Britain entered the First World War in August 1914, he volunteered immediately. However, he was initially rejected due to a sporting injury, a hammer toe. He tried again in late 1915 and was accepted into the Somerset Light Infantry.
Ridley arrived at Arras on the Western Front in early 1916. Just two days later, he was hit in the back by shrapnel. After rejoining his regiment, he was promoted to Lance Corporal in time for the Battle of the Somme. There, he suffered horrific injuries. During hand-to-hand fighting, he was hit on the head by a rifle butt, which would cause recurring blackouts. He was then charged by a German soldier with a bayonet, deflecting the thrust into his groin and then into his left hand, cutting the tendons. He would never properly use three fingers on his left hand again.
After being invalided home, Ridley appeared before an army medical board. When one member questioned whether his injuries were self-inflicted, Ridley responded with sarcasm, noting that his battalion was famous for self-inflicted wounds. He was discharged in 1917. One day, while walking in civilian clothes, a woman presented him with a white feather, accusing him of cowardice. He had kept his discharge badge in his pocket because he did not like drawing attention to his injuries.
After the war, Ridley became an actor and playwright. He wrote 30 plays, including *The Ghost Train* in 1923, which ran for over 600 performances in London’s West End and was made into a film three times. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Ridley immediately re-enlisted, despite having already served his country. He was commissioned as an officer with the temporary rank of major and sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force.
During the Phoney War, Ridley served as a conducting officer, supervising visiting journalists. One of those journalists was Kim Philby, who would later become infamous as a Soviet agent. When the Germans launched their Blitzkrieg in May 1940, Ridley was part of the British force that fell back on the port of Boulogne. He was wounded once more and was evacuated on board HMS Vimiera on the 24th of May.
A week later, Ridley was discharged from the army on medical grounds for the second time. He then joined his local Home Guard unit, which is a fitting detail given his later role in *Dad's Army*. He also joined ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association, which provided entertainment to British Armed Forces during the war.
After the war, Ridley returned to acting. He appeared in *The Archers* before landing the role of Private Godfrey in *Dad's Army* in 1968. He stayed with the show through all nine series until 1977, by which time he was 81. Arnold Ridley died in 1984 at the age of 88 and is buried at the Abbey in Bath.
It is humbling to realize that the man known to millions as the doddering old Private Godfrey was actually a veteran of both World Wars who had sustained serious injuries serving his country. He was willing to play a conscientious objector on screen, even though he was far from one himself. Having seen the horrors of war firsthand, he may well have appreciated the bravery and sincerity of those who held such beliefs.
The story of Private Godfrey, MM, serves as a reminder that you should never judge a book by its cover. Both the fictional character and the actor who played him showed that true bravery can take many forms.