---
name: "Arnold Ridley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/arnold-ridley"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "7 January 1896"
died: "12 March 1984"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-18T08:03:44.876523+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Arnold Ridley

Actor. Born 7 January 1896 in Bath, Somerset, England, UK. Died 12 March 1984.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 7 January 1896, Bath, Somerset, England, UK
- **Died:** 12 March 1984
- **Also known as:** William Arnold Ridley
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Ridley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59672, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725965/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/85533

## Biography

Arnold Ridley (1896–1984) was an English actor and playwright. Born William Arnold Ridley in Bath, Somerset, he trained at the University of Bristol and made his stage debut before the First World War. He served in both world wars and sustained serious injuries in the first.

Ridley achieved early success as a playwright with *The Ghost Train* (1925), which ran in the West End and was filmed several times. He later returned to acting, appearing in films and television series including *The Avengers* (1967) and *Carry On Girls* (1973). He became widely known for portraying the gentle Private Charles Godfrey in the BBC sitcom *Dad's Army* (1968–1977).

In 1982 he was appointed OBE for services to the theatre. He continued working into his eighties and died in 1984.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, dadsarmy.fandom.com, bbc.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Dad's Army* (1968), Fi1m 86, as Private Charles Godfrey — [page](https://film.one/tv/dads-army.md)

## Complete filmography (46)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Dad's Army at the BBC* (2025), series, as Pte. Charles Godfrey
- *Hitler: The Comedy Years* (2007), as Charles Godfrey (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Wendy Richard: A Life on the Box* (2001), as Private Charles Godfrey (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *The Ghost Train* (1976), Original Film Writer
- *The Switch* (1976), as Uncle Rodney
- *The Amorous Milkman* (1975), as Cinema Attendant
- *Carry On Girls* (1973), as Alderman Pratt
- *A Place to Die* (1973), as 1st Old Man
- *Thriller* (1973), series, as 1st Old Man
- *The Persuaders!* (1971), series, as Uncle Rodney
- *Dad's Army* (1971), as Private Charles Godfrey
- *Random Quest* (1969), as Munnings
- *The Caesars* (1968), series, as Nigrinus
- *Dad's Army* (1968), series, as Private Charles Godfrey — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/dads-army.md)
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), as Innkeeper (uncredited)
- *Who Killed the Cat?* (1966), Theatre Play
- *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1966), series, Acting
- *Out of the Unknown* (1965), series, as Munnings
- *A Slight Case Of...* (1965), series, Acting
- *The Wednesday Thriller* (1965), series, as Mr Damson
- *Theatre 625* (1964), series, as Tunnicliffe
- *Crooks in Cloisters* (1964), as Arnold Ridley
- *Wings of Mystery* (1963), Acting
- *The Avengers* (1961), series, as Elderly Gent — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-avengers-1961.md)
- *The Ghost Train* (1957), Author
- *Second Fiddle* (1957), Writer
- *Meet Mr. Lucifer* (1953), Writer
- *Stolen Face* (1952), as Dr. Russell
- *Green Grow the Rushes* (1951), as Tom Cuffley
- *The Interrupted Journey* (1949), as Mr. Saunders
- *The Ghost Train* (1948), Saul Hodgkin, Theatre Play
- *Easy Money* (1948), Writer
- *The Ghost Train* (1941), Writer
- *The Ghost Train* (1939), Writer
- *East of Ludgate Hill* (1937), Story
- *The Ghost Train* (1937), Story
- *Seven Sinners* (1936), Story
- *Royal Eagle* (1936), Director, Writer
- *The Warren Case* (1934), Theatre Play
- *The Ghost Train* (1933), Story
- *Ghost Train* (1933), Story
- *Keepers of Youth* (1931), Theatre Play
- *The Ghost Train* (1931), Theatre Play, Writer
- *The Flying Fool* (1931), Writer
- *The Wrecker* (1929), Writer
- *The Ghost Train* (1927), Theatre Play

## Gallery

- ![Arnold Ridley](https://film.one/media/person/60406/gallery-95c0eadb46f2.jpg) Arnold Ridley — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Arnold_Ridley_1921.jpg/1280px-Arnold_Ridley_1921.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Arnold Ridley](https://film.one/media/person/60406/gallery-ed348a18249c.jpg) Arnold Ridley — Image via TMDB

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/arnold-ridley