A SPRIGHTLY, funny man with twinkly blue eyes and a lively personality.
That’s the firm impression that Lorraine Igoe has of Wilf Arnold, the old-time, one-armed lamp-lighter.
Wilf, who helped to illuminate St Helens at night, was regarded as the “fastest lamp-lighter in the West.” And his granddaughter Lorraine says: “I loved reading your earlier article about him.
“I called him ‘Father’ Arnold. He was a right character. And even though I was really young when he died, I have fond memories of him.”
She forwarded an amusing photograph of Wilf, taken in the backyard of his home in O’Keeffe Road, Pocket Nook.
Sadly, its quality isn’t sufficent to allow me to reproduce it here, but it’s certainly worth describing.
It shows Wilf perched, business-like, on a low garden wall, a trilby tilted meancingly on his head, and pointing a toy Luger gun with his remaining right hand. The picture was taken by Lorraine’s Auntie Bet.
“He looks every bit like a Chicago gangster”, says Lorraine, “until you look at his feet and see that he’s wearing carpet slippers!
“Typical Father Arnold...”
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