My father, Arnold Fothergill, who has died aged 85, was a proud Yorkshireman and travelled the world with the British army before returning to his roots.
His 22 years of military service with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, the Royal Green Jackets and then the newly formed Light Infantry took him all over England, to Northern Ireland, and further afield to Germany, Yemen, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Eventually he gained the rank of Warrant Officer 2nd Class, but his happiest time was as Bugle Major.
In 1972 he was appointed a military MBE. His citation was an official secret but his gallantry was further tested after the investiture when he was selected to dance with Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It was not an experience Yorkshire or the army had prepared him for, and he had to be hastily taught a few dance steps before being dispatched to the dancefloor.
Arnold was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, the son of Nellie (nee Goldthorpe) and Freddie Fothergill, and a younger brother to Jean and Marion. At 14 he started work at the local textile mill with his sights set on becoming a textile tuner, in charge of maintaining the looms and machinery. But all that was to change when he was called up in 1958 as one of the last intake of national service and found a second family in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
The end of army service brought my parents – Arnold married Sandra Longbottom on the somewhat inauspicious date of 1 April 1967 – back to Yorkshire for a number of managerial roles. Once my mother retired, they decided to sell the house, buy a flat and chase the sun in Spain. They spent many happy years there, gardening and walking the dog before returning for good, around 2012, to Yorkshire.
