Card appeal for WW2 veteran's 100th birthday

Army veteran Arnold worked as a barber in Sheffield before running a garage

An appeal for people to send cards to a World War Two veteran to celebrate his 100th birthday has been launched by his neighbour.

Tracy Richardson, 49, from Wickersley, near Rotherham, said her neighbour Arnold "has lived through so much" and deserved recognition.

Arnold, a D-Day veteran who also fought in the Battle of Arnhem, is from Bishop Auckland in County Durham but moved to South Yorkshire 75 years ago to marry his wife, Sylvia, Ms Richardson said.

She said her family had become friends with him when they moved in 13 years ago and added: "He deserves every bit of recognition and celebration we can create for him."

Ms Richardson said Arnold had joined the Army's Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Regiment at the age of 18, later moving to the East Yorkshire Regiment, and fought in World War Two.

"He said when he was in Arnhem in the Netherlands for the Battle of Arnhem, he had to decide whether to use his candle to heat either his cup of tea, or his soup, or his rations," she said.

"They had no shelter and were just reliant on the local people, but they pushed all the way back to enemy lines."

Ms Richardson said it was "surreal" that some people alive today had lived through so much.

Arnold, from Bishop Auckland, was born in 1925 and joined the Army at 18

Ms Richardson added that Arnold remembered seeing horses and carts on the roads around Wickersley, and could recall how the town looked before the dual carriageway was built.

"When you talk to one person, you wouldn't have thought they'd have seen so much change in their lifetime, and he is still here," Ms Richardson said.

"This is the kind of person we should be celebrating."

Tracy Richardson said her neighbour Arnold should be celebrated

Arnold's wife died in the early 2000s, Ms Richardson said, and he had not been as active since.

She said she hoped Arnold would receive 100 cards for his 100th birthday and he would probably enjoy reading them while watching a Western or women's football, with a cup of tea and a lemon muffin.

"I think he would be completely overwhelmed that people have taken the time to remember him and just show him he's not forgotten and he's still cared about," she said.

Cards can be sent to BBC Radio Sheffield at 54 Shoreham Street, Sheffield, S1 4RS, or Wickersley Post Office by 15 December.

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