A TWICE mayor of the town he loved who worked tirelessly to better the lives of unfortunate children, a Royal Navy serviceman, and a loving husband and father has died.
“And about time too” – the words of Princess Anne upon presenting Mick Arnold with an MBE for his dedicated service to the community of Ferndown.
More than just a local councillor, Mick was at the forefront of his community in his roles running the town’s youth club, leisure centre, Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme and long-time Royal Naval Association chair.
He was also a beloved husband of 60 years and father of two.
Mick Arnold was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, on October 15, 1932. The eldest of a close family of five brothers and sisters, he always remained proud of his Midlands roots despite moving away from the area early on in life.
He left school at 14 and followed the family trade in making locks. But he had a youthful love for the sea and from the Sea Cadets entered into the Royal Navy, where he mainly served on the minesweepers where his job was to clear mines left over from the Second World War.
Upon leaving the Navy, Mick returned to Walsall where he split his time running his own driving school and working in local youth clubs.
It was around this time he also met Jean – the love of his life, who was working at another youth club. After a seven-year engagement, taken up with the pair taking young people on expeditions in the UK and to a Europe recovering from the war, Mick and Jean married in 1962.
Mick then attended Liverpool University where he obtained qualifications to run his own youth club – and fondly remembered watching The Beatles at The Cavern Club.
The happy couple then moved to Edinburgh where Mick ran a youth club which catered for six football teams and whose alumni included future Scotland and Liverpool star Graeme Souness.
Soon after, Mick and Jean had a daughter, Lesley, who was born in Edinburgh and her birth was toasted at the Edinburgh Castle barracks.
The now family of three then returned to England to run a youth club in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, where Mick began running expeditions to Greece where young people from the club helped with development work – and traditional which continued even when Mick moved to Ferndown.
Three then became four when Mick and Jean welcomed their son Michael.
Eventually, Mick was offered the job of running the Ferndown Youth Club in 1971 and moved to the Dorset town where he would remain for the rest of his life.
While in Ferndown he continued running his expeditions to Greece and, from 1976, to Morocco where a succession of Ferndown youngsters went to help improve conditions at a school for children who had disabilities. Jean, Lesley and Michael all went some expeditions with him.
His work continued and he was active in helping run the early Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme which he brought to the youth clubs he ran. Mick also set up a ‘Physically Handicapped/Able-Bodied’ club at Ferndown to integrate young people with disabilities with their peers.
Along with Jean, Mick was also active in the Village Hall, setting up the Leisure Centre, working closely with local schools and with the Royal British Legion.
He expanded his lengthy portfolio by entering local politics and was routinely elected as a councillor for many years and served two separate tenures as Lord Mayor of Ferndown, a role he cherished.
Mick also had a 40-plus year association with the Ferndown and District branch of the Royal Naval Association, at which he was able to rekindle his love of the sea by organising reunions for old shipmates. He served as chairman on three occasions between 1994 to 2021.
It was on June 12, 2004, when Mick’s unrivalled contributions to Ferndown were deservedly recognised as he was awarded an MBE for services to the community by Princess Anne – who he knew from his work for the Save the Children's Fund.
Despite becoming visually impaired in his later years, Mick remained active in his various community roles right up until this year when a series of health problems struck him.
Mick died at home on July 2 in the comforting presence of his wife Jean and daughter Lesley. He was 89 years old.
He is survived by wife of 60 years Jean, daughter Lesley and son Michael, daughter-in-law Christine, his three sisters, large extended family in the Midlands, and the community of Ferndown he gave so much to.
His funeral will be held at Bournemouth Crematorium at 12.30pm on August 5, 2022.
Have you recently lost a loved one? Email andrew.goldman@newsquest.co.uk if you want to celebrate their life with the community.
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