THE
P RTAL
April 2019
Page 3
P ortal Comment
Arnold Herron RIP
Will Burton writes of his friend
I t is
with great sadness that I have to tell Readers of T he P ortal , that my colleague and friend Arnold
Herron has died after a long illness.
Arnold was born in Singapore just after the war,
where his parents were part of the clean-up staff of the
British Colonial Civil Service. An only child, he was
sent back to the UK for education with the Franciscans
at Bentley in Essex.
He was one of these people that you just did not
notice. Although he would be at gatherings, it was not
unusual for people to ask afterwards if he had been there.
Somehow, he managed to melt into the background.
For example, how many of our dear readers remember
him at the first Ordinariate Pilgrimage to Rome, or at
Arnold was a bright boy, but shy. This shyness the Ordinariate Festivals?
meant that University was out of the question. Still, he
managed to get a degree by correspondence course.
When writing this Obit, I realised that I had never
He then set about looking for work.
seen a photograph of Arnold. In fact, I do believe that
no such photograph exists. His shyness was complete.
Taken on by an insurance company, he was employed
by them for a short time. He moved to Inverbervie, a
As soon the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of
small town just south of Aberdeen, where he tried his Walsingham was erected, he signed up. Fr Ivor Weston
luck at deep sea fishing. This was not a success. He did was a great support to him and assisted with transport
not mix well, and his fellow crew members made their to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. Arnold never
distaste of his “aloofness” plain.
learned to drive anything more than his Donkey Cart.
He tried his hand at various jobs in different parts of
the county. These included driving a great steam road
roller, asparagus farming, chimney sweep and piano
tuning. They all failed, mainly because of his inability
to mix well with other people. It was a regular sight in Aldreth, Arnold driving
Pius and the cart to mass at the local Catholic Church.
Should mass go on too long, Pius would start braying,
and many a priest had to give in to the donkey’s
impatience!
When his parents died, he found that he no longer
needed to work. They had left him sufficient financial
resources that his life was secure. He finally settled in
the hamlet of Aldreth in Cambridgeshire, or “The Isle
of Ely” as he insisted on calling it. Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane, together with
myself, were, perhaps, his closest friends. When it
was mooted that there ought to be a magazine called
T he P ortal , Arnold was keen to be involved, His
contributions were always welcome and many readers
will miss his pithy comments.
His ramshackle old farmhouse was really off the
Arnold never married, no doubt due to his terrible
beaten track. Not many visitors managed to find it. This
suited Arnold, for the solitary life was his preferred shyness. He died peacefully at home and is mourned
way. He was content to be left alone with his books, by the devoted “Pius” as well as by others mentioned
his extensive model railway system, and his beloved in this brief Obit.
donkey “Pius”.
Arnold’s Funeral Mass was at the tiny church of
A devout Anglo-Catholic, he worshipped at St Peter’s Sanctus Praeputium in Aldreth, just a mile from his
Church in Ely, and at the Cathedral. When things farmhouse. The attendance was sparse, just Jackie,
began to change in the CofE, Arnold became active in Ronald and myself. Fr Weston officiated. It was just as
Forward in Faith, but behind the scenes. Shyness once Arnold would have wished it.
again prevented a front row position. Nevertheless, he
May he rest in peace.
used his writing skills to good effect in “Forward” and
“Forward plus”.