Residents of Woodgreen gathered to honour and remember a much-beloved friend who died during the pandemic.

They met at Woodgreen Community Shop on May 12 to mark the life of long-time Woodgreener, Peter Arnold. 

Bunting was cut by his sister, Jean, with friends from the village and beyond and family present.

A dedicated area in memory of Peter, who loved to sit with a coffee after getting his shopping, was opened and a bench given to Peter by the villagers to celebrate his 80th birthday was installed.

Peter lived in Woodgreen after a long career in the oil industry that began after travelling to Canada, and later saw him living in countries all over the world.

Despite going blind in his later age, it didn’t slow him down and he was well known to regularly walk down to the Woodgreen Community Shop to pick up provisions and have a cup of tea or coffee.

Friends would often join him for a cuppa as shop staff gathered his groceries. Having travelled and lived all over the world, from Canada to Texas, Tunisia, Pakistan and Turkey, he always had a story his friends had not yet heard.

A favourite story among those who knew him was a recollection of an adventure during his early 30s in 1963.

Peter and a friend were in Singapore, trying to decide their next move. They became friends with a New Zealander woman, and together bought a Range Rover which they drove all the way to Bournemouth, a journey of over 8,000 miles that would have brought them through at least 11 countries, including Communist Yugoslavia (which unlike most Communist countries during the Cold War, had an “open door policy” and was welcoming to international tourists from the West).

Peter’s friend of 30 years, Jonathan Austin, 71, said when he drove places with Peter, Peter would know when a turn was missed, despite having lost his eyesight.

Jonathan said: “Peter was extraordinary.”

Barry Thompson, who met Peter through his volunteer work with Downton Link, which provides transportation and befriending services in the area, said knowing Peter was an “honour.”

Barry said: “[Peter] was so interesting to talk to. We all sat next to him on either side, and he would regale us with tales of places where he’d worked all over the world and all sorts of interesting stories. It was an honour to know the man.”

Peter was preceded in death by his wife, Sheila. When he died in January 2021, he left much of his money to local charities, dividing it between the organisations he felt were most helpful, including the Woodgreen Community Shop.

His sister, Jean Bunch, 77, was unable to travel from her home in France to attend her brother’s funeral due to Covid travel restrictions in place in 2021.

Jean was given the honour of cutting the bunting at the short ceremony dedicating and naming the café section of the Woodgreen Community Shop to Peter.