My father was the seventh of eight children born to Frank Shepherd and Mary (Polly) Bailey. Arnold like his older brother and sisters attended Derby Street Primary School then Parish Church Secondary School. Whilst attending school, both Arnold and his brother Frank did large paper rounds before and after school in order to get some pocket money. Arnold also had to leave school prior to the normal lunch hour as he had to deliver his father's lunch to Bob Schofield's Mill.
When World War 2 broke out, Arnold attempted to join the Forces like his brothers before him but failed his medical examination because of a heart condition which he had no previous knowledge of. Despite failing his medical, this was no bar from him being sent to do physically demanding work. Therefore, he was sent to London to work on the bomb demolition sites. Another war time job was to help prepare concrete barges to assist the troops landing in France on "D" Day. At the completion of the war he married Marjorie Crossley and they moved to work on a farm as a cowhand at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock near Oxford. Arnold's sister, Vera and her husband, Peter Duckworth, also worked on the farm at the same time.After two years on the farm they returned to Rochdale, where Arnold worked in the tar laying business for Shepherds' (No relation). He stayed with Shepherds' for twenty years and his prized possesion until he died was the golden Omega watch with which they presented him when he decided to migrate to Australia in November 1964.
Although Arnold loved Australia very much and would certainly never have gone to live back in England, he was a 'Pommie' through and through and always cheered for England when the two countries met at his favourite game, Rugby League, or soccer. He had fond memories of travelling with his brother-in-law, Bill Crossley, to games at Wigan which he rated as the best team he ever watched. He always maintained that David Bolton was the best player to tie up a boot lace, but towards the end of his life he changed his mind and nominated The King, Wally Lewis.
After arriving in Sydney, Dad still enjoyed his Rugby League, but rather than watch the professionals he was fond of watching,Como, where the family lived for a couple of years before purchasing the house in Loftus. He was surprised how well the juniors were trained and correctly predicted that England would no longer be the dominant country in the game. This professionalism among the junior ranks quickly spread to soccer and he also said "It wont be long before these buggers start beating England at soccer too!" It didn't quite happen in his life time but did within a decade, albeit a friendly game.
Arnold was enormously loved at the D.M.R.- the only job he held in Australia until he retired. His sense of fun was enjoyed by all ages and it wasn't unusual for him to be invited to weddings of his workmates and their offspring. Not only did he have fun but he hard a great work ethic too. He enjoyed nothing more than helping the neighbours with their concreting, bricklaying, tiling, carpentry, pulling down trees etc. Although he had no formal training in the building game, he ending up building his own garage and putting an extension onto the family home. He also enjoyed having a few beers with his friends and with his jovial character, he was frequently invited to parties where he loved to sing, play the spoons and have fun.
After retiring, Arnold got a bit bored. So at the age of 65 he starting doing furniture removals for a local second hand furniture shop. He also did gardening jobs in the Rockdale area. After responding to an advertisement in the paper for an handyman, he was employed by someone who ran an Entertainment Management agency. Before long, Dad had so much work that he had to finish up knocking jobs back. Two local comedians that he did the gardening for included "Wally The Worker" and Lucky Grills. Even after being struck with bowel cancer, Arnold kept up with his casual work and was still quite fit. The day before he finally went to hospital for the last time, he still walked down to the paper shop and back - a round trip of three kilometers with the return journey being all uphill.
Dad's competiveness at Draughts and Scrabble are legendary within the family and he'll always be remembered for his happy whistling.
Index Of My Direct Ancestors or Send Me An Email at intershep@netspace.net.au