Dad’s Army star Arthur Lowe’s funeral was a low-key affair with hardly anyone attending – and his wife Joan didn’t even go as she had a heartbreaking reason
Arthur Lowe was a Dad’s Army legend(Image: BBC)
One of the stars of Dad’s Army, Arthur Lowe, passed away suddenly in 1982 after collapsing backstage, leaving behind a legacy tinged with sadness.
Lowe suffered a stroke shortly after his final interview on the BBC show Pebble Mill at One.
Following the interview, he retreated to his dressing room at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, where he was due to perform in ‘Home at Seven’, but instead, he was taken to hospital and died at the age of 66.
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Diagnosed with narcolepsy in the mid-1970s, Arthur would often fall asleep during rehearsals, yet he was known as a “workaholic” by those close to him.
Despite being overweight, a lifelong smoker, and consuming a “high” amount of alcohol, extensive biographies assert that he wasn’t an alcoholic.
The end of Lowe’s life was marked by a sombre tone, and his funeral was a subdued event.
He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium.
In a poignant turn of events, his funeral service was sparsely attended – with fewer than a dozen people present – and his wife Joan was notably absent, reports the Express.
Arthur had been married to Joan since 1948, and together they had one son, Stephen Lowe.
Joan also brought a son, David Gatehouse, from her previous marriage into their family.
Despite a romance that lasted for years, Joan decided to skip her husband’s funeral, opting instead to not miss a performance of the play they were both cast in.
Lowe’s biographer Graham Lord, after speaking with Joan’s mate Phyllis Bateman, revealed that the couple had agreed that neither would attend the other’s funeral should one of them pass away.
Their son Stephen has said his mum lived by the principle “the show must go on”, and she stuck to this even while her husband was being cremated.
Nevertheless, Joan did make it to a memorial service the next month, where Arthur’s mates and work pals gathered as well.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Stephen remarked: “It was the adage, ‘The Show Must Go On’.
“I think it was her coping mechanism.
“Neither Joan nor Arthur were sentimental.
“I think that comes from being a civilian in wartime.”
He reflected on his mother’s wartime experiences, saying: “When I remember my mother’s stories about the war, the horrendous scenes that generation witnessed, I think it hardened them and even made them irreligious – my mother included.
“She was strongly vocal about her atheism so I don’t think the funeral meant anything to her.”