TRIBUTES have poured in to community stalwart Arthur Fitzgerald, founder member of the Sunny Corner Conservation Group, who died yesterday [Thursday, February 12] aged 95 after an extended illness.

A keen and prize-winning gardener, Arthur joined the Sunny Corner team of volunteers at its inception in 2016, working hard to maintain the popular site between Truro’s Boscawen Park and Malpas village. His son Peter, also a volunteer, created a raised garden area for him that could be tended without having to bend down; it’s now known as “Arthur’s Patch”.

In 2022, the group was granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Arthur travelled to Buckingham Palace for a Royal garden party with fellow volunteer Paul Caruana, who said:

“His own gardens had won prizes, and when his wife passed away in 2014, he was at a loss, so he was delighted to use his skills and talents at Sunny Corner.”

He added: “Arthur was more than a friend to me. My own father died at 42 when I was 14, so Arthur was more like my dad. My family treated him like a grandad and great-grandad too. It’s a huge loss, but we have so many memories.”

Arthur was born in London’s East End, and first came to Cornwall as an evacuee during the Second World War, when he was placed in Newquay. At 16, he joined the Royal Navy and served during the Korean War, and was later stationed at RNAS Culdrose. He met his wife, Dora, at a dance at Moresk Drill Hall (now Truro Army Reserve Centre), and settled in the city, working as a civil servant. They had a son, Peter, and a daughter Hayley, and three grandchildren.

Peter said: “Dad made a lot of people very happy on his watch at Sunny Corner. People came to know him and love him. He would chat, and make them laugh. He loved that.”