Born Leeds, March 12, 1925.
Died Leeds, May 24, 2008, aged 83.
Though he never rattled his tin but simply sat in the entrance of Kirkgate market in Leeds, volunteer Louis Arthur raised an incredible £120,000 for St Gemma’s Hospice in his last 14 years, writes John Fisher.
For 38 years he collected funds for various charities but from 1994 made the Moortown hospice his priority.
Brought up in the Chapeltown area of Leeds in a family of 12, he devoted his life to his visually impaired mother, Gertrude, and two disabled brothers until their deaths.
He started fundraising for the old Newton Green Hospital after visiting a sick friend and discovering that his unit could not afford to buy new equipment. He collected around £100,000.
An army veteran, he was an active member of Ajex and Major Clive Behrens branch of the Royal British Legion. Every autumn he worked for two weeks up to Remembrance Sunday on the legion’s Poppy Appeal.
He knew market life from childhood, when he helped his mother on her two-penny (1p) toy stall in Dewsbury market. The stall was taken over by his sister, Anne Waters, who became known as “tuppenny Annie”.
Rain or shine, Louis never missed his “pitch” in the Vicar Lane entrance to Kirkgate market, wearing his yellow fundraising uniform. Shoppers and traders alike sought him out to make donations.
Never asking for money, he was quiet, private and expected no thanks for his efforts. But his contributions funded the hospice’s 32-bed in-patient unit, day hospice and community nurse team, leading to acknowledgement as an unsung hero by the Leeds Jewish community and the market folk.
