Background
McArdle was born in Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, on 27 September 1922, the son of a colour sergeant in the Royal Marines.
McArdle was born in Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, on 27 September 1922, the son of a colour sergeant in the Royal Marines.
He was educated at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook.
McArdle joined HMS Street Vincent at Gosport in 1938 as a boy seaman, 2nd class and saw service worldwide as a torpedoman before being the only successful candidate at a fleet board for promotion to officer in Colombo at the end of the Second World War. In January 1953 he was awarded a George Medal for his part in HMS Contest"s rescue of survivors from the ferry Move Files Princess Victoria. His ship, the destroyer HMS Contest, was at Rothesay when it picked up a distress signal.
The ferry"s stern doors had been ripped open by a storm, and water had flooded the car deck.
When Contest arrived the ferry had already sunk, but McArdle and Chief Petty Officer Wilfred Warren managed to pluck several survivors to safety. He served in the directorate of Naval Operations and Trade at the Admiralty in 1969 and he became Director General Personal Services and Training until 1977.
