Arthur is from Belfast. His first degree is in Homeric and Classical Greek from the University of Edinburgh, where he was President of the Classical Society.

After a short period as a lighthouse keeper in Orkney and Shetland he worked in English as a Foreign Language for 15 years as a teacher, teacher trainer and centre manager on three different continents: two years in Sweden, three years in Kuwait and four years in Libya  as well as the UK and Ireland.

He then taught management to native speaker managers for 25 years, teaching at the Open University Business School and the Business Institute in Ulster University on a range of programmes for private, public and not for profit client organisations. He developed and implemented a wide range of courses in business and management communication skills. Much of this work was with leading European companies in the oil, pharmaceutical, IT, engineering and automotive sectors. His university work took him to Poland, France, USA, Bulgaria, Hong Kong / China, Mexico, Germany, Malta, Eritrea, Canada and Italy.  

Since retiring nearly 10 years ago, he has contributed as a Volunteer to the development of ESOL provision at the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre, both face-to-face and online.  

He has a particular interest in using his skills, qualifications and experience in the design, documentation and delivery of English language support for adult refugees and asylum seekers who are Absolute Beginners and taking their first steps in English. This includes work on areas of AI (artificial intelligence) to enhance learner autonomy.