Dad's Army

The series' title card

***Dad's Army*** is a BBC television sitcom about the British Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and broadcast on the BBC from 1968 to 1977. The sitcom ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; there was also a radio version based on the television scripts, a feature film and a stage show. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers, and is still repeated on BBC2.

## Premise

The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the name "Dad's Army") or by being in professions exempt from conscription, and was set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea on the south coast of England.

*Dad's Army* deals almost exclusively with men over military age, and featured older British actors, including Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Arnold Ridley and John Laurie. Younger members of the cast included Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who oddly played the oldest character, Corporal Jones), and James Beck (who died suddenly during production of the sixth series in 1973). Other regular cast members included Frank Williams as the vicar, and Bill Pertwee as the chief ARP warden.

## Popularity

In 2004, *Dad's Army* was voted fourth in a BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It had been placed 13th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and voted for by industry professionals.

The series has influenced British popular culture, with the series' catchphrases and characters being well known. The *Radio Times* magazine listed Captain Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV.

## List of episodes

*Main article: List of Dad's Army episodes*

## List of characters

### Main characters

* Captain George Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe), the pompous, if essentially brave and unerringly patriotic local bank manager, Mainwaring appointed himself leader of his town's contingent of Local Defence Volunteers. He had been a lieutenant in the First World War, but is embarrassed by the fact that he never saw combat, being sent to France only in 1919 after the Armistice and then part of the Army of Occupation in Germany.
* Sergeant Arthur Wilson (John Le Mesurier), a diffident, upper-middle-class Chief Bank Clerk who would quietly question Mainwaring's judgement ("Do you think that's wise, Sir?"). Wilson had actually served as a Captain during the First World War, but he only reveals this in the final episode. He does not live with the Pike family but is implied to be in a relationship with the widowed Mrs Pike (and sometimes hinted to be Private Pike's father which, although never explicitly stated in the show, was privately confirmed on the last day of filming).
* Lance Corporal Jack Jones (Clive Dunn), the local butcher was born in 1870. Jones was an old campaigner who enlisted as a drummer boy at the age of 14 and participated, as a boy soldier, in the Gordon Relief Expedition of 1884–85 and, as a man soldier, in Kitchener's campaign in the Sudan in 1896–98. Jones also served during the Boer War and the Great War. He often suffers from the effects of malaria caught during one of his campaigns, and has to be calmed during his 'shudders'. Often seen as fastidious and old, he is the world's worst worrier and has a catch phrase of 'They don't like it up em!' when referencing any potential Nazi attack. Dunn was considerably younger than his character, being only 48 at the start of filming. This allowed him to take part in some of the more physical comedy of the show.
* Private James Frazer (John Laurie), a dour Scottish undertaker and a former Chief Petty Officer on HMS *Defiant*in the Royal Navy. He served at the Battle of Jutland as a ship's cook and also has a medal for having served on Shackleton's Antarctic expedition. He grew up on the Isle of Barra. His catchphrase was "We're doomed. Doomed!"
* Private Joe Walker (James Beck), a black market spiv, Walker was one of only two able-bodied men of military age in Walmington-on-Sea's Home Guard (the other being Private Pike). In the first episode, Walker claimed he was not called up to the regular army because he was in a “reserved occupation” as a wholesale supplier. In one of the missing episodes, it was revealed that he wasn’t called up because of an allergy to corned beef. Following Beck's death in 1973, during series 6, Walker was omitted from the remaining series.
* Private Charles Godfrey (Arnold Ridley), a retired shop assistant who had worked at the Army & Navy Store in London. He lives in Walmington with his elderly sisters and serves as the platoon's medical orderly. He often gets "caught short" and needs to "be excused". A conscientious objector during the First World War, he was nevertheless awarded the Military Medal for heroic actions as a combat medic during the Battle of the Somme. He also demonstrated bravery during his Home Guard service particularly during the "Branded" episode where Mainwaring, seemingly unconscious in a smoke-filled room, is rescued by Godfrey.
* Private Frank Pike (Ian Lavender), the youngest of the platoon, a cosseted, somewhat immature mother's boy, often wearing a thick scarf over his uniform to prevent illness and a frequent target for Mainwaring's derision ("You stupid boy!"). Pike is not called up to the regular army due to his rare blood group (in series 8 he is called up but excused for this reason). He works for Mainwaring in his day job as an assistant bank clerk. He frequently addresses Sgt. Wilson as "Uncle Arthur".

### Supporting characters

* ARP Chief Warden Hodges (Bill Pertwee), the platoon's major rival and nemesis. Mainwaring looks down on him as the local greengrocer and dislikes that Hodges saw active service in the Great War. As an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Warden, he is always demanding that people "put that light out".
* The Reverend Timothy Farthing (Frank Williams), the effete, huffy vicar of St. Aldhelm's Church. He reluctantly shares his church hall and office with Mainwaring's platoon.
* Mrs Mavis Pike (Janet Davies), Pike's overbearing widowed mother, who is often implied to be in a relationship with Sergeant Wilson.
* Mrs Fox (Pamela Cundell), a glamorous widow. There is a mutual attraction with Corporal Jones and the couple marry in the last episode. Illicit little 'extras' are passed across the counter on her regular visits to Jones' butchers shop and she helps the platoon with official functions. In the episode "Mum's Army", she gives her Christian name as Marcia, but by the final episode she has become Mildred.
* Private Sponge (Colin Bean), a sheep farmer. He led the members of the platoon's second section (as opposed to Corporal Jones' first section) and thus had only occasional speaking parts, although his character became more prominent in later series.
* Private Cheeseman (Talfryn Thomas), a Welshman who works for the town newspaper. He joined the Walmington-on-Sea platoon during the seventh series after the sudden death of James Beck, who played Private Walker.
* Elizabeth Mainwaring (Unseen character), Mainwaring's reclusive, paranoid and domineering wife who is never seen on-screen. Her marriage with Mainwaring is not a happy one and Mainwaring does his best to avoid her at any opportunity.

Other actors who appeared in small roles include Harold Bennett, Timothy Carlton, Nigel Hawthorne, Geoffrey Hughes, Fulton Mackay, Wendy Richard, Anthony Sharp, Caroline Dowdeswell and Barbara Windsor.

## Films

In 1971, like many sitcoms at the time, a feature film was made starring all of the regular cast, although the part of Mrs Pike was played by Liz Fraser instead. In 2016, another feature film was made, with different actors in the roles including Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring, Bill Nighy as Sergeant Wilson. Catherine Zeta-Jones also appeared in the film.