Dad's Army

Dad's Army is a British television sitcom made by the BBC which ran between 31 July 1968 and 13 November 1977. It is about a Home Guard platoon during World War II. It was very popular at the time and is still repeated. It starred several well-known British actors including Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, John Laurie Bill Pertwee, and Clive Dunn.

It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft based partly on Jimmy Croft's experience in the Home Guard but also on the work of comedians such as Will Hay.

Plot

The Home Guard were set up in 1940 to protect Britain in the case of invasion. Because most young men were in the regular army, Home Guard platoons were usually made up of older people. The show followed the Walmington-on-Sea platoon, led by Captain Mainwaring (pronounced "Mannering"), a bank manager who appoints himself leader.

His platoon is made up of his posh sergeant, Wilson, elderly butcher Lance Corporal Jones, several senior citizens (Privates Godfrey and Frazer), as well as a "spiv" (Private Walker) and a mother's boy (Private Pike), as well as other men who don't say much. The humour is derived from their antics, as well as the relationship between Mainwaring and his upper-class sergeant.

In early episodes, the humour was based on the difficulty of starting the platoon without any weapons. In later episodes, the comedy was often based on the characters. Because the platoon rarely encountered the Nazis, their enemy was usually the grumpy ARP Warden Hodges, played by Bill Pertwee.

Platoon members

Captain Mainwaring, played by Arthur Lowe - A bank manager in charge of the platoon.
Sergeant Wilson, played by John Le Mesurier - second in charge. He is quiet, well spoken and often appears very relaxed.
Lance Corporal Jones, played by Clive Dunn - third in charge. He is very keen, and an old soldier of the British Empire, although his ideas often go wrong. He also gets very worried when a problem happens, and shouts "Don't Panic".
Private Frazer, played by John Laurie. A regular soldier. He is a grumpy but kind hearted Scottish man.
Private Godfrey, played by Arnold Ridley. A regular soldier. He is a very nice, but very old man, who often needs to go to the toilet.
Private Pike, played by Ian Lavender. A regular soldier. He is very young, and is often told that he is a "stupid boy" by Mainwaring.
Private Walker, played by Jimmy Beck. A chirpy regular soldier. Able to get any supplies for the platoon through illegal methods. He is quite cheeky and is often told off by Mainwaring.
ARP Warden William Hodges, played by Bill Pertwee. The platoon's major rival and nemesis. Mainwaring looked down on him as a greengrocer. As an ARP Warden he was always demanding that people "put that light out".

Other characters

The Vicar - local parish vicar of the town
Mr Yeatmen - the local parish verger and busybody
Captain Square - Commander of the nearby Eastgate Home Guard and old soldier
Mr Gordon - Town Clerk
Mrs Pike - Frank's mother

Other websites

Dad's Army at the former BBC Guide to Comedy (archive)