Welcome to Saluting Dad's Army.
A celebration of a unique, truly brilliant comedy show that's
been keeping Britain laughing pretty much non stop since 1968.
In this edition we'll focus on the years when Dad's Army
established itself as more than a hit television show and
became a national institution.
No wonder Dad's Army cemented its place in the hearts of
viewers when the platoon were having some of their most dangerous
and entertaining adventures.
Mr Mainwaring, how did you get there?
Quick, stop the van. What?
Stop the van, there's a live grenade in the back!
What, sir, what, sir, a live grenade?
A live grenade! Don't panic!
Don't panic!
Stop it first, you idiot!
These were years of award winning success,
when the show brought national popularity to its stars.
Doom mongering.
He always saw Dad's Army as a gift,
he felt lucky that he'd ended up in this series.
While in a rarely seen sketch,
we'll show the men of Dad's Army gaining royal approval.
Advance and be recognised.
And providing a wartime guard for the residents of Buckingham Palace.
Plus we'll show how a generation of young viewers
fell in love with Dad's Army.
They would walk around the countryside like this...
I used to copy them with my
grandmother's Victorian sink plunger.
But these were also years when Dad's Army
suffered an unexpected and tragic loss.
Right wheel!
In autumn 1969, Dad's Army
marched onto the screen for its third series.
Come on, Godfrey! Godfrey, pick 'em up, pick 'em up!
I'm afraid they won't go any higher.
Jimmy Perry and David Croft's scripts
featured many memorable scenes, such as when Mainwaring and Wilson
grappled with an unexploded bomb...
Easy, easy!
All right.
And the series featured several innovations.
Always somebody ready to interfere, isn't there?
For one thing, now the men of Number One Platoon B Company
Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard were
taking the fight to the Nazis in glorious colour.
THEY SHOUT
GUNFIRE
And we had our first sight of a truly magnificent vehicle.
Adapted to become a mighty weapon of war.
Range 100 yards, five rounds of rapid fire.
HE BLOWS WHISTLE
LAUGHTER
And the nation was introduced to a character who would become a
familiar face in Walmington-on-Sea, the Reverend Timothy Farthing.
May I ask what you're doing here?
Based here at St Aldhelm's Church in Mortimer Road,
the vicar has a lot to put up with.
I came in here to be very cross with you, Mr Mainwaring, someone has
written something very rude on the back of my spare harmonium.
The vicar leads an action packed life,
often in the company of his verger Mr Yeatman
and Mr Hodges the air raid warden.
But the vicar always makes time to
take an interest in his parishioners.
Now don't you worry, Mrs Pike,
after a while he'll come back to you and he'll say,
"all these weeks I've longed for the moment when I can take you in
"my arms and tell you how much I've missed you."
A touch impatient, the vicar isn't necessarily the best example
to his flock, but in the 1970s he had at least one devoted fan.
The vicar in Dad's Army, who is a guy called Frank Williams,
was a member of the congregation at the church
of which my dad was the vicar.
So, it was very strange.
Despite his busy life, the vicar always supports local events.
Thank you for making up the darts team, Vicar.
Oh, that's all right, Mr Mainwaring.
I'm always ready and eager to help cement Anglo American relations.
Have a drink? Oh, thank you, scotch please, large one.
Above all, the vicar's always on hand to provide spiritual guidance.
I should have been killed. I was spared.
Why me? Why me, answer me that, why me?
Why, why, why?
I can't think.
And now I get to meet a man who made comedy history as the Dad's Army
vicar, the great Frank Williams.
Frank.
Now the Reverend Timothy Farthing, probably the most famous
vicar in television history, how did you get your calling, would you say?
I knew Jimmy Perry when he was running the repertory theatre
at Watford and he said to me,
"Frank, the very first thing I wrote down when I thought of
"Dad's Army was, Frank Williams, Vicar", which was very
flattering, but it's very odd that I didn't appear till Series Three.
He probably didn't find the bit of paper,
maybe he'd lost the piece of paper.
So when you appeared in Series Three,
it wasn't a big part really to start with.
No, it was only a couple of lines and I mean,
as far as I knew, it was just a week's work and I thought, well this
is quite nice so you know, do it, went home, took the money and, and
then they asked me to go back on one or two others and it gradually grew.
By the last series I was in every episode.
Here, here, here, have you heard the
scandal about Frazer, the undertaker?
Is there a woman involved? Be quiet, Mr Yeatman,
you shouldn't listen to gossip.
What's he done?
In any part you play, you have to find some sort of affection
of some kind or another for a character.
I don't think he was a terribly nice character in some ways,
I mean, he was tetchy and irritable... Yes.
..and of course he was the sworn enemy of Captain Mainwaring.
Sometimes I think he hated me as much as Hitler.
Now look here, Vicar, you know perfectly well that you can work
here all day while I'm busy at the bank.
I'm sorry, Captain Mainwaring, but nothing is going to make me
get up out of this chair and that is that.
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
LAUGHTER
Well, I suppose actually it's not just the characters in
Dad's Army, it's the relationships.
The fact that he has to share his church hall
with Mainwaring and his platoon...
Well, you see there was this unholy trinity
of the vicar, the verger and the warden... Yes.
..and of course the verger was very loyal to me, but also a bit of a
trial on occasions, so it was a very sort of...
..strange relationship in many ways.
This really is a beastly nuisance, Mr Hodges,
are you sure it's necessary?
Well, what has to be, has to be, Vicar.
You should know that, you say it often enough in your boring sermons.
The vicar's sermons are not boring,
there's several good bits in each one.
There was an episode where Mainwaring says he'll buy me a drink
and I say, "I'll have a scotch, a large one" and Mr Yeatman said,
"better make it a single, his reverence is a martyr to the whisky"
and I say, "be quiet, Mr Yeatman."
So, you know, there was some fun.
I must say you're a much braver man than I am, Mr Yeatman.
Well, there's all sorts of courage, I don't know how you have the
nerve to get up and give those sermons every Sunday.
The Reverend Timothy Farthing first appeared in Series Three of
Dad's Army, and this footage shows the cast rehearsing
for Big Guns, one of the 14 shows in the run.
Pull, up, feather.
The series ended in December 1969
with this episode, Sons of the Sea.
Out on a river patrol,
the platoon somehow gets lost in the English Channel.
It's getting a bit foggy, you know, sir.
Nonsense, only a bit of sea mist.
Believe me, I know this stretch of water like the back of my hand.
We're just going to row down to the mouth of the river
and then turn back. No, sir, it's getting awfully thick you know,
I mean, I can hardly see to read.
13.3 million viewers watched the platoon
believe they'd landed in Nazi occupied France.
Captain Mainwaring sir?
What is it, Godfrey? Do you think I might be excused?
With such consistently huge viewing figures, surely Dad's Army would
be fighting in the front line of the ratings battle for years to come?
The show's producer and co-writer had other ideas.
In October 1969, David Croft told reporters
Dad's Army would finish with its third run.
So after just three series, was this the end of the road for Dad's Army?
Don't worry about that, just leave everything to me.
After all, I've never let you down yet, have I?
LAUGHTER
Coming up, in part two,
the Walmington platoon marches onto the big screen.
How Dad's Army changed the lives of its cast...
..and the perils of location filming.
Welcome back, with a reminder that when the third series of
Dad's Army was yet to air, producer and co-writer, David Croft, told the
press that the show had reached the end of its life on television, but
that wasn't because Dad's Army was a flop, it was because it was a hit.
Like millions of wartime Britons,
the platoon spent hours at the cinema.
Rubbish.
LAUGHTER
And, of course, the biggest film fan in Walmington was Private Pike.
Mr Mainwaring, I saw that film, erm,
Petrified Forest, you know, with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart,
well, in that Humphrey Bogart had got Leslie Howard prisoner,
you see, and he's holding him
prisoner in a cabin overnight, by gunpoint.
Now, Leslie Howard kept on quoting poetry at him
and using long words and sneering at him and he got him all annoyed you
see, Leslie Howard did.
You could do that.
What actually happened to Leslie Howard?
He got shot.
LAUGHTER
In 1970, the cinema goers of Walmington were heading onto the
big screen themselves, as shooting began on a Dad's Army feature film.
Dad's Army...
Men of valour, men of courage.
As this typical 1970s trailer suggests,
the film featured the key members of the platoon and their enemies.
Who do you think you are? They're the local defence volunteers,
and I'm their appointed commander, Captain Mainwaring,
and I must ask you to keep your hands off my privates.
The trailer tempted film goers with new action but also
highlighted scenes familiar to fans of the TV show.
What's that supposed to be?
You said if we hadn't got anything else
we were to tie a carving knife to a broom handle.
I didn't mean that you were to leave
the broom on the end of the handle, you stupid boy.
Even though the film represented "well-trodden ground"
according to one review, and "produced no belly laughs" in the
words of another, it made the top five at the UK box office for 1971.
There was even brief talk of a sequel,
Dad's Army and the Secret U-boat Base.
As it was, long before the feature film opened in March 1971,
Jimmy Perry and David Croft had changed their minds about
making another Dad's Army television series.
Here's the cast shooting its first episode, The Big Parade.
LAUGHTER
Left, right, left, right, left, right.
In its fourth series, Dad's Army remained a runaway success.
Attention!
The show was entertaining millions of viewers and changing the lives
of stars such as Arnold Ridley, the gentile private Charles Godfrey.
Good evening. Good eve...
What's that piece of white paper doing in your hat?
Oh, uh...
..oh, uh... Oh, yes, that's for the sun.
For the sun? Uh, yes, you see,
Sergeant Wilson won't let me wear my Panama and my nose is very sensitive
so I thought this is the next best thing.
LAUGHTER
Arnold Ridley was a decorated hero of World War I and a
successful playwright, notably of the hit thriller, The Ghost Train.
And his error, if it was an error, was to start a film company,
which duly went bust, lost all his money and that was the end of
all his wealth, really, and then in 1968 Dad's Army came along.
I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know you'd started.
LAUGHTER
Dad's Army restored my father's confidence in himself as well
as giving him a modicum of financial security, which he and my
mother hadn't known throughout my childhood.
Hurry up, Godfrey.
Sir, it's these trousers, sir,
doesn't seem to be any buttons for my braces.
Well, can't you wear a belt?
I always think trousers hang so much
better from braces, don't you think so?
It's not a fashion parade, Godfrey.
Another actor, grateful for the success of the series,
was Bill Pertwee, who gained national fame playing
Captain Mainwaring's arch enemy, Warden Hodges.
Now I've had instructions that you and I are supposed to cooperate, so
I'll just tell this once, I shall want that all every Wednesday
evening for an ARP lecture. Oh, I'm afraid that's quite out of the
question. What are you talking about? I have a parade there every
Wednesday evening. Oh, well that's your bad luck, mate. I have a long
standing arrangement with the vicar.
What goes on between you and the vicar is entirely your affair.
The thing was that Bill came from variety,
he came from music hall and so he thought it was a fantastic
chance just to get a few episodes and see what happened.
Whereas the established actors that were in it, they probably saw the
series as well, this is just a kind of TV show and it's nothing special.
That wasn't a view shared by Arnold Ridley.
When he first received the scripts he thought they were
absolutely excellent and he thought that they would appeal
enormously to everyone who could remember the Second World War,
who'd lived through it, but in his view, at the time,
he thought it wouldn't have much appeal for the younger generation.
My sister Dolly won't have drink in the house,
except the parsnip wine she makes herself.
I tried it once, I...
..I fell over.
LAUGHTER
He was so pleased to be wrong.
I don't think we need quite as much first aid kit as that, Godfrey.
That's not first aid, sir, that's my picnic.
LAUGHTER
Picnic? You said we could bring some food, sir.
I said you were to bring haversack rations, that means sandwiches.
Oh, I'm afraid that such things are very indigestible to me, sir.
So, my sister has made me up a vegetable flan
and some rice pudding. Rice pudding!
Much as he loved the Dad's Army scripts, 72-year-old Arnold
had some doubts about accepting a role in the series.
He was slightly worried about playing Godfrey, this is at
the age of 70 something, because he didn't want to be type cast.
You ought to get glasses, Mr Godfrey.
Oh, I had a pair once you know, but I didn't get on with them,
they made me look rather old.
LAUGHTER
Bill Pertwee had been the warm up man on early recordings of
Dad's Army, now he embraced his new-found fame as the
resident baddie of Walmington-on-Sea.
Some kids or people would
occasionally in the street shout, you know, "put that light out."
Put that light out! Put that light out!
But Dad loved all that.
I think he felt that that was a recognition of the show to
have Mainwaring's own private Hitler,
that was a great part to have really.
Now then, Napoleon!
What's this, mothers' meeting?
Do you mind not barging into my office without knocking?
What do you mean "your office?" It's my office as well, mate.
But he did fall in the water a lot.
Back up. Oh, just clear off.
HE SCREAMS
LAUGHTER
David Croft actually said, "thing about Bill is..."
..he said "we could throw anything at him, he didn't mind a bit,
"we'd pick him up, we'd throw him in the sea,
"we'd throw him in a canal", Dad was just, he thought it was all fun.
Bill Pertwee was also involved in real life drama when filming
big action sequences for the show.
As his friend and colleague, Frank Williams remembers.
I want to ask you about the Battle of the Giants!
because there's that wonderful motor bike sequence
on Hodges' motorcycle.
Oh, I remember that!
The motorcycle arrived and so he got on and we set off down
the road towards the camera crew and I could see the camera crew
looking, "Oh, yes this is really good, nice shot here".
Then suddenly they went like that, parting, because it was quite
clear Bill was not going to stop because he hadn't found the brake,
and I think we ended up in a ditch.
We didn't have Health and Safety in those days,
so I mean, Bill was for ever falling in the water.
Nobody thought of going down to make sure
it was all safe down there before he did it.
I mean, you just got on with it.
Spectacular sequences like this became a hallmark of Dad's Army
in its pomp, setting the show apart when most comedy was
studio bound and revolved around domestic life.
We do something I don't think many people do, that is adventure comedy.
We're like a bunch of idiots, but real people and put them in a
difficult situation and see how they'll get out of it.
In The Royal Train, Jimmy Perry and David Croft created just that
kind of difficult situation with unforgettable results.
A brilliantly inventive plot,
leaves the platoon on the footplate of a runaway locomotive.
Stupid boy, you said that you knew how to drive this thing.
I can't stop it without a brake, can I?
Don't you use that tone of voice to me.
The vicar, the verger,
the warden and Walmington's mayor give chase to hand over a
vital brake key, but before long, the train is chasing them.
They have, they've used reverse.
They're coming towards us! Are you sure?
Of course, I'm sure!
Well, don't just stand there gawping, get pumping.
Tell me about The Royal Train episode.
My favourite of all time.
I mean, that was very hazardous in a way as well.
And I can remember Bill Pertwee saying,
"You know, Pike is supposed to be driving the train. He's the only one
"who can see what's happening, the real driver can't see what's going
"on and it's gaining on us, I think we'll have to jump."
I said, "Bill we're going at about 40mph, we'll break our legs."
He said, "But if the train crashes into us, it'll break our necks."
But that's very genuine, the pumping on...
Oh, that was very genuine pumping, we were trying to get faster and
faster and faster because we were aware the train was gaining on us.
The Royal Train was broadcast in 1973,
when Dad's Army was firmly established as one of Britain's
favourite television shows, packed with popular characters such
as the likeable rogue, Private Walker, played by James Beck.
Excuse me, sir, about the ammunition. I think it can get it
for you, under the counter you know what I mean. No, no, no, that's
quite out of the question. How much will it cost? Well, about a bob a
round? No, no, no, I wouldn't allow it. And where would you get it
anyway? Well, there's an Irish battalion up at Gawshead.
Well, surely they don't sell their ammunition?
You get up at that boozer at 10:00 on a Saturday night,
they'd sell you the Pope. All right, go on.
It's very hard for people like me,
that have to work with their brains all day.
Your brain, what are you talking about your brains?
All you gotta do is give a couple of wallops with your chopper and
keep your fingers out of the way.
And, Walker, if you've been up to any monkey business,
I shall be down on you like a tonne of bricks.
LAUGHTER
Ever cheerful, and hugely talented, James Beck was a highly
popular figure with his Dad's Army colleagues, but during studio
recordings for Series Six, he fell seriously ill at a charity event.
James Beck died on the sixth of August 1973.
He was just 44 years old.
I think Jimmy was a wonderful actor.
Had he lived he'd probably have been one of our leading character actors.
A lovely man, too.
Jimmy Perry and David Croft made no attempt to recast the part of
Walker for subsequent television episodes.
They knew that James Beck was irreplaceable.
Here, listen, I tell you what, £2.10 apiece, £4.10 for the pair.
I'm not paying that sort of money! whoever heard of £2.10
for a cricket ball?! Sh, don't...
LOUDER: Listen, two quid apiece, I'm robbing meself.
You'd sell your own grandmother, wouldn't you?
No, there's no market for her.
Coming up after the break, Dad's Army's royal seal of approval...
..Lance Corporal Jones goes Dutch...
..and Captain Mainwaring bursts into song.
Welcome back to Saluting Dad's Army,
and a step back in time to April 1970,
as the men of Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard receive
a royal seal of approval.
Squad, halt!
All right Jonesy, that's enough, that's enough.
Sentries will at all times be alert...
..watchful...
..vigilant.
This specially written and rarely seen sketch sees the platoon
on guard duties at Buckingham Palace.
AIR-RAID SIREN Halt! Who goes there?
Yes, halt! Who goes there?
Uh, who is it?
Advance and be recognised!
Advance and be recognised.
And the punch line of the sketch sees Frazer, Jones and Godfrey
receiving their evening cocoa from two young royal residents.
LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
The press speculated that the Queen was a devoted fan of Dad's Army,
while any number of articles fed the wider public's appetite
for information about the show and its stars.
Many of the images used to promote Dad's Army in its heyday were
captured by a man who followed the show for nine years and
joined me to share some of the stories behind his pictures -
Radio Times photographer, Don Smith.
Well, Don, how lovely to have you here. What a... It's good to be here. ..treat it is to meet you.
So I'm going to call you the official photographer to Dad's Army.
Well, that's flattering, but I wasn't the only one.
Shall we have a look at some of these? We're going to start with this one.
This is where Arthur Lowe gets invited away for the weekend,
and there's a lot of hard drinking.
SLURRED: Here's to the health of the Duchess of York...
..who is a friend of Cardinal Puff-Puff-Puff-Puff!
Arthur Lowe suddenly emerged. Unknown to me, he comes out drunk.
Damn revolving doors!
Well, I wasn't expecting it.
Suddenly he staggers out like this and I thought,
"Goodness me, that's a picture!"
whipped the camera up quickly, and that's why it might even be a bit blurred, or something.
A slight blur, you see his hands. Yeah, but that's probably his movement, and not mine.
What are your memories of Arthur Lowe?
A bit bumptious, you know? In his nature, but lovely with it.
The relationship between him and John Le Mesurier, Sergeant Wilson,
is just perfection.
What was THEIR chemistry on set?
In all the episodes I did, I never saw them arguing,
having differences of opinion about anything.
Do be quiet, Wilson. Sorry, I'm only trying to help. Well, don't do that,
don't do that sort of thing. All right, all right, all right!
Let's have a look at our next one. Look, here we are. Here's John Laurie.
I mean, he was a tremendous actor wasn't he, John Laurie? He was wonderful.
Had a Shakespearean background. Yes, yes indeed. He said "you know,
"I've been a Shakespearean actor all my life and I've made feature films
"and this, that and the other." He said, "And then I become famous
"for this kind of rubbish," sitcom rubbish, you know?
On November 6th, 1940, you wasted thr-r-ree hours giving us
a lecture on why the Germans don't play cricket.
On January 28th, 1941, you gave us a lecture telling us how Hitler,
when he's in a rage, bites the carpet.
It's a well-known fact that he does.
Maybe, but you then proceeded to waste two hours working out a
plan on how to send him
a poisoned hearth rug.
As well as shooting publicity pictures, the stars of Dad's Army
were in demand to make personal appearances, in character.
Here they are turning on Blackpool's famous illuminations.
And the soldiers of Walmington-on-Sea platoon were enlisted for a real-life campaign...
Get your eyes tested, Napoleon!
Can't you see the lights have changed?
..to improve road safety.
You're not meant to edge forward and harass the pedestrians!
Who says so? The vicar?
Actually, sir, no. I say so.
The public had fallen in love with Dad's Army,
right from the off in 1968, and the show's success soon brought
its stars some interesting opportunities.
First to show off his musical talents was Arthur Lowe,
who released an album in 1969, Bless 'Em All!
# Bless 'em all... #
Dad did some work that was
definitely a spin-off from Dad's Army.
One thing that sticks in one's mind is the album of wartime songs.
# You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean
# So cheer up, my lads bless 'em all. #
But he never actually did that well with that,
it wasn't his finest hour.
Even so, Arthur could still be seen performing wartime hits on BBC One.
# 'Twas there that you whispered tenderly, that you loved me
# You'd always be my Lili of the lamp light
# My own Lili Marlene. #
Hot on Arthur's heels in 1970, Clive Dunn,
aka Lance Corporal Jones, released his own album.
Permission to sing, sir.
# If you will give me permission to sing, sir... #
Clive then enjoyed a huge hit single, with Grandad.
# Every day I find thoughts of when I was a boy
# Grandad, Grandad you're lovely... #
Grandad was number one for three weeks in January 1971,
and it remained in the UK top 40 for an incredible 22 weeks.
The success of Dad's Army and his records meant Clive appeared
on countless TV shows, even abroad,
as with this Dutch game show.
Dank je.
THEY CONTINUE TO SPEAK DUTCH
In fact, the cast of Dad's Army popped up in character in
any number of programmes,
including this BBC salute to Noel Coward.
# We'll have to hide that armoured car when marching to Berlin
# We'd almost be ashamed of it in Rome
# So if you can't oblige us with a Bren gun
# The Home Guard might as well The Home Guard might as well
# The Home Guard might as well go home. #
And, of course, Arthur Lowe and company also appeared on
The Morecambe & Wise Show.
Ah, well, there are a few more of the rabble, sir, bring them on!
Sir! Attention!
APPLAUSE
He was old pals with Eric and Ernie, he'd known them for ever, and
when they invited him on his show, he was delighted to go on there.
THEY HUM THE THEME TO DAD'S ARMY
Oh no, no, no please. You sure? Not here. Oh, I see.
It's very good, though, isn't it?
Playing the leader of the platoon,
Arthur Lowe was front and centre of a show with truly broad appeal.
We were walking along Knightsbridge one time in front of Harrods,
and we were stopped by an Arab Sheikh who had just come out
of the shop, and wanted to talk to my father and tell him
how much his wives enjoyed the show.
I had to pop into the chemist for Mrs Mainwaring. Ah, yes.
Of course, he kept me waiting. Yes, of course, yes.
Nothing serious, I hope, sir.
No, no, no, she just can't sleep, it's these air raids, you know.
Mm, well, there haven't been any lately, have there?
Oh, she imagines them, even if they're not there.
Very highly strung woman. Yes, sir, so you said, sir.
Slightest noise, she tosses and turns till sunrise.
Dustbin lid blew off last night, and before you could say
"Jack Robinson," she was under my bunk with a gas mask on.
In the 1970s, as well as recording up to 13 episodes a year of
Dad's Army for television, Arthur was busy making films
alongside Peter O'Toole, and playing everyone from Mr Micawber
to Louis Pasteur for the BBC, amid a huge body of work.
Nonetheless, he was fixed firmly, immovably,
in the public mind as Captain Mainwaring.
Sometimes it was a little bit of a disappointment for him, but
you know, he really only cared what the profession thought, and he was
very happy for the public to think of him as Captain Mainwaring and
he attended a lot of charity events in character as Captain Mainwaring.
No, I'd no trouble at all, except from the warden who, I mean,
we expect trouble from anyway,
and he's not one of my men in the first place.
So long as the profession realised he was doing other work than
just being in a television comedy show, yeah, he was happy.
Though stories endured about Arthur's reluctance to learn his
lines for Dad's Army, his brilliant performance was a reflection
not only of his talent, but of a deep-seated professionalism.
He used to say that it was no different to being a bus driver -
if it was a Monday to a Friday and there was work going,
he should get out of the house and go and do it.
So if he was made an offer and he could do it, he would go and do it.
And for 80 television episodes of Dad's Army on radio, on stage
and film, Arthur Lowe was ready to get up,
go to work and bring an immortal comic character to life.
In the name of the King, I demand to examine your chicken.
This is a war, Wilson, not a Rotary Club dance.
Now, the reason I've taken all these pains
to keep this matter a secret...
..is because nobody must see this dance until it's perfect.
Otherwise, we might look like a bunch of idiots.
Coming up, in part four of Saluting Dad's Army,
how the platoon captured the hearts of a young generation.
Welcome back to Saluting Dad's Army, where it's time to talk about
the people who were crucial to the show's huge and enduring success.
The viewers.
In the 1970s, Dad's Army was required viewing for families up and
down the land.
I remember watching it as a family, with my sister and my mum and dad
and that being such a focal part of my childhood
and such a defining part of my childhood, actually.
Uncle Arthur. What is it, Frank?
Have you seen Mr Snuggly?
Mr who?
Mr Snuggly, my teddy. No, I haven't.
Dad's Army was probably the most popular viewing in the Dennis
household, cos it was one of those series, wasn't it,
that you could watch with your mum and dad, and it wasn't embarrassing.
Well, I was having a bath, going to have a bath and I got one foot in,
and I heard this voice telling me I'd gotta have a permit.
Right, I really don't think...
Of course he's gotta have a permit -
what do you think I've been shouting me mouth off about all the time?!
This whole thing is assuming ridiculous proportions.
Well, make your mind up cos the water's getting cold.
The sort of very funny, very interesting world
of really different characters
that I was in love with sort of every single one of them.
"I hereby give you permission
"to take a bath.
"Yours sincerely Jack Jones, Lance Corporal."
Here you are. Ta.
Oh, er, who do I give it to?
Well, that's a point, isn't it?
I think you better give it to me.
My dad had served in World War II,
he'd been in the Royal Engineers, disposing bombs,
and I used to love watching my dad's reaction to Dad's Army,
seeing how he related to it and the glow that this gave
to the whole house.
There was this other kind of glow that came from the programmes
as well as the comedy itself.
You know, sir, I don't think I can stand very much more of this.
Oh, come on, Wilson, cheer up.
There is a destiny that shapes our ends, rough hue them as we will.
I'm reminded of the tale of the Australian soldier.
He arrived up at the front and was met by a British officer who
said, "Ah, my man, have you come to die?"
And he said, "No, sir, I came yester-die."
It did strike a chord with my family.
I think there was a, it sounds a strange phrase, but sort of
a nostalgia for the war among a lot of people.
You know, some of you chaps will be heartbroken when this war's over.
You just love the Home Guard, don't you?
Gives you every opportunity you want for dressing up
and strutting about in uniform.
For your information, Mr West, I never strut.
It was the moment that they kind of felt most alive.
Good grief! What's that damn great gun doing there?
That is a Lewis machinegun mark I.
We keep it there during the daytime because it covers the
high street from Stead & Simpson's to Timothy Whites.
Do you mean to tell me you'd use that to shoot at Germans?
It they were coming out of Timothy Whites, yes.
Here was a situation that everybody in the country knew about,
that everyone had the legacy of behind them,
their parents or their grandparents, certainly.
I think it resonated with that generation because I think
the thing they remembered really strongly was that feeling,
that memory of that moment in the war, where it felt like it was
Britain on its own facing disaster.
But what it did was somehow take that world and make it an
OK world to be in, and a safe world and a reassuring world.
Well, now, see, Hitler and his lackey Mussolini are here,
across the Channel...
We are guarding our strong points, which are the
Stones Amusement Arcade here
and the Novelty Rock Emporium here,
with our advanced headquarters
in the middle here at the Marigold Tea Rooms.
My parents were both born in 1931. Really it should have been a comedy
for them, they sort of remembered the war, knew what the Home Guard
was, but it, you know, my brother and I really had no idea at all.
That was the brilliant thing about it, it just seemed to work for everyone.
When young viewers wrote to the stars of the show at the BBC,
the kind and gentle Private Godfrey was a particular favourite.
My father received one letter from a child who said, um...
"My sister was very upset last night
"when the bank manager was rude to you.
"He shouldn't have been, because although you are very stupid,
"you do try."
Children saw the stars of Dad's Army making guest appearances
on programmes such as Blue Peter.
That's an awfully, awfully good picture of you, sir,
very good likeness. It is good, isn't it?
I would have thought that you could have had a shave before this was drawn.
Well, at least I bothered to do up my battle-dress blouse, sir.
So you did. Board games, comics and toys gave young viewers a chance to
express their enthusiasm for Dad's Army but, above all,
there was the show itself to enjoy, year after year.
Walker was my first love.
Here, do you want any clothing coupons? Bob a piece?
No, thank you. I tell you what I'll do,
special price, ten bob a dozen. No, thank you!
Petrol coupons?
I haven't got a car.
Ah, now, I can help you there.
I just thought he was brilliant and hilarious and,
because he's basically like a naughty boy.
Here, Jonesy, come here, all your problems are over, I've got 'em.
Got what? The off the ration meat.
Pigeons. About two dozen of 'em.
Pigeons? Where are they?
In the boiler house, next to Mainwaring's office.
We'd better put 'em in my cold room. If we keep 'em in the boiler house they'll go off.
No, they won't. Why?
They're not dead yet.
I think my dad liked it.
He particularly liked Captain Mainwaring.
Just notice this, will you?
You get a lot better purchase on it if you wrap the pull-through
round your hand like this, and give it a good sharp tug, and...
He was such a trier, and such a ridiculous trier,
I just couldn't help but laugh every time I saw him.
I remember a little wrinkle that I picked up in the last conflict.
Now, watch this.
You tie it to an immovable object, like this.
Like Roy Rogers ties his horse. Trigger.
Like that, you see.
Now, all we want is a sharp jerk.
There was a character there for everybody to relate to.
There was that tall, rude Scots one, the mummy's boy,
Grandad and the clever-dick one.
I related to Pike when I was a lad, you know, the teachers would
call me a stupid boy, and I'd get similar things wrong.
Excuse me, Mr Mainwaring,
Mr Jones has had his van done up, it looks nice, doesn't it?
Don't interrupt, Pike, you'll be sent home.
I always say I was aware from a very early age, really, just how
brilliant the cast were. That brilliance comes to the fore
as the platoon members digest dramatic news.
Mr Wilson has become the Honourable Arthur Wilson.
Hasn't changed a bit, you know.
Still calls me Frank, just like he was an ordinary common person.
It won't change him.
He was a fool before and he's a fool now.
You know, I used to serve one or two honourables when I was in the
Army and Navy stores, they were quite ordinary people,
just like any other customer.
The only difference was
you couldn't get the money.
Visually, there was plenty for young viewers to latch onto in Dad's Army.
Bits of foliage and grass stuck to their clothes,
that was very appealing to me as a child -
just the absurdity of it.
Ludicrous camouflage and my sister Dolly and all these
things that just moved into sort of family language.
I remember I saw that film with my sister, Dolly, but she made me
take her out before the end,
she thought it was rather near.
Children had always responded to Dad's Army,
but as young viewers became teenagers, some realised that
life in Walmington-on-Sea was more complicated than they'd thought.
I sort of remember as a kid being very puzzled by the whole
Pike's mum and Wilson.
I want to speak to Captain Mainwaring, Arthur. I'm afraid he hasn't arrived yet.
Have you seen Frank's feet? I really haven't noticed them recently, no.
Ooh, they're in a terrible state. Are they?
He woke up screaming in the night.
Really? I didn't hear him. Arthur!
Sorry.
At sort of 16, I was, or 15, going, "Yeah, what's going on now?"
Mum? Hmm?
Uncle Arthur lives miles away - how could he hear me in the night?
I was 14 and I was of that generation who was kind of a
little bit fed up with hearing the older generation bang on
about the war, so initially I was a bit resistant to it but
I think the thing that
first turned me onto it was the interaction
between Mainwaring and Wilson, and that beautiful portrait of,
sort of, how class works in this country.
Reminds me of the time when I was at school and we used to have...
..midnight feasts in the dorm.
Really? Yes.
School I went to, we didn't have any midnight feasts,
we had to manage with a few aniseed balls in a corner of the playground.
Though ultimately, perhaps the appeal of Dad's Army to a generation
growing up in the 1970s was really very straightforward.
It's old men being funny.
Left turn!
That's about it for now.
Do join me next time on Saluting Dad's Army, but in the meantime,
I leave you with another brilliant example of old men being funny.
You just can't beat that, can you?
Let go your end, Jones!
All clear this end, sir.
Right.
Round the front for safety.
Right, sir. Jump to it! Hup!
Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring! Don't panic!
Next time on Saluting Dad's Army,
we go behind the scenes to discover how the magic was made.