Three episodes of this series ("Dad's Army" (1968) {The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker (#2.3)}, "Dad's Army" (1968) {A Stripe for Frazer (#2.5)} and "Dad's Army" (1968) {Under Fire (#2.6)}) are no longer thought to exist (although the off-air soundtrack to one, "Dad's Army" (1968) {A Stripe for Frazer (#2.5)}, was recovered in 2008), after an archive purge at the BBC in the 1970s saw the destruction of the only known copies. Until recently, there were five missing episodes (all from the second season) before an appeal by the BBC called "Treasure Hunt" saw the return of two 16mm film recordings ("Dad's Army" (1968) {Operation Kilt (#2.1)} and "Dad's Army" (1968) {The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage (#2.2)}) taken from the original video tapes. These recordings had been dumped in a skip outside the Elstree Studios when they were found and taken home by one of the studio staff, 30 years before. After seeing the 'Treasure Hunt' appeal on TV in 2001, the prints were returned by a friend of the staff member, to whom the prints had been entrusted.
It only took an hour and a half to tape each episode of Dad's Army, though there was a week's rehearsal prior to the actual recording of each episode. In addition, the cast did six weeks location filming in Norfolk and Suffolk for each series, to record exterior scenes; only the scenes in the studio interior sets were taped at TV Centre in London. Sometimes the episodes would be filmed then transmitted a week later.
Arthur Lowe (Captain Mainwaring) had a clause in his contract that stated that he was never to be seen on camera without his trousers
An episode is kept on standby by the BBC for use as an emergency backup program, to be broadcast if a major technical problem prevents normal programs being shown. This came to light on June 20, 2000 when the "Six O'Clock News" (1984) was interrupted by a power failure at the BBC, and an episode of Dad's Army was transmitted in its place.
John Laurie and Arnold Ridley both fought in World War One and both were wounded and invalided out of the army.
Thorley Walters was first offered the role of Captain Mainwaring but declined it as he disliked performing in front of an audience. It was then offered to Jon Pertwee who was unavailable owing to a prior commitment in America. Jack Haig turned down Corporal Jones.
John Laurie was the only cast member to have served in the Home Guard. But Clive Dunn, Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier had all served in the regular army during World War Two. John Laurie and Arnold Ridley had also served in the regular Army, in World War One. Of the writers, during World War Two Jimmy Perry served in the Home Guard (he based the show on his experiences), and David Croft served in the ARP (and later served in the regular Army as a Major).
A pilot for a sequel to Dad's Army, "It Sticks Out Half a Mile", was recorded for BBC Radio in 1981 with Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier. In it, Mainwaring moves to another seaside resort in 1948. He wants a loan with the local bank manager and discovers that this is Wilson. He wants to buy the local pier, closed since the war, and attempts (with Wilson's help) to buy it off the council. It was not transmitted (Lowe was very ill during the recording and died soon after) but the pilot is sometimes repeated on the digital radio channel BBC7. With some reworking "It Sticks Out Half a Mile" did become a radio series. In it Hodges and Pike decide to restore the pier at Frambourne-on-Sea and approach Wilson for the loan. Le Mesurier, Bill Pertwee and Ian Lavender reprised their rôles. The series aired on Radio 2 in 1983-4 and is often rerun on BBC7; it was also reworked for television in the form of ITV's "High and Dry" (1985).
Walmington-on-Sea's church is St Aldhelm's, patron saint of song-writers and musicians.
Walmington's local pub is The Anchor.
Other Home Guard platoons in the series include nearby Eastgate (commanded by Captain Square), Southgate, Dymwych (led by Captain Ashley-Jones) and Littlebourne-on-Sea.
Jimmy Perry based the character of Private Pike on his own background and his experiences during the war. He originally wrote the part of Private Walker, the spiv, for himself to play, but David Croft vetoed this on the grounds that other cast members would think Perry had taken the best part for himself.
The cast (as Dad's Army) filmed a road safety advertisement for UK television at Woodley near Reading on 23rd December 1976. The public information film saw them using a "Pelican Crossing".
David Croft wanted the series titles to include newsreel footage from the Second World War, including scenes of bombing raids, refugees, Nazi troops and Nuremberg rallies. Although he was supported by Head of Comedy Michael Mills, BBC One Controller Paul Fox (XIII) objected to this, deeming it inappropriate for a comedy series.
BBC Head of Comedy Michael Mills was initially against the casting of Arthur Lowe in the lead role of Captain Mainwaring.
On 19th June 2010 a life-size bronze statue of Captain Mainwaring, seated on a bench by the Bell and Old Anchor Hotels in Thetford, Norfolk (the market town having doubled as Walmington-on-Sea throughout the series, with many of the cast and crew based at the hotels during filming) was unveiled by David Croft, with Bill Pertwee and Pamela Cundell in attendance. The statue was the work of sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, and funded by the local Friends of Dad's Army Museum.
When an episode of the show was shown to members of the public to gauge audience reaction prior to broadcast of the first series, the majority thought it was very poor. The production team put the report containing the negative comments at the bottom of David Croft's in-tray. He only saw it several months later, after the series had been broadcast to great acclaim.
- On the 19th of June 2010 a life size statue of Captain Mainwaring was erected in Thetford, He can be found seated near the Old Anchor Hotel where the minor cast members stayed during the filming of the series which is today sadly derelict. - The Bell Inn in Thetford, the hotel where the main cast and crew stayed during the filming of the series, has several pictures of the cast and crew in the hotel. Most of the rooms are named after the characters e.g. Sergeant Wilson's Lounge. - The Bell Inn is also where the Dads Army tour around the town starts and finishes. The Dads Army Museum is also found near the end of the trail which features a reconstruction of Captain Mainwaring's office. - The Local Pub called The Red Lion is mentioned a number of times. There was a real pub called The Red Lion in Thetford where the exterior shots were filmed. The Pub is still there today but sadly is now derelict.
Despite always referring to Sgt Wilson as Uncle Arthur, it has been confirmed by the writers that Pvte Pike is the biological son of Sgt Wilson.
Pvte Pike also has a half-sister, the daughter of Sgt Wilson by an earlier relationship. She is only referred to once when she makes a quick visit to see Sgt Wilson. He laments that her mother left him many years ago and he has seen very little of his daughter, who is not named and only referred to in the credits as The Wren, being as she is in uniform when seen.
With the death of Clive Dunn (Corporal Jones) on November 6, 2012, Ian Lavender (Private Pike) is the last surviving main cast member to have played a member of the Home Guard platoon.
The events take place on Tuesday May 14th 1940, as can be observed on the Swallow Bank calendar on Mainwaring's desk, and with British Secretary of State for War Anthony Eden's BBC radio announcement of the Local Defence Volunteers' formation.
The pre-titles sequence sees Alderman Mainwaring's speech for Walmington's part in the 1968 "I'm Backing Britain" campaign, with Wilson, Pike, Frazer, Godfrey, Walker and Sponge in attendance. The scene reinforced to viewers that the series was not making light of the genuine Home Guard's wartime activities.
Frazer says he runs a philatelist's shop; later in the series he is Walmington's undertaker.
"You ought to be with ITMA", says George Jones, referring to BBC Radio's hugely popular comedy series "It's That Man Again", which ran between 1939 and 1949.
Part of the episode takes place on Tuesday July 23rd 1940, when Prime Minister Churchill renamed the LDV to the Home Guard.
The show's writer, Jimmy Perry has a cameo role as stand-up comic Charlie Cheeseman. Originally Perry wanted to play Private Walker, but was beaten to the role by James Beck. Ironically when Beck died, Walker was replaced in the platoon by a character called Cheeseman.
This episode was wiped by the BBC and no copy of it was known to exist until 2001, when a 16mm telerecording was returned to the BBC by a member of the public. It had been saved purely by chance when it was taken out of a tip at Elstree Studios in the 1970s.
This episode was wiped by the BBC and no copy of it was known to exist until 2001, when a 16mm telerecording was returned to the BBC by a member of the public. It had been saved purely by chance when it was taken out of a tip at Elstree Studios in the 1970s.
There is currently no known copy of this edition in existence.
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