PLEASE PLEASE watch the episode where Captain Mannerig finds out Godfrey is a conscientious objector. And they all think he's a coward until they learn about the very special medal he won in WW1.....aka the V.C
Thought I’d copy this as a tribute and reminder those cast members who served The Cast & Writers of Dads Army - As actors in Dad's Army they were portrayed as a group of bungling no-hopers that might struggle to say boo to a goose never mind fight off invading Germans. However, in real life they had risked all for their country during WW2. Arthur Lowe (Captain Mainwaring) (1915-1982) was a sergeant major in the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry and served in the Middle East. John Le Mesurier (Sergeant Arthur Wilson) (1912-1983) served in India as a Captain in the Royal Tank Regiment. Arnold Ridley (Private Charles Godfrey) (1896-1984) in WW1 had been a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry and sustained serious injuries at the Somme. In 1939 he rejoined the Army as a major and was part of the B.E.F at Dunkirk in 1940. John Laurie (Private James Frazer) (1897-1980) served in the Hon. Artillery Company in WW1 and was the only cast member to have served in the real Home Guard during WW2. Clive Dunn (Corporal Jack Jones) (1920 - 2012) spent four years as a POW in Germany and worked in slave labour camps in Austria. Bill Pertwee (ARP Warden Hodges) (1926- 2013 ) made parts for Spitfire cannons as a teenager and lost his older brother who was killed when the RAF Whitley Bomber he was piloting crashed near Dortmund in Germany. Edward Sinclair (Church Verger - Maurice Yeatman) (1914-1977) was in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire light Infantry. Talfryn Thomas (1922 - 1982) (Private Cheeseman) was a rear gunner on a Lancaster Bomber and flew many raids. He survived a crash in which all other crew members were killed.
Harold Bennett (Young Mr. Grace), appeared in a number of episodes, He was a motorcycle courier during WW1, Geoffrey Lumsden (Captain Square) served in Burma in WW2.
I met Pamela Cundell (Mrs Fox) several times. She and my parents were members of the "Concert Artists Association" a club for "Acts and Actors". Pamela was on the committee of the club and was heavily involved in organising the Christmas parties for the children of the club's members. She was just as effervescent in real life as she portrayed as Mrs Fox. The writers didn't know what to call her character so she herself suggested Mrs FOX because she always wore a fox skin collar with her coats.
@@AndrewLumsdenYour probably already know but for others, Pamela Cundell comes from a distinguished theatrical family. An ancestor of hers was in the same theatre company as William Shakespeare. Also, is your father the J.R. Hartley actor?
@@skasteve6528 She did indeed, and yes he was. He began as a commercial artist with the publishers Hodder and Stoughton and drew the book jackets for the Leslie Chatteris "The Saint" books. After pneumonia his doctor told him to take up singing to strengthen his lungs. He was in the original casts of many of the Benjamin Britten operas and Ben wrote the part of Peter Quince in Midsummer Nights Dream with my father's voice in mind. He was Clint Eastwood's butler in White Hunter, Black Heart, also acted with Robert Mitcham, Katherine Hepburn, Robert Powell and others before finding fame again with J R Hartley. J R took two 16 hour days to film in the heatwave of 1983 whilst he had to wear that heavy tweed suit!
Over 80 episodes recorded and made into a movie ( twice ). Amazing to think 52 years later Dad's Army is still showing everyday on cable TV & mainstream TV on weekends. We will never tire of this innocent comedy delight. Most of the major actors spent a lifetime making movies & being on stage at the theater before joining the show. Thank you for being such a good sport E.B !
Can you remember the name of the episode where they find out Godfrey is a conscientious objector and mannering thinks he's a coward...then finds out Godfrey win the V.C!
Like a lot of long running TV comedy series, Dad's Army didn't really get going until series two. It was busy establishing character and trying out gags. It evolved into one of the funniest comedy series ever made.
It's a shame that James Beck died when he did. His character Walker was one of my favourites in Dad's Army. As a spiv, he was always in possession of some dubious items that weren't readily available for general consumption. Brilliant.
@@jspettifer so much great talent in those days. I grew up on Tony Hancock, The Navy Lark etc and I am only 57. Mind you, us Brits keep the memories of those times. You ask a Millennial in America who Laural and Hardy, Buster Keaton or Abbot and Costello were, and they could not tell you, such a disgrace.
Pomposity was an important trait in Captain Mainwaring as well as a certain envy that his sergeant was from a posher background .Each member of the main cast developed their own very individual persona . Such things as rationing played a large part which was still in force when i was young in the 1950s .
Indeed rationing went on till 1954...as alot of the food that came into the UK after the war was diverted to the Germans..as by all account their people were in a more desparate state than those in the UK. So rationing carried on after the war until the Germans were able to provide food for it's own people once more.
Clive Dunn, who was the guy who signed the table was, at 48, one of the younger members of the cast. He was brilliant at playing old men and did so in various roles until he was 64. He passed away at the age of 92 in 2012.
Walker the 'wholesale supplier' is what was known in the UK as a 'spiv', meaning an illegal black market trader. Such people made a fortune at times of wartime rationing.
Nice subtle reference about Mrs Hoskins calling her sister in Thetford, the real life Norfolk town where all the location filming for Dad's Army took place (and amusingly for the fictional town of Walmington-On-Sea, nearly forty miles from the coast). The town is home to a museum dedicated to the series and in 2010, unveiled a life-size bronze statue of Captain Mainwaring in full costume, seated on a bench where vistors can pose for photos. Clive Dunn, who played Jack Jones the butcher, was only about 48 at the time of filming, despite playing the oldest character. Also of note, Private Godfrey was played by Arnold Ridley, the great uncle of Disney Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley. He also famously wrote the stage play _The Ghost Train_ , which was adapted (loosely) for the screen as the Will Hay classic _Oh, Mr Porter_ . ETA: Also, the title song was written especially for the series by creator Jimmy Perry and performed by Bud Flanagan, the surviving half of the wartime duo Flanagan and Allen. Despite being written in 1968, it's surprising how often it crops up as a 'genuine' wartime song at re-enactment events and so on.
There is a statue of Captain Mainwaring in Thetford as well as a Dad’s Army museum. Part of the museum at nearby Bressingham Steam Park is also devoted to Dad’s Army, with some of the vehicles used on display, plus mock up of the vicar’s office.
if you're puzzled by the comment "I've always backed Britain" at the start of Mr Mainwaring's (pronounced "Mannering") speech, "I'm Backing Britain" was a sales slogan for British industry at the time this was first shown in 1968. Stead and Simpson and Timothy Whites were well-known High Street stores at the time. Neither of these companies still exist. There were many scare stories of how German paratroops/saboteurs might infiltrate and being dressed as nuns was one of those rumours.
Loved watching this years ago, worth remembering that Ian Lavender who played Pike was the only one who didn’t actually serve in the army. The two old guys were both in WW1, fighting in the Somme, ‘Godfrey’ suffered horrific wounds, including a bayonet to the groin,shrapnel and rifle butt to the head, he rejoined for WW2!
This brings back memories of a friend of my father who told such brilliant stories of his days in the Home Guard From shooting a donkey on the golf links, to driving a pony and trap in the black out and the pony walked into a lamp post and knocked itself out. Dads Army was the nickname of the Home Guard.
@@olink7876 I don't remember Spike being in an episode of it ain't half hot mum, I remember him being in an episode of Dad's Army though. I never really liked it ain't half hot mum though.
It was the policy of the BBC right up to the late 70's to record over master copies to save money by reusing the film. As such many episodes of Dad's Army, Doctor Who, Till Death Us Do Part and Steptoe and Son and many others were lost. Luckily these shows were shown around the world and over the years people as far as Canada and Australia as well as here in the UK have found reels in sheds, attics and dumpsters of privates home and TV studios, some complete and some just audio. However there are still a few Dad's Army and many as 97 episodes Doctor Who still missing.
@@josefschiltz2192 Terry Dicks had a lot of audio reels of dr who, so you get alot of Patrick's episodes animated but with the original audio due to Terrance.
Sadly, we don’t seem to make this kind of “ensemble” television program anymore - everyone an accomplished actor in their own right with no-one the actual “star” 👍
@@michaelprobert4014 touché - I haven’t read my “Rules For Compositors And Printers” 1954 Edition for a while - but I should have checked my copy of Hart’s Rules For Compositors And Readers - my mistake 😜
17:40 I always liked the line in Dad's Army: The Movie. Mainwaring: "We have one chief weapon in our armoury: Ingenuity and Improvisation." Fraser: "That's two."
I wonder if that predates the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch? "Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our *three* weapons are fear, and surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise.... I'll come in again"
I love Dad's Army so much. Most memorable moments were when they were stuck in the clock tower and when they were all practicing how to salute ("longest way up, wiggle, shortest way down")
This is fascinating. I watched this as a child when all my family had experienced the war. The Home Guard really existed of old men - in each town. The acting is wonderful.
Not just old men; my father was in his thirties in a reserved occupation (manufacturing tubing for torpedo-firing and heavy artillery) and worked 8 hours a day 6 days a week plus another 8 hours for the LDV/Home Guard throughout the war.
Most of the Home Guard were far younger than depicted in Dad's Army, they were mainly men in their forties & fifties (too old to re-enlist, but young enough to be useful) plus a number of men from reserved occupations.
And young men to young to enlist or be draughtier. The youngest was 16. He used forged papers to do his bit. Check out Torquay’s Home Guard memorial ( in the UK )
There's a TV channel in the UK called talking pictures. It shows old British and American movies. I don't think a days gone by where it hasn't shown a film with the actors who play Frazier or Wilson...
When we thought we were going to be invaded they asked men who for whatever reason couldn’t join the regular forces to join the British Home Guard nicknamed Dads Army, either because they were too old, too young or had an illness that stopped them from joining. Most didn’t have weapons or even uniforms for a while, but it was about fighting the enemy with what ever you had on the streets etc etc if they did invade. They took sign posts down, so the enemy didn’t know directions, land mines on beaches, very frightening times for our parents and grandparents.
I am not knocking the Home Guard, I have a great deal of respect for them but the formation of the Home Guard was largely to do with morale. Middle aged men being given a task to make them feel important to the war effort, the civilian population being reassured by seeing armed, uniformed men in their town. Many of these men did far more vital war work in the factories, mines & steelworks, or just ensuring the population was clothed & fed, than they could ever do with an SMLE.
Whilst many people think of the Home Guard as something of a joke because of Dads Army, they forget that the force consisted of many able bodied men who were precluded from joining up the regular army because of their occupations, but were available when not in the factory. In addition, Men considered too old for active service, and in their early 40’s would often be WW1 Veterans, so would be very effective in a defensive battle, on home soil with local knowledge & defending their communities. The beauty of Dads Army was making this serious subject into a great comedy.
Knowing you love “Open all Hours” and “Yes Minister”, and will love this (I am typing at the very start), I am sure you would love “Dinner Ladies”, by the brilliant, late Victoria Wood..
The serious side of this is that for real there were actually groups that had some deadly and effective weapons that would have been unleashed should the need had arisen. Much of it was done so secretly that nobody knew about much of what they were capable of. This comedy is showing a very humorous look at ourselves during those desperate times which thankfully we are still able to enjoy. 😉
@@highpath4776 Yes good old William Woollard, he was a good communicator and excellent in that series. You can still view most of them via YTube. There was an excellent book by Brian Johnson as a companion to the series. A brilliant read. 😉👍
@@johnnyhollis9977 Even that Series omitted some other items that were at the time classified (including although a bit on Enigma , certainly not all of the code-breaking and code breakers, nor some of the relationships of Nuclear / Rocket and USA/USSR/ Immediate ceasefire Germany.
@@highpath4776 Absolutely! My father who was in the Heavy Royal Artillery was told to aim his field piece facing towards the Russian lines as soon as hostilities ceased!!! There was a lot going on back then! JH
@@johnnyhollis9977 I have access to some memoires on-line of someone in on national service 1946 in West Berlin. Rather interesting and his later duties were guarding Rudolph Hess as well as double checking notes from the Nuermberg Trials!
Local defence volunteers or the home guard were a reaction by the government due to what was happening in Dunkirk in 1940. Nazi Germany had made it to the coast and according to government records, it was believed that it was only a matter of time before they would cross the channel and invade. So the LDV was formed to slow the invasion down (no one expect them to push nazi Germany back, in fact they expected mass casualties) and allow British, french and Canadian troops to mass and provide a counter attack and push the back into the sea. The thing was, hitler had given the stop order and the invasion never came following nazi Germany’s loss in the Battle of Britain. The home guard would continue to patrol our coast line until the end of the war. It is seen by many historians as a death sentence to sign up and many thought that when they did. Following Dunkirk the number of weapons available was low (many were left on the beaches of Dunkirk) and was depicted in this episode, but people signed up anyway because if it took their deaths defending their homes to push back the nazis then they would do it. That is why some at the bbc didn’t want it to be broadcast as it made light of a series topic. However, following great reviews it remained until 1977 and is now a national treasure. There is a drama called we’re all doomed regarding the writing, making and broadcasting of dads army and is also worthy of a watch. Sky have recently broadcast the 3 episodes from season 2 that were lost by the bbc with new actors and it makes sense to some of the things that happen in later episodes.
16:55 The lack of weaponry was something that happened in real-life it was ages before the Home Guard were issued with uniforms, guns and ammo. Brilliant show. I've got the same box set and if it's same issue then episode 6 of series 3 is in b&w as the colour videotape was wiped in the 70s but the 16mm b&w telerecording made for overseas sale to countries that didn't have colour still exists. Although since then that episode has been recoloured.
This grew into one of the greatest British comedies of all time- wonderful character acting, timeless observations on class, numerous catchphrases. Remains an all time favourite which reaches it's peak between series 3 and series 7- glorious
The actual dad's army (formerly Local Defence Volunteers and later renamed to home guard) were pretty poorly equipped at first (which this series makes humour from), but they were armed with SMLE 303 rifles and very well equipped as time went on. Love this show.
i think that perhaps a few of the real life Dad's army may have owned their own fire arms or in one case borrowed them from a shooting gallery owned by a showman
...this is frightening accurate, alas. My father had 2 miles of Kent coastline to guard - and he was issued with 3 rounds (which he had to hand in at the end of the watch). And he was in the Army - the brits had lost most of their kit at Dunkirk.
Given how close the Germans were, the UK thankfully was protected more by Hitlers Arrogance, and Ignorance. plus some dumb tacticts of the generals on the Land, Sea and Air Forces. I suspect that many British Folk still had the memory of WW1 and that if that was about being rule by the Germans, the need to ensure they would not succeed a second time was worth defending.
This show grows massively and gets better and better. It's also a show close to a lot of people's hearts due to most our grandfathers/great grandfather's being in Dad's army/home Guard. Despite the joking nature of the show old soldiers never die and were a formidable force in their own right.
I have been watching "Dad's Army" since it started back in 1968. I have seen most of the episodes dozens of times but I have never grown tired of it. A wonderful show.
I was raised on this stuff. It gets funnier the more you watch. The innuendo is absolutely hilarious and each and every character is pivotal to the story. Like most excellent British comedies it has no need to be flashy because it relies on true professional actors and two famous creators. It's also a testimony to the mastery of British comedy. In Australia, New Zealand and Canada we've been watching it for decades. You Yanks make some funny comedy but you can't beat the Poms.
Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey) was a genuine war hero. He served in the First World War and was wounded in action several times. Despite this, he re-enlisted at the outbreak of WW2 and was discharged on medical grounds but still served in the Home Guard.
My Dad was in the LDV, later known as the Home Guard, and he loved this show so much that when I gave the Eulogy at his cremation I likened his life to characters from the show as a young lad he was Private Pike all the way through to in his dotage as Private Godfrey. And the tying of a carving knife to a broom handle, he confirmed that until they were issued with guns he did indeed do guard duty so armed.
My uncle was in the Regular Army,and while Churchill was blustering about 'fighting them on the beachs' he was going on guard duty with a broom handle! So I can identify with that. He said they laughed out loud saying 'Fight? what with? Granny;'s handbag? pebbles off the beach?' My grandparents ran a pub and they used to find it amusing that every Sunday the Home Guard would be out playing war games by the canal, but the war always ended at opening time! Somehow the Nazi spies missed that vital info. It could have been a whole different outcome otherwise!
9:25 Of course they're old, that was the point. All the fit young men had already been conscripted into the regular army. The LDVs were a militia force, made up of those men who were too old or too ill to join the regular army, and those men who had "reserved occupations" (jobs too important for them to leave, such as factory workers or farmers).
This show was a staple in my home growing up, that and Last of the Summer Wine my mom and pops loved these guys, and we all know a few elderly people like this especially Capital Mannering.
Last of the Summer Wine is another of my all time favourites. The episodes with Foggy Dewhurst are the best in my opinion, he is so funny with his stories of when he was in the army and a “trained killer”!😂❤️❤️❤️❤️
Jimmy Perry, one of the scriptwriters was a real life member of the Home Guard and incorporated many of his experiences. There was a dramatized version of the events leading to the creation of this series produced a few years back with the title “We’re Doomed”. (A catchphrase from the series). The first series was controversial within the BBC where the controller of BBC 1 (an ex paratrooper ) was not happy with the idea of making fun of what was still recent history for many people. He insisted that the original idea for the opening sequence which was to feature newsreel footage of the blitzkrieg be scrapped as he considered it too sensitive. (Remember, there were still parts of British cities which were derelict bomb sites when this show first appeared). A result of this was the development of the actual opening title sequence which became a classic part of TV history. The initial scene set in the 1960s was also imposed on the scriptwriters by the Head of BBC1 who was concerned that the show might be seen as belittling the efforts of the Home Guard. This was not at all popular with the cast who couldn’t see the logic of having men who were already old in 1939 still being active 30 years later. The opening song was co-written by scriptwriter Jimmy Perry and won an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. It was sung by wartime entertainer Bud Flanagan. Many of the cast had military experience. Arnold Ridley, the actor who played Godfrey (the one who had the gun), was seriously wounded in WWI. His left hand was rendered virtually useless by wounds sustained at the Somme, his legs were riddled with shrapnel and he received a bayonet wound in the groin. As if that wasn’t enough he rejoined the army in 1939 and was on the last ship to escape to Britain during the Battle of Boulogne. Clive Dunn, who played L. Corporal Jones served in WWII in the Middle East and Greece, where he was captured, spending the next four years as a prisoner of war.
My great grandfather was in the home guard in the war and taught my very petite grandmother to shoot. Told to shoot the first 5 German paratroopers invading her house and save the last bullet for herself. The threat of invasion was deadly serious back then but my grandmother did like Dad's Army and said it wasn't too far from the truth!
9:22 In terms of age, most able bodied men of working age had already been called up to work in one of the armed services. Others were recruited into support units (such as air raid wardens) or other necessary occupations (fire brigade, munitions manufacture, etc.). The Home Guard were established fairly late in the process and had to scrape the barrel of what was left. That usually meant men too old or infirm for regular service or boys too young for conscription (such as Pike). Walker is an interesting character; he is of the right age to serve in the regular forces but has somehow avoided being called up.
As a post war child growing up in the UK, I had access to people both in the Army during WW2 (my father who was a Captain of an infantry regiment) and a member of the ARP, my grandfather who was an Air Raid Warden. They used to laugh so much watching this great series. My grandfather probably saw more close combat than anyone in our family, as at the age of 17 he went off to the front line in 1914, where he spent four years in the trenches, which he described as living hell. Yet years later, here we all were laughing at the antics of the Home Guard and the ARP. My father though did say, and he was a professional soldier, that the feeling at the time was that a German invasion seemed like a very real prospect, and the Home Guard gave the public some hope that there was going to be a nationwide effort to prevent the surrender to the Germans. It boosted morale of the British public.
8:28 Historically, there was another consideration. With the panic after the fall of France, with the threat of invasion, a lot of people started forming their own local militias without government approval, and there were fears among the high echelons of the military that these organisations would do more harm than good. The LDVs were formed largely to formalise these militias and to place them under a centralised command under the overall leadership of the army. That way, their operations could be directed by the army to make sure that they wouldn't, for instance, disrupt friendly lines of retreat.
@@highpath4776 I imagine you're talking about feudal levies? That would be the equivalent of conscription. You have a small standing army made up of professional soldiers. Then you have the levies, or conscripts, who are the fit young men who would be called up in time of war and then return home afterwards. And then you have the militia forces, made up of those who were unfit to serve in the levies.
@@highpath4776 Indeed..and in Mendlesham, in Suffolk the farm workers marched to London, only to find the real war hadn't started! So they all marched back to get the harvest in..It's only a few years ago, that an ancient unopened box in the church was found, and in it were the weapons they had, including helmets and breast plates from the Civil War!
To some extent the Fire Watchers (often from the industries they worked at), and The Air Raid Precautions (ARP) were , civillian wise , better and more front line into bombs etc. The Home Guard eventually became trained in sabotage and back up to the Army as effective suicide missions of last resort.
I hope you´ll continue to watch the series over here. The series is a true comedic masterpiece (and btw. in color from season 3 onwards). Also, being neither British nor alive back then, beside the awesome comedy there´s a lot of interesting stuff to learn and discover in regards to contemporary culture, technology and overall life. A most rewarding experience.
I'm glad your doing dad's army, this, only fools and horses, open all hours and porridge are probably the best and most popular old school comedies going
So glad you are watching Dad's Army. It gets better as the series' progress. Jimmy Perry, one of the writers was actually in The Home Guard (the service that theLocal Defence Volunteers eventually morphed in to) so much of the comedy stems from his own experiences. This was my favourite sitcom growing up in the 1970s.
John Laurie (Private Frazer, the undertaker) was in Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, a Shakespearean actor. My grandfather used to cut his hair :). Private Walker was what was known as a Spiv, a black-marketeer and had dodged the draft. The series when it goes outside was filmed in Norfolk. Croft & Perry didn't write a bad sit-com: It ain't have hot mum ( a concert party in India), Are you being served ( a department store, men's & women's clothing). Maybe too long to react to as they are 1 hour episodes but definitely worth a watch - The Singing Detective and in a light vein A Peculiar Practice & its sequel A Very Peculiar Practice. They were made in the 1980's
Godfrey , (Arnold Ridley) was seriously injured in hand to hand fighting in WW1. He was bayoneted several times. Also, at that time when you said “what are they going to do” Alan: Mr Churchill said to the British people; take one with you! I love your reactions Alan; definitely British blood in your veins!
Arnold Ridley, who plays Godfrey, was also an author and he wrote The Ghost Train, inspired by an acoustic effect experienced at Mangotsfield Station near Bristol. The line is long defunct and is now the Bristol to Bath Railway Path for cycling. The station shell still stands & their is a commemoration to Arnold on the information sign nearby.
I remember meeting the cast of Dad's army on the beach on the Isle of Wight. They came in by hovercraft (not military but a ferry hovercraft) and were signing autographs for the people that came to see them. That was back in the '80s.
The actor who plays Godfrey (the meekest gentle-ist of the bunch) was a war hero fighting in both world wars (bayoneted in the groin and hand in the 1st only to recover and enlist in the 2nd), he later joined the real home guard
Appreciate the love bro trying to get discovered I'm just going to keep going and trying, got to start somewhere I suppose big respect to you and your content big fan 👌
As the series progressed the writers took some of the actors own personalities and incorporated them into the characters they were playing. For example, 'Arthur Wilson' gradually came more to resemble John Le Mesurier; watch Arthur Wilson and you're really watching John Le Mesurier. Arthur Lowe could be as pompous as Mainwaring.
The writers and cast had lived through WWII. Loads of British actors, comedians and entertainers of the era learned their trade entertaining the troops. That no-subject-too-dark comedy helped maintain morale.
Great show! Another hidden gem is “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em”, with Michael Crawford (who went on to perform in Phantom Of The Opera on stage). Crawford played an accident-prone socially inept character, performing all of his own stunts.
Grew up watching dad's army, and I still love it just as much now. The volunteers were also known as the home guard,. Later You will find something out about Godfrey (the guy with the gun) that will surprise you. Lol. This series will just keep getting better.
Another of my favourite shows, I used to play the radio version of the show on an overnight comedy program, and was honored to have Ian Lavender who played Private Pike drop in from time to time, via taped voice over, to present some of the episodes.
The LDV, later the Home Guard, actually became a quite efficient fighting force of about half a million men. It mainly consisted of of ex service personnel from the first world war who would have been between forty and fifty years old, and youths between sixteen and eighteen. It provided a pool of men already having received military training by the time they were old enough to serve in the regular forces. Although it was all a bit ad hoc at the beginning, it sorted itself out pretty quickly once industry started replacing the equipment and weapons lost in France. The series though was lovely. Bear in mind that the programme started in the late 1960's, made and watched by people who had been through it.
There was everyone’s favourite scene when the home guard were guarding German submariners even now fifty years on people will still say in a given situation “Don’t tell him Pyke ” referencing the punchline brings back the joy of that time.
When the British Army evacuated from Dunkirk They left behind a lot of equipment and fire arms so the LDV had to use broom sticks for drill practice. some of the artillery left behind was converted to use German ammo the guns where used on Day from what I have found out on YT.
The Scotsman Fraizer was in a lot of wartime films during WW2. My great aunts and uncles always said that there were characters like that during the war.
@3:11 Prior to the credits running; with the British triangle in France, ready to move forward, before retreating, the song just started playing in my head "Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler, if you think we're on the run..." (from a good 40 years ago when this was on the ABC).
Private Godfrey (the one with the gun) was supposed to be a conscientious objector in this, played by Arnold Ridley. He was actually in the First World War and had many injuries from close quarter battles including the Somme. He then rejoined the army for a short time during the Second World War was discharged on health grounds and then joined the Home Guard (Dad's Army) and ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) entertaining the troops touring the country. He was also married three times.
This first episode was first transmitted in 68 so WW2 had ended only 23 years earlier. I was born in 61 and when we played war games as kids it was always British vs Germans. But for my parents and grandparents, the Home Guard was something they'd lived with for the duration of the conflict. My grandfather was responsible for bringing down several German aircraft. The Luftwaffe called him "The worst mechanic we ever had".
The Home Guard as it was to become a massive force of 1.7 million men . Most of them were veterans from world war 1 they realised what the German Army was as a fighting machine and they knew what there chances of survival were if they came up against it , My Grandad was part of it , he told me that they were there to slow the enemy down while the regular army deployed to stop any invasion force . He loved Dads Army because he recognised several types of characters that were in his unit . He always said although they were comic characterizations in dads army all of them would of be prepared to die as he would. Dads Army still is on the BBC today and is much loved
Hello from the UK. I happened to catch your channel on UA-cam. Believe it or not, 'Dad's Army' is still being repeated on the BBC at peak viewing times on a Saturday. Since this first episode was aired in 1968, that must be some kind of record. (Mind you, 'Perry Mason' episodes from 1960 are also being shown on another channel!) The humour is taking the mickey out of the characters, but the writers were careful not to be offensive since many more veterans of the 'Home Guard' were alive at the time.👍🇬🇧👍🇺🇲👍
Absolutely love Dads Army, a much loved poke of fun at what was a very serious time in Britains history. Captain Mainwaring pompous decency was one of the best loved comedy characters ever imo
Simply the best sitcom ever made, plus the radio episodes, I am now 59 years old and listen to an episode if I can’t sleep or if I’m stressed out it’s my happy place we all need some were to go to.
glad you did dads army, one of my all time favourites. make sure to watch the later colour ones. i think they get better as the series progress. so dont just judge on the first episode.
Although the Home Guard platoon were inept and quite comical, it worked because you never doubted for a minute that they would lay down their lives for their country.
Majority of the cast served during WW1 and 2.. The chaps who played Sgt Wilson, and Godfrey both were at the Somme, with the actor playing Godfrey being badly wounded.. and Corporal Jones was in fact played by Clive Dunn who was one of the youngest cast members!!! The writer of the show was part of 'Dads Army' for real, so a lot of what you are watching is what occurred but converted to be funny.
One of the reasons for the popularity of the programme stems from the fact that, whilst they did appear to be mainly daft old/middle aged men, they would have been prepared to die for their country in the not unlikely event of an invasion.
The first guy to speak was John LeMesurier, he was a scream! In the 60s he lit up a splif in a London restaurant. His friends asked, 'John! WTF are you doing?' 'Well my Doctor advised me to give up smoking so a friend of mine suggested I try these. They’re frightfully good...' He had no idea it was illegal. Such a gentleman too.
Arnold Ridley, who played Godfrey, was a genuine hero of World War 1 who suffered serious injuries fighting in hand to hand combat against German forces. He was bayoneted in the groin and clubbed over the head receiving injuries from which he never fully recovered.
Believe it or not Clive Dunn, the actor who played jack Jones the butcher (corporal Jones) was only 48 when dad's army started, wearing make up to make himself look much older. He also had a number 1 hit single with a song called 'grandad'.
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You liked this ain't half hot mum is just as good.
PLEASE PLEASE watch the episode where Captain Mannerig finds out Godfrey is a conscientious objector. And they all think he's a coward until they learn about the very special medal he won in WW1.....aka the V.C
I know. Just edited the reaction to it.
You should do the Movie
Is a troubles part 2 reaction coming?
Thought I’d copy this as a tribute and reminder those cast members who served
The Cast & Writers of Dads Army - As actors in Dad's Army they were portrayed as a group of bungling no-hopers that might struggle to say boo to a goose never mind fight off invading Germans. However, in real life they had risked all for their country during WW2. Arthur Lowe (Captain Mainwaring) (1915-1982) was a sergeant major in the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry and served in the Middle East. John Le Mesurier (Sergeant Arthur Wilson) (1912-1983) served in India as a Captain in the Royal Tank Regiment. Arnold Ridley (Private Charles Godfrey) (1896-1984) in WW1 had been a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry and sustained serious injuries at the Somme. In 1939 he rejoined the Army as a major and was part of the B.E.F at Dunkirk in 1940. John Laurie (Private James Frazer) (1897-1980) served in the Hon. Artillery Company in WW1 and was the only cast member to have served in the real Home Guard during WW2. Clive Dunn (Corporal Jack Jones) (1920 - 2012) spent four years as a POW in Germany and worked in slave labour camps in Austria. Bill Pertwee (ARP Warden Hodges) (1926- 2013 ) made parts for Spitfire cannons as a teenager and lost his older brother who was killed when the RAF Whitley Bomber he was piloting crashed near Dortmund in Germany. Edward Sinclair (Church Verger - Maurice Yeatman) (1914-1977) was in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire light Infantry. Talfryn Thomas (1922 - 1982) (Private Cheeseman) was a rear gunner on a Lancaster Bomber and flew many raids. He survived a crash in which all other crew members were killed.
Thanks for that 👍
Harold Bennett (Young Mr. Grace), appeared in a number of episodes, He was a motorcycle courier during WW1, Geoffrey Lumsden (Captain Square) served in Burma in WW2.
I met Pamela Cundell (Mrs Fox) several times. She and my parents were members of the "Concert Artists Association" a club for "Acts and Actors". Pamela was on the committee of the club and was heavily involved in organising the Christmas parties for the children of the club's members. She was just as effervescent in real life as she portrayed as Mrs Fox. The writers didn't know what to call her character so she herself suggested Mrs FOX because she always wore a fox skin collar with her coats.
@@AndrewLumsdenYour probably already know but for others, Pamela Cundell comes from a distinguished theatrical family. An ancestor of hers was in the same theatre company as William Shakespeare.
Also, is your father the J.R. Hartley actor?
@@skasteve6528 She did indeed, and yes he was. He began as a commercial artist with the publishers Hodder and Stoughton and drew the book jackets for the Leslie Chatteris "The Saint" books. After pneumonia his doctor told him to take up singing to strengthen his lungs. He was in the original casts of many of the Benjamin Britten operas and Ben wrote the part of Peter Quince in Midsummer Nights Dream with my father's voice in mind. He was Clint Eastwood's butler in White Hunter, Black Heart, also acted with Robert Mitcham, Katherine Hepburn, Robert Powell and others before finding fame again with J R Hartley. J R took two 16 hour days to film in the heatwave of 1983 whilst he had to wear that heavy tweed suit!
Over 80 episodes recorded and made into a movie ( twice ). Amazing to think 52 years later Dad's Army is still showing everyday on cable TV & mainstream TV on weekends. We will never tire of this innocent comedy delight. Most of the major actors spent a lifetime making movies & being on stage at the theater before joining the show. Thank you for being such a good sport E.B !
Can you remember the name of the episode where they find out Godfrey is a conscientious objector and mannering thinks he's a coward...then finds out Godfrey win the V.C!
@@brianmason8059 I don't recall offhand the series or episode number that was, but I believe its name was 'Branded'.
Like a lot of long running TV comedy series, Dad's Army didn't really get going until series two. It was busy establishing character and trying out gags. It evolved into one of the funniest comedy series ever made.
It's a shame that James Beck died when he did. His character Walker was one of my favourites in Dad's Army. As a spiv, he was always in possession of some dubious items that weren't readily available for general consumption. Brilliant.
I remember him in Romany Jones.
He was so young as well. Second youngest of the cast.
My father was a huge fan of Tony Hancock so of course seeing Le Mesurier is always a treat
I'll never forget when he was inthe crypt with the twins....
died of cancer.. loss to acting
@@jspettifer so much great talent in those days. I grew up on Tony Hancock, The Navy Lark etc and I am only 57. Mind you, us Brits keep the memories of those times. You ask a Millennial in America who Laural and Hardy, Buster Keaton or Abbot and Costello were, and they could not tell you, such a disgrace.
Pomposity was an important trait in Captain Mainwaring as well as a certain envy that his sergeant was from a posher background .Each member of the main cast developed their own very individual persona . Such things as rationing played a large part which was still in force when i was young in the 1950s .
Indeed rationing went on till 1954...as alot of the food that came into the UK after the war was diverted to the Germans..as by all account their people were in a more desparate state than those in the UK. So rationing carried on after the war until the Germans were able to provide food for it's own people once more.
Clive Dunn, who was the guy who signed the table was, at 48, one of the younger members of the cast. He was brilliant at playing old men and did so in various roles until he was 64. He passed away at the age of 92 in 2012.
I believe Clive Dunn was prisoner of war in WW2.
@@davidharrison7432 Indeed he was.
Dads army is a classic, and remember the people who wrote it and acted in it actually went through WW2.
Arnold Ridley went through WW1 and WW2
@@fionadutton8149 He was badly injured during WW1
I can’t believe that I never noticed that ! You’ve changed my whole perspective of this classic show…thank you 👍🤗
Really interesting man. Clive Dunn was a PoW and had a tough time too
@@fionadutton8149 Clive Dunn was VERY much younger than the character he played.
Walker the 'wholesale supplier' is what was known in the UK as a 'spiv', meaning an illegal black market trader. Such people made a fortune at times of wartime rationing.
Yes, I remember them well. Spivs always looked flashy smart when everyone else looked shabby.
Nice subtle reference about Mrs Hoskins calling her sister in Thetford, the real life Norfolk town where all the location filming for Dad's Army took place (and amusingly for the fictional town of Walmington-On-Sea, nearly forty miles from the coast). The town is home to a museum dedicated to the series and in 2010, unveiled a life-size bronze statue of Captain Mainwaring in full costume, seated on a bench where vistors can pose for photos.
Clive Dunn, who played Jack Jones the butcher, was only about 48 at the time of filming, despite playing the oldest character.
Also of note, Private Godfrey was played by Arnold Ridley, the great uncle of Disney Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley. He also famously wrote the stage play _The Ghost Train_ , which was adapted (loosely) for the screen as the Will Hay classic _Oh, Mr Porter_ .
ETA: Also, the title song was written especially for the series by creator Jimmy Perry and performed by Bud Flanagan, the surviving half of the wartime duo Flanagan and Allen. Despite being written in 1968, it's surprising how often it crops up as a 'genuine' wartime song at re-enactment events and so on.
There is a statue of Captain Mainwaring in Thetford as well as a Dad’s Army museum. Part of the museum at nearby Bressingham Steam Park is also devoted to Dad’s Army, with some of the vehicles used on display, plus mock up of the vicar’s office.
Arnold Ridley, Private Godfrey, was a WWI veteran, wounded several times in close combat.
if you're puzzled by the comment "I've always backed Britain" at the start of Mr Mainwaring's (pronounced "Mannering") speech, "I'm Backing Britain" was a sales slogan for British industry at the time this was first shown in 1968. Stead and Simpson and Timothy Whites were well-known High Street stores at the time. Neither of these companies still exist.
There were many scare stories of how German paratroops/saboteurs might infiltrate and being dressed as nuns was one of those rumours.
I’ve recently finished the complete box set of these for the umpteenth time. Absolute classics 👍
Loved watching this years ago, worth remembering that Ian Lavender who played Pike was the only one who didn’t actually serve in the army. The two old guys were both in WW1, fighting in the Somme, ‘Godfrey’ suffered horrific wounds, including a bayonet to the groin,shrapnel and rifle butt to the head, he rejoined for WW2!
😆 who would've had Godfrey pegged as the cast badass?
@@DevilsM4rk It's always the small, quiet, ones :).
Ian Lavender, the young Bank clerk and Frank Williams, the Vicar are the last two surviving members of the cast.
Thought the Vicar has died too?
@@davidhoward2487 Not unless he died in the last couple of minutes! He's now aged 90.
This brings back memories of a friend of my father who told such brilliant stories of his days in the Home Guard From shooting a donkey on the golf links, to driving a pony and trap in the black out and the pony walked into a lamp post and knocked itself out. Dads Army was the nickname of the Home Guard.
Wow, you’re really taking a deep dive into U.K. comedies now.
Because they are funny 🤣🤣
Enjoy it :) They are killing comedy here now.
'It ain't half hot mum' is a funny old series.
Yessssss
Windsor Davies was brilliant in this series 😄
Spike Milligan’s tan…..!!!
@@olink7876 I don't remember Spike being in an episode of it ain't half hot mum, I remember him being in an episode of Dad's Army though. I never really liked it ain't half hot mum though.
Likewise, I really wouldn't recommend It ain't half hot mum, it wasn't our finest hour of comedy.
It was the policy of the BBC right up to the late 70's to record over master copies to save money by reusing the film. As such many episodes of Dad's Army, Doctor Who, Till Death Us Do Part and Steptoe and Son and many others were lost. Luckily these shows were shown around the world and over the years people as far as Canada and Australia as well as here in the UK have found reels in sheds, attics and dumpsters of privates home and TV studios, some complete and some just audio. However there are still a few Dad's Army and many as 97 episodes Doctor Who still missing.
I always thought that, as a Whovian, it was a shame Bob Monkhouse, considering his massive home film/television library, wasn't a keen Doctor Who fan!
@@josefschiltz2192 Terry Dicks had a lot of audio reels of dr who, so you get alot of Patrick's episodes animated but with the original audio due to Terrance.
@@METALFREAK03 Oh, that's brilliant. Good old Terrance! One of my favourite contributors to Doctor Who history.
"Stead & Simpsons "was a chain of shoe - shops, and "Tomothy Whites " a chain of pharmacies .
Sadly, we don’t seem to make this kind of “ensemble” television program anymore - everyone an accomplished actor in their own right with no-one the actual “star” 👍
“Ghosts”
@@nemo2e4 an ensemble cast, true, but not quite the same calibrate of actor - although hugely enjoyable 👍
Better than The Only Way is Essex..
or indeed a programme .... ( unless it is a computer program )
@@michaelprobert4014 touché - I haven’t read my “Rules For Compositors And Printers” 1954 Edition for a while - but I should have checked my copy of Hart’s Rules For Compositors And Readers - my mistake 😜
17:40 I always liked the line in Dad's Army: The Movie.
Mainwaring: "We have one chief weapon in our armoury: Ingenuity and Improvisation."
Fraser: "That's two."
I wonder if that predates the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch? "Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our *three* weapons are fear, and surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise.... I'll come in again"
Aaaand what is your name? .....Dont tell him pike! Always makes me laugh
@@nbartlett6538 Yeah, I wondered that myself. I've just looked it up. Dad's Army: the Movie was released 6 months before Monty Python S2Ep2.
I love Dad's Army so much. Most memorable moments were when they were stuck in the clock tower and when they were all practicing how to salute ("longest way up, wiggle, shortest way down")
This is fascinating. I watched this as a child when all my family had experienced the war. The Home Guard really existed of old men - in each town. The acting is wonderful.
Not just old men; my father was in his thirties in a reserved occupation (manufacturing tubing for torpedo-firing and heavy artillery) and worked 8 hours a day 6 days a week plus another 8 hours for the LDV/Home Guard throughout the war.
Most of the Home Guard were far younger than depicted in Dad's Army, they were mainly men in their forties & fifties (too old to re-enlist, but young enough to be useful) plus a number of men from reserved occupations.
My dad was 20 in 1939, and was in a reserved occupation on the farm, so he was in the Home Guard.
i understand the Home gaurd was also made up of people who had minor medical condisons or Lads who was too young to go into the Army and Navy
And young men to young to enlist or be draughtier. The youngest was 16. He used forged papers to do his bit. Check out Torquay’s Home Guard memorial ( in the UK )
Dad's Army is a show that I never get tired of watching.
There's a TV channel in the UK called talking pictures. It shows old British and American movies.
I don't think a days gone by where it hasn't shown a film with the actors who play Frazier or Wilson...
BRILLIANT!!!
You’re doing “Dad’s Army”… EXCELLENT!!!
It’s gets even better as the series goes on.
Enjoy!!! 👍🏻😎👍🏻
When we thought we were going to be invaded they asked men who for whatever reason couldn’t join the regular forces to join the British Home Guard nicknamed Dads Army, either because they were too old, too young or had an illness that stopped them from joining. Most didn’t have weapons or even uniforms for a while, but it was about fighting the enemy with what ever you had on the streets etc etc if they did invade. They took sign posts down, so the enemy didn’t know directions, land mines on beaches, very frightening times for our parents and grandparents.
I am not knocking the Home Guard, I have a great deal of respect for them but the formation of the Home Guard was largely to do with morale. Middle aged men being given a task to make them feel important to the war effort, the civilian population being reassured by seeing armed, uniformed men in their town. Many of these men did far more vital war work in the factories, mines & steelworks, or just ensuring the population was clothed & fed, than they could ever do with an SMLE.
Whilst many people think of the Home Guard as something of a joke because of Dads Army, they forget that the force consisted of many able bodied men who were precluded from joining up the regular army because of their occupations, but were available when not in the factory.
In addition, Men considered too old for active service, and in their early 40’s would often be WW1 Veterans, so would be very effective in a defensive battle, on home soil with local knowledge & defending their communities.
The beauty of Dads Army was making this serious subject into a great comedy.
Knowing you love “Open all Hours” and “Yes Minister”, and will love this (I am typing at the very start), I am sure you would love “Dinner Ladies”, by the brilliant, late Victoria Wood..
Jesus, I keep forgetting she died. What a kick in the nuts, she was amazing.
The serious side of this is that for real there were actually groups that had some deadly and effective weapons that would have been unleashed should the need had arisen. Much of it was done so secretly that nobody knew about much of what they were capable of. This comedy is showing a very humorous look at ourselves during those desperate times which thankfully we are still able to enjoy. 😉
Bob Wollard (?) of Tomorrows World Did a Series on Secret War once some became declassified in the 1970s
@@highpath4776 Yes good old William Woollard, he was a good communicator and excellent in that series. You can still view most of them via YTube. There was an excellent book by Brian Johnson as a companion to the series. A brilliant read. 😉👍
@@johnnyhollis9977 Even that Series omitted some other items that were at the time classified (including although a bit on Enigma , certainly not all of the code-breaking and code breakers, nor some of the relationships of Nuclear / Rocket and USA/USSR/ Immediate ceasefire Germany.
@@highpath4776 Absolutely! My father who was in the Heavy Royal Artillery was told to aim his field piece facing towards the Russian lines as soon as hostilities ceased!!! There was a lot going on back then! JH
@@johnnyhollis9977 I have access to some memoires on-line of someone in on national service 1946 in West Berlin. Rather interesting and his later duties were guarding Rudolph Hess as well as double checking notes from the Nuermberg Trials!
Dad's Army, another great show from the golden era of TV comedy.
The Local Defence Volunteers was also know as the "Look, Duck and Vanish" brigade.
Local defence volunteers or the home guard were a reaction by the government due to what was happening in Dunkirk in 1940. Nazi Germany had made it to the coast and according to government records, it was believed that it was only a matter of time before they would cross the channel and invade. So the LDV was formed to slow the invasion down (no one expect them to push nazi Germany back, in fact they expected mass casualties) and allow British, french and Canadian troops to mass and provide a counter attack and push the back into the sea. The thing was, hitler had given the stop order and the invasion never came following nazi Germany’s loss in the Battle of Britain. The home guard would continue to patrol our coast line until the end of the war.
It is seen by many historians as a death sentence to sign up and many thought that when they did. Following Dunkirk the number of weapons available was low (many were left on the beaches of Dunkirk) and was depicted in this episode, but people signed up anyway because if it took their deaths defending their homes to push back the nazis then they would do it.
That is why some at the bbc didn’t want it to be broadcast as it made light of a series topic. However, following great reviews it remained until 1977 and is now a national treasure. There is a drama called we’re all doomed regarding the writing, making and broadcasting of dads army and is also worthy of a watch. Sky have recently broadcast the 3 episodes from season 2 that were lost by the bbc with new actors and it makes sense to some of the things that happen in later episodes.
16:55 The lack of weaponry was something that happened in real-life it was ages before the Home Guard were issued with uniforms, guns and ammo. Brilliant show. I've got the same box set and if it's same issue then episode 6 of series 3 is in b&w as the colour videotape was wiped in the 70s but the 16mm b&w telerecording made for overseas sale to countries that didn't have colour still exists. Although since then that episode has been recoloured.
Some of the missing episodes might be in audio form from the recreated for radio shows , someone did some animation / cartoon strip visuals for them.
the other nick name for the home gaurd in their early days i believe was Look duck and Vanish
This grew into one of the greatest British comedies of all time- wonderful character acting, timeless observations on class, numerous catchphrases. Remains an all time favourite which reaches it's peak between series 3 and series 7- glorious
The actual dad's army (formerly Local Defence Volunteers and later renamed to home guard) were pretty poorly equipped at first (which this series makes humour from), but they were armed with SMLE 303 rifles and very well equipped as time went on. Love this show.
i think that perhaps a few of the real life Dad's army may have owned their own fire arms or in one case borrowed them from a shooting gallery owned by a showman
...this is frightening accurate, alas. My father had 2 miles of Kent coastline to guard - and he was issued with 3 rounds (which he had to hand in at the end of the watch). And he was in the Army - the brits had lost most of their kit at Dunkirk.
Given how close the Germans were, the UK thankfully was protected more by Hitlers Arrogance, and Ignorance. plus some dumb tacticts of the generals on the Land, Sea and Air Forces. I suspect that many British Folk still had the memory of WW1 and that if that was about being rule by the Germans, the need to ensure they would not succeed a second time was worth defending.
And what we go today. BOARDER FARCE. RNLI. AND PATEL. ALL HELPING 30’000 +. TO GET HERE. THEN PAYING THEM. UNBLOODYBALEAVABLE
I've met people that were in the home guard when I was a kid and they all say that this was what it was really like! It's a great show.
This show grows massively and gets better and better. It's also a show close to a lot of people's hearts due to most our grandfathers/great grandfather's being in Dad's army/home Guard. Despite the joking nature of the show old soldiers never die and were a formidable force in their own right.
I have been watching "Dad's Army" since it started back in 1968. I have seen most of the episodes dozens of times but I have never grown tired of it. A wonderful show.
I was raised on this stuff. It gets funnier the more you watch. The innuendo is absolutely hilarious and each and every character is pivotal to the story. Like most excellent British comedies it has no need to be flashy because it relies on true professional actors and two famous creators. It's also a testimony to the mastery of British comedy. In Australia, New Zealand and Canada we've been watching it for decades. You Yanks make some funny comedy but you can't beat the Poms.
Your in for a treat, i was luck to see it all first time round and still to this Day love to watch Dads Army repeats!
Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey) was a genuine war hero. He served in the First World War and was wounded in action several times. Despite this, he re-enlisted at the outbreak of WW2 and was discharged on medical grounds but still served in the Home Guard.
Dads Army incapsulates the British sense of the inadequate state of our defences in 1940 with a belly laugh at our own expense!
My Dad was in the LDV, later known as the Home Guard, and he loved this show so much that when I gave the Eulogy at his cremation I likened his life to characters from the show as a young lad he was Private Pike all the way through to in his dotage as Private Godfrey. And the tying of a carving knife to a broom handle, he confirmed that until they were issued with guns he did indeed do guard duty so armed.
My uncle was in the Regular Army,and while Churchill was blustering about 'fighting them on the beachs' he was going on guard duty with a broom handle! So I can identify with that. He said they laughed out loud saying 'Fight? what with? Granny;'s handbag? pebbles off the beach?' My grandparents ran a pub and they used to find it amusing that every Sunday the Home Guard would be out playing war games by the canal, but the war always ended at opening time! Somehow the Nazi spies missed that vital info. It could have been a whole different outcome otherwise!
Fond memories growing up with this series, and several catchphrases that may give my age away but everyone used them!!
9:25 Of course they're old, that was the point. All the fit young men had already been conscripted into the regular army. The LDVs were a militia force, made up of those men who were too old or too ill to join the regular army, and those men who had "reserved occupations" (jobs too important for them to leave, such as factory workers or farmers).
Gosh ,I hadn't realised that the opening scene of Dad's Army was a retrospective.
This show was a staple in my home growing up, that and Last of the Summer Wine my mom and pops loved these guys, and we all know a few elderly people like this especially Capital Mannering.
Last of the Summer Wine is another of my all time favourites. The episodes with Foggy Dewhurst are the best in my opinion, he is so funny with his stories of when he was in the army and a “trained killer”!😂❤️❤️❤️❤️
Jimmy Perry, one of the scriptwriters was a real life member of the Home Guard and incorporated many of his experiences.
There was a dramatized version of the events leading to the creation of this series produced a few years back with the title “We’re Doomed”. (A catchphrase from the series).
The first series was controversial within the BBC where the controller of BBC 1 (an ex paratrooper ) was not happy with the idea of making fun of what was still recent history for many people. He insisted that the original idea for the opening sequence which was to feature newsreel footage of the blitzkrieg be scrapped as he considered it too sensitive. (Remember, there were still parts of British cities which were derelict bomb sites when this show first appeared). A result of this was the development of the actual opening title sequence which became a classic part of TV history.
The initial scene set in the 1960s was also imposed on the scriptwriters by the Head of BBC1 who was concerned that the show might be seen as belittling the efforts of the Home Guard. This was not at all popular with the cast who couldn’t see the logic of having men who were already old in 1939 still being active 30 years later.
The opening song was co-written by scriptwriter Jimmy Perry and won an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. It was sung by wartime entertainer Bud Flanagan.
Many of the cast had military experience.
Arnold Ridley, the actor who played Godfrey (the one who had the gun), was seriously wounded in WWI. His left hand was rendered virtually useless by wounds sustained at the Somme, his legs were riddled with shrapnel and he received a bayonet wound in the groin. As if that wasn’t enough he rejoined the army in 1939 and was on the last ship to escape to Britain during the Battle of Boulogne.
Clive Dunn, who played L. Corporal Jones served in WWII in the Middle East and Greece, where he was captured, spending the next four years as a prisoner of war.
My great grandfather was in the home guard in the war and taught my very petite grandmother to shoot. Told to shoot the first 5 German paratroopers invading her house and save the last bullet for herself. The threat of invasion was deadly serious back then but my grandmother did like Dad's Army and said it wasn't too far from the truth!
9:22 In terms of age, most able bodied men of working age had already been called up to work in one of the armed services. Others were recruited into support units (such as air raid wardens) or other necessary occupations (fire brigade, munitions manufacture, etc.).
The Home Guard were established fairly late in the process and had to scrape the barrel of what was left. That usually meant men too old or infirm for regular service or boys too young for conscription (such as Pike).
Walker is an interesting character; he is of the right age to serve in the regular forces but has somehow avoided being called up.
I am sure his doctor had written a note
As a post war child growing up in the UK, I had access to people both in the Army during WW2 (my father who was a Captain of an infantry regiment) and a member of the ARP, my grandfather who was an Air Raid Warden. They used to laugh so much watching this great series. My grandfather probably saw more close combat than anyone in our family, as at the age of 17 he went off to the front line in 1914, where he spent four years in the trenches, which he described as living hell. Yet years later, here we all were laughing at the antics of the Home Guard and the ARP. My father though did say, and he was a professional soldier, that the feeling at the time was that a German invasion seemed like a very real prospect, and the Home Guard gave the public some hope that there was going to be a nationwide effort to prevent the surrender to the Germans. It boosted morale of the British public.
8:28 Historically, there was another consideration. With the panic after the fall of France, with the threat of invasion, a lot of people started forming their own local militias without government approval, and there were fears among the high echelons of the military that these organisations would do more harm than good. The LDVs were formed largely to formalise these militias and to place them under a centralised command under the overall leadership of the army. That way, their operations could be directed by the army to make sure that they wouldn't, for instance, disrupt friendly lines of retreat.
There had always been the tradition in England of local landowners providing persons for military service, as well as for local defence.
@@highpath4776 I imagine you're talking about feudal levies? That would be the equivalent of conscription. You have a small standing army made up of professional soldiers. Then you have the levies, or conscripts, who are the fit young men who would be called up in time of war and then return home afterwards. And then you have the militia forces, made up of those who were unfit to serve in the levies.
@@highpath4776 Indeed..and in Mendlesham, in Suffolk the farm workers marched to London, only to find the real war hadn't started! So they all marched back to get the harvest in..It's only a few years ago, that an ancient unopened box in the church was found, and in it were the weapons they had, including helmets and breast plates from the Civil War!
To some extent the Fire Watchers (often from the industries they worked at), and The Air Raid Precautions (ARP) were , civillian wise , better and more front line into bombs etc. The Home Guard eventually became trained in sabotage and back up to the Army as effective suicide missions of last resort.
I hope you´ll continue to watch the series over here. The series is a true comedic masterpiece (and btw. in color from season 3 onwards). Also, being neither British nor alive back then, beside the awesome comedy there´s a lot of interesting stuff to learn and discover in regards to contemporary culture, technology and overall life. A most rewarding experience.
As long as they allow me to put the reactions up over here, I will. If not, I'll put it on dailymotion
@@TheEclecticBeard That's the fighting spirit!
Godfrey (the only one with a gun) played by Arnold Ridley, great uncle of Daisy Ridley from Star Wars.
One of the writers of the show was on that 13 hours to save Britain you reacted to. The character Pike is based on him.
I'm glad your doing dad's army, this, only fools and horses, open all hours and porridge are probably the best and most popular old school comedies going
So glad you are watching Dad's Army. It gets better as the series' progress.
Jimmy Perry, one of the writers was actually in The Home Guard (the service that theLocal Defence Volunteers eventually morphed in to) so much of the comedy stems from his own experiences.
This was my favourite sitcom growing up in the 1970s.
I'm a Norfolk boy and know the places where a lot of this was filmed. Great stuff.
The first scene shown was filmed at the Anchor hotel in Thetford.
John Laurie (Private Frazer, the undertaker) was in Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, a Shakespearean actor. My grandfather used to cut his hair :).
Private Walker was what was known as a Spiv, a black-marketeer and had dodged the draft.
The series when it goes outside was filmed in Norfolk. Croft & Perry didn't write a bad sit-com: It ain't have hot mum ( a concert party in India), Are you being served ( a department store, men's & women's clothing).
Maybe too long to react to as they are 1 hour episodes but definitely worth a watch - The Singing Detective and in a light vein A Peculiar Practice & its sequel A Very Peculiar Practice. They were made in the 1980's
Godfrey , (Arnold Ridley) was seriously injured in hand to hand fighting in WW1. He was bayoneted several times. Also, at that time when you said “what are they going to do” Alan: Mr Churchill said to the British people; take one with you! I love your reactions Alan; definitely British blood in your veins!
Arnold Ridley, who plays Godfrey, was also an author and he wrote The Ghost Train, inspired by an acoustic effect experienced at Mangotsfield Station near Bristol. The line is long defunct and is now the Bristol to Bath Railway Path for cycling. The station shell still stands & their is a commemoration to Arnold on the information sign nearby.
I remember meeting the cast of Dad's army on the beach on the Isle of Wight. They came in by hovercraft (not military but a ferry hovercraft) and were signing autographs for the people that came to see them. That was back in the '80s.
The actor who plays Godfrey (the meekest gentle-ist of the bunch) was a war hero fighting in both world wars (bayoneted in the groin and hand in the 1st only to recover and enlist in the 2nd), he later joined the real home guard
Think it's Amazing you have the Knolage of the British humour and can get the Jokes that's cool bro 👍
Appreciate the love bro trying to get discovered I'm just going to keep going and trying, got to start somewhere I suppose big respect to you and your content big fan 👌
@@FunnyFiveADay
Hey Little Jungle Videos just checked out your content bro I laughed so hard I also subscribed some funny stuff 👍
As the series progressed the writers took some of the actors own personalities and incorporated them into the characters they were playing. For example, 'Arthur Wilson' gradually came more to resemble John Le Mesurier; watch Arthur Wilson and you're really watching John Le Mesurier. Arthur Lowe could be as pompous as Mainwaring.
The writers and cast had lived through WWII. Loads of British actors, comedians and entertainers of the era learned their trade entertaining the troops. That no-subject-too-dark comedy helped maintain morale.
Great show!
Another hidden gem is “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em”, with Michael Crawford (who went on to perform in Phantom Of The Opera on stage). Crawford played an accident-prone socially inept character, performing all of his own stunts.
Grew up watching dad's army, and I still love it just as much now. The volunteers were also known as the home guard,. Later You will find something out about Godfrey (the guy with the gun) that will surprise you. Lol. This series will just keep getting better.
Another of my favourite shows, I used to play the radio version of the show on an overnight comedy program, and was honored to have Ian Lavender who played Private Pike drop in from time to time, via taped voice over, to present some of the episodes.
Very fond memories of this superb sitcom as a child and now as an adult . Great scripts , superb actors with pin sharp comic timing .
The LDV, later the Home Guard, actually became a quite efficient fighting force of about half a million men. It mainly consisted of of ex service personnel from the first world war who would have been between forty and fifty years old, and youths between sixteen and eighteen. It provided a pool of men already having received military training by the time they were old enough to serve in the regular forces. Although it was all a bit ad hoc at the beginning, it sorted itself out pretty quickly once industry started replacing the equipment and weapons lost in France. The series though was lovely. Bear in mind that the programme started in the late 1960's, made and watched by people who had been through it.
There was everyone’s favourite scene when the home guard were guarding German submariners even now fifty years on people will still say in a given situation “Don’t tell him Pyke ” referencing the punchline brings back the joy of that time.
Just remember that "Dad's Army" (and "'Allo, 'Allo") lasted longer than the actual War.
Godfrey (Arnold Ridley), who plays a pacifist, is in fact a veteran of WW1 and WW2 and was wounded in both wars, one by a bayonet in close combat.
I never get tied of watching Dad's Army. Amazing actors.
When the British Army evacuated from Dunkirk They left behind a lot of equipment and fire arms so the LDV had to use broom sticks for drill practice. some of the artillery left behind was converted to use German ammo the guns where used on Day from what I have found out on YT.
Dad's Army is up there with the best!
The Scotsman Fraizer was in a lot of wartime films during WW2. My great aunts and uncles always said that there were characters like that during the war.
@3:11 Prior to the credits running; with the British triangle in France, ready to move forward, before retreating, the song just started playing in my head "Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler, if you think we're on the run..." (from a good 40 years ago when this was on the ABC).
Private Godfrey (the one with the gun) was supposed to be a conscientious objector in this, played by Arnold Ridley. He was actually in the First World War and had many injuries from close quarter battles including the Somme. He then rejoined the army for a short time during the Second World War was discharged on health grounds and then joined the Home Guard (Dad's Army) and ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) entertaining the troops touring the country. He was also married three times.
Porridge another funny comedy series worth a look.
This first episode was first transmitted in 68 so WW2 had ended only 23 years earlier. I was born in 61 and when we played war games as kids it was always British vs Germans. But for my parents and grandparents, the Home Guard was something they'd lived with for the duration of the conflict. My grandfather was responsible for bringing down several German aircraft. The Luftwaffe called him "The worst mechanic we ever had".
An old joke, but a gold joke :)
A connection to Doctor Who (other than wiped video tapes) is that the Daleks were supposedly based on the German SS.
The Home Guard as it was to become a massive force of 1.7 million men . Most of them were veterans from world war 1 they realised what the German Army was as a fighting machine and they knew what there chances of survival were if they came up against it , My Grandad was part of it , he told me that they were there to slow the enemy down while the regular army deployed to stop any invasion force . He loved Dads Army because he recognised several types of characters that were in his unit . He always said although they were comic characterizations in dads army all of them would of be prepared to die as he would. Dads Army still is on the BBC today and is much loved
Hello from the UK. I happened to catch your channel on UA-cam. Believe it or not, 'Dad's Army' is still being repeated on the BBC at peak viewing times on a Saturday.
Since this first episode was aired in 1968, that must be some kind of record.
(Mind you, 'Perry Mason' episodes from 1960 are also being shown on another channel!)
The humour is taking the mickey out of the characters, but the writers were careful not to be offensive since many more veterans of the 'Home Guard' were alive at the time.👍🇬🇧👍🇺🇲👍
Absolutely love Dads Army, a much loved poke of fun at what was a very serious time in Britains history. Captain Mainwaring pompous decency was one of the best loved comedy characters ever imo
Episode one was basically just to familiarise with the cast who all played excellent characters and the real comedy came in later episodes.
The most endearing British comedy of them all. Not always hilariously funny but we love all the characters non the less.
Dad's Army...All time classic comedy....Hilarious every time.
Simply the best sitcom ever made, plus the radio episodes, I am now 59 years old and listen to an episode if I can’t sleep or if I’m stressed out it’s my happy place we all need some were to go to.
glad you did dads army, one of my all time favourites. make sure to watch the later colour ones. i think they get better as the series progress. so dont just judge on the first episode.
John Le Mesurier (Sgt. Wilson) - his last words when he passed away, in 1983, were
“It's all been rather lovely”
Although the Home Guard platoon were inept and quite comical, it worked because you never doubted for a minute that they would lay down their lives for their country.
Majority of the cast served during WW1 and 2.. The chaps who played Sgt Wilson, and Godfrey both were at the Somme, with the actor playing Godfrey being badly wounded.. and Corporal Jones was in fact played by Clive Dunn who was one of the youngest cast members!!! The writer of the show was part of 'Dads Army' for real, so a lot of what you are watching is what occurred but converted to be funny.
One of the reasons for the popularity of the programme stems from the fact that, whilst they did appear to be mainly daft old/middle aged men, they would have been prepared to die for their country in the not unlikely event of an invasion.
The first guy to speak was John LeMesurier, he was a scream!
In the 60s he lit up a splif in a London restaurant.
His friends asked, 'John! WTF are you doing?'
'Well my Doctor advised me to give up smoking so a friend of mine suggested I try these. They’re frightfully good...'
He had no idea it was illegal. Such a gentleman too.
Arnold Ridley, who played Godfrey, was a genuine hero of World War 1 who suffered serious injuries fighting in hand to hand combat against German forces. He was bayoneted in the groin and clubbed over the head receiving injuries from which he never fully recovered.
Believe it or not Clive Dunn, the actor who played jack Jones the butcher (corporal Jones) was only 48 when dad's army started, wearing make up to make himself look much older. He also had a number 1 hit single with a song called 'grandad'.
More than 50 years on and this program can still be found on UK television - got have had something special for it to last that long
I still love watching the episodes to this day. Brilliant cast, very well written and acted.