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When You've Got to Go

2022-08-18T18:12:32Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Plot */

{{about|an episode of Dad’s Army|the episode of Bear in the Big Blue House|List of Bear in the Big Blue House episodes}}
{{unreferenced|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 8
| episode = 2
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = 12 September 1975
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[Ring Dem Bells]]
| next = [[Is There Honey Still for Tea?]]
}}

"'''When You've Got to Go'''" is the second episode of the eighth series of the British comedy series ''Dad's Army''. It was first transmitted on Friday 12 September 1975.

==Plot==
Wilson and Mrs Pike are having tea waiting for Frank to come home from his call-up medical. When Frank arrives home, his mother is unpleasantly surprised when he tells her that he has passed A1 (in spite of his chronically bad chest, his painful sinuses, his weak ankles and recently acquired nervous twitch), and has requested to be put in the RAF. At the evening's parade, Mainwaring and the platoon are deciding what to do to celebrate Private Pike's departure. They decide to have a dinner at the Fish and Chip restaurant.

Later on, Mainwaring is having a meeting with representatives of the blood donor service who ask him how many pints of blood he and the platoon will be able to donate. He originally says 50, but after learning that the Wardens have also promised 50, he then changes his mind and says 100. Mainwaring soon discovers he has bitten off more than he can chew, as all but two members of the platoon (Mainwaring himself and Pike) are ineligible to donate blood due to medical conditions or being overage. Hodges arrives to rub it in to Mainwaring, but is interrupted by Corporal Jones, who states that he has been down to the POW camp and gathered 80 Italian soldiers. Hodges then states that he still wins because he reached his target. Jones then replies that he has not, as he has also brought down 17 nuns as well. With Mainwaring, Pike and the Vicar making donations as well, it brings the total for the platoon to 100 pints. Meanwhile, one of the doctors has discovered that Private Pike's blood type is so rare that you will not find another one like him in 10,000.

Later, the platoon are sitting in the restaurant having the fish and chip dinner in honour of Pike. After Wilson says a few words, Pike says that he would like to tell them all a funny story. He mentions the results of the blood drive and how rare his blood type is, and that if he was wounded in the Air Force, they would not be able to provide him with a blood transfusion. Frazer remarks that "so far the story hasn't been highly comic". Then, Pike adds that because of his rare blood type, the RAF will not have him and so he is not leaving, and the reason he didn't want to tell the platoon straight away is because he had never had a dinner in his honour before. Mainwaring responds with "You stupid boy!"

==Cast==
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Janet Davies (actress)|Janet Davies]] as [[Mavis Pike|Mrs Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] as [[Reverend Timothy Farthing|The Vicar]]
*[[Edward Sinclair]] as [[Maurice Yeatman|The Verger]]
*[[Eric Longworth]] as Town Clerk
*Freddie Earlle as Italian Sergeant
*[[Tim Barrett (actor)|Tim Barrett]] as Doctor
*[[Colin Bean]] as Private Sponge
*Frankie Holmes as Fishfryer

{{Dad's Army}}

[[Category:Dad's Army (series 8) episodes]]
[[Category:1975 British television episodes]]

Sergeant Wilson

2022-08-18T18:04:44Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Relationship with Mainwaring */

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{short description|Fictional character from Dad's Army sitcom}}
{{Infobox character
| image = [[File:Sergeant Arthur Wilson Dads Army.jpg|280px]]
| name = Sergeant Wilson
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| lbl21 = Affiliated with
| data21 = [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]]
| occupation = [[Bank teller|Bank Chief Clerk]] [[Sergeant]], [[Royal Artillery]] [[Captain]], [[Middlesex Regiment]]
| relatives = Unnamed Ex-Wife Unnamed Daughter [[Private Pike|Frank Pike]] ("nephew"/son) Lettice (aunt)
| first = [[The Man and the Hour]]
| last = [[Never Too Old]]
| portrayer = [[John Le Mesurier]] [[Bill Nighy]] (2016 film) [[Robert Bathurst]] (2019)
}}

'''Sergeant [[The Hon.]] Arthur Wilson''' is a fictional [[British Home Guard|Home Guard]] platoon sergeant and [[Bank teller|bank chief clerk]], first portrayed by [[John Le Mesurier]] in the [[BBC]] television [[sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]''.<ref name=Webber>{{Cite book|last= Webber |first= Richard |last2 = Perry|first2=Jimmy|first3=David|last3= Croft |title= The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army |year=2000|publisher= Orion Books |location= London |isbn=0-7528-4637-X| pages =227, 288}}</ref>

== Background ==
Wilson was born in 1887, and is carefree, cheerful and well-spoken, although more complex than he first seems. He is chief clerk of the Walmington-on-Sea bank and captain of the [[cricket]] club. He has an upper-middle-class background; his uncle was a [[peer of the realm]], his father had a career in the [[City of London]], and Wilson often recalls fond memories of his nanny. He was educated at a [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]] named Meadow Bridge, having failed the entrance exam for [[Harrow School|Harrow]].<ref name="WebberPerry">Webber, Perry, Croft, p.228</ref><ref name="PerryCroft75">{{cite book|title=Dad's Army|author=Jimmy Perry and David Croft|publisher=Elm Tree Books|year=1975|isbn=9780241892510}}</ref> He was destined for the [[Indian Civil Service (British India)|Indian Civil Service]] but failed that exam too.<ref name="PerryCroft75"/> The final episode reveals Wilson to have reached the rank of captain in the [[Middlesex Regiment]] whilst serving in the [[First World War]].

[[Captain Mainwaring]], Wilson's senior in the Home Guard and in the bank, envies and resents Wilson's privileged background and once compared Wilson with [[Peter Pan]], because he could never face responsibilities. These include [[Private Pike]], who worships his "Uncle Arthur" but may be Wilson's son – Wilson has had a long relationship with [[Mavis Pike]], Pike's widowed mother. It is gossip in [[Walmington-on-Sea]], as both arrived in Walmington from [[Weston-super-Mare]] around the same time, and there are other "coincidences" that show Wilson and Mrs Pike are more than just close friends, such as them unofficially living together. He admits that Pike originally called him Daddy, until told to call him Uncle (although the writers have confirmed that Wilson is Pike's biological father). In "[[Menace from the Deep]]" Jones brushes against Wilson while he is asleep, and he says without fully waking "Gently, Mavis".<ref name="WebberPerry" />

Although Wilson is shown to have a very flirtatious nature, and Mrs Pike has on occasion been seen out with other men (such as Warden Hodges, or the dashing American Army soldiers that arrived in Walmington-on-Sea), their relationship seems to be enduring, with both Wilson and Mrs Pike expressing sincere distress during the various times when they believe the other has left them for someone else.

In "[[Getting the Bird]]" it is revealed that Wilson has an adult daughter from an early marriage whom he paid to attend a good school and who is serving during the war in the [[Women's Royal Naval Service]]. He admits to Fraser that he does not see his daughter as much as he would like, but it is clear that father and daughter love each other deeply.<ref name="WebberPerry" /> In "[[Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret]]" a misunderstanding leads to him nearly marrying Mrs Pike (indicating that he has divorced his previous wife) but he apparently calls it off at the last moment. There remain loose ends about Wilson's personal life, e.g. he may avoid marrying Mrs Pike because he does not want his previous marriage to become known, or he may never have been divorced from his wife, meaning a marriage to Mrs Pike would be [[bigamous]].

In the post-war radio sequel ''[[It Sticks Out Half a Mile]]'', Wilson claims to be 54 years old,<ref>Episode 4, "Inspecting the Piles".</ref> and born in 1894. The radio sequel also reveals that he did become the manager of Swallows bank at Walmington-on-Sea in 1947. It also reveals that Mrs Pike moved over to the same location when Wilson is transferred.

== Personality ==
Wilson has a vague and dreamy personality and an aura of mystery. In appearance, he resembles [[Anthony Eden]], and in the episode ''[[Ring Dem Bells]]'' loves to be told of his supposed resemblance to the actor [[Jack Buchanan]] (and is mocked for doing so by Mainwaring in the episode ''[[The Love of Three Oranges (Dad's Army)|The Love of Three Oranges]]''). He is a kind man, who goes with the flow of life. Wilson's dream-like manner is often mimicked by the platoon, mostly Privates Walker and Fraser, but the men like him, and some admire him (including Jones, Godfrey, and most of all Private Pike). Rather than bark orders as a sergeant would be expected to do, he asks "Would you mind awfully falling in, please?"

However, when pushed, a different Wilson emerges. In "[[High Finance (Dad's Army)|High Finance]]", it is revealed that [[ARP Warden Bert Hodges|Warden Hodges]] has been forcing his attentions on Mrs Pike by blackmailing her with a rent increase; Wilson reacts by punching Hodges in the face, to the admiration of Mrs Pike and Frank. Wilson is the only member of the platoon to be physically violent, as in "[[Absent Friends (Dad's Army)|Absent Friends]]" when Pike, Jones, Fraser, Walker and Mainwaring attempt to subdue three [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]] members and are beaten, Wilson defeats them singlehanded with only bruised knuckles to show for it.<ref>Webber, Perry, Croft, p.11</ref>

In social settings, Wilson is effortlessly charming, often to the frustration of Mainwaring (who is the exact opposite of Wilson in these situations), especially as many of the people Mainwaring is hoping to impress are people Wilson already knows quite well. Wilson even manages to charm Mrs. Mainwaring (albeit over the telephone, as she is never seen on screen), telling her "we understand him, don't we" in reference to her husband.

When it comes to women, Wilson is especially debonair, effortlessly flirting and attracting the attention of women, often to the exasperation of Mainwaring, who detests Wilson's flirtatious manner (such as when he is flirting with Mainwaring's nurse, some of the ladies signing up to join the Home Guard, or even the young woman serving drinks at a social event). In the episode "[[Man Hunt (Dad's Army episode)|Man Hunt]]", Wilson asks an attractive young woman to let him come in and look at her [[knickers]], when it is suspected they may have been made of material from a German pilot's parachute (as a result of one of Walker's many [[black market]] schemes); in response to this request, the young woman eagerly agrees and invites Wilson inside. This prompts Walker (who was forced to remain outside with Mainwaring after the young woman invited Wilson inside) to remark to Mainwaring about the "extraordinary influence" Wilson has over women.

Wilson's charm is not limitless, however; in the episode "[[The Two and a Half Feathers]]", Wilson clashes several times with one of the serving ladies during lunch at the [[British Restaurant]]; the serving lady is clearly unimpressed with Wilson's upper-class manner of speech (calling it "lah-de-dah talk"), and even referring to Wilson as a "[[capitalist]] lackey" when he leaves his dirty dishes behind for her to gather up.

== Relationship with Mainwaring ==
Tension and comedy between Wilson and Mainwaring is heightened by their difference in [[social class]]: Wilson had an [[upper middle class]] childhood and a public school education, prompting resentment from the [[lower middle class]] Mainwaring, who had to work his way up and views Wilson as having had it easy.<ref>Webber, Perry, Croft, p.132</ref> Mainwaring frequently emphasises his superior rank at the bank and in the Home Guard to maintain his authority and superiority over Wilson. Wilson undermines his superior through casual charm and frequent concern at Mainwaring's plans, querying, "Do you really think that's wise, sir?"

The contrasts are established in several ways: as a civilian, Mainwaring wears a [[bowler hat]] while Wilson wears a more fashionable [[Anthony Eden hat]]. In "[[The Honourable Man]]", Wilson became "[[The Honourable]] Arthur Wilson" after an uncle who was a [[Hereditary peer|peer]] dies.<ref>Webber, Perry, Croft, p.99</ref> Mainwaring tried to stay at the centre of attention; Wilson detested his new [[style (manner of address)|style]] and the unwelcome attention it brought him and refused to use his title, which only infuriated Mainwaring more, as he believed one should revel in titles of nobility rather than be ashamed of them.

Conflict between the two reaches a head in "[[A. Wilson (Manager)?]]", in which Wilson is promoted as manager of another branch and also to second lieutenant in a neighbouring Home Guard Unit. Wilson finds out that he would have been promoted long ago if Mainwaring had not told his superiors that he was unsuitable for promotion. Mainwaring's resentment of Wilson's breeding is revealed. Wilson's new branch is bombed, so he has to return to Walmington.<ref name="WebberPerry_a">Webber, Perry, Croft, p.227</ref> His sign, "A. WILSON, ''manager''", is among the debris. Mainwaring's first concern is to let Wilson know that GHQ is allowing him to keep his rank. Wilson is glad until Mainwaring throws him the sergeant's stripes.

Wilson thinks Mainwaring a pompous fool; in "A. Wilson (Manager)?", Wilson reminds Mainwaring that when he first wore his captain's uniform, he saw him walking up and down the high street all afternoon trying to find someone to salute him, but he had to make do with a [[sea scout]] troop. However, they remain friends. In the episode "Room at the Bottom", Wilson was told that Mainwaring had not been commissioned a captain's position, and was gleeful when he was told thus Mainwaring would be demoted. Wilson provides a more realistic and down-to-earth appraisal of a situation than Mainwaring, who is blinded by pomposity and patriotism, as demonstrated in this exchange:

:Mainwaring: They'll never get through the [[Maginot Line]].
:Wilson: Haven't you heard... They went around the side.
:Mainwaring: That's a typical shabby Nazi trick!

Mainwaring also routinely comments on Wilson's private life, specifically his relationship with Mrs Pike and her son (and their underling at the bank and fellow platoon member) Frank. Mainwaring often chastises Wilson to handle either Mrs Pike or Frank whenever they cause problems for him (usually revolving around Mrs. Pike's complaints to Mainwaring of how he treats her son, who she views as overly delicate). Wilson's response to this is usually a mix of nonchalance and exasperation, though in the episode "War Dance", he finally displays his irritation at Mainwaring's butting into his personal life; when Mainwaring refers to him as "[[Peter Pan]]" due to his reluctance to act as a father figure to Pike, Wilson drops his normal air of deference to his boss and platoon leader, and angrily replies "My god, Mainwaring, you can hit pretty low when it suits you!"

Despite their conflicts, however, Wilson and Mainwaring do share a respectful, if somewhat formal, sort of friendship. In the episode "[[Something Nasty in the Vault]]", Wilson and Mainwaring are trapped in the vault of their bank, desperately cradling an unexploded German bomb. During this time, they bond over their shared danger; at one point Mainwaring even scratches Wilson's nose for him when he develops a maddening itch.

Likewise, in the episode "Keep Young and Beautiful", when presented with the possibility that some of the members of their platoon may be reassigned to the [[Air Raid Precautions|ARP]] due to their age, Wilson points out to Mainwaring that he has no wish to leave the platoon and is actually very proud of what the two of them have achieved. On several occasions, Mainwaring informs Wilson that he considers him not just his subordinate (at both the bank and the platoon), but also a friend.

In the final episode, Wilson turns up at the wedding of Jones and Mrs Fox in a captain's uniform, having achieved the rank during the [[First World War]].<ref name="WebberPerry_a" /> He is modest about it (in the first episode Wilson claims to have been a [[sergeant]] in the Royal Artillery serving at [[Battle of Mons|Mons]], [[Battle of Passchendaele|Passchendaele]] and [[Gallipoli]]) and Mainwaring is pleasantly surprised – although he insisted that "it doesn't change anything, you know."

== Medals ==
Although Sergeant Wilson rarely wore his ribbons,<ref>Only in episodes ''[[Battle of the Giants!]]'' and ''[[Never Too Old]]''.</ref> he was awarded the usual trilogy of [[First World War]] campaign medals (commonly known as "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred"),<ref group="Note">The [[1914–15 Star]], the [[British War Medal]] and the [[Victory Medal (United Kingdom)|Victory Medal]], nicknamed [[Pip, Squeak and Wilfred#War medals|Pip, Squeak and Wilfred]] after a trio of cartoon characters of the period,</ref> that he had previously been awarded as a [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] in the First World War.

<center>
[[File:1914 1915 Star ribbon bar.svg|100x30px]]
[[File:British War Medal BAR.svg|100x30px]]
[[File:Ribbon, World War I Victory Medal.svg|100x30px]]
</center>

== Other portrayals ==
In the feature film ''[[Dad's Army (2016 film)|Dad's Army]]'' released in 2016, Wilson is played by [[Bill Nighy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/dads-army-film-first-photos-of-catherine-zeta-jones-bill-nighy-and-toby-jones-released-9819073.html|title=Dad's Army film: First photos of Catherine Zeta Jones, Toby Jones and Bill Nighy released|work=[[The Independent]]|author=Amy Murphy|date=26 October 2014|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref>

Wilson is played by [[Robert Bathurst]] in a series of [[Dad's Army missing episodes#Recreations|re-enactments of otherwise lost episodes]] of ''Dad's Army''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/5097/dads_army_2019_cast/ |title=Kevin McNally and Robert Bathurst to star in new Dad's Army |author= |date=9 November 2018 |website=comedy.co.uk |access-date=9 November 2018 }}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arthur}}
[[Category:Dad's Army characters]]
[[Category:Fictional military sergeants]]
[[Category:Fictional World War I veterans]]
[[Category:Fictional bankers]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1968]]

Janet Davies (actress)

2022-08-18T17:47:28Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53:

{{short description|English actress}}{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2009}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Janet Davies
| othername =
| image = Janet Davies as Mrs Pike in the Dad's Army episode 'Never Too Old'.jpg
| caption = Davies (left) as Mrs Pike in the 1977 Dad's Army episode ''[[Never Too Old]]''
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1927|9|14}}
| birth_place = [[Wakefield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England, UK
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1986|9|22|1927|9|14}}
| death_place = [[Bromley]], [[Greater London]], England, UK
| yearsactive = 1960–1986
| spouse = Ian Gardiner (m. 1954–1986; her death)}}

'''Janet Kathleen Davies''' (14 September 1927 – 22 September 1986) was an English actress best known for her recurring role as [[Mavis Pike|Mrs. Pike]] in the long-running sitcom ''[[Dad's Army]]''.

Although mainly remembered for her role in ''Dad's Army'', appearing in 30 episodes of the series, she also featured in many other television and film roles including ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'', ''[[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin]]'', ''[[All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series)|All Creatures Great and Small]]'', ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'', ''[[Z-Cars]]'', ''[[The Citadel (1983 miniseries)|The Citadel]]'', ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1980 TV series)|Pride and Prejudice]]'', ''[[Open All Hours]]'', ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'', and in the films ''[[The Ghost Goes Gear]]'' (1966) and ''[[Interlude (1968 film)|Interlude]]'' (1968).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2baba0736d|title=Janet Davies|website=BFI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=4264|title=Janet Davies|website=www.aveleyman.com}}</ref>

When she was not acting, Davies exploited her typing and shorthand training by working with various theatrical agencies. She was married to the actor Ian Gardiner, who was best known for having played [[Reginald Molehusband]] in a [[Central Office of Information]] [[public information film]] in the 1960s.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4733518.stm Article on BBC News Magazine]; retrieved 8 October 2007.</ref>

She died on 22 September 1986, aged 59, from [[breast cancer]] which had metastasised to her lungs.<ref name=":1">[http://home.btconnect.com/howejam/dadsarmy/news_archive/1986_armycuttothefew.htm Notice of death of Janet Davies], btconnect.com; accessed 13 December 2014.</ref>

==Early life==
Davies was born in [[Wakefield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]. Her father, a solicitor, died in his early thirties, and as a result she was sent to boarding school. She began training as a solicitor but left and qualified as a shorthand typist instead. She worked as a [[BBC]] secretary for two years, assigned to programmes including ''[[Dick Barton]]'' before eventually moving into [[repertory]] in 1948, appearing at [[Leatherhead]], [[Watford]], [[Shrewsbury]], [[Bedford]] and [[Northampton]]. {{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

==''Dad's Army''==
Davies was a client of the theatrical agent, Ann Callender, and also worked as a secretary for Callender whenever she was short of work. Callender was the wife of TV producer [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]], the director, co-writer and producer of ''Dad's Army''. Croft said that Davies "hastened to suggest herself for the part. After all, being in the office where the script first saw the light of day, she knew the requirements well." Davies went to see Croft in order to read for the part. Croft recalled that "She seemed to be just the right age and type to play the role."<ref>David Croft interview, ''Dad's Army, The Home Front: The Complete Scripts Series 5-9'' (Orion, 2002); {{ISBN|0-7528-4743-0}}</ref>

Davies played the doting mother of [[Private Frank Pike]] ([[Ian Lavender]]), Mrs Pike, in 30 episodes of the sitcom, with her story lines mainly involving her relationship with [[Sergeant Wilson]] ([[John Le Mesurier]]) and her 'mollycoddling' of her son, much to the annoyance of [[Captain George Mainwaring]] ([[Arthur Lowe]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/dadsarmy/5210.shtml?page=9|title=BBC - Archive - Dad's Army at 40 - The 'Dad's Army' Cast|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Her first appearance is in the first episode, ''[[The Man and the Hour]]'', and her last is in the final episode, ''[[Never Too Old]]''.

For the film version of ''[[Dad's Army (1971 film)|Dad's Army]]'' (1971), Liz Fraser was cast as Mrs Pike.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/dads-army-v88439/cast-crew|title=Dad's Army (1971) - Norman Cohen - Cast and Crew|website=AllMovie}}</ref> This decision was made by the director, [[Norman Cohen]], who wanted a less 'homely' actress for the role.<ref>Complete A-Z of Dad's Army Webber, R(Ed) 2000, London, Orion {{ISBN|0-7528-1838-4}}</ref> The recasting was very controversial and one of the changes imposed by backers [[Columbia Pictures]] that added to the unhappiness of the cast. Co-writer of the television series, [[Jimmy Perry]], has said "It was a mistake...not to cast Janet in the role because the viewing public has come to recognise her as Mrs. Pike. But that was a decision made by Columbia".<ref>Jimmy Perry interview, ''Dad's Army: A Celebration'', (Virgin Publishing 1997), p. 168; {{ISBN|0-7535-0307-7}}</ref>

==Illness and death==
Davies died on 22 September 1986 from breast cancer, which had metastasized to her lungs. Her ''Dad's Army'' co-star [[Bill Pertwee]] said that she "spent her last days in a hospice and died peacefully" adding that she was a "lovely woman".<ref name=":1"/>

==Television==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style= "margin-right= 0;"
|+ Janet Davies' television appearances
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 25%;" | Programme
<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0203773/|title=Janet Davies|website=IMDb}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width: 15%;" | Date
! scope="col" style="width: 20%;" | Channel
! scope="col" style="width: 20%;" | Role
! scope="col" style="width: 20%;" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
! scope="row" | {{sort||''[[Arthur's Treasured Volumes]]''}}
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1960|June|06}}
| [[Associated Television|ATV]]
| Miss Tiddy
| Episode 6: The Curse of the Bellfoots
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Police Surgeon (UK TV series)|Police Surgeon]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1960|September|24}}
| [[ABC Weekend Television]]
| Welsh Woman
| Episode 3: Lag on the Run
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Citadel (1960 UK miniseries)|The Citadel]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1960|November|23}} – 30 November 1960
| Associated-Rediffusion Television
| Neighbour
| TV mini-series- Series 1: Episodes 1 and 2
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Emergency-Ward 10]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1961|February|24}}
|
| Anne French
| Series 1, Episode 420
|-
! scope="row" | ''The Desperate People''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1963|March|24}}
|
| Joyce Naylor
| Series 1: Episode 5
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Saint (TV series)|The Saint]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1963|October|24}}
| [[ITV Network|ITV]]
| Pearl
| Series 2: Episode 6: Marcia
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Gideon's Way]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1965|January|16}}
| [[ITV Network|ITV]]
| Nurse
| Series 1: Episode 16: Fall High, Fall Hard. (Uncredited)
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV and radio)|Dr Finlay's Casebook]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1967|February|26}}
| [[BBC One]]
| Nurse
| Series 5: Episode 9
|-
! scope="row" | ''The Gamblers''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1967|November|23}}
|
| Anne
| Series 1: Episode 11: Tycoon of the Year
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Champion House]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1968|May|30}}
|
| Miss Jennings
| Series 2: Episode 8 : Pilot Error
|-
! scope="row" | ''Gazette''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1968|August|30}}
|
| Mrs. Goodison
| Series 1: Episode 5: It's All Happening!
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1964|March|14}} – 15 January 1972
| [[BBC Television]]
| Mrs. Walters Mrs. White Mrs. Thomas May Nelson Mrs. Perryman Mrs. Baker
| Six episodes
|-
! scope="row" | '' Fish''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|January|08}} <nowiki>- 29 January 1973</nowiki>
|
| Mrs. Price
| TV mini-series, Four episodes
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)|The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|February|12}}
|
| Perkins
| Series 2: Episode 3: Cell 13
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Are You Being Served?]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|April|18}}
| [[BBC Television]]
| The Oversize Dress
| Series 1: Episode 5: Diamonds Are a Man's Best Friend
|-
! scope="row" | ''Hey Brian!''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|June|19}}
|
|
| Series 1: Episode 6
|-
! scope="row" | ''Helen: A Woman of Today''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|September|28}}
|
| Solicitor's Secretary
| Series 1: Episode 2
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Casanova '73]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|October|15}}
|
| Man opposite's Wife
| Series 1: Episode 5
|-
! scope="row" | ''Vienna 1900''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1974|January|12}}
| [[BBC Television]]
| Frau Garian
| TV mini-series, Series 1: Episode 6: The Spring Sonata
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Marked Personal]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1974|January|22}} <nowiki>- 23 January 1974</nowiki>
| [[Thames Television]]
| Gwyneth Morgan
| Two episodes: Series 1: Episodes 21 and 22
|-
! scope="row" | ''Childhood''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1974|April|21}}
|
| Gertie
| 'Possessions'
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Play for Today]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1973|February|5}} <nowiki>- 23 January 1975</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| Nurse Rose
| Two episodes: Song at Twilight and Breath
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1975|March|12}} <nowiki>- 26 March 1975</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| Miss Jones
| Two episodes: Series 2: Episodes 2 and 4
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Sadie, It's Cold Outside]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1975|May|5}}
|
| Receptionist
| Series 1: Episode 3
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Lucky Feller]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1976|September|24}}
|
| First Woman
| Series 1: Episode 4: Kath's Family
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Dad's Army]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1968|July|31}} <nowiki>- 06 November 1977</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| [[Mrs Pike]]
| Recurring Character- 30 episodes.
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series)|All Creatures Great and Small]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1978|February|12}} <nowiki>- 26 February 1978</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| Mrs. Dalby
| Three episodes, Series 1: Episodes 6, 7 and 8.
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Angels (TV series)|Angels]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1976|October|4}} <nowiki>- 19 June 1978</nowiki>
|
| Liz Thomas Saleswoman
| Two episodes, Series 3:Episode 5 and Season 4:Episode 1
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Z-Cars]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1962|June|19}} <nowiki>- 09 August 1978</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| Mary Russell Valerie Jolliffe Mrs. Garrett Mrs. Pagett Molly
| Six episodes.
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1978|December|27}}
| [[BBC Television]]
| Ethel Merman
| Series 3: Episode 4: Communal Social Evenings
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Rosie (TV series)|Rosie]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1979|June|28}}
|
| Violet
| Series: Episode 4: Happy Birthday, Mr Chizzlehurst.
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Testament of Youth (TV series)|Testment of Youth]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1979|November|11}}
|
| Sarah
| TV mini-series Season 1: Episode 2: Buxton 1914
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1980 TV series)|Pride and Prejudice]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1980|February|10}}
| [[BBC Television]]
| Mrs. Hill
| TV mini-series, Season 1, Episode 5
|-
! scope="row" | ''Nice Work''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1980|November|05}}
|
| Neighbour
| Series 1: Episode 4: Kill the Fatted Hen
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Open All Hours]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1982|April|18}}
| [[BBC Television]]
| Mrs. Blake
| Series 3: Episode 5: The Man from Down Under
|-
! scope="row" | ''Something in Disguise''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1982|July|07}} <nowiki>- 04 August 1982</nowiki>
|
| Mrs. Green
| Three episodes, Series 1 : Episodes 2,6 and 4
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1982|November|21}}
| [[London Weekend Television]]
| Roz Hatch
| Series 5: Episode 3: You'll Be Alright
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Citadel (1983 TV series)|The Citadel]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1983|January|20}} <nowiki>- 27 January 1983</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| Mrs. Watkins
| TV mini-series, Part 1 and 2
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Death_of_an_Expert_Witness#Adaptation|Death of an Expert Witness]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1983|April|22}}
| [[Anglia Television]]
| Mrs. Winifred Swaffield
| TV mini-series, Season 1: Episode 3
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Terry and June]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1985|September|28}}
|
| Customer (as Jan Davies)
| Series 8: Episode 4: New Doors for Old
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Don't Wait Up (TV series)|Don't Wait Up]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1983|November|08}} <nowiki>- 27 January 1986</nowiki>
| [[BBC Television]]
| Florrie
| Two Episodes, Series 1:Episode 3, and Season 3: Episode 7
|-
! scope="row" | ''That's My Boy''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1985|February|15}} <nowiki>- 21 March 1986</nowiki>
|
| Mrs. Lacey
| Two episodes, Series 4, Episode 5, and Series 5, Episode 5.
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Bread (TV series)|Bread]]''
| {{Dts|format=dmy|1986|May|1}}
| [[BBC Television]]
| D.H.S.S Claimant
| Season 1: Episode 1, (final television appearance)
|-
|}

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;"
|+ Janet Davies' Film Appearances
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 30%;" | Film
<ref name=":0" />
! scope="col" style="width: 20%;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width: 30%;" | Role
! scope="col" style="width: 20%;" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Love Match]]''
| {{sort|1953.1|1953}}
| Motorist
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Ghost Goes Gear]]''
| {{sort|1966.1|1966}}
| Cockney Wife
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Interlude (1968 film)|Interlude]]''
| {{sort|1968.1|1968}}
| Nanny
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Under Milk Wood]]''
| {{sort|1972.1|1972}}
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''What Next?''
| {{sort|1974.1|1974}}
| Mother
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[In_This_House_of_Brede#Adaptations|In this House of Brede]]''
| rowspan="2" | {{sort|1975.1|1975}}
| Mrs. Scanlon
| TV movie
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[The Hiding Place (film)|The Hiding Place]]''
| Mrs. Beukers
| Uncredited
|-
! scope="row" | ''Love Story: Mr Right''
| {{sort|1983.1|1983}}
| Waitress
| TV movie
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Terry on the Fence]]''
| {{sort|1986.1|1986}}
| Usher
|
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0203773}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Janet}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Actors from Wakefield]]
[[Category:Deaths from breast cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]

Jones's van (Dad's Army)

2022-08-18T17:45:07Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Screen appearances */

{{Short description|Butcher's delivery vehicle used in Dad's Army TV comedy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Jones's van (''Dad's Army'')}}
[[File:Jones van Dads Army.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Jones's van displayed at the Charles Burrell Steam Museum in [[Thetford]]]]
'''Jones's van''' is the butcher's delivery van, owned by [[Lance-Corporal Jones]], which first made an appearance in the [[BBC]] comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It is a 1935 two-ton [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] BB Box Van with the registration plate BUC 852 and appeared in ''Dad's Army'' from 1969 to 1977; it was also seen in the [[Dad's Army (2016 film)|2016 film]] based on the series. In 2012 the van was sold to the [[Dad's Army Museum]] in [[Thetford]].<ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/347272/Dad-s-Army-van-goes-on-sale - 'Dad's Army van goes on sale'] - ''[[Daily Express]]'' - 21 September 2012</ref>

==''Dad's Army''==
While it is doubtful that a small local [[butcher]] like Jones would have needed so large a van in real life, let alone have been able to finance its running costs during wartime, the van becomes essential in the series as a means of moving the [[Walmington-on-Sea]] [[platoon]] about.<ref name=Bonhams>[https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20148/lot/307/ 'The ex-'Dad's Army' 1935 Ford BB Box Van' - Bonhams Auction Catalogue - 2012]</ref> The platoon uses Jones's van as transport and improvises [[IFV]] for their manoeuvres.

Jones is very proud of his van, and is often reluctant to allow various modifications needed for the platoon's activities. The instances when [[Captain Mainwaring|Mainwaring]] causes the van to get damaged are the very rare occasions when Jones becomes upset with his captain, at one point threatening to blacklist Mainwaring from his sausage list; to which Mainwaring replies carefully, "Steady, Jones."

In the 1969 episode "[[The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones]]" (which was the first ''Dad's Army'' episode to be made in colour), the van is converted to run on coal gas, with a large bag full of the gas put on the roof. In the same episode the van is shown with covered holes built into the side panels, so that the platoon can fire their rifles through them. They demonstrate how it works, while chanting, "Open-two-three. Out-two-three. Bang-two-three. Bang-two-three. Bang-two-three. In-two-three. Shut!"

==History==
[[File:Dads Army 1935 engine.jpg|thumb|right|The engine to Jones' van is the original from 1935]]
Corporal Jones's van is a 1935 two-ton Ford BB, one of the first commercial models produced at Ford's [[Ford Dagenham|Dagenham factory]] when it opened in 1931. It was discovered in a dilapidated condition in [[Streatham]] in London by Frank Holland, an assistant property master for the [[BBC]]. Such was its condition that the van was on the verge of being scrapped. Holland contacted Fred Wilmington, whose company supplied vehicles to the BBC; he purchased the van and restored it to full working order.

Later Paul Joel, a designer working on ''[[Dad's Army]]'', spotted the van among Wilmington's stock of vehicles and obtained it for use in the series. The van was repainted and had "J. Jones Family Butcher" sign-painted on its side panels. The van still has its original engine from 1935.

==Screen appearances==
[[File:Dads Army van 1971.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Ford Model AA]] used in the [[Dad's Army (1971 film)|1971 film]]]]
Jones's van made its screen debut in ''[[Dad's Army]]'' on 11 September 1969 in the episode "[[The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones]]", the first in the series to be made in colour (the episode [[Branded (Dad's Army)|"Branded"]] was the first to be transmitted in colour). The van continued to make regular appearances until the series ended in 1977.<ref name=Bonhams/>

In 1979 the original van was seen in ''[[Dick Barton#Television|Dick Barton - Special Agent]]'' with the distinctive side panels covered and the van filmed through a green filter to further disguise it.

A different van was used for the 1971 ''[[Dad's Army (1971 film)|Dad's Army]]'' film, namely a closed cab [[Ford Model AA]] with a box roof added so that the platoon could stand inside it. This is on show at the [[Bressingham Steam and Gardens]] exhibition.

The original van was used again in the 2016 [[Dad's Army (2016 film)|''Dad's Army'']] film.

==Move to Thetford==
When ''Dad's Army'' ended in 1977 the original Ford BB van was sold to a Ford Dealer in [[Finchley]] and then sold again in 1991 to the Patrick Motor Museum in Birmingham for a [[hammer price]] of £11,200.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9555630/Dads-Army-butcher-van-goes-on-sale.html - 'Dad's Army butcher van goes on sale'] - ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' 20 September 2012</ref> In 2012 the van was auctioned by [[Bonhams]], when it was sold to the [[Dad's Army Museum]] in [[Thetford]] for £63,100 including the [[buyer's premium]].<ref name=Bonhams/><ref>[http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/dad_s_army_van_is_delivered_to_thetford_1_1741300 'Dad’s Army van is delivered to Thetford'] - ''[[Eastern Daily Press]]'' - 13 December 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.dadsarmythetford.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5:news&catid=8&Itemid=148 Jones' van on the Dad's Army Museum website]</ref> The van went on display at the [[Charles Burrell Museum]] in early 2013 after a period of cosmetic restoration.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-21978053 'Dad's Army: L/Cpl Jones' butcher's van restored'] - [[BBC News]] website - 30 March 2013</ref><ref>[http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/visitors_can_have_a_butchers_at_jones_s_dad_s_army_van_1_2001228 - 'Visitors can “have a butchers” at Jones’s Dad’s Army van'] - ''[[Norwich Evening News]]'' - 3 April 2013</ref>

The van's engine underwent a full rebuild by a local firm of engineers ready to run for the 2017 museum season. On 11 November 2017 the van and volunteers from the Dad's Army Museum took part in the [[Lord Mayor's Show]].

==Merchandise==
Various toy versions of Jones's van were commercially available, including one made as part of a series of ''[[Dad's Army]]'' and wartime vehicles by the [[BBC]],<ref>[http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/info/Dad's_Army_butcher's_van_(Radio_Times) The toy Jones's van] on the [[Brighton Toy and Model Museum]] website</ref> while [[Corgi Classics Limited|Corgi]] released 1:50 scale models of a [[Thornycroft]] van as [[Lance-Corporal Jack Jones|Jones]] butcher's van and a [[Bedford Vehicles|Bedford]] 0 Series as that belonging to [[ARP Warden Bert Hodges|Hodges]]. Each came with a figurine of the character.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones' van (Dad's Army)}}
[[Category:Dad's Army]]
[[Category:Fictional cars]]

The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones

2022-08-18T17:42:59Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Notes */

{{no footnotes|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image = Jones van Dads Army.jpg
| caption = Jones' van made its first appearance in this episode
| series_no = 3
| episode = 1
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = 11 September 1969
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[Under Fire (Dad's Army)|Under Fire]]
| next = [[Battle School (Dad's Army)|Battle School]]
}}

"'''The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones'''" is the first episode of the third series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 11 September 1969. It is also the first episode to be broadcast in colour.

==Synopsis==
Lance Corporal Jones allows the [[platoon]] to use his [[Jones' van (Dad's Army)|butcher's van]] as an [[Armoured car (military)|armoured car]] and Mainwaring meets the new Chief [[Air Raid Precautions|ARP]] Warden, William Hodges the [[greengrocer]].

==Plot==
Following a lecture on the gases the enemy will use, Captain Mainwaring reads a communiqué sent by GHQ, which says that there is insufficient communication between the ARP and the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]], so the new Chief Warden is attending to discuss co-operation. Mainwaring is disgusted to learn from Wilson that the new Chief Warden is that 'common fellow' Mr Hodges. Mainwaring believes that Hodges' occupation (a greengrocer) doesn't entitle him to be Chief Warden. Wilson agrees by saying that he has dirty finger nails. When Hodges arrives, he and Mainwaring have a brief argument about who should get the church hall every Wednesday evening.

Some time afterwards, Walker talks to Jones about his delivery van. He reckons that he should lend it to Mainwaring as platoon transport. Jones is suspicious, so Walker admits that it will help his black market activities, but offers Jones petrol coupons in return. Jones reluctantly agrees.

The next day, Mainwaring congratulates Jones and Walker on their efforts with the van. Jones tells Mainwaring that it not only serves as a [[Troop carrier|troop carrier]] and armoured car, but it also serves as an [[Ambulance|ambulance]]. Wilson demonstrates with some of the platoon to Mainwaring, their new embarking and disembarking strategy, which interrupts Hodges' ARP lecture. He demands to know the reason why, and is intrigued to learn that the van doubles up as an ambulance. He asks the men to come down to Saturday's air raid practice and act as [[Stretcher bearer|stretcher bearers]] for the ambulance. Mainwaring concludes the lecture by telling Jones and Walker that the van is being converted to [[Gas|gas]].

Jones and Walker reluctantly travel to the church hall with a giant gas-bag on the roof. Jones' bayonet accidentally punctures the gas supply pipe and Jones becomes light-headed. Walker plugs the hole in the pipe, and Jones tells him to "be like that little Belgian boy". Walker corrects him, realising that he is getting confused between [[Manneken Pis]] and [[the Little Dutch Boy]]. They reach the church hall to find it empty except for Frazer, who tells them that everyone's already at the practice. Frazer decides the gas fire of the Vicar (the [[Reverend Timothy Farthing]]) can be used to refill the gas bag. The Vicar interrupts, but Frazer passes it off as filling the Vicar's [[Gas fire|gas fire]].

The trio arrive at the practice, and they prepare to load an old man on a stretcher into the back of the van, but Jones has left the back door keys at his shop. They attempt to put the old man through the front window of the van, while Jones 'borrows' an irate man's bike to fetch the keys. When he returns, they try to load the old man into the van, but Hodges accidentally gives the signal of "two bangs" before they can fully load him on, and it drives off. After one more unsuccessful attempt, the old man gets up off the stretcher, declaring "I'll walk to the flippin' hospital!"

==Cast==
{{div col}}
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[James Beck]] as [[Private Walker]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Janet Davies (actress)|Janet Davies]] as [[Mavis Pike|Mrs. Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] as Vicar
*[[Queenie Watts]] as Mrs Peters
*[[Pamela Cundell]] as Mrs Fox
*[[Jean St. Clair]] as Miss Meadows
*[[Olive Mercer]] as Mrs Casson
*[[Nigel Hawthorne]] as the Angry Man
*[[Harold Bennett]] as the Old Man
*Dick Haydon as Raymond
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
#This is the first colour episode.
#This is the first episode to feature the vicar, [[Reverend Timothy Farthing]] ([[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]]), in person.
#This is the first episode to feature [[Jones's van (Dad's Army)|Jones's van]], which the platoon use in future episodes.
#ARP Warden Hodges wants the church hall every Wednesday evening in this episode.
#The old man on the stretcher is Mr Blewitt, as established in later episodes in a semi-regular role.
#The episode could have got confused between [[town gas]] and [[laughing gas]], since Jones becomes light-headed when the gas affects him.

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army|author1=Croft, David |author2=Perry, Jimmy |author3=Webber, Richard |year=2000|publisher=Orion|isbn= 0-7528-4637-X}}

==External links==
*{{BBC episode|b0077s8b}}
*{{IMDb episode|0552315}}

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armoured Might of Lance-Corporal Jones, The}}
[[Category:Dad's Army radio episodes]]
[[Category:Dad's Army (series 3) episodes]]
[[Category:1969 British television episodes]]

High Finance (Dad's Army)

2022-08-18T16:21:57Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Plot */

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{unreferenced|date=October 2010}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 8
| episode = 5
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = 3 October 1975
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[Come In, Your Time Is Up]]
| next = [[The Face on the Poster]]
}}

"'''High Finance'''" is the fifth episode of the eighth series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally broadcast on 3 October 1975.

==Synopsis==
Jones is [[overdrawn]] at the bank, and after a long investigation Mainwaring discovers that this has been caused by [[List of Dad's Army characters#Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Hodges]] exorbitantly raising [[Mrs. Mavis Pike|Mrs Pike]]'s rent.

==Plot==
[[Lance-Corporal Jack Jones|Jones]] arrives at the bank to pay in his takings, and cash a cheque. Pike refuses to cash his cheque because he is overdrawn. In [[Captain George Mainwaring|Mainwaring]]'s office, Mainwaring attempts to explain why he cannot cash the cheque. Jones does not understand why, having just paid money in, he can't take money out. Mainwaring complains that the cheque is stained, and Jones explains it is from a piece of [[liver]]. Mainwaring then asks what Jones is going to do about 'it', meaning his [[overdraft]], and Jones replies that maybe he could "keep the cheques away from the meat". Mainwaring insists on coming round to Jones's shop after work to try to see where his overdraft has come from.

After Jones has gone, rather upset, [[Sergeant Arthur Wilson|Wilson]] suggests Mainwaring could give Jones an overdraft because he is in the platoon, but Mainwaring refuses to bend the rules.

In Jones's shop Mainwaring attempts to examine Jones books, but chaos ensues. Mainwaring gets a [[fly paper]] stuck on his [[bowler hat]] and [[Private Frank Pike|Pike]] attempts to cut if off, but trims off the rim as well, so Mainwaring cannot lift his hat. Pike then tips all Jones's carefully sorted [[Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II|ration tickets]] onto the floor. Mainwaring takes all Jones's books home, much to [[Private James Frazer|Frazer's]] horror.

The next morning, Jones agrees with Mainwaring's laborious conclusion from Jones's chaotic books that his business is £50 short, and then tells Mainwaring that he has an unpaid bill from the [[orphanage]] for £50, which he produces from his pocket. Mainwaring is furious at having all his time wasted. In attempting to track down why the orphanage cannot pay the £50, Mainwaring interviews, in turn, [[Reverend Timothy Farthing|the Vicar]], Miss Twelvetrees and Frazer. He then convenes a meeting, inviting Wilson, [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Hodges]], the Pikes, the [[Maurice Yeatman|Verger]], the Vicar, Frazer, Godfrey and Jones.

In the meeting, Mainwaring tracks the £50. Mrs Pike borrowed it from Wilson, who borrowed it from Godfrey, who borrowed it from Frazer. Frazer then withheld his rent from Miss Twelvetrees, who could not make her usual donation to the vicar, who could not pay Jones's meat bill. The meeting hears with horror that Mrs Pike needed the money to pay a huge increase in rent demanded by her [[landlord]], the Warden. Mrs Pike then says that Hodges had said he would "let me off if I was ''nice to him''". At this, Wilson deliberately gets up, walks slowly but purposefully round the table and punches the Warden in the face, knocking him off his chair. The room is stunned, especially the Pikes, who are very impressed. Hodges complains that he has always liked her but that she is besotted with Wilson to which Pike says "Why don't you hit him again, Uncle Arthur!" Hodges is shamed into cashing a £50 cheque from Mainwaring, who gives it to Mrs Pike, who gives it to Wilson, to Godfrey, to Frazer, to Miss Twelvetrees, to the Vicar, via the Verger to Jones, who gives it back to Mainwaring.

All is concluded, and Mainwaring's triumph seems complete and unblemished, but then he is confronted in front of everyone by the irate grocer, Mr Swann, to whom Mrs Mainwaring owes £49 17/6, and he has to pay up.

==Cast==
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Janet Davies (actress)|Janet Davies]] as [[Mavis Pike|Mrs Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Edward Sinclair]] as [[Maurice Yeatman|The Verger]]
*[[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] as [[Reverend Timothy Farthing|The Vicar]]
*[[Colin Bean]] as [[List of characters in Dad's Army#Other platoon members|Private Sponge]]
*Natalie Kent as Miss Twelvetrees
*[[Ronnie Brody]] as Mr Swann

==Notes==
#Pike makes a reference to the [[Charlie Chan]] series of films starring [[Warner Oland]], in particular ''[[Charlie Chan in London]]'' (1934), when Mainwaring calls a meeting to reveal the identity of the villain.

{{Dad's Army}}

[[Category:Dad's Army (series 8) episodes]]
[[Category:1975 British television episodes]]

Private Walker

2022-08-18T13:59:23Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53:

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox character
|name=Private Joe Walker
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
|image=James Beck-1973.png
|image_size=200px
|lbl21 = Affiliated with
|data21=[[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]]
|occupation=[[Black market]] [[spiv]]
|first="[[The Man and the Hour]]"
|last="[[Things that Go Bump in the Night (Dad's Army episode)|Things that Go Bump in the Night]]"
|relatives = Unnamed Grandmother
|portrayer=''TV Series'': [[James Beck]] ''Radio Series'': [[James Beck]] [[Graham Stark]] [[Larry Martyn]] ''Stage Shows'': [[John Bardon]] [[Leslie Grantham]] ''2016 Film'': [[Daniel Mays]] ''2019 GOLD TV Series'': [[Mathew Horne]]
}}
'''Private Joe Walker''' is a fictional [[black market]] [[spiv]] (or Wholesales Supplier, as he politely puts it) and [[British Home Guard|Home Guard]] platoon member, first portrayed by actor [[James Beck]] in the BBC television [[sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]''. In real life, Beck died suddenly on 6 August 1973. The character of Walker was one of the seven primary characters in the show. Following his character's departure (Walker was last mentioned in the episode "The Recruit", although he does not appear in this episode) the series attempted to replace him with a war reporter called [[Private Cheeseman]] (played by [[Talfryn Thomas]]), who had made a previous cameo appearance in the episode "[[My British Buddy]]".

==Personality==
Walker is the second-youngest member of the platoon, the youngest being [[Private Pike]], and speaks with a [[Cockney (dialect)|cockney]] accent. A pleasant and amiable (if slightly shifty) personality, Walker is nevertheless a constant thorn in [[Captain Mainwaring]]'s side, for he doesn't share Mainwaring's idealism, and makes cheeky and witty interruptions during his serious lectures. However, despite this he is good-natured and loyal to his commanding officer and platoon comrades, and is a valuable asset to the platoon, owing to his many "business" connections and his ability to mysteriously conjure up almost anything that, due to the War, is rationed or no longer in the shops—and he will also have it in vast supply (for a price).

Walker also demonstrates keen improvisational skills and cunning; as a result, owing to these attributes and his cheerful willingness to use tactics that Mainwaring might not consider to be '[[Ethical|cricket]]', he is usually responsible for getting the platoon out of many of the scrapes that they find themselves in. He is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to make a few [[Shilling|bob]], and can normally be found trying to sell such things as petrol coupons and black market foodstuffs to his platoon comrades, usually at high prices and from dubious sources. His "business" activities are not limited to just the members of the platoon, or indeed even to the residents of Walmington-on-Sea, as he has often made reference to acquiring "essential supplies" for members of the rival Eastgate platoon and various influential people, military or civilian; at one point, he offers to provide "a couple of bottles of [[Scotch whisky|scotch]]" to a high-ranking GHQ officer, when Mainwaring briefly loses his command of the platoon. Indeed, the only time Walker can't find a buyer for his "essential supplies" is when the [[United States Army|American Army]] arrives at Walmington-on-Sea (with the comparatively well-off American troops already having plenty of liquor and other items normally provided by Walker).

Walker considers himself a ladies' man; an early episode showed Walker entering an unknown woman's house at night and departing the next morning. In the episode "[[War Dance (Dad's Army episode)|War Dance]]", he brings twin sisters as his dates to a dance Mainwaring is hosting. Walker also has a recurring girlfriend named Shirley/Edith (played by [[Wendy Richard]]), who is seen in several episodes.

In the platoon, he mostly associates with [[Lance Corporal Jones]], Pike and Frazer. Despite merely being a private, Walker clearly has some form of influence over the platoon, not least due to his black-market dealings which have got them out of (and into) numerous scrapes. Moreover, when [[Private Frazer]] is temporarily promoted to captain in "[[If the Cap Fits...]]", he selects Walker as his [[sergeant]]. Walker has friendly relationships with all the men in the platoon, jokingly referring to the Scottish Frazer as "[[Taffy was a Welshman|Taffy]]", and occasionally calling Jones a "silly old duffer" when they have the odd disagreement. While often exasperating Mainwaring with his constant quips and irreverent attitude towards the war in general and the platoon in particular, on one occasion (in the episode "[[Sons of the Sea (Dad's Army)|Sons of the Sea]]") Mainwaring praises Walker's "lively sense of [[cockney]] humour" and for keeping his cool under stress (to which a surprised Walker stammers that he was "only trying to keep people cheerful"). At times, Walker even expresses a sentimental sense of fondness for Mainwaring and others in the platoon, telling Frazer (in the episode "[[Absent Friends (Dad's Army episode)|Absent Friends]]") that he was bothered by seeing Mainwaring upset after the platoon chose to stay in the pub playing darts instead of going on parade. In the same episode, he tells Frazer to leave Godfrey alone when the latter decides to go back on parade instead of staying in the pub with the others; he expresses similar sentiments in the episode "[[Branded (Dad's Army episode)|Branded]]" when Godfrey is set to be kicked out of the platoon due to his being a [[conscientious objector]] during the [[World War I|First World War]], referring to Godfrey as a "nice old bloke". Walker even dwells on the concept of Jones potentially leaving a fellow soldier to die in the episode "[[The Two and a Half Feathers]]", to the point that it interrupts his makeout session with his girlfriend.

In ''[[Battle of the Giants!]]'', Walker recounts a story of being awarded a medal of the ''Sacred Order of the Golden [[Kris]] of [[Abu Dhabi]]'' by a [[Sheikh]] staying in a hotel on [[Park Lane, London]] who was very grateful for Walker's efforts fixing him "up with a bird".

He is supposedly allergic to [[Bully beef|corned beef]], and this is given as the reason why he has not been called up for the regular army, although it is generally assumed that he has found a way to dodge the rules. This allergy was exposed in the episode ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker]]'', which has since been lost from the BBC's archives. He was conscripted, only to be discharged when it was found that corned beef fritters were the only rations left for the soldiers to eat.

Walker's final appearance was in the episode ''[[Things that Go Bump in the Night (Dad's Army episode)|Things That Go Bump in the Night]]'', where the platoon spent the night in a mysterious house. In fact he is only seen in the location shots, filmed some time before the studio recording. Beck was ill for the recordings of both this episode and the next episode, ''[[The Recruit (Dad's Army episode)|The Recruit]]'', in which Walker had "gone up to the smoke" (a slang term for [[London]]) to "do a deal". After Beck's death, Walker was never mentioned in the show again (though the character survived the war; the very first episode begins with a scene set in 1968, as Mainwaring—now an [[alderman]]—launches his "[[I'm Backing Britain]]" campaign, and Walker is seen as one of the town worthies present at the launch).

In the radio adaptations of the series, [[Graham Stark]] stood in until [[Larry Martyn]] gave his portrayal of Walker for subsequent shows. [[John Bardon]] played Walker in the stage production in 1976. Scriptwriter [[Jimmy Perry]] originally intended to play the part himself, but was advised against it by his co-writer [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]. Walker was based on a [[spiv]] character created and performed by British comedian and actor [[Arthur English]] (English was in the controversial episode "[[Absent Friends (Dad's Army)|Absent Friends]]", and starred in ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'').

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker}}
[[Category:Dad's Army characters]]
[[Category:Fictional spivs]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1968]]

James Beck

2022-08-18T13:55:52Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Death */

{{Short description|English actor (1929–1973)}}{{About|the actor|other people of the same name|James Beck (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=February 2010}}
{{Lead too short|date=July 2022}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}


{{Infobox person
| name = James Beck
| image = James_Beck-1973.png
| caption = Beck as [[Private Walker]] in the ''[[Dad's Army]]'' episode "[[The Honourable Man]]" in 1973, just over a week before his collapse
| birthname = Stanley James Carroll Beck
| birth_date = {{birth date|1929|2|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Islington]], [[London]], England<ref>GRO Register of Births: MAR 1929 1b 407 ISLINGTON - Stanley J. C. Beck, mmn = Beck</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|1973|08|06|1929|2|21|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Roehampton]], London, England <ref>GRO Register of Deaths: SEP 1973 5E 1087 WANDSWORTH - Stanley James C. Beck, DoB = 21 Feb 1929</ref>
| occupation = Actor
| years active = 1961–1973
| spouse = {{marriage|Kathleen Bullus|1959}}
| resting_place = [[Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium|Putney Vale Cemetery]], London, England
}}
'''Stanley James Carroll Beck''' (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was an English actor who played the role of [[Private Walker]], a [[cockney]] [[spiv]], in the [[BBC]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]'' from the show's beginning in 1968 until his sudden death in 1973.

==Early life==
Beck was born on 21 February 1929 in [[Islington]], [[North London]], and attended Popham Road Primary School. His childhood was hard, with his father frequently unemployed and his mother making artificial flowers to provide a small income.

After attending [[Saint Martin's School of Art]] and doing his [[Conscription in the United Kingdom #After 1945|national service]] as a [[physical training instructor]] in the [[British Army]], Beck became an actor. Prior to his broadcast roles he spent several seasons with the Unicorn Players <ref>The Stage, 1957</ref> based in Paignton, Devon.

His early broadcast roles included Charlie Bell in an episode of ''[[Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV and radio)|Dr Finlay's Casebook]]'' (Series 1 episode 4, "Conduct Unbecoming", 1962), and [[Shylock]] in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' in 1963, for which he gained positive reviews. He concentrated on television and was cast as a policeman in a 1965 episode of ''[[Coronation Street]]'' in a storyline concerning the collapse of a house and in a 1967 episode in a storyline concerning a train crash. He also appeared, uncredited, as a policeman in ''[[Gideon's Way]]'' (1965), and was often seen in TV drama, with one-off roles in series such as ''[[The Troubleshooters]]'' (1965, 1967, 1970) and the BBC's ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1965 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' with [[Peter Cushing]] in the lead ("The Blue Carbuncle", 1968).

In 1968, he was offered the role of Private Walker in ''[[Dad's Army]]'', originally written by [[Jimmy Perry]] for himself. Perry approved of the casting of Beck: "He had the right mix of cheekiness and charm. He gave the role a bit of oomph."<ref name="Clark">{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Neil|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10223138/James-Beck-the-Dads-Army-star-cut-off-in-his-prime.html|title=James Beck: the Dad's Army star cut off in his prime|work=The Telegraph|date=6 August 2013|access-date=29 December 2021}}</ref> While successful in the role, Beck yearned for the challenge of other roles.

Always in demand, he continued to work on TV programmes including ''[[A Family at War]]'' (1970) and ''[[Romany Jones]]'' (1972–73), in which he played the lead character of Bert Jones. He also recorded a pilot for an uncommissioned series called ''[[Bunclarke With an E]]'' (1973),<ref name="Clark"/> which was to be based on scripts originally written for ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' and in which [[Arthur Lowe]] was also to appear.

==Death==
By 1973, Beck had recorded five series of ''Dad's Army'' and was working on the sixth, besides working on the [[List of Dad's Army radio episodes|radio series]] of the show. Location filming for series seven was completed when Beck suddenly fell ill while opening a school fête<ref name="Clark"/> in aid of [[The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association|Guide Dogs for the Blind]]. He returned home and within an hour was taken to [[Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton]]<ref>''The Times'', death notice and obituary, 7 August 1973</ref> suffering from [[pancreatitis]]. He died three weeks later, due to a combination of heart failure, renal failure and pancreatitis, aged 44, and was cremated at [[Putney Vale Cemetery]], where a tree was planted in his memory, with a marker bearing his name.

The last time Beck's ''Dad's Army'' co-stars saw him alive was on Friday 13 July 1973 at the Playhouse Theatre in London where he recorded two radio episodes of ''Dad's Army'' (which ran alongside the TV series). The following afternoon Beck suddenly became ill.

His death was a great shock to his fellow cast members, as well as to [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]. Perry has said that heavy drinking was common in show business at the time, and that he paid little attention to Beck's habit until "I saw Jimmy’s legs and they were purple. It was the last episode he appeared in before he died."<ref name="Clark"/>

In the sixth series, during the episode "[[Things that Go Bump in the Night (Dad's Army episode)|Things that Go Bump in the Night]]", Walker is present only in the location scenes in the second half of the episode, as these were filmed weeks earlier than the studio scenes. In one of the videotaped sequences filmed after Beck's death, the platoon is aboard Corporal Jones's van when Captain Mainwaring tells Sergeant Wilson to "take Private Walker's name". Wilson writes the name "Walker" in the condensation on the window.

In the following episode, "[[The Recruit (Dad's Army)|The Recruit]]" (the series 6 finale), Mainwaring reads a note written by Walker apologising for his absence, as he has gone "up the Smoke" (to London) to conduct one of his deals. This was the last time the character was mentioned. In the radio adaptations of ''Dad's Army'', [[Graham Stark]] stood in until [[Larry Martyn]] portrayed Walker in subsequent shows. [[John Bardon]] played Walker in the [[Dad's Army (stage show)|stage production]] in 1976.

==Filmography==

===Film===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1968 || ''[[Star! (film)|Star!]]'' || Drunken Soldier || Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1970
| ''[[Groupie Girl]]'' || Brian || Released as ''I Am a Groupie'' in the United States
|-
| ''[[Carry On Loving]]'' || Mr Roxby || Scenes deleted from final film
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1971
| ''[[Dad's Army (1971 film)|Dad's Army]]'' || Private Walker ||
|-
| ''A Couple of Beauties'' || Sidney || Short
|-
| 1973 || ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1973 film)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'' || Cyril || Last regular film appearance
|}

===Television===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Episode
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1961 || ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' || Various || 6 episodes
|-
| ''[[Deadline Midnight (TV series)|Deadline Midnight]]'' || Ambulance man || 1 episode
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1962
| ''[[Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV and radio)|Dr. Finlay's Casebook]]'' || Charlie Bell ||''Conduct Unbecoming''
|-
| ''[[Z Cars]]'' || Constable ||''The Five Whistles''
|-1963 || Comedy Playhouse || The Conductor
| 1964 || ''[[Taxi!]]'' || Len Gladwin || 5 episodes
|-
| 1964-67 || ''[[Coronation Street]]'' || Police Sergeant Bowden || 6 episodes
|-
| 1965 || ''[[Gideon's Way]]'' || Police Inspector ||'' A Perfect Crime''
|-
| 1966 || ''[[All Gas and Gaiters]]''|| Policeman ||''The Bishop Rides Again'' (pilot)
|-
| 1967 || ''{{sortname|The|Troubleshooters}}'' || Dave Candy ||''Some Days You Just Can't Win''
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1968 || ''[[The Blue Carbuncle]]'' || James Ryder ||
|-
| ''[[Not in Front of the Children (TV series)|Not in Front of the Children]]'' || Estate Agent ||''Home Chat''
|-
| 1968–73 || ''[[Dad's Army]]'' || Private Walker || 59 episodes (last appearance)
|-
| 1969 || ''[[Two in Clover]]'' || Dr. Molineux ||
|-
| 1970 || ''[[Doctor in the House]]'' || Mr Wale ||''What Seems to Be the Trouble''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1972
| ''[[The Fenn Street Gang]]'' || Auctioneer ||''Horse of the Year''
|-
| ''Scoop'' || Corker || 3 episodes
|-
| ''[[My Wife Next Door]]'' || Mr Fielding ||''Undesirable Residence''
|-
|1972–73 || ''[[Romany Jones]]'' || Bert Jones || 14 episodes
|}

===Radio===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Episode !! Notes
|-
| 1968 || ''The Events at Black Tor'' || Sergeant || 5 episodes ||
|-
| 1970, 1971 || ''Brothers in Law'' || Fred Tanner, Newman || 2 episodes || Beck played Fred Tanner in the first series (1970), and Newman in the second series (1971).
|-
| 1971 || ''Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bolshie Man'' || TBA || 1 episode || A pilot episode recorded for Comedy Parade 1971.
|-
| 1971, 1972 || ''The Motorway Men'' || Steve || 8 episodes + pilot || This program's pilot episode featured alongside ''Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bolshie Man'' on Comedy Parade 1971.
|-
| 1973 || ''[[List of Dad's Army radio episodes|Dad's Army]]'' || Private Walker || 20 episodes ||
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Dad's Army: The Making of a Television Legend |first=Bill |last=Pertwee |author-link=Bill Pertwee |publisher=Anova Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-84486-105-7 |pages=56–59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HoqHel5bnfMC}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|0065161}}
*{{Find a Grave|8528932}}
* [http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba03c8648 James Beck] [[British Film Institute|BFI]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, James}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art]]
[[Category:Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from pancreatitis]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:People from Islington (district)]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:British Army soldiers]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:Military personnel from London]]

A Brush with the Law

2022-08-18T11:14:50Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Notes */

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 5
| episode = 11
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = {{Start date|1972|12|15|df=yes}}
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[Brain Versus Brawn]]
| next = [[Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel]]
}}
"'''A Brush with the Law'''" is the eleventh episode of the fifth series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 15 December 1972.

==Synopsis==
Mainwaring is charged with showing a light, contrary to [[blackout (wartime)|blackout]] rules, and is taken to court by a cheerful ARP Warden Hodges. As if that was not enough, the magistrate is none other than his old nemesis Captain Square. The Verger tries to warn off Hodges, but Hodges will not back down.

The platoon tries to help by testifying as witnesses to Mainwaring's innocence, but things go from bad to worse when Jones messes up his story under oath. As both Square and Hodges proceed to push Mainwaring towards what could be a sticky end, Walker steps in and reveals he was out delivering 'supplies' to a 'nearby customer', putting some pressure on Square by reminding him of his own illegal activities buying [[blackmarket]] whisky. Just as Square is about to dismiss the trial, the Verger confesses it was he who showed the light, having used the office after the platoon had left on patrol to write his memoirs, much to the fury of Hodges who has lost his chance to end Mainwaring.

The case is dismissed and Mainwaring is allowed to leave the court "without a stain on his character". He attributes his acquittal to "honesty, fair play and the integrity of British justice".

==Cast==
{{div col}}
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[James Beck]] as [[Private Walker]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Geoffrey Lumsden]] as Captain Square
*[[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] as [[Reverend Timothy Farthing|The Vicar]]
*[[Edward Sinclair]] as [[Maurice Yeatman|The Verger]]
*[[Stuart Sherwin]] as Junior Warden Reg Adamson
*[[Jeffrey Gardiner]] as Mr Wintergreen
*[[Marjorie Wilde]] as Lady Magistrate
*[[Chris Gannon (actor)|Chris Gannon]] as Mr Bone, the Clerk of the Court
*[[Toby Perkins (actor)|Toby Perkins]] as Usher
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
#Mainwaring is prosecuted under the [[Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939]], which had been rushed onto the statute book by the government under public pressure. Under its rules, Mainwaring could have been sentenced to several months in jail had he been found guilty as charged.
#After Mainwaring is proved innocent Pike says "it's just like that film with [[John Garfield]]", a reference to the 1939 film ''[[They Made Me a Criminal]]''.
#After the recording of this episode, the regular cast recorded the special sketch "[[Broadcast to the Empire]]" which was transmitted as part of the 1972 ''[[Christmas Night with the Stars#1972 Christmas Night with the Stars|Christmas Night with the Stars]]'' on [[BBC One|BBC1]].

==References==
* ''Dad's Army: The Complete Scripts''

{{reflist}}

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brush with the Law, A}}
[[Category:Dad's Army (series 5) episodes]]
[[Category:1972 British television episodes]]

Brain Versus Brawn

2022-08-18T11:11:18Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Cast */

{{one source|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 5
| episode = 10
| director = David Croft<ref name="Complete A-Z"/>
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]<ref name="Complete A-Z">{{cite book|title=The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army|author1=Croft, David |author2=Perry, Jimmy |author3=Webber, Richard |year=2000|publisher=Orion|isbn= 0-7528-4637-X|pages=34–35}}</ref>
| producer = David Croft<ref name="Complete A-Z"/>
| airdate = {{Start date|1972|12|08|df=yes}}<ref name="Complete A-Z"/> (recorded 17 November 1972)<ref name="Complete A-Z"/>
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[When Did You Last See Your Money?]]
| next = [[A Brush with the Law]]
}}
"'''Brain Versus Brawn'''" is the tenth episode of the fifth series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 8 December 1972. It was also adapted for radio and broadcast as part of the second radio series in 1975. This is the highest-rated episode of ''Dad's Army''. 18.5 million viewers tuned into it.

==Synopsis==
At a rotary club dinner for several prominent people of the town representing professions and crafts, the middle-class Mainwaring tries to ingratiate himself further with the upper classes with little success. As he talks to Jones (who is representing the butchers), he is annoyed when he discovers that Walker is in attendance as well, mostly because he was the one who supplied all the food and drink for the event. Whilst talking with Colonel Pritchard, Jones and Walker are hurt to discover that their platoon is being left out of exercises training a new unit of commandos made of various Home Guard personnel, in a scheme dreamt up by the Training Major. Mainwaring calls the idea a 'farce', citing that the commandos use brute force rather than cunning and intellect, a notion that the others agree with. Pritchard offers to get them involved in the exercises to let them prove their point which they eagerly accept.

The platoon is challenged to plant a dummy bomb in the Officer-in-Charge's office located inside a secure compound, which is protected by a guarded bridge. After exhaustive suggestion taking from the others, they decide that they need a scheme to cross both the bridge and get into the compound; Walker then says that he has something in a warehouse near the compound that can help, and explains his plan: they disguise themselves as firemen as it would allow them to enter the office to plant the dummy bomb. To assist in this plan, they get a 'secret agent' to travel to the compound and start a fire in some wooden crates that would be left near the compound in advance.

The following afternoon, they all meet up at Walker's warehouse and discover his secret weapon: an old fire engine. Unfortunately they learn too late that Wilson had arranged for The Verger to be the agent as Mrs Pike couldn't decide her outfit. As they are about to set off, they hear the air raid siren, which Frazer points out will help their credibility. While travelling in the old fire engine, everything is going smoothly according to plan, but they don't realise that the Verger was caught loitering near the compound, looking for the crates that had been cleared away. They are pulled over by Hodges, who tells them that a real fire is happening, forcing them to the rescue.

Despite being out of the depth with the fire equipment, the platoon quickly connect up the hoses and start putting the fire out. Pritchard then arrives to tell Mainwaring that the bomb was delivered and they have won: Walker reveals that he arranged for a second dummy bomb to be sent through the post after the planning session the day before, which arrived in the morning post and was opened by the Training Major himself, thus proving that brains will always beat brawn.

==Cast==
[[File:Fire Engine Bressingham.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The fire engine used during filming of this episode is now on display at [[Bressingham Steam and Gardens]] in Norfolk.]]
{{div col}}
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[James Beck]] as [[Private Walker]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Robert Raglan]] as Colonel
*[[Edward Sinclair]] as [[Maurice Yeatman|The Verger]]
*[[Anthony Roye]] as Mr Fairbrother
*[[Maggie Don]] as Waitress
*[[Geoffrey Hughes (actor)|Geoffrey Hughes]] as Bridge Corporal
*[[David Rose (actor)|David Rose]] as Dump Corporal
{{div col end}}

==Radio episode==
[[Harold Snoad]] and [[Michael Knowles (actor)|Michael Knowles]] adapted the television script of ''Brain versus Brawn'' as a radio episode. It was the tenth episode of the second series and was broadcast on 15 April 1975.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb episode|0552281}}

{{Dad's Army}}

[[Category:Dad's Army (series 5) episodes]]
[[Category:1972 British television episodes]]

The King Was in His Counting House

2022-08-18T11:09:47Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Radio episode */

{{no footnotes|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 5
| episode = 7
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = {{Start date|1972|11|17|df=y}}
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[If the Cap Fits...]]
| next = [[All is Safely Gathered In]]
}}
"'''The King was in His Counting House'''" is the seventh episode of the fifth series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 17 November 1972.

==Plot==
Mainwaring is organising a drinks party at his house, despite his wife's fears that he and his men will "get drunk and smash the house up". He informs Wilson he may call him George at the party, something Wilson takes great delight in. However he sternly tells him he cannot call him "George" during work hours and turns down Mr. Pike's request to also call him "George" at the party.

The party starts off with Jones' section in attendance and clearly very uncomfortable. The stilted conversation remains until the arrival of Walker, with his girlfriend Shirley, which immediately throws George off kilter. He serves them a small amount of beer and sandwiches, which they quickly wolf down, after which George gives them a guided tour of the room, while Walker gets down to business with Shirley on the sofa.

Much excitement is generated by the imminent arrival of Mrs Mainwaring, but an air raid warning sees her scurrying to the shelter before being introduced or even being seen by any of the platoon members (or audience). Mr. Hodges arrives, and a few moments later bombs land on the allotments, the taxi garage and the bank. Alarmed, Mr. Mainwaring and his men hurry round to the bank to salvage the money. They secure it and carry it back to the church hall where they plan to count it. Mainwaring orders the other section to guard the money, but they refuse out of spite as they weren't invited to the party, forcing Mainwaring to promise to throw them a party next week.

After a very long night, they eventually total it up. They then attempt to carry it to Eastgate using a horse and cart supplied by Walker and their own bicycles. A short way into the journey, the money starts blowing out of the hamper used to carry it. Trying to alert Mainwaring's attention to this, Pike fires his rifle, only to frighten the horse and send it charging off into a field with the platoon following close behind on their bikes.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[James Beck]] as [[Private Walker]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] as the Vicar (Reverend Timothy Farthing, MA)
*[[Edward Sinclair]] as the Verger (Maurice Yeatman)
*[[Wendy Richard]] as Shirley
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
#This episode maintains and builds on the running gag of the non-appearing Mrs. Mainwaring. She at last seems about to appear, we hear her footsteps, then she runs off when the air-raid siren sounds. As Frazer puts it "we'll never see her now".
#In this episode, Mainwaring attempts to hide his lower-class background by claiming his father was a member of "the Master Tailors' Guild"; when he leaves the room, Jones disdains Mainwaring's claims by revealing that Mainwaring's late father was not a tailor, merely a draper with a small business in a side-alley and sold poor quality workman's trousers. Mainwaring's profligate brother, Barry, confirms this fact in the episode ''[[My Brother and I]]''.

==Radio episode==
'''"The King was in His Counting House"''' is the sixteenth episode of the two series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 24 November 1972.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army|last1=Croft|first1=David|last2=Perry|first2=Jimmy|last3=Webber|first3=Richard|year=2000|publisher=Orion|isbn= 0-7528-4637-X}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb episode|0552326}}

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:King was in his Counting House, The}}
[[Category:Dad's Army (series 5) episodes]]
[[Category:1972 British television episodes]]

If the Cap Fits...

2022-08-18T11:07:16Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Plot */

{{no footnotes|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 5
| episode = 6
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = {{Start date|1972|11|10|df=y}}
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones]]
| next = [[The King was in his Counting House]]
}}
"'''If the Cap Fits...'''" is the sixth episode of the fifth series of the British [[television]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 10 November 1972.

==Synopsis==
Mainwairing is giving a slide show, but Frazer comments he is wasting everyone's time on a fine summer evening with another irrelevant lecture. Mainwairing decides to let Frazer take over for a few days to assuage his grumbling.

==Plot==
The episode opens with the Walmington-on-Sea [[British Home Guard|Home Guard]] unit in the church hall, waiting for Mainwaring to give a presentation. The platoon is disgruntled at being shut in on a fine summer evening and, led by Frazer, they begin a chorus of "Why are we waiting", which sounds like [[O Come All Ye Faithful]]. Mainwaring enters and tells them to be quiet. He begins to give them a farcical [[magic lantern|slideshow]] entitled "Know your enemy", which contains exaggerated drawings of German infantrymen, [[panzer]] crew and [[Fallschirmjäger|parachutists]]. The show is narrated languidly by Wilson, who insists on wearing a [[monocle]]. Mainwaring interjects with stereotypical comments such as:
: "Note the eyes – close together, mean, shifty – that's typically [[Nazi]]"
: "Look at the thick red bull neck, watch out for that"
: "He has no lobes on his ears, a well known criminal trait"

Jones is attempting to operate the projector, much hampered by the Verger, who is there to prevent any "damage to the Vicar's apparatus". Godfrey is asleep, whilst Walker and Pike interject with silly questions. Hodges arrives, and accuses them of looking at dirty pictures, and Jones finally messes up, showing a picture of a topless [[Zulu people|Zulu]] woman from the Vicar's slide collection, "Light into Darkest Africa", much to Hodges' delight and Mainwaring's discomfort.

Afterwards in the office, Mainwaring threatens to stop Wilson wearing the monocle, but Wilson responds by threatening to tell everyone that Mainwaring wears [[shoe insert|arch supports]] for his feet. Frazer enters, and not only tells Mainwaring the lecture is a waste of time, but consults notes he has made and reminds Mainwaring of other similar irrelevant lectures, such as "Why the Germans don't play cricket" and "How to send [[Hitler]] a poisoned carpet" (because he chews the rug when angry), and observes that Mainwaring has wasted 438 hours on "useless blather". Naturally, Mainwaring is furious at Frazer's insubordinate behaviour. He consults the Home Guard manual and discovers a potential solution to the problem. Back on parade, he challenges Frazer to take command of the platoon for a week. To Mainwaring's surprise, Frazer agrees.

Once Frazer is in charge, he swiftly sacks Sergeant Wilson for discrepancies in the platoon stores, and is so rude to Jones (calling him a "wooly-minded old ditherer") that he resigns. Mainwaring has been banished to the broom cupboard, where he is soon joined by a furious Wilson and a distraught Jones. Mainwaring observes that Frazer is playing into their hands by "antagonizing" the rest of the platoon, reasoning that if nobody will serve under Frazer, "he's done for". They are interrupted by Pike, who reveals that he is the platoon's new lance corporal, having been promoted by Frazer, due to Pike's "hidden qualities" of "drive, tenacity, and leadership". Just as the other three men are recovering from the shock, they are interrupted by Wilson's replacement, the newly-promoted Sergeant Walker, who assumes the demeanour of a hard-nosed NCO, complete with swagger stick, and proceeds to tell the now-Privates Wilson and Jones that they can go home (to "recuperate"). He also passes on a request from Frazer: that Mainwaring should turn over his own swagger stick and leather gloves which infuriates Mainwaring due to him angrily asking "How dare he?"

Back in Mainwaring's office, Frazer is having a chat with Godfrey. Initially, Frazer appears sympathetic to Godfrey's age and health-related problems, telling him that if he ever feels unwell, he will be excused without any trouble. After a grateful Godfrey thanks him, Frazer changes his manner, sternly telling Godfrey that if he ''does'' decide to come on parade, he will receive no special treatment, and will have to do what the other members of the platoon do "or take the consequences". Just then, a Scottish officer, Major-General Menzies, arrives. A puzzled Godfrey departs, and Frazer and Menzies discuss the state of the platoon as it currently stands. Pleased at finding a fellow Scot in command, Menzies invites Frazer to play the [[bagpipes]] to pipe in the [[haggis]] at a forthcoming [[regiment]]al dinner. Frazer agrees, though, as Menzies departs, he calls Frazer "Mainwaring", revealing that he is unaware that Frazer has temporarily replaced Mainwaring as commander of the platoon.

Discussing his arrangement with the Colonel in the [[mess]], Menzies tells the Colonel to organise the dinner, and the Colonel (who, unlike Menzies, knows Mainwaring) expresses his surprise that Mainwaring is Scottish and can play the pipes.

Back in the church hall, Frazer's tenure has ended. Mainwaring is quick to re-establish control and forget about the whole incident, although both Walker and Pike speak up in favour of Frazer, while Jones remains loyal to Mainwaring. Frazer attempts to tell Mainwaring about the commitment to pipe the haggis at the dinner, but Mainwaring does not give him a chance.

Later, Mainwaring and the platoon arrive at the regimental dinner. A sergeant appears and takes Mainwaring through the procedure. Finally, to Mainwaring's surprise, the sergeant presents him with some bagpipes. Expecting Mainwaring to be nonplussed, Frazer issues an ultimatum: "It was me he asked to play the pipes because he was impressed with my handling of the platoon. I'll play the pipes for you if you let me go into the dinner at the head of MY platoon". Mainwaring refuses, provoking Wilson to ask: "Are you absolutely sure you're doing the right thing?". Mainwaring eventually shoulders the pipes, and the platoon forms up, ready to lead the haggis in. Frazer predicts doom, but Mainwaring turns to Wilson and says,

:"I spent my honeymoon in a remote village in Scotland called InverGeechie [sic]. It was a wild and lonely place. The nights were long ... and there was nothing else to do."

To everyone's amazement, Mainwaring starts the pipes and, playing magnificently, leads the haggis party into the mess. Frazer is left outside, dumbfounded. He finally shouts: "I never doubted you for a moment, sir, never for a single moment! God forgive me!" and rushes in after the rest.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[James Beck]] as [[Private Walker]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Robert Raglan]] as [[List of characters in Dad's Army#Recurring characters|Colonel Pritchard]]
*[[Campbell Singer]] as [[List of characters in Dad's Army#Guest characters|Major-General Menzies]]
*[[Alex McAvoy]] as The Sergeant
{{div col end}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army|last1=Croft|first1=David|last2=Perry|first2=Jimmy|last3=Webber|first3=Richard|date=2000|publisher=Orion|isbn=0-7528-4637-X}}

==External links==
*{{BBC episode|b00787h1}}
*{{IMDb episode|0552292}}

{{Dad's Army}}

[[Category:Dad's Army (series 5) episodes]]
[[Category:1972 British television episodes]]

The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones

2022-08-18T11:06:52Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Notes */

{{more footnotes|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 5
| episode = 5
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = 3 November 1972
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[Getting the Bird]]
| next = [[If the Cap Fits...]]

}}
"'''The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones'''" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of the British comedy series ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 3 November 1972.

==Synopsis==
The platoon, during the course of a weekend exercise, occupies a deserted barn to be denied to the enemy. As Mainwaring inspects the parade, Jones answers a phonecall from Colonel Pritchard who gives him the 6-digit map reference '937641'. Unfortunately after writing down the first 3 digits, Jones' pencil snaps so he goes in search of a spare. Whilst he's gone, Godfrey answers the phone and writes down the last 3 digits, but puts them in the wrong place so the reference reads 641937. Arriving at the barn a few miles from their destination, Jones' van breaks down, so Mainwaring leaves Jones and Godfrey to guard the vehicles (and also to keep Jones away from the live ammunition) whilst the rest march on.

When Jones rings the exercise HQ to inform them the platoon has arrived, he is told he has got the wrong reference, which turns out to be the target for some 25-pounder artillery guns. Jones signs off laughing that he must have read the numbers wrong, but Godfrey assures him that 641937 is definitely where Captain Mainwaring went. Jones and Godfrey try phoning to stop the firing, but Godfrey has cut the telephone wire by accident. There is only one solution: Jones will have to reach the barn before it's blown to bits.

==Radio episode==
===Notes===
The reason why Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles changed the name of the TV episode for radio was because the name "A Question of Reference" (referring to the map reference) meant a bit more than "The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones".<ref>Croft, David; Perry, Jimmy; Webber, Richard (2000). ''The Complete A-Z of Dads Army''. Orion. {{ISBN|0-7528-1838-4}}</ref>

==Cast==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Character !! TV episode !! Audio drama
|-
| [[Captain George Mainwaring|Capt. George Mainwaring]] || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Arthur Lowe]]
|-
| [[Sergeant Arthur Wilson|Sgt. Arthur Wilson]] || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[John Le Mesurier]]
|-
| [[Lance-Corporal Jack Jones|Lcpl. Jack Jones]] || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Clive Dunn]]
|-
| [[Private James Frazer|Pte. James Frazer]] || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[John Laurie]]
|-
| [[Private Charles Godfrey|Pte. Charles Godfrey]] || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Arnold Ridley]]
|-
| [[Private Joe Walker|Pte. Joe Walker]] || [[James Beck]] || [[Larry Martyn]]
|-
| [[Private Frank Pike|Pte. Frank Pike]] || [[Ian Lavender]] || rowspan="4"|
|-
| [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]] || [[Bill Pertwee]]
|-
| Rev. Timothy Farthing || [[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]]
|-
| Maurice Yeatman || [[Edward Sinclair]]
|-
| Col. Pritchard || [[Robert Raglan]] || Peter Williams
|-
| Signals Private || [[Larry Martyn]] || Michael Burlington
|-
| Artillery Officer || James Taylor ||
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army|author1=Croft, David |author2=Perry, Jimmy |author3=Webber, Richard |year=2000|publisher=Orion|isbn= 0-7528-4637-X}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb episode|0552322}}

{{Dad's Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones, The}}
[[Category:Dad's Army (series 5) episodes]]
[[Category:1972 British television episodes]]

{{DadsArmy-tv-stub}}

Getting the Bird

2022-08-18T11:05:02Z

2A00:23C7:2909:5801:F0D2:ADCF:3C79:F53: /* Cast */

{{one source|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Dad's Army]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 5
| episode = 4
| director = [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
| story = [[Jimmy Perry]] and David Croft
| producer = David Croft
| airdate = 27 October 1972 6.50pm (recorded Friday 2 June 1972)
| length = 30 minutes
| guests =
| prev = [[A Soldier's Farewell]]
| next = [[The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones]]

}}
"'''Getting the Bird'''" is the fourth episode of the fifth series of the British television [[situation comedy]] ''[[Dad's Army]]''. It was originally transmitted on 27 October 1972.

==Synopsis==
Wilson is missing from the platoon, and Frazer assumes there has been an argument between him and Mrs Pike. Godfrey comments that he spotted the Sergeant with his arm around an attractive and much younger woman.

==Plot==
The episode begins with rumours abounding that Sergeant Wilson has gone [[AWOL]]. Meanwhile, Jones is having troubles with the butchers shop: shortages in rationed meat means his customers are getting more upset with him, which is affecting his mental health. Walker offers to give Jones a rabbit to skin (so he can sell the skin to a [[furrier]]), but Jones refuses as a single rabbit would make things worse, and confides he is desperate for off-the-ration meat.

The following evening, the platoon inform Captain Mainwaring that after a particularly heavy night drinking, Wilson was seen about town with a young woman (a [[Women's Royal Naval Service|Wren]]) on his arm. Private Pike reveals that Wilson and his mother had an argument about something, so he is not calling Wilson "Uncle Arthur", and will not take orders from him. However Mainwaring informs Pike that unless he wants to be charged with insubordination, he will respect Wilson's position as Chief Clark and Sergeant in the bank and on parade respectively.

During this discussion, Wilson is found in the church hall, asleep behind the stage curtain. While Mainwaring berates the still tipsy Wilson in his office, Wilson begins to see pigeons on Mainwaring's bookshelf. Both believe this to be the result of Wilson's drunken state until Pike enters the office and points them out. Immediately, the office is filled with pigeons. It emerges that Walker had stored the birds in the boiler room and they had escaped. Walker secretly proposes to Jones to buy the pigeons from Walker to augment his supply of meat, and is persuaded to help Walker to hide them in the church. However, Jones becomes suspicious when he hears on the radio that there is a sudden and unexplained shortage of pigeons in [[Trafalgar Square]], and ends the agreement.

On Sunday, Mainwaring and Frazer are welcoming people as they enter the church for the morning service when Mr. Hodges arrives and says to Frazer "I've been helping her (Mrs. Fox) with her blackout curtains". Just ahead of a church service we hear a conversation between Wilson and the young woman, where we discover that she is his daughter from a failed marriage before Wilson moved to [[Walmington-on-Sea]]. This is reason for the argument between him and Mrs Pike, apparently it was a secret he had kept to himself. Frazer is the only person to overhear this; Wilson admits to Frazer that he hasn't seen much of her while she was growing up, but that he did his best to send her to a good school. Frazer replies that "she does you credit" and admits to Wilson that he knows he is prone to gossip, but promises never to reveal Wilson's secret.

The hymns are ruined when the [[organ (music)|organ]] begins to play and dead pigeons are fired across the church: Walker is exposed as having hidden several of the pigeons in the organ pipes.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
*[[Arthur Lowe]] as [[Captain Mainwaring]]
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as [[Sergeant Wilson]]
*[[Clive Dunn]] as [[Lance Corporal Jones]]
*[[John Laurie]] as [[Private Frazer]]
*[[James Beck]] as [[Private Walker]]
*[[Arnold Ridley]] as [[Private Godfrey]]
*[[Ian Lavender]] as [[Private Pike]]
*[[Bill Pertwee]] as [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]]
*[[Edward Sinclair]] as [[Maurice Yeatman|The Verger]]
*[[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] as [[Reverend Timothy Farthing|The Vicar]]
*[[Pamela Cundell]] as [[List of characters in Dad's Army#Recurring characters|Mrs Fox]]
*[[Janet Davies (actress)|Janet Davies]] as [[Mavis Pike|Mrs Pike]]
*[[Alvar Lidell]] as Newsreader
*[[Serretta Wilson]] as The Wren
{{div col end}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army|author1=Croft, David |author2=Perry, Jimmy |author3=Webber, Richard |date=2000|publisher=Orion|isbn= 0-7528-4637-X}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb episode|0552289}}

{{Dad's Army}}

[[Category:Dad's Army (series 5) episodes]]
[[Category:1972 British television episodes]]