Sunday 28 March 2021

Dad's Army Annual 1974 (World Distributors)








































One of the most popular BBC sitcoms of all time has to be Dad's Army featuring the antics of the Home Guard unit protecting the seaside town of Walmington-upon-Sea, a fictional town on the south coast of England.

This series featured some of the best character actors that the country had to offer back in the late sixties/seventies with Arthur Lowe, Clive Dunn, John Le Mesurier, John Laurie, James Beck, Ian Lavender, Bill Pertwee, Frank Williams, Ed Williams and not forgetting the regular ladies Janet Davies and Pamela Cundell.

The show lasted for 80 programmes in 9 seasons, longer than the war that it was supposed to be set in! There was even a radio adaptation of 67 episodes starring the original cast (sans the late James Baeck) whose role of Private Walker was played by various actors.

There was even a radio only spin off series called It Sticks Out Half a Mile which featured Wilson, Hodges and Pike in 13 episodes in one season.

There were six Annuals issued between 1972 and 1977 (cover dated 1973 & 1978). The 1974 one is a mixture of text stories and features plus two comic strips and with good likenesses of the actors.








































The fictional characters of Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson, Corporal Jones, Privates Pike, Fraser, Walker and of course their "medic" Godfrey will remain in our hearts forever. 

As jobsworth Air Raid Warden would say "Put those lights out", except this show will always be with us.

I've chosen a radio episode A Stripe for Frazer to go with this review as it is lost to TV but not to audio!

Enjoy


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