Dad's Army - Characters

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Dad's Army See also: List of Dad's Army cast members

The show's main characters were:

• Captain George Mainwaring ( /ˈmænərɪŋ/ MAN-ər-ing) (Arthur Lowe)—the pompous—if essentially brave and unerringly patriotic—local bank manager, Mainwaring appointed himself leader of his town's contingent of Local Defence Volunteers.

• Sergeant Arthur Wilson (John Le Mesurier)—a diffident, upper-class bank employee who would quietly question Mainwaring's judgement ("Do you think that's wise, Sir?"). Wilson served as a Captain in the First World War. He lodges with the Pike family, and is Pike's biological father (confirmed by the writers) although this is never explicitly stated.

• Lance-Corporal Jack Jones (Clive Dunn), the local butcher—born in 1870, Jones was an old campaigner who had joined up as a drummer boy aged 14 and participated, as a boy soldier, in the Gordon Relief Expedition of 1884-85 and as a soldier in the campaign of Kitchener in the Sudan in 1896-98.

• Private James Frazer (John Laurie)—a dour Scottish undertaker and a Chief Petty Officer on HMS Defiant in the Royal Navy who served at the Battle of Jutland as a ship's cook.

• Private Joe Walker (James Beck)—a black market spiv, Walker was the only fit, able-bodied man of military age in Walmington-on-Sea’s Home Guard. His absence from the regular armed forces was due to a corned beef allergy.

• Private Charles Godfrey (Arnold Ridley)—a retired shop assistant, who worked at the Army & Navy Store in London. He lived in Walmington with his elderly sisters and served as the platoon's medical orderly. He was often getting "caught short" and needing to "be excused". A conscientious objector during First World War, he was nevertheless awarded the Military Medal for heroic actions during the war, and also demonstrated bravery during his Home Guard service.

• Private Frank Pike (Ian Lavender)—a cosseted mother's boy, constantly wearing a thick scarf with his uniform to prevent illness, and often the target of Mainwaring's derision ("You stupid boy!"). He also works under Mainwaring in his day job as assistant bank clerk.

• ARP Warden William Hodges (Bill Pertwee)—the platoon's major rival and nemesis. Mainwaring looked down on him as a greengrocer. As an ARP Warden he was always demanding that people "put that light out".

Supporting characters included:

• Reverend Timothy Farthing (Frank Williams)— the effete vicar of St. Aldhelm's Church, he shares his church hall and office with Mainwaring's platoon.

• Maurice Yeatman (Edward Sinclair)—The verger at St. Aldhelm's Church and captain of the local Sea Scouts unit. He was often hostile to the platoon while frequently sycophantic to the vicar, who often struggled to tolerate him.

• Mrs. Pike (Janet Davies) Pike's mother and Sergeant Wilson's lover.

• Mrs. Fox (Pamela Cundell)—a glamorous local widow to whom Jones was attracted. She was a regular customer at his shop, and helped the platoon with official functions.

• Private Sponge (Colin Bean), a sheep farmer. He had the role of representing those members of the platoon not in Corporal Jones' first section, and thus has only occasional speaking parts while nonetheless appearing in the majority of episodes.

• Private Cheeseman (Talfryn Thomas)—a Welshman who joined the Walmington-on-Sea platoon during the seventh series after the death of James Beck who played Private Walker.

• Captain Square (Geoffrey Lumsden), the pompous commanding officer of the rival Eastgate Platoon, who was frequently at loggerheads with Mainwaring and had the catchphrase, "You blithering idiot!"