Walmington-on-Line

Desert Island Discs is a BBC radio institution that dates back to the days of the Home Guard – its first broadcast having taken place in January 1942. The format is simple – a well known guest is interviewed and invited to play ten pieces of music and nominate one book and one luxury that they would opt to keep if they were marooned, Robinson Crusoe like, on a desert island. The discs originally referred to shellac 78s, later replaced by 45s, CDs and by rights it could now be called Desert Island Downloads. Over the last 72 years a … Continue reading →

Well Christmas is upon us so it is time to take a look at a few Dads Army Christmas specials. Along with other popular comedy series of the seventies, Dad’s Army at the height of its popularity featured a number of special episodes. Battle of the Giants was broadcast on 27th December 1971 and is the only Dad’s Army episode to last 60 minutes. The episode bridged the lengthy gap between the fourth and fifth series but in many respects the storyline harks back to the approach of the first two series – with military hierarchy and tests of competence … Continue reading →

The Dad’s Army excerpt from the 1969 Noel Coward Revue was for a long time a little-seen part of the series archive. For many years copies of it resided in the BBC and Dad’s Army Appreciation Society’s archives but were not widely available. The revue, a tribute to the Sir Noel Coward, was recorded in November 1969. Three members of the Dad’s Army cast – Arthur Lowe, John le Mesurier and Clive Dunn performed Coward’s 1943 song Could You Please Oblige Us With A Bren Gun – which could easily have been the show’s theme tune, so closely did its … Continue reading →

We reported last year that the 1935 Ford Box Van which appeared in so many episodes of Dad’s Army had been purchased at auction by the Thetford Dad’s Army museum, with the aid of funds raised by two families.  According to the BBC the van has been fully restored over the winter and now transferred from the Charles Burrell Steam Museum, where it resides, to the Dad’s Army museum to go on public display. Museum spokesperson Corinne Fulford said “This is a really exciting weekend for the Charles Burrell and Dad’s Army museums with Jones’ van being on show. She’s … Continue reading →

There has recently been mixed news from Thetford, familiar to many as the as the real-world Walmington-on-Sea. The good news is that, following its recent purchase by the Thetford Dad’s Army Museum’, Corporal Jones’ 1935 Ford Box van has reportedly returned to the town and will be on display to the public from spring 2013, More sadly, the Anchor Hotel which featured in The Man and the Hour and which was also a regular haunt of Dad’s Army cast members when filming in the area, has been demolished. The Anchor has been closed since 2006, but it is sad to … Continue reading →

Following the recent sale of Coporal Jones’ van to the Thetford Dad’s Army museum, the story was picked-up on the Chris Evans show on Radio 2 on 4th December. The new owner of the iconic van was interviewed by Evans, and the show is available to listen to until  next Tuesday – catch it while you can.

We reported in the autumn that the Ford Box Van that appeared as Lance Corporal Jones’ van in Dad’s Army was to be sold by then owners the Patrick Collection. The van was expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 pounds at auction. The BBC has now reported that when the van went to auction at Bonhams it reached £63,000, paid by the Dad’s Army Museum in Thetford who successfully found backers to underwrite the purchase while they raised the necessary funds. The sale ensures that the van will remain accessible to the public – on display at the Charles … Continue reading →

Dad’s Army is rightly regarded as one of the most important sitcoms ever made or broadcast in the UK. The series ran for almost a decade, amounting to 80 episodes, and at its peak reached audiences that modern-day programme makers can only dream of. But, more than cold statistics, the series has become a deeply loved part of British culture and heritage and has added many catch-phrases to the language. It is no surprise that, since the end of the programme in 1977, references to it have cropped-up in later works. We are not talking here, about the many spin-offs … Continue reading →

Since there are rumours circulating about the making of a new Dad’s Army film we feel it is time to offer some advice to the producers and writers to help them avoid making a complete louse-up of a national treasure. With the help of Miss Beckwith from the library we have delved into the Walmington-on-Line archive and dug out a Radio 4 programme, First Draft, originally broadcast sometime in the late 1990s. The program is about the process of making a successful sitcom, and a lot of time is given-over to Dad’s Army as well as other classic sitcoms of … Continue reading →