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Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 12:48
In Bath TV viewers are especially fond of it because Arnold Ridley, who played Mr Godfrey, was born in Bath back in 1896. He died almost 25 years ago in 1984.
One of Godfrey's all time great lines was "I'm afraid I must have dozed off for a minute."
This year Dad's Army is celebrating its 40th birthday.
Dad's Army followed the exploits of a platoon in the Home Guard, a platoon under the command of the pompous commander Captain Mainwaring who constantly struggled to assert his authority over his shambling band of incompetents.
The show began in 1968 and ended in 1977.
The Home Guard was the name given in 1940 on Churchill's own suggestion to the Local Defence Volunteers who had been formed earlier that year as a citizens' army of last defence.
They underwent part time training and eventually acquired reasonable equipment but in their first summer they were described by Churchill as "bands of determined men armed with shot guns, sporting rifles, clubs and spears".
To celebrate the 40th anniversary Richard Webber has now written a Dad's Army book for The Best of British Comedy Series published by HarperCollins.
As Richard says, although only 80 instalments were screened Dad's Army remains one of the golden offerings from the sit com genre.
Dad's Army by Richard Webber is published by HarperCollins at £7.99.
We have one copy of the book to give away. To enter the competition answer the following question, put your answer on a postcard and send it to Dad's Army Competition, The Bath Chronicle, Westpoint, James Street West, Bath BA1 2DA.
The question is: what role did Arnold Ridley play in Dad's Army?
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