Classic status
We are marking the 50th anniversary of the enduring and hugely popular sitcom, Dad’s Army with a set of eight Special Stamps.
Dad's Army was a BBC television sitcom about the antics of a British Home Guard unit during the Second World War in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea.
It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on the BBC from 1968 to 1977. The sitcom ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total, and there was also a radio version based on the television scripts as well as two feature films – one released in 1971 and the other as recent as 2016.
Dad’s Army is one of a handful of TV comedies that fully deserves its classic status.
The show focuses on a Home Guard platoon commanded by pompous bank manager, Captain Mainwaring, and assisted by his mild-mannered chief clerk, Sergeant Wilson. This motley band of men provide Walmington-on-Sea’s last line of defence against the seemingly imminent Nazi invasion.
Drawn from their own wartime memories, writers Jimmy Perry and David Croft never belittled the patriotism or bravery of the characters but managed to make viewers laugh at the results of their often haphazard antics. The series was based partly on Perry’s experiences in the Local Defence Volunteers at the age of 17 during the Second World War. His mother didn’t like him being out at night, which inspired the character of Pike.
In its 1970s heyday the show regularly attracted more than 18 million viewers, becoming one of the most watched television programmes of its time.
Our eight Special Stamps celebrate the key characters together with their most memorable catchphrases.
Ian Lavender, the only surviving member of the Home Guard actors, said: ‘It's not something anyone aspires to, but when it happens it's overwhelming. So unexpected. When you're young you may dream of many things but one never thinks there is a possibility of being on a stamp!’
Stamps strategy manager, Philip Parker, said: ‘Few TV comedies have inspired as much affection, or given us as many catchphrases, as Dad’s Army. On its 50th birthday we hope these new stamps will raise plenty of smiles.’
The stamps and souvenir products can be pre-ordered now from www.royalmail.com/dadsarmy and are available from 7,000 Post Offices nationwide from 26 June.
