Who Played Who in "Dad's Army"? Quiz

Answer: Arthur Lowe

Captain Mainwaring (pronounced "Mannering", of course, not "Main-wearing") is a bank manager in civilian life, but in charge of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon in his spare time. Though pompous and self-important on the surface, he is also deeply patriotic and dedicated to his platoon of misfits.

Arthur Lowe, who played the character, was already a popular TV actor, having played the role of Leonard Swindley in "Coronation Street" from 1960-65. He died of a stroke in 1982, a few years after the series ended, at the age of 66.

Answer: John Le Mesurier

Sergeant Arthur Wilson is Captain Mainwaring's second-in-command both in the Home Guard and in civilian life (as chief clerk in the bank of which Mainwaring is manager). However, his background is clearly upper-middle class (with a public-school education and a father with a job "in the City"), while Mainwaring is irredeemably lower-middle class (having been educated at a mere grammar school), and thus Wilson's inferior in the crucial English matter of social class. All the humour of their relationship is based on this simple premise.

In real life, John le Mesurier, who played the role, had been a captain in the Royal Tank Regiment during WW2, serving in India from 1943-46. During the 1950s and 60s he had a successful career playing supporting roles on stage as well as in film and on television before being offered the role of Sergeant Wilson, which he played with his characteristic air of relaxed insouciance. He died in 1983, a few years after the show ended, at the age of 71.

Answer: Clive Dunn

In civilian life, Lance-Corporal Jack Jones is the village butcher; his van (a 1935 Ford) is often used by the home guard platoon as an unofficial means of transport. He is the oldest member of the platoon, having been born in 1870, and first saw active service in the Sudan in 1884, and subsequently fought in India on the North-West Frontier; in Africa again during the Boer War; and during the early years of the First World War. As Lance-Corporal, he is the other Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), alongside Sergeant Wilson.

Despite the age of the character, Clive Dunn, who played him, was one of the younger members of the cast, being 48 when the show began in 1968. Prior to this, he had gained a reputation (in both films and on television) for playing elderly men, which probably influenced the producers when casting him. Seeming unconcerned about being typecast in this sort of role, he went on to play the title role in "Grandad", a BBC children's TV show which ran from 1979-1984. He died in 2012 at the age of 92.

Answer: John Laurie

The Scottish James Frazer is Walmington-on-Sea's village undertaker, a profession which suits his pessimistic outlook on life, as summed up in his catchphrase of "We're doomed, doomed!" As such, he embodies all the stereotypical negative characteristics of the Scots, being generally two-faced, miserable, and miserly. He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, in the post of cook.

Prior to his appearance in "Dad's Army", John Laurie had a long and successful acting career on both stage and screen. Born in Dumfries in 1897, he served in the First World War before training as an actor, and in the 1920s and 30s played many Shakespeare roles at both Stratford-on-Avon and in London. His first screen role was in Alfred Hitchcock's 1930 film of "Juno and the Paycock", and for the next 40 years he played supporting roles in a huge number of British films. Like so many of his fellow cast members, he is nevertheless best remembered for his role in "Dad's Army". He died in 1980, at the age of 83.

Answer: Arnold Ridley

Private Charles Godfrey appears to be by far the oldest member of the platoon, although he is in fact a year younger than the far more active Lance-Corporal Jones. He is the platoon's medical orderly, having served as a stretcher-bearer during the First World War. In this role, he had been awarded the Military Medal, the highest decoration achieved by any of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard.

Arnold Ridley, who played the role, had served in the First World War, and was medically discharged after receiving serious wounds during the Battle of the Somme. During the Second World war he served for a short time in the Home Guard in Caterham, Surrey. Prior to "Dad's Army" he was perhaps better known as a playwright; his comedy thriller "The Ghost Train" was filmed several times and is still performed today.

Answer: James Beck

At the start of the show, Private Joe Walker is the only member of the platoon who is of a suitable age to be called up to fight in the regular military. He is a classic "spiv" character, and it is implied that he has evaded the draft by some nefarious means (probably by bribing the appropriate officials with black market goods, which he is an expert at obtaining). He is the only main character not to have appeared throughout all nine series of the show, having been "written out" in 1973 following the death of James Beck, who played him.

James Beck was born in 1929, and was already enjoying a successful career in television (often playing slightly dodgy cockney chancers) when he was cast as Walker in the show. Sadly, in 1973 he was taken ill during filming of the sixth series, and died of pancreatitis at the age of 44. Like several other members of the cast, he was a heavy drinker, and this is likely to have been a cause of his illness.

Answer: Ian Lavender

Private Frank Pike is the youngest member of the Home Guard platoon. At the start of the series, he is aged 17 and thus too young to join the armed forces. During an episode in the eighth series, he gets his call-up papers, but he is turned down because he is of a very rare blood group. Throughout the series, it is hinted that he is the illegitimate son of Sergeant Wilson, who is romantically involved with Mrs Pike. He is often seen with a thick woolen scarf, given to him by his mother to stop him catching cold.

Ian Lavender was only 22 when he was cast as Private Pike in "Dad's Army". Unlike most of the major cast members, he left the show in 1977 with most of his acting life ahead of him, and went on to appear in numerous shows, both on TV and the stage, over the next 40 years. Even so, he is still best remembered for his role as Pike. He also made a cameo appearance in the 2016 film version, playing a senior military officer named Brigadier Pritchard.

Answer: Bill Pertwee

A greengrocer in civilian life, William Hodges is also the Chief Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Warden of Walmington-on-Sea, and is the primary antagonist throughout the series. He shares some of Captain Mainwaring's faults (being officious and somewhat full of himself) without any of his underlying virtues of kindness and bravery. Episodes frequently revolve around his thwarted efforts to sabotage the Home Guard platoon's efforts, but always without success. It was he who gave Mainwaring the nickname "Napoleon".

The role was played by Bill Pertwee, who was already well-known as a performer in the popular radio shows "Beyond our Ken" and "Round the Horne". He made numerous appearances in British movies and TV shows before his death in 2013 at the age of 86. He was a cousin of the actor Jon Pertwee, famous for a very different TV role as the third Dr Who.

Answer: Edward Sinclair

The Verger is effectively the Vicar's sidekick, assisting with the care and management of the church. He also runs the local Sea Scouts organisation (having served in the Royal Navy in the First World War), and occasionally appears wearing the uniform of this office. As a friend of the ARP Warden, Hodges, this puts him very much in opposition to the Home Guard troop.

Edward Sinclair, who played the role, played many minor roles in film and television, but is largely remembered for his part in "Dad's Army". Sadly, he died from a heart attack only a few weeks after the recording of the last ever episode in 1977.

Answer: Frank Williams

The Reverend Timothy Farthing is the vicar of St Aldhelm's, the church in whose hall the Home Guard troop holds its regular meetings, and as such regularly comes into conflict with them. He is characterised as ineffectual and effeminate, although it is revealed in one episode that he served in the trenches in the First World War.

Frank Williams was born in 1931 and was aged 37 when he took on the role of the Vicar in "Dad's Army", making him one of the younger members of the cast. When a modern film adaptation of the series was made in 2016, Williams (then aged 84) played the role again - not surprisingly, the only one of the original cast to recreate their original role.