The Dad's Army Appreciation Society is an organisation dedicated to the British television show ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

''. It is run by a small group of individuals and has over 1,700 members.

History

The society was founded in 1993 by

Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee, (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was a British comedy actor. He played the role of Chief ARP Warden Hodges in the sitcom '' Dad's Army''. Early life Pertwee was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 21 July 192 ...

(who played Warden Hodges), Frank Williams (who played the Vicar) and fans of the show. The society, in association with the

Bressingham Steam and Gardens Bressingham Steam & Gardens is a steam museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or sci ...

, set up the Dad's Army Collection, which was officially opened on 14 May 2000 by ''Dad's Army'' creators

Jimmy Perry James Perry, (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016)Simon Morgan-Russell, "Perry, James (Jimmy) (1923–2016)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 202available online Retrieved 25 August 2020. was an Engli ...

and David Croft. Also,

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

(where much of the show was filmed) opened a Dad's Army Museum in 2007. In 2003 the secretary of the society, Tony Pritchard, designed a heritage trail for ''Dad's Army'' fans, in part funded through a grant from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. As of 2009, the society had 1,700 members, having grown from approximately 300-500 members in 1997 and 1998.

Key figures

Events

The society holds many individual events around the country where they show and play rare ''

'' items and footage. However, there is a main event in May/June when the society members meet up, have the annual society dinner, and go to the Dad's Army Collection at the

. Events have included a gathering in 1997 at

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

attended by a number of the original cast (including

Clive Dunn Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn (9 January 19206 November 2012) was an English actor. Although he was only 48 and one of the youngest cast members, he was cast in a role many years his senior, as the elderly Lance Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom ' ...

and

Ian Lavender Arthur Ian Lavender (born 16 February 1946) is an English stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Private Pike in the BBC sitcom '' Dad's Army'', and is the last surviving major cast member of the series following t ...

) as well as the shows writers,

and David Croft, and a 1998 gathering at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

(New Zealand) attended by Stephen Lowe, the son of the show's Arthur Lowe who played Captain George Mainwaring. More recently, a 2009 gathering was held at Whitmore Hall at which Frank Williams was able to attend and speak to the society's members, and before his death

Colin Bean Colin Bean (15 April 1926 – 20 June 2009) was an English actor. He was best known for his role as Private Sponge in the BBC comedy series '' Dad's Army''. Early life Born in Wigan, Lancashire, Bean's father played football for local side Wig ...

(who played Private Sponge in the series) regularly turned out to events, even though he used a wheelchair at the time. Since then (and from 1998) the Society have arranged annual events based at or around Thetford attended by the writers and cast members, including tours of the restricted Stanta Battle Area used for location filming. The Society organised several events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Croft and Perry partnership in 2018.

''Permission To Speak, Sir!''

The society publishes a member's magazine called ''Permission To Speak, Sir!'', three times a year. It includes society news, society merchandise and ''Dad's Army'' items for sale by members. Regular features are "Guest Appearances" and "Letters from Members". In 2018 the Society published an updated version of the ''Dad's Army Companion'' to coincide with the 50th anniversary celebrations.

Video and Audio Library

The Video and Audio Library features a large selection of video and audio items that can be borrowed by members. In December 2020 a special section of the society's website was set aside for fan fiction written by the members, the first submission was made in January 2021 and was entitled ''Dad’s Army Negotiates Brexit'' and was by Niles Schilder.

List of Presidents

* 1993 - 2013:

* 2013 - 2022: Frank Williams * 2022 - present: Michael Knowles

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Dad's Army Television fan clubs Organizations established in 1993 1993 establishments in the United Kingdom