Private Frank Pike is a
fictional Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
private and junior bank clerk, first portrayed by actor
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 the ...
in the BBC television
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
''. He was appointed as the platoon's information officer by
Captain Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring () is a fictional Home Guard captain, first portrayed by Arthur Lowe in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In the
2016 movie he is played by Toby Jones and in the 2019 remake of three missing episodes he is p ...
in
The Man and the Hour
"The Man and the Hour" is the first ever episode of the British comedy sitcom ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on 31 July 1968 and was later adapted for radio. It was also the first ever black and white episode. The first ever episod ...
. He is frequently referred to by Captain Mainwaring as "stupid boy".
Personality
Pike was born in 1922, and is the youngest of the
Walmington-on-Sea
Walmington-on-Sea is a fictional seaside resort that is the setting of ''Dad's Army'', including the BBC Television sitcom (1968-1977), the BBC Radio 4 series and two feature films ( 1971 and 2016).
Walmington-on-Sea is on the south coast of E ...
platoon. Aged 17 when the series begins, he is not old enough to join the army, although presumably he has reached, or is nearing, his 18th birthday when he is about to receive call-up papers in
When You've Got to Go; in the event, it is revealed that he has a rare blood type that excludes him from military service. In "
War Dance
A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare.
Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settin ...
", it is revealed to Mainwaring from Wilson that Pike "is going on 19". He lives in the shadow of his bossy and over-protective mother,
Mavis Pike
''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 for ...
, who is in a relationship with
Sergeant Wilson
Sergeant Arthur Wilson is a fictional Home Guard platoon sergeant and bank chief clerk, first portrayed by John Le Mesurier in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''.
Background
Wilson was born in 1887, and is carefree, cheerful and well ...
. Wilson is referred to by Pike as "Uncle Arthur" and is hinted to be Pike's father. If this is so, Pike has an older half-sister by Wilson's estranged wife. The writers,
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, confirmed after the series that Wilson was Pike's father. This was also revealed in the radio series (and sequel to Dad's Army) ''
It Sticks Out Half a Mile
''It Sticks Out Half a Mile'' is a BBC Radio sitcom created by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles as a sequel to the television World War II sitcom ''Dad's Army'', for which Snoad and Knowles had written radio adaptations.
Main cast
* John ...
'' where Mainwaring meets Wilson in the branch at Frambourne, where Wilson is the manager. On chatting to Wilson, he says "And how's your son?" Wilson laughs in an embarrassed tone and says that he has left the bank and is now an Under Manager at Woolworths. Wilson's tone shows that he must be the father and Mainwaring's question shows that he knows the truth. Pike's mother is supposedly a widow; it is unclear if there ever really was a Mr Pike, as he is never clearly mentioned. The radio series also reveals that Frank's mother has moved to Frambourne too.
Pike often threatens to set his mum on either
Captain Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring () is a fictional Home Guard captain, first portrayed by Arthur Lowe in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In the
2016 movie he is played by Toby Jones and in the 2019 remake of three missing episodes he is p ...
or Sergeant Wilson if he is shouted at or forced to do something. Although naïve, Pike is aware something is going on with his mother and Wilson:
:Pike: ''"By the time we finish supper, it's always so late, you never leave our house until after I've gone to bed and then you're back early for breakfast before I'm awake. But what I can't understand is that I never hear you leave at night and I never hear you come back in." ''
:Wilson: ''"Well I let myself in and out very quietly"''
:Pike: ''"You don't do anything else very quietly!"''
Early in series 1, Pike shows some mild romantic attraction to
Janet King, Mainwaring's secretary, when he talks to her about his guard duties. In "
War Dance
A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare.
Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settin ...
", Pike becomes engaged to an Army girl called Violet Gibbons who works in a fish and chip shop, but the engagement is called off. Later on, Pike starts seeing a young cinema girl called Ivy, who speaks so quietly that nobody can ever hear her say anything. He briefly develops a crush on Hodges's niece Sylvia, but that quickly fizzles out.
In "
The Royal Train", it is revealed that Pike can drive a steam locomotive, having learned to do so at the Schoolboys' Exhibition.
Pike is naive and acts childishly; he has limited grasp of adult issues. He is frequently found with confectionery, is upset in "The Big Parade" to leave a cinema early because "I haven't seen the
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
yet" and can be petulant to superiors. This annoys Captain Mainwaring, who refers to him as a "stupid boy" due to his carelessness and mistakes and his bouts of childish humor. In "
Gorilla Warfare", Mainwaring opines that Pike is "slightly retarded". Mainwaring treats Pike as a child, sometimes threatening to send him home from meetings if he does not behave. Mainwaring also treats Pike as a
dogsbody
A dogsbody, dog's body, or less commonly dog robber is someone who does menial or drudge work.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2010''s.v.''/ref> Originally, in the British Royal Navy, a dogsbody was a semi-sarcastic colloquialism for a ...
, and gives him menial, demeaning, dangerous or undignified tasks, refusing to "mollycoddle" him. Pike frequently ends up wet, covered in mud or otherwise humiliated. In "
Things that Go Bump in the Night", he is stripped several times and has to run naked through a field to escape dogs. Pike does, however, sometimes show some maturity. In "
Menace from the Deep
"Menace from the Deep" is the tenth episode of the third series of the British comedy series ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 13 November 1969.
Synopsis
Marooned on the pier head, the platoon have no food or phone – th ...
", when Pike has lost all the food brought out to the pier by not tying up the boat correctly, he apologises to each member of the platoon on the pier. In the episode "
Something Nasty in the Vault", he refuses to leave the bank (and his "Uncle Arthur") when it is discovered that Wilson and Mainwaring are precariously cradling an unexploded German bomb in the bank's vault.
Although Pike comes up with sensible solutions to problems encountered by the platoon, he treats "everything as if it's a game", to quote Mainwaring in "
All is Safely Gathered In". Notably, in "
The Deadly Attachment
"The Deadly Attachment" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on Wednesday 31 October 1973. It has become one of the best known episodes of the series due to the ra ...
", Pike is put on an ominous 'list' by a German U-Boat captain due to Mainwaring's incompetence at preventing the German from learning Pike's name ("Don't tell him, Pike!"), spelling his doom should the Germans win the war; however, as Pike had sung a childish song about
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
in front of this officer, it is his own fault in refusing to take the situation seriously. He would rather play at being a
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
with the platoon's grenades or
Tommy gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...
. He exasperates Mainwaring but he is humoured by other members, particularly
Lance Corporal Jones
Lance Corporal Jack Jones is a fictional Home Guard platoon lance corporal and veteran of the British Empire, first portrayed by Clive Dunn in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. His catchphrases are "Don't panic!", "Permission to speak, ...
,
Private Godfrey
Private Charles Godfrey MM is a fictional Home Guard platoon member, first portrayed by Arnold Ridley in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. and in the 1971 ''Dad's Army'' film. He is retired and was previously a tailor for the Civil ...
and
Private Walker
Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv (or Wholesales Supplier, as he politely puts it) and Home Guard platoon member, first portrayed by actor James Beck in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In real life, Beck died suddenly ...
. Pike is one of the most timid members of the group, but was the first in the series to fire on a suspected enemy, in "
The Enemy Within the Gates", even though it turned out to be a swan.
Pike appears sickly and unhealthy, though most of his "illnesses" stem from his mother's protectiveness. She usually makes him wears a claret and blue scarf with his Home Guard uniform, which supposedly prevents him from getting
croup
Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms o ...
, even though only infants and (apparently) chickens are supposed to get it ("
Menace from the Deep
"Menace from the Deep" is the tenth episode of the third series of the British comedy series ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 13 November 1969.
Synopsis
Marooned on the pier head, the platoon have no food or phone – th ...
"). Despite all this, in the episode "
When You've Got to Go", he is certified fit for military service and is set to enter the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(to his mother's horror). However, after donating blood during a blood drive, it is discovered that Pike has an extremely rare blood type and he ends up being excluded from active service (though in typical Pike fashion, he doesn't reveal this to the rest of the platoon until after they've given him a going-away party).
Pike is a fan of the
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
and narrates the plots of films that relate to the platoon, even if the relationship is vague. When the film example does mirror reality, he picks scenarios that end in death.
Pike makes pointless comments while trying to help: this is illustrated in "
Absent Friends". Jones, Mainwaring, Pike and Wilson are searching for an escaped convict, with the help of the police.
:Jones: ''"Perhaps they're hidin' behind the bushes, sir. They do a lot of hidin' behind bushes, do policemen. Especially when they're knockin' people off."''
:Mainwaring: ''"I don't think that's very likely, Jones."''
:Pike: ''"In that film, '
Public Enemy Number One', they hid behind cars. But there aren't any here."''
Pike's name is a reference to the
spear-like weapons issued to the Home Guard in 1942, generating "an almost universal feeling of anger and disgust from the ranks".
Ian Lavender was invited to choose Pike's scarf from the BBC costume department. As a supporter of
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, he chose the team's colours.
A series of
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
adverts featured
Arthur Lowe as George Mainwaring retiring from his position at the bank, with Pike taking over as manager; Mainwaring refers to Pike as 'stupid boy' as he did in the series.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Frank
Dad's Army characters
Fictional British Army personnel
Television characters introduced in 1968