Private Godfrey

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Private Charles Godfrey MM 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 ...

platoon member, first portrayed by

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, earlier in his career known for writing the play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life in the British TV sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977) as ...

in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

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 ...

''. and in the 1971 ''Dad's Army'' film. He is retired and was previously a tailor for the Civil Service Stores or the Army & Navy Stores. Godfrey was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, yet he did work as a

stretcher bearer A stretcher-bearer is a person who carries a stretcher, generally with another person at its other end, especially in a war or emergency times when there is a very serious accident or a disaster. In case of military personnel, for example removi ...

with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

and earned a Military Medal for taking the wounded off the battle field at the Battle of the Somme. This has earned him great respect among the platoon members and resulted in him being appointed as the

First Aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

supervisor. Ridley himself fought at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

during the First World War.

Personality

Godfrey was born in 1871, and is a gentle, mild-mannered and kindly old gentleman, though more complex than at first evident. He is the only member of the platoon who has

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

. In the episode " Branded" it is revealed that he was a

in the

. This revelation initially makes him a pariah. However, during a training exercise, he risks his life to rescue

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 ...

. Later, his sister reveals to the platoon that, far from avoiding service, he earned the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

during the

, where he served with distinction as a stretcher bearer with the

, and heroically saved several men's lives while under fire, an accomplishment he plays down modestly. This earns him the respect of the platoon, and leads to him being appointed as

supervisor.

actually served during the First World War with the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

, and fought in the

, where he was severely wounded. These injuries gave a practical reason for his role: it was much easier for Ridley to carry the first aid bag than a heavy rifle. Godfrey is a long-standing friend of

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 ...

, and in the episode " High Finance" he lends Wilson a large sum of money when

Mrs Pike ''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 ...

is blackmailed by Hodges. He lives in picturesque Cherry Tree Cottage with his hard-of-hearing spinster sisters, Dolly and Cissy. He is clearly very fond of them, and often brings them up in conversation. When provisions are needed, his sister Dolly often provides

upside-down cake An upside-down cake is a cake that is baked "upside-down" in a single pan, with its toppings at the bottom of the pan. When removed from the oven, the finished upside-down preparation is flipped over and de-panned onto a serving plate, thus "righ ...

s. He is immensely loyal to Captain Mainwaring, who often feels quite guilty whenever he has criticised Godfrey: :Mainwaring: ''"If you're not fit for active service, perhaps you shouldn't come at all."'' :Godfrey: ''"I didn't want to disappoint you, sir."'' :Mainwaring: ''"Well done Godfrey."'' ::from the episode " Everybody's Trucking". He served for 35 years either as an assistant in the sports department of the Civil Service Stores (TV) or tailor and assistant in the Army & Navy Stores (radio). :Mainwaring: ''"Occupation?"'' :Godfrey: ''"I'm retired, but I was 25 years in the Civil Service."'' :Mainwaring: ''"Really?

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

?"'' :Godfrey: ''"Civil Service Stores."'' :Mainwaring: ''"Any previous military experience?"'' :Godfrey: ''"I was several years in the sports department. That meant archery and air guns."'' ::from the pilot episode "

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 ...

". An aspect of his old age is his weak bladder, which lets him down and postpones all platoon activity, hence his catchphrase, "May I be excused, sir?", and his tendency to fall asleep can be similarly categorised: "I must have dropped off!".

Medals

Although Private Godfrey rarely wore his ribbons, he was awarded the usual trio of First World War campaign medals (commonly known as "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred"),The 1914–15 Star, the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal, nicknamed

Pip, Squeak and Wilfred ''Pip, Squeak and Wilfred'' was a British strip cartoon published in the ''Daily Mirror'' from 1919 to 1956 (with a break c. 1940–1950), as well as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' in the early years. It was conceived by Bertram Lamb, who took the role ...

after a trio of cartoon characters of the period. in addition to his

for bravery.

Other portrayals

Private Godfrey is portrayed by Michael Gambon in the 2016 ''Dad's Army'' film.

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

was set to portray him in a series of re-enactments of otherwise lost episodes of Dad's Army., but had to step away from the project for personal reasons, and was replaced by

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...

Notes

References

;References ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Charles Dad's Army characters Fictional British Army personnel Fictional World War I veterans Television characters introduced in 1968

Personality

Medals

Other portrayals

See also

Notes

References