The whole series takes place across the span of about two and a half years, from May 1940 to autumn 1942.
Series 1 takes place across May 1940 to August 1940.
Series 2 presumably takes place somewhere in the late summer, autumn or winter of 1940 to 1941.
Series 3 takes place from spring 1941 to summer 1941.
Series 4 takes place from summer to autumn 1941.
Series 5 seems to be the anomaly as this goes back in time to summer and autumn 1941 so it appears to be set at the same time as series 4 and must run concurrently alongside.
Series 6 jumps ahead to early 1942.
Series 7 also takes place in early 1942
Series 8 takes place in spring/early summer of 1942
Series 9 takes place in the latter half of 1942.
Series 1
001 “The Man and the Hour”
The
calendar on Mainwaring’s desk in the bank quite clearly says 14 May 1940. In
the same scene Mainwaring, Wilson, Pike and Miss King all listen to Anthony
Eden’s speech on the wireless about the formation of the LDV; historically,
this did indeed take place on 14 May (although in reality, the broadcast
occurred in the evening).
002 “Museum Piece”
An
announcement at the beginning of the episode says that it has “only been a few
days since they answered their country’s call”, which places this episode in
mid-May 1940.
003 “Command Decision”
At
the end of the episode, Mainwaring receives a phone call to say that the LDV
has now been renamed as Home Guard. This actually occurred on 22 July 1940.
004 “The Enemy Within the Gates”
No
references I could spot
005 “The Showing Up of Corporal Jones”
No
references I could spot
006 “Shooting pains”
Jones
says that the previous episode (“The
Showing Up of Corporal Jones”) took place “last week”.
Series 2
007 “Operation Kilt”
Pike
mentions that he is 17.
008 “The Battle of
Godfrey’s Cottage”
No
references I could spot
009 “The Loneliness
of the Long Distance Walker”
This
is one of the Dad’s Army episodes
that is missing from the archives, so I was not able to watch it. There are
audio recordings, I believe, but I haven’t heard them.
010 “Sgt. Wilson’s
Little Secret”
No
references I could spot
011 “A Stripe for
Frazer”
Missing
Episode
012 “Under Fire”
Missing
Episode
Series 3
013 “The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones”
No
references I could spot
014 “Battle School”
No
references I could spot
015 “The Lion Has Phones”
When
Jones phones the cinema, they mistakenly believe he is enquiring about the film
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. This
film was actually released in UK cinemas on 27 June 1942. [This is something of
an anachronism for a number of reasons. Firstly, three episodes later, in “Room at the Bottom”, we learn about the
sinking of the Bismarck, which
occurred in May 1941, a whole year before the release of this film. Secondly,
the Home Guard in this episode are still wearing their khaki denim uniforms; by
1942, when this film was released, these had been replaced by the standard
woollen battledress uniform.]
016 “The Bullet is Not for Firing”
No
references I could spot
017 “Something Nasty in the Vault”
According
to a deleted scene this episode is set exactly one year after the first episode
(“The Man and the Hour”), placing it
as 14 May 1941. In fact, a close examination of the calendar in the bank does
indeed show the date as being 14 May 1941.
018 “Room at the Bottom”
This
episode takes place in May 1941, about a year after “The Man and the Hour”, as evidenced when Frazer states that Mainwaring
had been holding his commission with no right “for a whole year”. This is
further confirmed when the Verger announces that the German battleship Bismarck has been sunk. The sinking of
the Bismarck occurred on 27 May 1941.
019 “Big Guns”
No
references I could spot020 “The Day the Balloon Went Up”
No references I could spot
021 “War Dance”
Wilson
says that Pike is “going on 19”, which would make him 18. In the series 2
episode “Operation Kilt”, Pike says
that he is 17, which means he has had a birthday between then and now. It also
implies that he is approaching his 19th birthday in this episode.
Presumably this means that Pike’s birthday is sometime in the summer, most
likely in August.
022 “Menace from the Deep”
No
references I could spot
023 “Branded”
In
a speech, Mainwaring says that the platoon has been together for “14 months”.
Since the platoon was formed in May 1940, that would place this episode in July
1941.
024 “Man Hunt”
Mainwaring tells the platoon that this war has been in progress now for “18 months”. Since World War II started in September 1939, that would place this episode in March 1941. He then goes on to say that “Rudolph Hess was dropped into this country by parachute some 6 weeks ago.” Historically, Hess flew to Scotland on 10 May 1941. Plus six weeks that makes it 21 June 1941. Not only does this contradict the date Mainwaring gave in the previous sentence, both of these statements contradict the dates given in previous episodes. The obvious solution, of course, is that Mainwaring is actually mistaken in both of his estimates. Rather than 18 months, June 1941 would actually be closer to 21 months since the outbreak of the war. However, assuming that the 18 month comment is merely a mistake on Mainwaring’s part, his second comment still places this episode in June, when in the previous episode his comments led us to believe it was July. Once again, I suppose it is possible that in the previous episode he was rounding up, or in this episode he was rounding down.
Another
solution would be that if this episode does indeed take place in June, and the
previous episode takes place in July, then we could just switch the episode
order around. This would actually make more sense, because at the end of “Branded”, Godfrey is made the platoon’s
medic, but in this episode he does not start wearing his medic’s armband; that
does not occur until the final episode of series 3, “Sons of the Sea”.Mainwaring tells the platoon that this war has been in progress now for “18 months”. Since World War II started in September 1939, that would place this episode in March 1941. He then goes on to say that “Rudolph Hess was dropped into this country by parachute some 6 weeks ago.” Historically, Hess flew to Scotland on 10 May 1941. Plus six weeks that makes it 21 June 1941. Not only does this contradict the date Mainwaring gave in the previous sentence, both of these statements contradict the dates given in previous episodes. The obvious solution, of course, is that Mainwaring is actually mistaken in both of his estimates. Rather than 18 months, June 1941 would actually be closer to 21 months since the outbreak of the war. However, assuming that the 18 month comment is merely a mistake on Mainwaring’s part, his second comment still places this episode in June, when in the previous episode his comments led us to believe it was July. Once again, I suppose it is possible that in the previous episode he was rounding up, or in this episode he was rounding down.
The current order of episodes is this:
023 “Branded”
024 “Man Hunt”
025 “No Spring for Frazer”
026 “Sons of the Sea”
But if we switch the order as follows, it would make much more sense:
024 “Man Hunt”
025 “No Spring for Frazer”
023 “Branded”
026 “Sons of the Sea”
025 “No Spring for Frazer”
No
references I could spot026 “Sons of the Sea”
No references I could spot
Series 4
027 “The Big Parade”
Mainwaring mentions that Al Jolsen said “You ain’t heard nothing yet” twelve years ago. The line he quotes is from the movie The Jazz Singer, the first Hollywood motion picture with synchronised dialogue. The film was released in the USA on 6 October 1927, but did not premiere in the UK until 27 September 1928. Presumably Mainwaring is referring to the UK date. 1928 plus 12 years is 1940, but we know that this episode is in at least 1941, so either Mainwaring is mistaken, or he and his wife saw the film in 1929 rather than the year it came out.
Private Sponge mentions that the rams are “a bit funny this time of year”, implying it is mating season. A quick Wikipedia search tells me that most sheep have a breeding season in the autumn, so this episode could well be set anywhere around September to November.
The warden sees the platoon looking dishevelled and dirty and is excited because he can make a derogatory remark to them, but when the time comes he cannot think of anything clever. He states that he had been waiting “months” for such an opportunity. Obviously this does not help us date the episode, but it does give us an indication of how long he has held a grudge against Mainwaring and his men. Since the platoon has been formed for over a year, but the warden mentions only months, we can conclude that it was not from the outset that he held a vendetta against them. Logically this would only have developed over time, and in fact, it was only really in series 3 that he seems to develop the personal rivalry with Mainwaring. Before that he only seemed to tell them to keep it down while he gave a lecture.
In this episode, the platoon are wearing the standard 37-pattern battledress, which has replaced the denim battle dress they were originally issued. Historically, it was announced in December 1940 that the Home Guard were kitted out with proper battle dress, as and when stocks became available. Since this episode is set after July 1941, and probably in the autumn of that year, it has clearly taken some time for stocks of the uniform to reach the Walmington-on-Sea platoon.
028 “Don’t Forget the Diver”
No
references I could spot
029 “Boots, Boots, Boots”
No
references I could spot
030 “Sgt – Save My Boy!”
Mainwaring
mentions “our Russian ally”. The formal Anglo-Soviet alliance was signed by the
United Kingdom and the Soviet Union on 12 July 1941, so this episode is set at
least after this date. Mainwaring then mentions Hitler and is crony Mussolini,
implying that Germany and Italy are still allies, placing the episode before 25
July 1943, which was when Mussolini was dismissed from power by King Victor
Emmanuel III, and the subsequent armistice between Italy and the Allies on 8
September 1943.Wilson says he’s known Pike for 19 years. Since we can suppose that Pike is now 19 (see 021 “War Dance”), it means that Wilson has known Pike since he was born.
031 “Don’t Fence Me In”
The
Italian prisoners mention the war in Africa, which was fought between 10 June
1940 and 12 May 1943.
032 “Absent Friends”
Mainwaring
says that he has “worked so hard for months” to mould his platoon into a bunch
of fighting men. Though he is not mistaken in this statement, the platoon has
actually been formed for over a year, possibly close to 18 months by this point,
assuming they are still in autumn 1941 at this time.
033 “Put That Light Out”
Walker
mentions Hess again (see: 024 “Man Hunt”)
034 “The Two and a Half Feathers”
Jones
is attending the 42nd Annual Reunion of the Battle of Omdurman. The
Battle of Omdurman took place on 2 September 1898, so we can presume that this
episode is also in September. However, 1898 plus 42 is 1940, but we know this
series is set in 1941. It is entirely possible that the 1st Annual
Reunion occurred two years after the battle. Private Clarke says that he joined the army 44 years ago and gives the year as 1897. This does correspond with the current year being 1941.
035 “Mum’s Army”
No
references I could spot
036 “The Test”
No
references I could spot
037 “A. Wilson (Manager)?”
No
references I could spot
038 “Uninvited Guests”
No
references I could spot
039 “Fallen Idol”
Captain
Reed says he has been running his school of explosives for “over a year now”.
Christmas Special
040 “Battle of the Giants!”
It
is pouring down with rain, to which Hodges observes, “Typical English summer”.
If it is indeed summer, that would set this special sometime between series 3
and 4, for the summer of 1941, or sometime after series 6, for the summer of
1942.Alternatively, it could still be September 1941, where series 4 left off, and Hodges statement could be a commentary on the weather rather than the season. The latter seems the more likely option.
Series 5
041 “Asleep in the Deep”
No
references I could spot042 “Keep Young and Beautiful”
No references I could spot
043 “A Soldier’s Farewell”
Mainwaring
says they haven’t had a raid in “over a week now”. Since there was an air raid
two episodes ago in “Asleep in the Deep”
we can assume that this episode is set at least a fortnight since then.
044 “Getting the Bird”
The
calendar in Jones’s butchers shop says June. The only thing I can conclude is
that Jones has forgotten to turn the calendar page over, because June 1941 was
during the end of series 3 and the platoon were still wearing their old denim
uniforms back then. And they can’t yet be in June 1942 as that won’t come round
until after series 6. Since series 5 seems to be set alongside series 4, it is
most likely July or August. If it is still early July, it is entirely possible
that Jones hasn’t yet turned his calendar over.
045 “The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones”
Presumably
this episode is set sometime in late summer or early autumn because Mainwaring
says that he has bought himself an overcoat “before the really chilly weather
sets in”. It is also mentioned that it is “muggy” for the time of year.
046 “If the Cap Fits…”
Frazer
says that it is a “perfectly beautiful summer’s evening”.Frazer then goes on to list previous dates on which Captain Mainwaring has given pointless lectures: on “November 6 1940” he gave a lecture on why the Germans don’t play cricket, and on “January 28 1941” he gave a lecture on how Hitler bites the carpet when he’s angry. Both of these dates would place these lectures sometime in series 2 or early series 3.
047 “The King was in his Counting House”
No
references I could spot
048 “All is Safely Gathered In”
The
story revolves around the gathering in of the harvest, which traditionally
takes place in late summer or early autumn.
049 “When Did you Last See Your Money?”
The
calendar in the bank says it is the 25th, though I cannot see the
day or month.There is a poster in the town hall saying “Sunday June 11th” and mentions a “Golden Jubilee”. I’m not sure what jubilee it is referring to, but the only years around the war where 11 June was a Sunday were 1939 and 1944.
050 “Brain Versus Brawn”
No
references I could spot
051 “A Brush with the Law”
Mainwaring
is taken to court accused of leaving the light in the vicar’s office on. The
date of the alleged offence is given as 7 September. Since series 5 seems to run concurrently alongside series 4, it should be noted that this episode takes place about a week after the events of “The Two and a Half Feathers”.
052 “Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel”
The
opening shot of this episode clearly states the year as being “1941”.
053 “Time on My Hands”
The
town hall stairs were destroyed “last year” by a firebomb, and the clock hasn’t
worked since 1939.
Series 6
054 “The Deadly Attachment”
Mainwaring observes that the platoon are about to come face-to-face with the enemy, “after all these months”. By this point, the platoon has been formed for almost 2 years (we find out next episode that we are now in 1942), so he should probably have said years rather than months.
055 “My British Buddy”
A
small contingent of American troops arrives in Walmington-on-Sea. Historically,
the first American troops arrived in the UK on 26 January 1942, meaning that
this episode cannot take place before this date. In reality, however, the first
US troops were actually stationed in Northern Ireland, placing this episode
even later in 1942. Though Mainwaring does say that the Americans we see in
this episode are a small “advanced party”, allowing for some leeway. Mainwaring states that “last winter times were so dark it was difficult to see ahead”. He goes on to say that they have been standing alone against the Nazi horde for almost 2 years. The French surrender was in June 1940, which was what left the UK alone, so “almost 2 years” places this episode before June 1942. Walker later confirms this when he says that the war has been going on for 2 and a half years. Since the war started in September 1939, that would place this episode in about February 1942.
056 “The Royal Train”
Pike
says it has been “3 weeks and 2 days” since he last had a go with the Tommy
Gun. The last time we saw Pike with the Tommy Gun was in “The Deadly Attachment”, so we know that this episode is set at
least 3 weeks and 2 days after that.
057 “We Know Our Onions”
No
references I could spot
058 “The Honourable Man”
The
Russians are still our allies (see entry for 030 “Sgt – Save My Boy!”).
059 “Things that Go Bump in the Night”
No
references I could spot
060 “The Recruit”
Mainwaring
says that “our chaps” are doing well in the dessert and that the Italians are
no match for Tommy Atkins, a reference to the North African campaign.Godfrey wears sunglasses and a sunshade on his nose, indicating that the weather is sunny.
Series 7
061 “Everybody’s Trucking”
No
references I could spot
062 “A Man of Action”
Referencing
Mainwaring’s declaration that he is imposing martial law, Hodges says, “he’s
been leading up to this for years”.
063 “Gorilla Warfare”
Mainwaring
says, “Over the years I’ve come to know this platoon…”By this point, the platoon has been formed for approximately 2 years. However, it should be noted that he knew some members of the platoon before the Home Guard was formed.
064 “The Godiva Affair”
A
headline on Jones’s newspaper says “Rommel Trapped”. Another reference to the
North African campaign.
065 “The Captain’s Car”
No
references I could spot
066 “Turkey Dinner”
No
references I could spot
Series 8
067 “Ring Dem Bells”
It’s
a “hot day”.
068 “When You’ve Got to Go”
No
references I could spot
069 “Is There Honey Still for Tea?”
The
calendar in the bank says it’s the 26th, though the day and month
are too small to make out.Mainwaring says that it has been “3 months since the bank was bombed”. The bank has been bombed twice on screen, first in series 3 “Something Nasty in the Vault” and then in series 5 “The King was in his Counting House”. However, both of these stories took place well over three months ago, and on neither of these occasions was Mainwaring’s office door destroyed. Since he is getting a new door in this episode, we can conclude that the bank has been bombed for a third time. It is a shame that the Eastgate branch of the bank was bombed only once, completely destroying it and ruining Wilson’s promotion to manager (037 “A. Wilson (Manager)?”), yet the Walmington-on-Sea branch has been bombed three times, with relatively minimal damage each time, and it remains open.
070 “Come in, Your Time is Up”
It is the wrong time of year for hedgehogs.
071 “High Finance”
The
calendar in the bank gives the day as the 19th, and the following
days it says the 20th. It is said that it is a Tuesday. The only
Tuesday in 1942 that fell on the 19th was in May. It should be noted
that it isn’t even dark at 9:30 pm, so a summer month would make more sense.Jones has a cheque dated “1491” though it should say “1941”. Presumably this cheque was from the previous year as this series is set in 1942. Since this episode deals with Jones’ abysmal business and financial filing system, it would be a surprise that he had out of date cheques lying around.
Hodges increased Mrs Pike’s rent “about a year ago”. If this episode is set in May 1942, it would mean that he increased the rent sometime in series 3.
072 “The Face of the Poster”
No
references I could spot
Christmas Specials
073 “My Brother and I”
At
the end of this episode, Mainwaring gives his fob watch to his brother.
Subsequently, the watch we see Mainwaring wearing in series 9 is slightly
different to the watch he gives up here, which he had worn since series 1, so
we can assume that this takes place exactly where it was shown; between series
8 and 9.
074 “The Love of Three Oranges”
This
one is a bit of a mess, to be honest.Mainwaring refers to “our Finnish allies”, which means that this episode is set sometime before 25 June 1941. On that date, the UK declared war on Finland, following Finland’s invasion of the USSR alongside Germany.
The Vicar says that he hasn’t seen an orange for “over two years”; the Verger clarifies that it was just before the war. So if we assume that he saw an orange in the summer of 1939, two years from then would be summer 1941, which just places this before the June 1941 deadline. However, what really muddles this episode is that the Vicar welcomes everyone to the “Winter Bazaar”. Since the episode cannot be in winter 1941 to 1942 because the Finns were no longer allies, then it must be winter 1940 to 1941. This somewhat messes with the Vicar last seeing an orange just before the war over two years ago, since that would place it at less than two years. In addition to that, winter 1940 to 1941 would place the episode sometime between series 1 and series 3, at which point the platoon were still wearing their denim uniforms, not the woollen battledress they wear in this episode. Also, if this episode is from that time period, where is Walker? The only obvious solution is that this episode does indeed take place in the winter of 1941 to 1942, setting it between series 5 and 6. Mainwaring’s comments about the Finns could be chalked down to a mistake (it wouldn’t be his only one), and Walker’s absence could be explained any number of ways.
Series 9
075 “Wake Up Walmington”
Wilson
states that the “Home Guard’s been formed for two years”, so if we take him
literally then this is May 1942, but it is more likely that he is speaking
generally, placing this anywhere in the summer of 1942.Pike mentions the events of the series 8 episode “Ring Dem Bells”.
Captain Square makes comments that indicate Mainwaring has been in charge of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon for “the last couple of years…”
076 “The Making of Private Pike”
The
calendar in the Brigadier’s office says it is Thursday 4 September. However,
this date would place the episode in 1941, when we know that this series must
be set in 1942 (every episode after series 6 must be set in 1942 because the
Americans have joined the war), so we can assume it is a mistake on the part of
the set dresser. 4 September 1942 was a Friday. In-universe, it could be suggested
that this episode is indeed set on 4 September but the Brigadier’s batman/adjutant
could have forgotten to move the calendar on a day when setting the date.
077 “Knights of Madness”
Frazer
mentions their Morris Dance from the series 7 episode “The Godiva Affair”. 078 “The Miser’s Hoard”
Frazer has owed Hodges “thirteen and six” since last January.
079 “Number Engaged”
No
references I could spot080 “Never Too Old”
The episode takes place over a matter of weeks. Wilson remarks of Jones, “You’d think he’d have calmed down after a week”.
Some years ago, Jimmy Perry and David Croft published a book containing the scripts from Series 2. Having read it, I can confirm there is no time reference in any episodes in this series (or the radio equivalents which get played on Radio 4 Extra from time to time) EXCEPT that a note in the book says that in 'The Battle For Godfrey's Cottage', the instruction received by Mainwaring from Brigadier Roche regarding bedknobs was a genuine instruction.
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