Walmington-on-Sea
Encyclopedia
Walmington-on-Sea is a fictional seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...

 where the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 sitcom, BBC radio series and film Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...

was based.

Located on the channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 coast of England in the county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, the national "front line" following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....

 from Dunkirk during the Second World War.

The series followed the adventures and misadventures of members of a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...

 of the Home Guard, a volunteer army formed from those ineligible for conscription through age or occupation to defend the United Kingdom from German invasion following the defeat of France.

Amenities and filming locations

Over the nine series, the action was set in various locations in the fictional Walmington-on-Sea, the interiors of which were built in the television studios, while the exteriors were filmed at various locations. These included a pleasure pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...

 (filmed at the pier in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

) with a 20 feet (6.1 m) blown in the middle to prevent it from being used as a landing stage by invading forces. The beach is lined with barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...

 and other defences, including mines
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

, pill boxes and anti-tank blocks.

Other fictional locations, typical of a seaside town during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, included a sweet shop, The "Novelty Rock
Rock (confectionery)
Rock is a type of hard stick-shaped boiled sugar confectionery most usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint. It is commonly sold at tourist resorts in the UK ; in Ireland in seaside towns such as Bray and Strandhill; in Gibraltar; in Denmark in towns such as Løkken and Ebeltoft; and in...

 Emporium", at least one bank (the fictional Swallow Bank, (which appeared in early episodes), the real Martins Bank
Martins Bank
Martins Bank Limited was a Liverpool-based British finanical services company that was taken over by Barclays Bank in 1969. The company has its origins in the 16th century and was said to have been founded by Sir Thomas Gresham, who began trading in Lombard Street under the sign of a grasshopper...

), the Marigold tea-rooms, Anne's Pantry, the Dutch Oven, Corporal Jones
Lance-Corporal Jack Jones
Lance Corporal Jack Jones is a fictional Home Guard platoon lance-corporal, veteran of the British Empire and butcher portrayed by Clive Dunn in the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army...

's butcher's shop, Hodges greengrocer
Greengrocer
A greengrocer or fruiterer is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables; that is, in green groceries. Greengrocer is primarily a British and Australian term, and greengrocers' shops were once common in suburbs, towns and villages...

s, Frazer
Private James Frazer
Private James Frazer is a fictional Home Guard platoon member and undertaker portrayed by John Laurie on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. He is noted for the phrase "we're doomed!" and "Rubbish!"- Personality :...

's undertakers, a cinema and numerous pubs including the Red Lion, which all suggest it was a reasonably-sized place. In common with most real British towns, Walmington-on-Sea is given a church, Saint Aldhelm
Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne
Aldhelm , Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, Latin poet and scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex...

's, with a hall next door which is the setting for various community acts in the episodes such as the Christmas pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

 and a place for the Sea Scout
Sea Scout
Sea Scouts are members of the international Scouting movement, with a particular emphasis on water-based activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and rowing. Depending on the country and the available water these activities are on lakes, rivers or sea in small or large ships. Sea Scouting...

s to parade. It is also where the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard
Home Guard
-Military:*British Home Guard*Combat Groups of the Working Class *Confederate Home Guard, during the American Civil War*Croatian Home Guard and Imperial Croatian Home Guard*Danish Home Guard...

 platoon muster on parade nights.

Thetford
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 south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...

's Guildhall and railway station
Thetford railway station
Thetford railway station is a railway station serving the town of Thetford in the English county of Norfolk. It is served by local services operated by National Express East Anglia on the Breckland Line and Long distance East Midlands Trains services. It lies 49 km west of Norwich on the line to...

 became Walmington-on-Sea's Town Hall and railway station. The Guildhall featured in the 1972 episode Time On My Hands,in which a German Luftwaffe pilot dangled from the clock tower when his parachute became caught in the clock's hands. The Guildhall was also used in the 1974 episode The Captain's Car. The distinctive flint cottages in Thetford's 'Nether Row' appeared in four episodes: Man Hunt, The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones
The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones
The Armoured Might of Lance-Corporal Jones is the first episode of the third series of the British comedy series Dad's Army that was originally transmitted on Thursday 11 September 1969.-Synopsis:...

, The Big Parade and Time on My Hands. Thetford's real-life 'Palace Cinema' doubled as Walmington-on-Sea's 'Empire Cinema in two episodes - The Big Parade (1970) and A Soldier's Farewell
A Soldier's Farewell
A Soldier's Farewell is the third episode of the fifth series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army that was originally transmitted on 13 October 1972.-Synopsis:...

(1972).

Location

Although it is never specified where the town is, there are several references to Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....

, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...

 and Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

 which suggests that it could be based on Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

, although Bexhill has no pier and is not in Kent. Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...

 in Kent has been suggested since it has a pier and is next to Walmer
Walmer
Walmer is a town in the district of Dover, Kent in England: located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is six miles north-east of Dover. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors...

: possibly the inspiration for the name "Walmington". Another suggestion is the town of Wilmington
Wilmington, Kent
Wilmington is a village and parish in Kent, England, in the Borough of Dartford, about 1.5 miles from Dartford town centre. The parish is one of the largest in England and borders the London Borough of Bexley and Sevenoaks District. The parish council meets at Oakfield Park pavilion.The...

 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

.

In reality, many outdoor TV scenes were filmed at Thetford
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 south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...

, an inland town in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, thus giving no clue as to the scriptwriters' preferences. The 1971 film
Dad's Army (film)
Dad's Army is a 1971 feature film based on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. Directed by Norman Cohen, it was filmed between series three and four and was based upon material from the early episodes of the television series...

 moved location to Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge of the Chilterns, 25 miles from London, and near Seer Green, Jordans, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont and Amersham....

, even further from the coast.

Main residents

Character Job
Captain George Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring is the bank manager and Home Guard platoon commander portrayed by Arthur Lowe on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army, set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War...

 
Bank Manager
Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Sergeant The Honourable Arthur Wilson is a fictional Home Guard platoon sergeant and bank clerk portrayed by John Le Mesurier on the BBC television situation comedy Dad's Army....

 
Bank Clerk
Lance Corporal Jack Jones  Butcher
Private Frank Pike
Private Frank Pike
Private Frank Pike is a fictional Home Guard platoon member and junior bank clerk portrayed by Ian Lavender in the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. He is frequently referred to by Captain Mainwaring as "stupid boy".- Personality :...

 
Bank Clerk
Private Joe Walker
Private Joe Walker
Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv and Home Guard platoon member portrayed by actor James Beck on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. James Beck died suddenly in 1973, and is featured in just under three-quarters of the episodes...

 
Spiv
Spiv
In the United Kingdom, a spiv is a particular type of petty criminal, who deals in stolen or black market goods of questionable authenticity, especially a slickly-dressed man offering goods at bargain prices...

Private James Frazer
Private James Frazer
Private James Frazer is a fictional Home Guard platoon member and undertaker portrayed by John Laurie on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. He is noted for the phrase "we're doomed!" and "Rubbish!"- Personality :...

 
Undertaker
Private Charles Godfrey
Private Charles Godfrey
For the American football player see Charles Godfrey Private Charles Godfrey MM is a fictional Home Guard platoon member and retired shop assistant portrayed by Arnold Ridley on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army.-Personality:Godfrey is a gentle, mild-mannered and kindly - though more complex...

 
Retired
ARP Warden William Hodges  Greengrocer
Reverend Timothy Farthing  Vicar
Maurice Yeatman Verger

External links

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