16 Things You Didn’t Know About British Classic ‘Dad’s Army’

7. Perry Based Pike On Himself

Throughout the series, Ian Lavender’s Private Pike — the youngest member of the platoon — is a coddled mama’s boy, always prevented from truly becoming a man. He drives home the image of the real young boys fighting in wars, but in his thick, woolen scarf, he’s also a riot. For his sissiness, Pike is often the target of ridicule. Just the kind of self-deprecating fool a writer would base on himself.

8. About the Credits

When Dad’s Army was initially planned, the creative minds had something a little more severe in mind for the credits: they’d hoped to include footage of marching Nazis and hungry refugees to help heighten the very real threat faced by the Home Guard. These credits were deemed too offensive, and subsequently replaced with the animated sequence of an encroaching army of swastika-laden arrows.

9. Jimmy Perry Conceived the Theme Song

Perry wanted something catchy for the song’s main theme, so he invented an ode to wartime music in “Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr. Hitler?” He composed the music alongside Derek Taverner and even went so far as to convince one of his childhood idols — Bud Flanagan — to sing the catchy theme for a pauper’s sum.