Walmington-on-Sea
Walmington-on-Seais afictionalseaside resortthat is the setting ofDad's Armyduring theSecond World War,including theBBC Televisionsitcom(1968-1977), theBBC Radio 4seriesand twofeature films(1971and2016).
Walmington-on-Sea is on the south coast of England which, following the fall of France and the evacuation of theBritish Expeditionary ForcefromDunkirk,found itself on thefront lineagainst Hitler. It is situated in Sussex[1]and the nearest large town is Eastbourne, where Captain Mainwaring was educated at the local grammar school.
The series followed the adventures and misadventures of members of a fictionalplatoonof theHome Guard- a (real) WWII volunteer army that was formed from those ineligible forconscriptionby age, minor physical inability or occupation, to defend the United Kingdom from German invasion following the fall of France.
Amenities and filming locations
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Over the ninetelevisionseries, the action is set in various places in Walmington-on-Sea, theinteriorsof which were built in the televisionstudios,while theexterior sceneswere filmed at variousNorfolklocations.[2]Those included a pleasurepier(filmed inGreat Yarmouth[3]) with a 20-foot (6m) wide gap blown in the middle to prevent it from being used as a landing stage by invadingarmed forces.Thebeachis protected withbarbed wireand other defences includingmines,pillboxesandtank traps.
Other locations, typical of aseaside townduring the Second World War, included asweet shop,The NoveltyRockEmporium, at least twobanks(the fictional Swallows Bank, which appeared in earlyepisodes,and the realMartins Bank), the Marigoldtea room,Anne's Pantry, the Dutch Oven,Corporal Jones'sbutcher's shop,Hodges'greengrocers,Frazer'sundertakers,acinemaand numerouspubsincluding the Red Lion, which all suggest it was a reasonably sized place. There is also a Free Polish Club forPolish servicemen.In common with most realBritishtowns,Walmington-on-Sea has achurch,Saint Aldhelm's,with a hall next door which is the setting for variouscommunityevents in the episodes such as the Christmaspantomimeand a place for theSea Scoutsto parade. It is also where the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guardplatoonmusteron parade nights.
Many outdoor scenes were filmed atThetford,an inland town inNorfolk.[2]The 1971 film,Dad's Army,moved location toChalfont St Giles,even further from the coast. The 2016 film,Dad's Army,was filmed even more distantly, inYorkshire.
Thetford'sGuildhall(today the home of theDad's Army Museum) became Walmington-on-Sea'sTown Hall.The Guildhall featured in the 1972 episodeTime on My Hands,in which a GermanLuftwaffepilot 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 Big Parade"and"Time on My Hands".Mill Lane was used in"The Deadly Attachment",while Thetford's real-life Palace Cinema (now abingohall) doubled as Walmington-on-Sea's Empire Cinema in two episodes – "The Big Parade" (1970) and "A Soldier's Farewell"(1972).[2]
Brandon railway stationwas used for exterior shots of Walmington-on-Sea railway station, while the platforms ofWeybourne Stationon the preservedNorth Norfolk Railway(a heritage steam railway) stood in for the platforms at Walmington-on-Sea station in the episode "The Royal Train".
References
[edit]- ^Dad's Army: The Defence of a Front Line English Village,BBC Books, 1989, p. 5
- ^abcDad's Armylocations on Literary Norfolk
- ^"Dad's Army invade Great Yarmouth",BBC Norfolkwebsite