Sergeant - Save My Boy!
Encyclopedia
Sergeant - Save My Boy! is the fourth episode of the fourth series of the British
comedy series Dad's Army
that was originally transmitted on Friday 16 October 1970.
undertakes a rescue operation.
Eventually, Mrs Pike arrives at the hut with a tin of biscuits that Pike left at home, and is shocked when she learns that her son hasn't arrived yet, particularly as he left ten minutes before she did. She worries that he's been targeted by the Walmington
prowler; Walker remarks that he may be the prowler! As they worry, Frazer, who's on guard duty, hears a cry for help outside. The platoon and Mrs Pike rush outside and see Pike tangled up in the barbed wire which runs along the beach. What is worse, the beach is a minefield.
Mainwaring tells Wilson to ring the engineers - but they're dealing with another emergency and won't be able to get there for another three hours, which will be too late because the tide is coming in. Walker suggests talking a boat, but Frazer squashes this idea by saying it would take too long to get there from the nearest dock, and that they would be dashed to pieces on the rocks. With no alternative, they decide to negotiate a path through the minefield. Frazer has seen the mines laid, so he outlines the pattern to Mainwaring. Jones' section, save Godfrey who has mysteriously vanished, prod their way down the beach with Jones' bayonet.
On their travels, they discover a book on 'How to Lay a Mine Field', and a suspicious object which read 'notgnimlaW ot emocleW'. However, when turned right way up, Walker discovers it's a child's bucket which reads 'Welcome to Walmington'! As they near Pike, Godfrey turns up next to him. It appears he followed the same route as Pike via the bathing gap. The men arrive at Pike's side, and Godfrey casually asks them whether they want a cup of tea!
Pike tells them to hurry, because he's got a piece of barbed wire sticking in his bum! They use Jones' bayonet to get him free, and start back. They stop when they see a familiar pair of feet. They look up to see Chief Warden Hodges ("What you doin' then, prayin to Mecca?") with the Engineer Officer, who informs them that the minefield ends 200 yards up the beach. However, the Engineer Officer has to eat his words, when Jones produces a mine...
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy series 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...
that was originally transmitted on Friday 16 October 1970.
Synopsis
During a blackout Pike manages to get himself tangled up on barbed wire on the mined beach. As the tide begins to come in, the platoonPlatoon
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...
undertakes a rescue operation.
Plot
Mainwaring is giving a lecture on the progress of the war. He remarks that the Dunkirk evacuation meant that the orphans in the Harris Orphans' Holiday Home Hut on the coast had to leave as well, leaving the hut free for them to use as a patrol hut. They are quick to set up their equipment and now only have to wait for Pike with a flask of tea.Eventually, Mrs Pike arrives at the hut with a tin of biscuits that Pike left at home, and is shocked when she learns that her son hasn't arrived yet, particularly as he left ten minutes before she did. She worries that he's been targeted by the Walmington
Walmington-on-Sea
Walmington-on-Sea is a fictional seaside resort where the BBC Television sitcom, BBC radio series and film Dad's Army was based.Located on the channel coast of England in the county of Kent, the national "front line" following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk during...
prowler; Walker remarks that he may be the prowler! As they worry, Frazer, who's on guard duty, hears a cry for help outside. The platoon and Mrs Pike rush outside and see Pike tangled up in the barbed wire which runs along the beach. What is worse, the beach is a minefield.
Mainwaring tells Wilson to ring the engineers - but they're dealing with another emergency and won't be able to get there for another three hours, which will be too late because the tide is coming in. Walker suggests talking a boat, but Frazer squashes this idea by saying it would take too long to get there from the nearest dock, and that they would be dashed to pieces on the rocks. With no alternative, they decide to negotiate a path through the minefield. Frazer has seen the mines laid, so he outlines the pattern to Mainwaring. Jones' section, save Godfrey who has mysteriously vanished, prod their way down the beach with Jones' bayonet.
On their travels, they discover a book on 'How to Lay a Mine Field', and a suspicious object which read 'notgnimlaW ot emocleW'. However, when turned right way up, Walker discovers it's a child's bucket which reads 'Welcome to Walmington'! As they near Pike, Godfrey turns up next to him. It appears he followed the same route as Pike via the bathing gap. The men arrive at Pike's side, and Godfrey casually asks them whether they want a cup of tea!
Pike tells them to hurry, because he's got a piece of barbed wire sticking in his bum! They use Jones' bayonet to get him free, and start back. They stop when they see a familiar pair of feet. They look up to see Chief Warden Hodges ("What you doin' then, prayin to Mecca?") with the Engineer Officer, who informs them that the minefield ends 200 yards up the beach. However, the Engineer Officer has to eat his words, when Jones produces a mine...
Cast
| Cast | Characters |
|---|---|
| Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:... |
Captain Mainwaring |
| John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:... |
Sergeant Wilson |
| Clive Dunn Clive Dunn Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:... |
Lance Corporal Jones |
| John Laurie John Laurie John Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier... |
Private Frazer |
| James Beck James Beck Stanley James Carroll Beck was a British actor best remembered for his role as Private Joe Walker, the cockney spiv in the popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army. The cast was mainly composed of older actors, but Beck was one of the younger members.-Early life:Beck was born in Islington, North London and... |
Private Walker |
| Arnold Ridley Arnold Ridley Major William Arnold Ridley, OBE was an English playwright and actor, first notable as the author of the play The Ghost Train and later in life for portraying the elderly Private Charles Godfrey in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army .-Early life:Ridley was born in Walcot, Bath, England where... |
Private Godfrey |
| Ian Lavender Ian Lavender Arthur Ian Lavender , better known as Ian Lavender, is an English stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Private Frank Pike in the BBC comedy series Dad's Army.-Early life and career:... |
Private Pike |
| Bill Pertwee Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee MBE is a British comedy actor. He is best known for playing the part of antagonist ARP Warden Hodges in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.-Early and personal life:... |
ARP Warden Hodges |
| Janet Davies Janet Davies Janet Kathleen Davies was an English actress.Davies's father, a solicitor, died in his early thirties, and as a result she was sent to boarding school. She started training as a solicitor but left and qualified as a shorthand typist instead... |
Mrs Pike |
| Michael Knowles | Engineer Officer |