Dad's Army/Characters

Captain George Mainwaring
The self-proclaimed commanding officer of the Home Guard, Captain Mainwaring is the local bank manager. Very pompous but focused on the war effort, Mainwaring strives to mold his ragtag group of volunteers into a capable fighting force in case Those Wacky Nazis invade.
 * A Father to His Men: Only really counts Pike since most of his troops are his age.
 * Badass Mustache
 * Badass Normal: Captain Mainwaring can be very awesome when needed, particularly in The Movie where he and his men manage to apprehend Nazi paratroopers by out-gunning them.
 * The Captain
 * Catch Phrase: "You stupid boy!" (To Pike); "There is a war on, you know."
 * Drunk With Power
 * Fantastic Racism: Captain Mainwaring hates Nazis and Germans in general. He seems to have an unintended snobbish look on other foreigners.
 * The Ghost: Mrs. Mainwaring.
 * Glad I Thought of It: Often claims he allowed his troops to spot he things he already had (when he actually did not).
 * The Good Captain: Tries to be.
 * Henpecked Husband
 * The Hero
 * I Take Offense to That Last One: Captain Mainwaring is easily offended if directly of subtly insulted.
 * Its Pronounced Tropay: He often has to remind people how to pronounce his name correctly (It is correctly pronounced as "Manner-Ring").
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold
 * Large Ham
 * The Napoleon: Actually nicknamed "Napoloen" by Warden Hodges, and dreams about being Napoleon in one episode.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: Usually when working at the bank.
 * Officer and A Gentleman: While Captain Mainwaring can be very rude and pompous, he has his moments of genuine kindness, always willing to help out his troops and even gives Mrs. Fox away to Corporal Jones.
 * Only Sane Man: Believes himself to be this, although he is just as looney as most of his troops.
 * Patriotic Fervor: Very patriotic and scolds those who do not follow his example.
 * The Reveal:
 * Surrounded By Idiots
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Wilson, despite their differences in attitude and class.
 * What an Idiot!: Several characters think he is an idiot, mainly Frazer, Hodges, and Captain Square.
 * Zany Scheme: Often utilises these whilst on duty. And then regrets using them.
 * Zany Scheme: Often utilises these whilst on duty. And then regrets using them.

Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Second-in-command of the Home Guard and deputy bank manager. Wilson is very laidback and diffident, having gone to a public school and is very suave and popular with the ladies. Mainwaring seems to hold Wilson in mixed regards. He has an interesting relationship with Mrs. Pike. Referred to as "Uncle Arthur" by Pike.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Wilson never raises his voice, but considering he was a Captain in the Royal Artillery forces during World War I, he must have been quite a force to behold.
 * In one episode where several Irish men invade the church hall to rescue their friend from the Home Guard, all of the troops save Wilson and Godfrey are defeated by the Irish. Wilson steps in and has an Offscreen Moment of Awesome where he casually walks back into Mainwaring's office after beating the Irishmen senseless.
 * Also in the episode where Hodges ups Mrs. Pike's rent but then tells her that she needn't pay it if she'd be "nice to him." Wilson belts him to the approval of the onlooking cast.
 * The Captain: Revealed to have been one during World War I.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Comes across as this at times.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Honourary Uncle: To Pike.
 * The Lancer
 * Luke, I Am Your Father:
 * In an interview, David Croft said that this was true "in his opinion." Counts as Word of God to me.
 * Officer and A Gentleman
 * Only Sane Man: When Mainwaring off doing something looney, Wilson holds this trope.
 * Upperclass Twit: He exhibits traits.
 * You Are in Command Now: Happens twice. Once when Mainwaring is stripped of his command when it turns out he ; and again when Wilson becomes the Eastgate bank manager.

Lance-Corporal Jack Jones
Third-in-command of the Home Guard, Jones is the local butcher. A veteran of the 1890s Sudan war and World War I, Jones joins the Walmington-on-Sea troops to fight in the second world war. Eager for battle, Jones is the most energetic and zaniest of the group.
 * Bayonet Ya: Jones often carries his old bayonet with him, claiming them "Fuzzy-Wuzzies don't like it up 'em!"
 * Bumbling Sidekick: To Captain Mainwaring.
 * The Butcher
 * Catch Phrase: "Don't panic! Don't panic!"; "Permission to (enter word here), sir!"
 * Cloudcuckoolander: The most nuttiest of the troops.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Food As Bribe: Often gives food to Captain Mainwaring and Wilson to get their permissions to do something. The food is often tricky to get due to rations.
 * Large Ham
 * Leeroy Jenkins
 * Madness Mantra: Whenever something alarms or excites Jones he will leap about shouting "Don't panic! Don't panic!"
 * Obsolete Mentor: Although much of the Home Guard seem to admire his advice.
 * Old Soldier: Of two-to-three wars.
 * One-Man Army: Could be one if given the chance.
 * Perilous Old Fool: Jones is one Badass Grandpa.
 * Rambling Old Man Monologue: Usually happens once an episode.
 * Ship Tease:
 * Team Dad

Private Joe Walker
The second-youngest of the Home Guard, Walker is a spiv from London who often makes deals and offers to other characters to make money. Most of his goods can be used for the war effort. The character was dropped from the show after the death of his actor.
 * Calling Card
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
 * Coat Full of Contraband
 * Deadpan Snarker: Even more so than Wilson.
 * Draft Dodging: Walker managed to evade military service by claiming he was allergic to corn beef.
 * Honest John's Dealership
 * The Nicknamer: He calls Jones "Jonesy", Pike as "Pikey", and Frazer as "Taffy".
 * Screw the War Were Partying: Likes nothing more than a drink down the pub.
 * Sharp Dressed Man: Walker wears a sharp suit and a trilby when not on duty.

Private James Frazer
An elderly Scottish undertaker and former naval cook, Frazer is a very scatterbrained man who often goes into rants and tales about Doomy Dooms of Doom, usually with wide eyes of madness. He hates Captain Mainwaring.
 * Bonnie Scotland
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * The Creepy Undertaker
 * Doomy Dooms of Doom
 * Drunk With Power: In one episode, Mainwaring allows Frazer to run the troops for a while and it goes to his head.
 * The Eeyore
 * Father Neptune
 * Hypocritical Humor
 * Man in A Kilt: Never actually wears one, but is bothered by why Englishmen are so obsessed with knowing what is under a Scotsman's kilt.
 * Old Soldier
 * Surrounded By Idiots

Private Charles Godfrey
A retired employee of Civil Service Stores, Godfrey is a polite, kind and humble elderly man. He has a weak bladder and has to excuse himself a lot. He lives with his eccentric sisters in a cottage. He later becomes The Medic of the Home Guard.
 * A Father to His Men: More so than Captain Mainwaring.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Not Godfrey, but his two sisters seem quite batty.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * The Medic
 * Nice Guy
 * Old Soldier
 * Potty Emergency: Has to run for the toilet a lot on account of his weak bladder.
 * The So-Called Coward:
 * Support Party Member
 * Team Mom

Private Frank Pike
The youngest member of the troop, Pike works in the bank under his "Uncle Arthur" and Captain Mainwaring. Often asking stupid questions and making equally pointless comments, Pike is very childish, much to Captain Mainwaring's irritation who refers to Pike as a "stupid boy". He is mollycoddled by his mother, wears a scarf on parade, and tries to excuse himself from troop events following his mum's advice.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Disappeared Dad:
 * Draft Dodging: Pike is nearly called up to join the army but learns he has a rare blood type that would prove useless in the war.
 * Idiot Ball: Happens a lot, but this trope is shared between the whole platoon.
 * Kid Appeal Character
 * Momma's Boy
 * Phrase Catcher
 * Scarf of Asskicking: Averted. He wears a scarf because he gets cold a lot.
 * Tagalong Kid

Private Sponge
A recurring member of the platoon, Sponge is a sheep farmer who leads the second half of the platoon (the background characters). He somewhat became an Ascended Extra after Walker's departure.
 * Ascended Extra: Started off as a background character, but became a more prominent character. He was often used for the leads to talk to, and cracked the occasional joke.
 * Hero of Another Story
 * Hufflepuff House: Him and the rest of the platoon.
 * Mauve Shirt
 * You Didn't Ask: In an episode where the platoon help to gather a harvest, Sponge is asked by Captain Mainwaring to demonstrate how the harvesting machinery works. Sponge admits he is a sheep farmer and does not know how. Mainwaring calls him out on this, but Sponge tells Mainwaring he never asked if he knew how to use the machinery.

Private Cheeseman
A Guest Star Party Member, Private Cheeseman is a Welsh journalist who joins the platoon to get an idea of how they live and operate. He speaks in a thick Welsh accent, has big teeth and large glasses.
 * Cheshire Cat Grin
 * Guest Star Party Member
 * Intrepid Reporter
 * Opaque Nerd Glasses
 * Shoo Out the New Guy

Warden Hodges
William Hodges is Chief Air Raid Warden in Walmington-on-Sea and Captain Mainwaring's Sitcom Arch Nemesis. He is a greengrocer when off-duty, but is a grouchy, power mad, and rude man. He has a short temper and often clashes with the Home Guard, referring to Mainwaring as "Napoleon". He keeps a weary eye open for anyone in town who might threaten the safety of everyone, storming in to give the culprit a piece of his mind.
 * Berserk Button: Anything can set Hodges off, but he particularly hates it when someone leaves a light on during an air raid or at night.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Catch Phrase: "Turn off that light!"; "You bloomin' hooligans!"; "Now, look here, Napoleon!"
 * Deadpan Snarker: Only the Verger finds his jokes amusing.
 * Drunk With Power
 * Grumpy Bear
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Jerkass
 * Kick the Dog: Loves doing this to the Home Guard, although sometimes it comes back to bite him in the butt.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis / The Rival: To Captain Mainwaring. Hodges despises Mainwaring, blaming him for ruining his fun and his life.
 * Small Name, Big Ego
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Despite Hodges' grumpy attitude and persistant aggressiveness, he is only looking out for Walmington-on-Sea's safety.