The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker

"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Walker" is a missing episode in the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 15 March 1969. One of the three missing Dad's Army episodes, only a few short clips and screenshots survive in the archives.

"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker"
Dad's Army episode
Episode no.	Series 2 Episode 3
Directed by	David Croft
Story by	Jimmy Perry and David Croft
Original air date	15 March 1969 (1969-03-15)
Running time	30 minutes

Synopsis

Private Frank Pike receives a notice that he's been selected for conscription into the regular army. This causes distress for both him and his fellow Home Guard platoon members, who value Pike's presence in the unit. Mainwaring and the others quickly rally to keep him in the Home Guard, despite the fact that his mother, Mrs. Pike, is adamantly opposed to him leaving.

The platoon tries various tactics to prevent Pike from going, even attempting to secure a medical exemption by faking an illness. In the end, a surprising twist reveals that Pike doesn’t need to join the regular army after all, restoring harmony and securing his place in the platoon once more. This episode humorously explores themes of camaraderie, loyalty, and the lengths the team will go to stay together during wartime.

Plot

When Walker is called up, he applies to the Military Service Hardship Committee, which rejects him on the grounds that he does not keep books for his business. After Jones's attempts to sabotage his medical test fail, Walker is invalided out because he is allergic to corned beef.

Cast

• Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring
• John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson
• Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jones
• John Laurie as Private Frazer
• James Beck as Private Walker
• Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey
• Ian Lavender as Private Pike
• Anthony Sharp as Brigadier (War Office)
• Diana King as Chairwoman
• Patrick Waddington as Brigadier
• Edward Evans as Mr Rees
• Michael Knowles as Captain Cutts
• Gilda Perry as Blonde
• Larry Martyn as Soldier
• Robert Lankesheer as Medical Officer
• Colin Bean as Private Sponge

Remake

• Kevin McNally as Captain Mainwaring
• Robert Bathurst as Sergeant Wilson
• Kevin Eldon as Lance Corporal Jones
• David Hayman as Private Frazer
• Mathew Horne as Private Walker
• Timothy West as Private Godfrey
• Tom Rosenthal as Private Pike
• Christopher Villiers as Brigadier (War Office)
• Sam Phillips as Captain Cutts
• Julia Deakin as the Chairwoman
• Andrew Havill as the Brigadier
• Jerry-Jane Pears as Judy
• Gareth Benjamin as Mr Rees
• Lee Barnett as the soldier

Notes

1. This episode was originally planned for transmission on 20 January 1969.
2. This is one of the three missing Dad's Army episodes, after the tape was wiped by the BBC for reuse. The other two are A Stripe for Frazer and Under Fire.
3. UKTV Gold commissioned recreations of all three missing episodes. The remake of this episode was first broadcast on 25 August 2019.
4. In the remade episode, two cast members have a link to David Croft, Julia Deakin was in Oh Doctor Beeching! and Andrew Havill was in the 2016 film of Dad's Army.
5. In 2023, a new animated version of this episode was broadcast as one of a series of animated recreations of all of the missing episodes. Owing to the audio of the broadcast episode also being missing, the radio series episode was used instead

Further reading

• Croft, David; Perry, Jimmy; Webber, Richard (2000). The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army. Orion. ISBN 0-7528-4637-X.

External links

• "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker" (original episode) at IMDb
• "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker" (recreated episode) at IMDb