Dad's Army fans in for true treat (From Stroud News and Journal)

Dad's Army fans in for true treat

DON'T panic Dad's Army fans - the world's biggest admirer of the classic sitcom has produced a new book on the show from his Leonard Stanley home.

Procurement manager Tony Pritchard, 50, has spent the last 10 years doggedly tracking down every conceivable detail on the series for his new book Dad's Army: A Companion.

A Dad's Army fans bible, the exhaustively-researched tome contains everything from cast lists and viewing figures to photos of shooting locations and memorabilia.

Explaining his love of the show, he told the SNJ: "I like it because it is simple good fun. It is clever writing and clever acting as well. It is timeless."

Together with fellow Dad's Army fan Paul Carpenter, a fellow member of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society, Mr Pritchard trudged across Britain in his quest for information.

"People may think I am a bit of an anorak," he said. "But they do not understand that when you are on hunt for something it gets a bit infectious. It does not matter what it is."

And although the show is one of Britain's best-loved comedies, Mr Pritchard insists it still has a serious purpose.

"People had forgotten about the Home Guard," he said. "Not many people knew what they were and Dad's Army brought them back into the public eye.

"We quite often get stories from ex-Home Guardsmen and it seems some of the situations they found themselves in were not a million miles away from what we saw in the programme."

For more information on the book and the Dad's Army Appreciation Society, visit their website at www.dadsarmy.co.uk