Source:
Daily Mail, June 2nd 2001
LONG-LOST
episodes of Dad's Army have been unearthed in a hunt for missing
gems from the BBC archives.
A
heap of rusting film cans handed in to the BBC after an appeal
launched last week included two episodes of the wartime comedy
which had been lost for more than 30 years. Both The Battle
of Godfrey's Cottage and Operation Kilt, made in Black and white
and first shown in 1969, were complete. They have now been transferred
to digital format for permanent storage.
The
19 film cans are thought to have been rescued from a skip at
the BBC's TV studio's at Elstree, Hertfordshire, by an employee
in the 1970's. He later gave them to a friend, who came forward
after hearing about the appeal. Three more episodes of the show,
based around the exploits of the Home Guard are still missing.
Missing
Dad's Army shows fall in at last
Source:
Daily Express, June 2nd 2001
Two
missing episodes of the classic television comedy Dad's Army
have been found after 30 years.
The
Programmes went AWOL, shortly after they were first broadcast
in March 1969. Contained in 19 film cans they somehow found
their way into a skip at Elstree studio in the early 1970's.
A
man working there rescued them and stored them at home for many
years until his daughter insisted he get rid of the rusty old
cans. He passed them onto a friend who, now in his eighties,
saw the BBC's recent appeal for the return of old material and
contacted the corporation. The film was found to be in good
condition.
The
episodes are Operation Kilt in which Mainwaring's men take on
a Highland regiment, and The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage where
the platoon mistakenly think the Germans have invaded.
The
head of BBC information and Archives. Paul Flander said: "This
is a smashing discovery. It's all we hoped for and more. There
is even a book about the missing episodes. They can now be preserved
for future generations."
BBC
treasure hunt turns up Dad's Army gold
Source:
The Guardian, June 2nd 2001
Matt
Wells, Media Correspondent
A
BBC "treasure hunt" for lost archive material has
led to the recovery of two episodes of the classic comedy Dad's
Army, missing for more than 30 years.
The
two programmes featuring the familiar adventures of Captain
Mainwaring and the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard were lost shortly
after they were first broadcast in March 1969. The episodes
contained in 19 film cans, found their way into a skip at Elstree
Studio in the early 1970's. A man working there rescued them
and stored them at home for many years until his daughter insisted
he get rid of the rusty old cans.
He
passed them onto a friend who, now in his 80's, saw the BBC's
recent appeal for the return of old material and contacted the
corporation. While the containers were in a poor state, the
film inside was in good condition and has been transferred in
digital format for permanent storage. They may be broadcast
at a later stage.
The
two episodes are Operation Kilt, where the Home Guard take on
a Highland regiment in Manoeuvres with the aid of a pantomime
cow, and The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage, where the troop mistakenly
think the German's have invaded. Eighty episodes were originally
made but five went missing.
