This highly popular 1950\u2019s comedy series was based very loosely on the 1956 film \u201cPrivate\u2019s Progress\u201d, and revolved around the exploits of a small squad of national service squddies based in Hut 29 of the Surplus Ordnance Depot at Nether Hopping. In some ways this series could be seen as a British mirror to the highly popular American series Sgt Bilko. The roles being juxtapositioned, rather than the Sgt trying to con or manipulate his platoon, it is instead the squaddies who are trying to manipulate their Sargent. The original ring leader , who was always dreaming up ways to avoid work and make army life more enjoyable for the squaddies , was Corporal Springer played by Michael Medwin. While the other squaddies at various times included Pte \u2018Bootsie\u2019 Bisley (Alfie Bass), so called because he was excused boots, Pte ‘Professor’ Hatchett (Charles Hawtrey), Pte ‘Popeye’ Popplewell (Bernard Bresslaw) and Pte ‘Chubby’ Catchpole (Dick Emery).<\/p>\n
154 episodes (Some sources say 157 but not able to verify which is correct) were made during its run and it also led to a spin off series featuring two of the shows most popular characters. \u201cBootsie and Snudge\u201d as well as a feature film “I Only Arsked”. In the first and last series William Hartnell starred as Sgt Major Bullimore, who, each week with varying degrees of success, would try and keep his men in some sort of order. While between 1958 and 1960 this role fell to Bill Frazer as Company Sgt Major Claude Snudge. The various activities that the Sgt major would dish out would normally prove to form the basis of that weeks plot line.
\nThis is another of those shows which sadly sufferers from loss of original episodes with approximately only a third of its episodes remaining in the archives.<\/p>\n