The church bells are to be removed to provide metal for the war effort, so the vicar has one last ring before they are removed. After the church bells ring (which is the signal indicating the start of a German invasion), Mainwaring, Wilson, Jones, Frazer, Pike and Walker all go to Godfrey's cottage and start fighting the "Germans."
While most of the platoon are on their way to the cinema to see a training film, the church bells ring, and Mainwaring, Jones and Frazer take up a defensive position at Godfrey's cottage. Wilson, Pike, Walker and Sponge are unable to find the others, and, leaving Sponge behind at the command post, head to Godfrey's cottage. There they see Jones, wearing one of Godfrey's old German helmets, and fire at him. Meanwhile, Godfrey's sisters shake a tablecloth out of the window, which is interpreted by Wilson as a surrender. In the end, Sponge starts firing on Mainwaring and Wilson.
This programme was formerly one of the missing Dad's Army episodes and was thought to be irretrievably lost for many years. However, in June 2001 this episode and Operation Kilt were returned to the BBC. The film cans were in a poor condition and the film itself had seriously deteriorated. Following restoration by BBC technicians, it was repeated.
This episode was originally titled "The Battle of Mon Repos".
Amy Dalby, who featured as Dolly Godfrey, died on 10 March 1969, two days after this episode was broadcast.[1] She was replaced by Joan Cooper, Arthur Lowe's wife, when the character reappeared in later episodes.
This episode contains an anachronism, with the platoon preparing to watch the film Next of Kin (a real British propaganda film made, and screened, in 1942 to promote the British government message to the general public that "Careless talk costs lives"). However, according to dialogue spoken by the Verger in the much later series three episode Room at the Bottom (regarding the recent sinking of the German Battleship Bismarck), the events of that episode were set on either 27 or 28 May 1941, meaning that "The Battle for Godfrey's Cottage" must be set at the very least twelve months before the release of the film in UK cinemas.[2]
