Oliver Crocker is one of Britain’s leading and most respected authors, historians, podcasters and publishers on classic British television, whose work on iconic productions like The Bill and All Creatures Great and Small is valued and appreciated as much by the creators as by the fans. He has put together something very special for us this episode, as we remember actor and playwright, Frank Williams, who passed away June 26th, 2022, just short of his 91st birthday.
Frank Williams is remembered with enormous fondness by generations of fans as Timothy Farthing, the perpetually exasperated Vicar in the BBC’s Dad’s Army; on television, radio, stage, and in two feature films separated by almost half a century.
He was very supportive of Oliver’s early career in television and podcasting, they collaborated on projects including a short film adaptation of Frank Williams’ own play, Murder by Appointment, and Oliver’s biography, Dad’s Army and Beyond: The Frank Williams Story, which had the honour of a BFI National Film Theatre screening and can now be seen on Oliver’s YouTube channel, and is thoroughly recommended.
Oliver joins us to share some personal memories of this incredibly talented, generous and exceedingly kind gentleman, and has also gifted us some very special audio from his own personal archive, of Mr Williams himself, reminiscing about the adventures and misadventures of a working actor from his earliest theatre and film roles, to pioneering and undoubtedly terrifying live-to-air television drama and, of course, Dad’s Army. We also learn about his real life role with the General Synod of the Church of England, and his final, emotional onstage appearance in the West End in 2021, celebrating his 90th birthday.
Companion Newsletter
Having developed an abiding love of theatre as a child, Frank Williams had only one career in mind once his education was complete. Answering an advertisement in The Stage, he joined the Gateway Theatre Club as a student ASM (Assistant Stage Manager), and this led to his first acting role, consisting of two parts in the same play; an ant, and then a snail, in And So Ad Infinitum.
More of these fascinating recollections are in the short film biography mentioned in our introduction, Dad’s Army and Beyond: The Frank Williams Story, which was produced by Oliver and directed by BAFTA-nominated Mervyn Cumming;
“…It was at the Gateway that I first cut my teeth, as it were, as a professional playwright. When I was a boy I’d seen Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman in Random Harvest, so I was terribly keen on the idea of somebody who loses their memory, and that was the theme of my very first play, called No Traveller, and it was done at the Gateway, and that was my very first play on stage…”
His youthful interest in attending the theatre, as well as working in it, was to pay huge dividends professionally;
“…I always used to go and see the plays in the weekly rep in Watford, at the Watford Palace…later on it was taken over by Jimmy Perry and his wife, Gilda, and meeting up with them, of course, was one of the most important things that happened in my life, because Jimmy later went on to write the series, Dad’s Army…”
Watford Rep also staged Frank Williams’ own plays, including one of his first thrillers, The TV Murders, which reflected his own keen interest in the emerging medium of television, in which he would soon make his mark.
As a young actor, Frank Williams was also keen to appear in films, so to gain studio experience worked as an extra in numerous productions, including Ivanhoe (MGM 1952). He enjoyed being part of this unique community of background artists;
“…It was quite extraordinary, really…most marvellous set of people, a real cross-section of everybody from old Etonians to people who had just been let out of prison…it was a fascinating group of people, a wonderful group of people…”
In television’s formative years, drama like Emergency Ward 10 and Z-Cars, and comedies like The Army Game, were broadcast live to air. “If anything went wrong, the entire nation saw it, there was nothing you could do about it,” Frank recalled.
The television incarnation of Dad’s Army ran for a total of nine series (1968-77), with Frank Williams featuring in around half of the 80 episodes, from series three (1969) onwards.
(Image: The Telegraph)
The Dad’s Army cast were undoubtedly a happy ensemble, and the annual location shoot in Thetford, where they would all stay at the Bell Hotel, became a joyous reunion. Frank Williams generally travelled with his friend, Teddy Sinclair, who played Mr Yeatman, the Verger, a fact noted in Bill Pertwee’s warmly nostalgic memoir, Dad’s Army: the Making of a Television Legend;
“…Ted and Frank Williams became a great team in the production, and their friendship spread to their offstage activities. They would drive to filming locations together in Ted’s car, and he would accommodate Fank’s collection of books, a very heavy and almost antique video recorder and suitcases full of clothes which would leave Ted little room for his own belongings…One day I passed them driving up the A1 enroute to a filming session, they were doing about 25 miles an hour, Frank was trying to read a huge map that seemed to envelope them both, while at the same time he was talking non stop to Teddy…It was the perfect working combination and always done with great good humour…”
Edward (Teddy) Sinclair sadly passed away in August, 1977, just weeks after shooting the final episode of Dad’s Army. He and Frank Williams were set to appear together as the Ugly Sisters in a stage production of Cinderella.
Having struggled with typecasting following The Army Game, Frank Williams was keen not to face the same frustrations after the end of Dad’s Army. He subsequently went abroad seeking some professional anonymity, and found work in serious roles on stage at Vienna’s English Theatre.
Although consistent television work became elusive in his later career, he had a series of memorable cameos in very successful programmes over a number of years, including Minder, Croft and Perry’s Hi de Hi, Bergerac, the mini-series dramatisation of Jeffrey Archer’s political novel, First Among Equals, and the multi-award-winning original British version of House of Cards (1990), starring Ian Richardson. He appeared in 14 of the 26 episodes of Croft and Perry’s You Rang M’Lord?; several of his plays were staged professionally, and two productions, Murder by Appointment and Alibi For Murder, toured nationally in the UK.
He toured successfully with Chris Gidney, cowriter of his autobiography, Vicar to Dad’s Army: The Frank Williams Story, his final television credit was in Ruth Jones’ Stella in 2017, and his last stage appearance was in October 2021; a public celebration of his 90th birthday, at the Leicester Square Theatre, with a stellar guest list.
Oliver recalls;
“…Frank still insisted on walking onto the stage, he had help, and there was a collection of legends…they all went up and each shared memories of working with Frank, and in the end, everyone who had been guests went up and sang ‘We’ll Meet Again’, which was very moving…”
(Images of Frank Williams’ 90th birthday celebrations are from his official Facebook page, which remains online at the time of this publication)
In Context
Frank Williams has cited The Royal Train as his own favourite episode of Dad’s Army. He spoke to Richard Webber for an article in The Express, in July 2021, and recalled a memorable comic caper involving a runaway train and some frantic work on a pump-trolley;
“…We didn’t do health and safety much in those days and it was a bit hazardous at times…At one point, the train seemed to be getting perilously close. We weren’t sure the driver could see us and I remember Bill (Pertwee) suggesting that if it got any nearer it would be best to jump clear…”
In 1973, he was given his own feature episode of Dad’s Army, The Recruit, in which both Vicar and Verger join the Home Guard, but things, unsurprisingly, don’t go entirely to plan.
Oliver’s favourite moment from Dad’s Army featuring Frank Williams was in The Captain’s Car (1974) – The visiting French General is kissing cheeks and the Vicar is determined not to miss out.
We talk more about Frank Williams and some of his fellow Dad’s Army alumni in the second of our two previous episodes, In Conversation with Oliver Crocker, recorded in 2021. Dad’s Army and Beyond: The Frank Williams Story is embedded on the webpage, and we also recommend, and link to, some additional viewing, reading and listening, including the Dad’s Army Podcast, to which Oliver was a contributor, and in which Frank Williams featured on some fascinating episode commentaries, cast reunions and social events. (The Dad’s Army Podcast is still available but no longer updated).
Ian Lavender (Private Pike), born 1946, is, as of 2023, the only surviving regular cast member.
(POST-EDIT – Ian Lavender sadly passed away February 2nd, 2024, aged 77)
(for perhaps obvious reasons).
Brief audio clips of Frank Williams in Dad’s Army featuring in the podcast were sampled from these episodes; The Bullet is Not for Firing, The Miser’s Hoard, Battle of the Giants, The Love of Three Oranges and When Did You Last See Your Money? Find complete episode guides and more background on Dad’s Army and other David Croft comedies at his official website, davidcroft.co.uk.
Oliver mentions two BBC pilots Frank Williams appeared in, which were regrettably not commissioned as series. There is a little information on these at IMDb; George and Bernard Shaw, written by John Finnemore and featuring Richard Griffiths, Stephanie Cole and Robert Lindsay, and Beautiful Day, with Darren Boyd, Sarah Hadland and Judy Parfitt. (Find Frank Williams’ complete filmography at IMDb)
Victoria Wood once described Dad’s Army as ‘the most affectionately regarded comedy programme in the history of television’, and Frank Williams made his own unique contribution to that universal love for the programme in all its forms, the characters, and the actors who brought them to life.
On a more personal level, Oliver reminds us that Frank Williams touched so many lives;
“A gift that Frank had as a human being…he made anyone he met feel special.”
We do hope you enjoyed our special episode and newsletter commemorating and celebrating the life of Frank Williams. Huge thanks to Oliver Crocker for producing and presenting his own personal tribute, and for entrusting it with us.
Learn more about Oliver on our community page, from where you can also link to The Bill Podcast, his publishing website, Devonfire Books, and the acclaimed scripted podcast series, Letter from Helvetica.
Frank Williams
Actor and Playwright
(1931-2022)
The DEC4 Podcast by George Fairbrother 