How Did they Get Away with 'That'?

[Humphrey Hacker]

It could be argued the whole premise of Dad's Army is very much "how did they get away with it", because its documented in the 2015 We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story that it was was felt by Paul Fox (head of BBC 1 at the time) that it was probably too soon after the war for such a show, he himself having been in the parachute regiment during the war years. The show's originally planned titles were seen as a step too far and offensive, A portion of "these" titles is seen in the 2015 film, though I doubt they're the genuine ones originally planned for use and may be just some stock footage from a library somewhere.

Dad's Army began in 1968 when memories of the Second World War were still painfully fresh for many including the cast. As you said Paul Fox was a former Para, John Le Mesurier was a Captain and Clive Dunn spent much of the war as a German POW.

This is just a theory but I think Dad's Army become popular from the early 1970's onwards when the political and industrial situations in the UK were shall we say highly combustible and maybe the show acted as a kind of reminder that the nation had been through worse and had got through it.