DAlcop Dad’s Army copyright Jimmy Perry & David Croft. File compilations copyright Gordon Brodie & Christopher Leather Section 1 : Main Characters : Private Joesph Walker CHARACTER Private Joseph Walker PLAYED BY James Beck FULL NAME Joseph Walker NICKNAME None ADDRESS Not Known TELEPHONE NUMBER Not Known DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH Date not confirmed, but thought to be in early years of the 1900s. We do know that he was born in Plaistow, East London and that his father was a Tram driver from West Ham depot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION About 5’10”/5’11” in height, blackish/brown swept back hair with sideburns, thin moustache, medium build, Cockney accent. HOME GUARD RANK Private. Once promoted to Sergeant by Captain Frazer, and promoted to Sergeant again with rest of platoon when Private Pike misinterpreted platoon orders. CIVILIAN/DAYTIME JOB Dealer in essential supplies. Previously worked as used car salesman before War for his cousin in London. Once described himself as a banana salesman and a wholesale supplier of illuminated signs. May have worked at one time as a Hall Porter at Park Lane Hotel. WORK ADDRESS 1b Slope Alley, Walmington-on-Sea He also had a shed up a track just off Eastgate Road which held various blackmarket goods, even a Fire Engine. Also had a stall at the Saturday Market from which Mrs Pike once bought some silk knickers that had been made from a parachute Walker had found. WORK TELEPHONE NUMBER Not Known 1 DAlcop Dad’s Army copyright Jimmy Perry & David Croft. File compilations copyright Gordon Brodie & Christopher Leather EDUCATED AT Not confirmed but believed to be at local schools in East London. KNOWN FAMILY/RELATIVES Not married. Father a Tram Driver, was nearly always unemployed. Mother described as thin and uncomplaining. Had three Brothers and two Sisters, plus a cousin. Also had a Great-Aunt who was in a temporary Wartime LCC Home in Dover. Possible Grandmother was still alive in 1940. (See Eccentricities). No names known for family. KNOWN ASSOCIATES Boy assistant Charlie. Friend called Albert, who spent time in jail for making spare parts for safes. Home Guard colleagues. General Monteverdi, an Italian POW in the local POW Camp. Any other characters whom he could do deals with, some most certainly of dubious repute. KNOWN ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS Went out with Edith Parish and Shirley, two girls who looked remarkably alike. Quite keen at one time on Violet Gibbons whilst she worked at Woolworth’s, but did not like the smell when she went to work at the Fish & Chip Shop. Could also turn on the charm for the girls at the Telephone Exchange and British Restaurant. Also rumoured to have gone out with a girl who carried the Salvation Army banner. Also seen on one occasion snogging an unknown ATS girl at local cinema. Also had a quick romp in a haystack at Mrs Prentice’s Farm with a Land Army girl (Judy) who was allegedly ‘Well stacked.’ PREVIOUS MILITARY CAREER Was called up into the Army for very short period during WW2 - was discharged when they found he was allergic to Corn Beef. DECORATIONS None, but was given the ‘Sacred Order of the Golden Kris of Aba Dhobi’ by a Sheik whilst working as a Porter at a hotel in London’s Park Lane. PREVIOUS BACKGROUND Born and brought up in the East End of London, Joe Walker had a sense of honesty, deference and loyalty to King and Country despite his poor background, instilled into him from an early age by his parents. He started ‘wheeling and dealing’ whilst working a at his cousin’s garage. His greatest opportunity came during the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, this event taking place during a bus strike. He ‘borrowed’ two furniture vans belonging to a client of the garage, the vans having been parked up there. He used them to convey people into Central London for the big event, even hiring out the camp beds that the vans had been carrying. Two years later, the War started, and to a spiv like Joe, it was another opportunity to make money. However, he moved to Walmington in late March 1940, due to the violence that was becoming prevalent in the streets of East London. FAVOURITE PHRASES “You (just) can’t get it (in the shops) these days.” “Now I can help you there.” “Taffy,” “Silly old duffer,” (usually said to chive L/Cpl Jones). AILMENTS Had an allergy to Corn Beef. 2 DAlcop Dad’s Army copyright Jimmy Perry & David Croft. File compilations copyright Gordon Brodie & Christopher Leather PETS None owned but did acquire a tracker dog for the platoon. Also acquired a scraggy goat to be used as a platoon mascot. The goat had a liking for paper money, eating one of Captain Mainwaring’s notes. HOBBIES/SPORTS Wheeling and dealing. Making money. Darts. Cards. May have been in local Rotary Club despite dubious business dealings. VEHICLES OWNED None, but often used L/Cpl Jones’s van to “Fulfil his orders.” Even used it once to convey Italian POWs to his workshops for the night shift, and on another occasion to collect £50 worth of onions for Mr Hodges, which he was unable to deliver before the van was required for a training camp. On one occasion he turned up on exercise with an old open-top small black car (reg no: EU 2657) with two scooters inside. He cheekily offered the car to Captain Mainwaring for £10 with its own cold weather starter (a starting handle!) CHARACTERISTICS A bright, breezy, brash Cockney with a cheeky sense of humour who was always making wisecracks. Deplored violence. Despite his money making ways, had a heart of gold. Always looking for chances to make money. Sometimes spoke as if on his market stall. Probably the most intelligent and astute member of the platoon. ECCENTRICITIES Always very smartly dressed in civvies, wearing a double breasted striped suit, often with a loudly coloured shirt and tie. Also a Homburg type hat and spats. The only thing missing was the violin case! During the War had an obsession about the scarcity of knicker elastic. Once admitted he would sell his own Grandmother, but there was no market for her. Could best be summed up as flamboyant. FURTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION There is no doubt that Joe Walker was a valuable member of the local Community in Wartime Walmington, by virtue of the fact he could obtain most items that were rationed, albeit at a price and not too many questions asked by the purchaser. Captain Mainwaring did not approve of his blackmarket activities, but was not averse to asking Walker to supply him with a bottle of whisky or some cheese, and other rationed items. The rest of the platoon and others in the town would also make use of Walker’s sources, whether it was pigeons for Jones the Butcher, fudge for Miss Godfrey, or whisky for Captain Square. Private Frazer mentioned once that he would “burn in the devil’s own furnace.” However, his black-marketeering helped Captain Mainwaring get off a trumped up charge when the Magistrate (Captain Square) realised his contact with Walker might be exposed in open court. His business took a downturn when the Americans arrived with luxuries like nylons and chocolate, but things soon picked up again. Walker’s attitude to life can best be illustrated by the incident where he found a parachute, and had it made into eight dozen pairs of ladies’ knickers, much to Captain Mainwaring’s disbelief. Apparently they sold like hotcakes at his market stall, a pair even being bought by Mrs Pike. Another example of his money making ways was when his Great-Aunt moved to the home in Dover, he rented out her room to a Ministry of Food sub-office. When Walker suddenly disappeared in the later stages of the War, it was not talked about by the platoon. He left a note for Mainwaring with two pound notes attached which said ‘Dear Cap. Thanks for letting me off. Had to go up to the smoke for a few days to do a deal. I think I can swing it for a grand, but I shall have to drop the geezer a pony. On the other hand I may cop it for a bit under the odds in which case I’ll have to sweeten him with a monkey and half 3 DAlcop Dad’s Army copyright Jimmy Perry & David Croft. File compilations copyright Gordon Brodie & Christopher Leather a bar for his nippers. PS Here’s a couple of oncers for your trouble’. As a result the platoon no longer got their essential supplies. POST WAR Rumoured that after the War, essential supplies starting to filter back into the shops, Walker returned and went back into the used car business in Walmington. He was still alive in 1968 when he was seen as one of the Town Council Committee at an “I’m Backing Britain” Dinner in Walmington. 4.