Dad’s Army Museum in Thetford lodges plans for vintage red phone box outside entrance

A museum dedicated to the Dad’s Army TV series has lodged a planning application for a vintage red phone box outside its entrance.

The museum, in Thetford’s Guildhall, celebrates the wartime comedy which was largely filmed in the town, with the building itself appearing in the series.

The planning application seeks permission from Breckland Council to reinstall the attraction after it was damaged by a group of children.

The planning application has been submitted by Stuart Wright on behalf of the volunteers who run the museum.

It is hoped the phone box will attract more visitors and improve the appearance of the streetscape.

The sitcom was based on the antics of a Home Guard unit in the fictional town of Walmington-on-Sea in the Second World War.

Its exterior scenes were largely filmed in Norfolk, especially on the Stanford Training Area, near Thetford, and in the town itself.

Other locations used in the county include Winterton, Weybourne, Oxburgh Hall and Leziate.

The red phone box the museum wants to keep outside did not appear in the sitcom itself.

However, a similar kiosk played a major role in the episode The Lion Has Phones, which was filmed in Thetford, at West Tofts, on the Stanford Training Area, and at the sugar beet factory in Bury St Edmunds.

In the episode, Captain Mainwaring has to teach his men how to use a public telephone box for emergency communication after Pike and Godfrey admit they do not know how to use one.

Mrs Pike, Pike’s mother, believes they are unhygienic and Godfrey says he is hopeless with machines.

Later, Jones is ordered to phone HQ to report that a German plane has crashed. However, he accidentally calls the local cinema.