| Private Thomas Bracewell | |
 | |
| Occupation | Unknown |
| Affiliations | Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard |
| Series information | |
| First seen | The Man and the Hour |
| Last Seen | The Man and the Hour (appeared) Museum Piece (mentioned) |
| Portrayed by | John Ringham |
| List of Characters | |
Thomas Bracewell was an upper-class buffoon from Walmington-on-Sea. He was a private in the town's LDV (later called 'Home Guard'). He was set to be one of the main character in the series, but due to the overwhelming number of major characters that were introduced, it was decided that he was to be dropped. He only appeared in the first episode of the programme, and was mentioned in the second.
Biography[]
In 1940, upon hearing Anthony Eden's radio announcement on the forming of the Local Defence Volunteers, Bracewell joined his local LDV, which was under the command of Captain Mainwaring. At the parade, Bracewell turned up dressed as if for a dinner party, and asked Mainwaring if he was "going to be long" as it was his wife's birthday. Joe Walker then sold him a watch for him to give to his wife; in "all this confusion" he had not had time to get her a present. A shocked Bracewell was then chosen by Mainwaring to act as a decoy in a mock-up of how the platoon would deal with an enemy tank; after his initial attempts of "Umm... I say..." are ridiculed by Mainwaring, Bracewell 'draws the attention of the enemy' with "I say, you fascist beasts!", much to Mainwaring's dismay (The Man and the Hour).
A few weeks later, when Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson are discussing what weapons are available to the platoon, Wilson mentions Bracewell's "number three iron"—a golf club (Museum Piece).
According to an interview with the director and producers of Dad’s Army, he was set to become a major character, however it was felt he was too similar to Godfrey.
Trivia[]
- His portrayer John Ringham also appeared in several episodes as Captain Bailey.
- His wife's birthday was on the same day as Anthony Eden's announcement of the formation of the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV); the 14th of May, 1940.
- Bracewell's interests included playing golf.
- He owned a "number three iron".