Letters reveal a real Dad's Army

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Next summer marks 70 years since the formation of the Local Defence Volunteers - renamed the Home Guard in July 1940 by Winston Churchill.

From starting out as groups of poorly equipped, but enthusiastic, men in May 1940, the organisation was trained and armed to combat a German invasion.

In 1968, the exploits of a fictional unit was first broadcast on the BBC.

Dad's Army ran until 1977 and the series has its own appreciation society.

Hand-written and typed papers held by the North Highland Archive and published online on Highland Council's Am Baile website give an insight into Dad's Army-esque scenarios in Home Guard units in the Highlands.

I do not want my school to be a dreadful example of how not to carry out instructions Warden James Macleod

They reveal warnings from top brass that not all airmen found to have landed by parachute were the enemy after treatment meted out to a British pilot who had bailed out from his stricken aircraft.

Also revealed, are the words suspected spies were to be asked to repeat because they were deemed difficult for Germans to pronounce.

The Ulbster S Section in Caithness appears to have had its very own Corporal Jones.

In a letter dated 13 January 1941, to the local senior officer Commander McHardy, a volunteer complains about a night's drill in Mid Blyth Hall.

He writes how the instructor - a lance corporal - arrived an hour late and the unit's 2nd lieutenant 15 minutes after that.

The complainer goes on to say how the lance corporal's instruction on the use of a rifle left him and other volunteers "bored to death and learnt nothing and we were stiff with cold sitting in an unheated hall".

Men were later made to stand for half an hour for a lecture on the proper way to stand to attention and at ease.

The letter writer adds: "Finally we were told that we knew nothing."

Tensions and one-upmanship between Captain George Mainwaring - played by Arthur Lowe - and Bill Pertwee's ARP warden William Hodges appear to have mirrored real life as revealed in another letter.

James Macleod, a local warden, wrote to Commander McHardy of his disgust at the activities of Home Guard using the school in Latheron, a small village in Caithness.

The source of his anger was the volunteers' failure to black-out windows against the light attracting the attention of German aircraft.

He wrote angrily: "I blacked-out one room and later on found they had a light on in a room without a black-out.

A code word used by the Home Guard took its name from Gallipoli

"I spoke to them, but not to much effect."

Mr Macleod said he was quite within his rights to refuse to handover keys to the school to the Home Guard.

He went on: "I do not want my school to be a dreadful example of how not to carry out instructions."

Memos sent to Highlands units from headquarters detail code words to use in the event of an invasion.

They include blackbird for enemy ships, caterpillars for tanks and parasols for parachutes.

Gallipoli - the scene of an ill-fated amphibious landing on Turkey by British, Australian New Zealand Army Corps and Commonwealth soldiers in World War I - was to be used if German forces were seen landing from ships.

Further memos reveal how insurance companies were prepared to cover the cost of damage caused to vehicles carrying Molotov bombs.

They also show the supply of steel helmets was "not entirely satisfactory", but added that talk of defective ammunition was wrong and misinformation spread by subversives.

In a letter to units headed Action against parachutists, volunteers are asked to remember that not all those landing by parachute are the enemy.

The warning followed an incident involving a wounded British airman, which suggests he was treated more harshly than he might have expected.

The letter reads: "It is not desired to dampen the admirable spirit shown by those concerned in this incident, but it is considered that it should again be brought to the notice of troops, particularly the Home Guard, that men landing by parachute may be friendly."

It goes on to say some friendly fliers might have foreign accents.

Eastern European airmen, including Poles, flew with the RAF.

In August 2007, a memorial was unveiled as a tribute to Czechoslovakian crewmen who lost their lives on war-time operations while stationed in the Highlands.

Forty-six crew members died while serving at Tain with 311 Squadron, between August 1944 and August 1945.

Mainwaring-style bankers

A secret memo to units warns that Germans may land in the country dressed as British forces personnel.

It advices that a way of testing suspects was to ask them to repeat words that "English speaking Germans may have trouble pronouncing".

The list includes Buckie, Rothes and trough.

Dad's Army and the spirit of the Home Guard continue to be celebrated today.

Tributes to Colin Bean - who played Private Sponge and died last month - have been paid on the Dad's Army Appreciation Society, whose president is Bill Pertwee.

Back in February, an MP called for the return of old-fashioned Capt Mainwaring-style bankers while questioning bank bosses at a Treasury Committee meeting.

John Thurso said 99% of his constituents would not care if merchant bankers and arbitrage traders "disappeared down a black hole".

The Scottish Liberal Democrat added: "Could we get back to Captain Mainwaring running a bank we could trust?"