Colonel Trumper's Private War

Colonel Trumper's Private War

1961 United Kingdom

It is June 1940 - and Britain stands alone. The choice of Colonel Trumper (Dennis Price) to rescue a Polish professor proves that our backs are indeed against the wall. Following his rescue the professor, (played by Warren Mitchell), joins Trumper's unit which also included Pvt. Hicks (George Tovey). Each week Trumper and his unit are sent on a different undercover mission in Europe, but not before they complete preperations at a highly secret School of Espionage where they manage to pass their final test-with some degree of success. Trumper, of British Counter-Intelligence, was described in a TV Times article as the man "with the mind of a criminal and the morals of a Borgia." Somehow, though-he managed to muddle through each assignment. He took his orders from a Lt. Hasting (William Gaunt). 

This was television's first attempt at making a sitcom set during the War years. The series, made by Granada Television, first aired at 8.55pm on Friday 15 September 1961. By October the cast had been demobbed. 

Share on...

Published on December 5th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

A J Wentworth

Also tagged Sitcom

The final starring vehicle for the masterful comedic talents of the incomparable, Arthur Lowe.

Comedy Playhouse

Also released in 1961

Series of unrelated one-off comedies used to showcase the talents of both writers old and new to television -as well as established and up-and-coming sitcom stars, Comedy Playhouse produced some of the best loved sitcoms on British television.

Out of This World

Also starring William Gaunt

British TV's first attempt at a science fiction anthology series.

Bless Me Father

Also tagged Dads Army

Arthur Lowe swapped his Home Guard uniform for Sacred Vestments to play a mischievous and cheerful eccentric in this gem of a comedy.

No Place Like Home

Also starring William Gaunt

Arthur and Beryl Crabtree planned for a quiet life once their children had left home...or so they thought!

Clochemerle

Also starring Dennis Price

It's the summer of 1922 and the small village of Clochmerle - nestled in the Beaujolais region of France, is a happy little enclave that has avoided modernity and impropriety in a timeless atmosphere of calm and culture - until now...

Detective TV series 1964 & 1968

Also starring Dennis Price

BBC anthology series in which each week a different famous literary detective is brought to the screen. The series spawned several long-running series including 'Cluff,' 'Father Brown,' and 'Sherlock Holmes'

About Face

Also tagged Sitcom

A series of 12 unconnected half-hour sitcoms, all written by different writers, created as a starring vehicle for Maureen Lipman