The Navy Lark

For the 1959 film, see The Navy Lark (film).
The Navy Lark
Genre Comedy
Running time 30 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Home station BBC Light Programme
Starring Leslie Phillips
Jon Pertwee
Judy Cornwell
Heather Chasen
Ronnie Barker
Dennis Price
Stephen Murray
Richard Caldicot
Michael Bates
Tenniel Evans
Air dates 1959 to 1977
No. of episodes 244 (includes 2 Christmas "Specials" to HMS Troutbridge / Arctic Survey teams 1962 & 1965)

The Navy Lark[1] was a radio sit-com about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS Troutbridge, (a pun on HMS Troubridge, an actual Royal Navy destroyer) based in HMNB Portsmouth. In series 1 and 2, the ship and crew were stationed offshore at an unnamed location known simply as "The Island". In series 2 this island was revealed to be owned by Lt. Cdr. Stanton.

The programme was transmitted on the BBC Light Programme and subsequently BBC Radio 2. It was produced by Alastair Scott Johnston. Jon Pertwee suggested the idea of a forces comedy based on the Royal Navy.[2] Laurie Wyman wrote the scripts with bulletins from HMS Troubridge especially regarding excuses for late return from leave and other misdemenours[3] (with George Evans from quite early on, but who was not named until the 12th Series onwards). For most of its run, it starred Jon Pertwee, Leslie Phillips and Stephen Murray.

Plot

Episodes were self-contained, although there was continuity within the series, and sometimes a reference to a previous episode might be made. A normal episode consisted of Sub Lt Phillips, scheming Chief Petty Officer Pertwee, and bemused Lt. Murray trying to get out of trouble they created for themselves without their direct superior, Commander (later Captain) "Thunderguts" Povey finding out. Scenes frequently featured a string of eccentric characters, often played by Ronnie Barker or Jon Pertwee.

Republic of Potarneyland

The Republic of Potarneyland, a country situated somewhere on the Indian subcontinent, is featured in several episodes. Over the course of the series, it is revealed that Potarneyland had recently been granted independence from Great Britain, and had joined NATO because the Potanis considered it to be a "free gift scheme". During Series 3 of The Navy Lark, a Potarneyland frigate, the Poppadom, appears in several episodes manned by various Potani officers voiced by Michael Bates and Ronnie Barker.

Cast

Production

A Radio Times newspaper extract from 1960, showing the cast of the show and promoting the shows return.

The series used accents and characterised voices to supplement the humour, as well as a good deal of innuendo.

The show's theme tune was 'Trade Wind Hornpipe' written and performed by Tommy Reilly on a Barry Music compilation of short interlude pieces published in 1958 on BMC118. Aspiring musicians in the 1950s would produce copyright free music discs with the hope of the recordings being used by a film company/TV station/radio etc. which would be significantly more convenient to them with the bonus of zero expense compared to commissioning work. This particular disc was found in the BBC library by Alastair Scott Johnston's secretary (Evelyn Wells) on the third day of listening to a wide selection of library discs in his office and despairing of finding the right 'mood enhancer' once the show was in the writing stage in late autumn of 1958. The often promoted St Ninian's Isle was not written until many years later, and has only a passing similarity to the 'Dwight Barker's composition, Tommy's composing name. The Navy Lark's musical interludes between scenes enhanced the show's nautical 'feel' all of which were taken from Tommy Reilly's Barry Music collection:- BM118,201,251,252,253,254 where the 5 to 70 second compositions enjoyed such titles as 'Jaunty Joe', 'Deck Games', 'Gangway' and so on. The programme was strong on creating identifiable characters, the listener was able to clearly differentiate each person Laurie Wyman created; many of whom acquired enduring catchphrases, most notably from Sub Lieutenant Phillips: "Corrrrr", "Ooh, nasty...", "Oh lumme!", and "Left hand down a bit". "Ev'rybody down!" was a phrase of CPO Pertwee's, necessitated by a string of incomprehensible navigation orders by Phillips, and followed by a sound effect of the ship crashing. Also, whenever Pertwee had some menial job to be done, Able Seaman Johnson was always first in line to do it, inevitably against his will: "You're rotten, you are!". The telephone response from Naval Intelligence (Ronnie Barker), was always an extremely gormless and dimwitted delivery of "'Ello, Intelligence 'ere" or "This is intelligence speakin'".

Other recurring verbal features were the invented words "humgrummits" and "floggle-toggle" which served to cover all manner of unspecified objects ranging from foodstuffs to naval equipment.

Reception

The programme made household names of Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Richard Caldicot, Ronnie Barker's versatile contributions were recognised as soon as the show started and Laurie (later Lawrie)was prevailed upon by the producer to write more parts for him because he was getting terrific praise and high levels of audience satisfaction. The interplay between Jon Pertwee and him were immediate hits and his Commander Stanton appearances became events in themselves to savor, not to mention the Potarneylander 'duets' with Michael Bates. Michael Bates later appeared on television as Blamire in Last of the Summer Wine and as Rangi Ram in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Judy Cornwell was later to appear in the short series Moody and Pegg, but became best known when she was cast as Daisy, one of Hyacinth Bucket's sisters in Keeping Up Appearances. Dennis Price returned for a guest appearance in the fourth series episode A Hole Lieutenant.

Repeats can regularly be heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Sequels and adaptations

There were several radio sequels, including The Embassy Lark and The Big Business Lark. The TV Lark was intended to be a replacement for The Navy Lark starting with what would have been the programme's fifth series. This situation came about due to the head of light entertainment believing that "forces"-based humour had had its day and television was the next "big thing", so Lawrie was told to create a show with the same cast in an independent TV station situation. Alastair Scott Johnston and Laurie Wyman tried to stop this but were overruled, hence the arrival of The TV Lark.

The entire cast had been drummed out of the service (as the announcer puts it) and hired by Troutbridge TV Ltd.. Janet Brown joined the cast due to the absence of Heather Chasen for this series. However, mainly due to public pressure, the production team of Alastair Scott Johnston and Laurie Wyman managed to revert the show back to nautical capers, even though episode ten of The TV Lark revealed that CPO Pertwee had arranged to flog almost the entirety of HMS Troutbridge. Storylines in The TV Lark nudged back to naval origins across the ten shows until they were finally reunited with Troutbridge and acceptable storylines once more. Episode 9 is lost.

In 1959 a film version was made, written by Laurie Wyman and Sid Colin and directed by Gordon Parry. It starred Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner, Elvi Hale, Leslie Phillips and Nicholas Phipps.

Wyman co-wrote with three other writers a television sitcom HMS Paradise (Associated-Rediffusion, 1964–5) set in a naval shore establishment in which Caldicot played Captain Turvey, but only one series was made. The entire programme was erased, but a rumour exists that one episode still survives.

The show was condensed from 30 to 27 minutes by Transcription services, then the discs were exported around the world except for South Africa. As Springbok Radio was a commercial station, the BBC refused to allow the station to re-broadcast the British shows so the station acquired the scripts from Laurie and edited them to around twenty-five minutes each, to accommodate the commercial breaks. The revised show was recorded by them in front of a live audience. All the UK associations were kept for the Durban audiences which must have been incomprehensible on occasions. Excerpts of these broadcasts can be heard on the Springbok celebration site and occasionally Pumamouse.

Episode guide

1st Series Spring 1959

  1.   1- 1   29 Mar 1959   The Missing Jeep      
  2.   1- 2   5  Apr 1959   Operation Fag End (pilot episode)
  3.   1- 3   12 Apr 1959   Number One's Chair
  4.   1- 4   19 Apr 1959   The Fairground Lights
  5.   1- 5   26 Apr 1959   The Comfort Fund     
  6.   1– 6   3  May 1959   Stuck up the Inlet
  7.   1– 7   10 May 1959   The Admiral's Party 
  8.   1– 8   17 May 1959   The Hank of Heather
  9.   1– 9   24 May 1959   The Multiple Mine 
 10.   1–10   31 May 1959   The Gun Mechanism Test
 11.   1-11   7  Jun 1959   The Whittlesea Bay Yacht Regatta
 12.   1-12   14 Jun 1959   The Psychology Test
 13.   1-13   21 Jun 1959   A Watch on the Initiative
 14.   1-14   28 Jun 1959   An Exercise in Filming    
 15.   1-15   5  Jul 1959   The Smuggling Spy
 16.   1-16   12 Jul 1959   The Whittlesea Carnival and Fête

2nd Series Autumn 1959

 17.   2- 1   16 Oct 1959   New at the Helm  
 18.   2- 2   23 Oct 1959   Fatso's Box Brownie           
 19.   2- 3   30 Oct 1959   Bring Back the Barge
 20.   2- 4   6  Nov 1959   The Mock Action 
 21.   2- 5   13 Nov 1959   Going Dutch   
 22.   2- 6   20 Nov 1959   The Figurehead        
 23.   2- 7   27 Nov 1959   Gunboat to Gumba
 24.   2- 8   4  Dec 1959   Johnson Finds Treasure
 25.   2- 9   11 Dec 1959   The Charter Trip to Antarctica
 26.   2-10   18 Dec 1959   Cementing Relations
 27.   2-11   25 Dec 1959   Strike up the Band     
 28.   2-12   1  Jan 1960   The Route March
 29.   2-13   8  Jan 1960   A Trip up the Thames
 30.   2-14   15 Jan 1960   Radar Talk Down System
 31.   2-15   22 Jan 1960   A Crisp Romance       
 32.   2-16   29 Jan 1960   The Lighthouse Lark           
 33.   2-17   5  Feb 1960   Pertwee Posted to Portsmouth
 34.   2-18   12 Feb 1960   Johnson's Diet 
 35.   2-19   19 Feb 1960   Tug of War      
 36.   2-20   26 Feb 1960   Return to Potarneyland <<< missing (2013)
 37.   2-21   4  Mar 1960   The Cross Country Run
 38.   2-22   11 Mar 1960   The Morning After
 39.   2-23   18 Mar 1960   The Admiral's Present     
 40.   2-24   25 Mar 1960   Secret Mission to Calais
 41.   2-25   1  Apr 1960   Mr Murray Goes Sick     
 42.   2-26   8  Apr 1960   The Portarneyland Fishing Limit

3rd Series 1960

 43.   3- 1   2  Nov 1960   In Portsmouth for a Re-Fit
 44.   3- 2   9  Nov 1960   Refitting Ebeneezer Pertwee's Tug
 45.   3- 3   16 Nov 1960   Sea Trials of the Poppadom
 46.   3- 4   23 Nov 1960   Mutiny Aboard Troutbridge
 47.   3- 5   30 Nov 1960   The Explosive Biscuits
 48.   3- 6   7  Dec 1960   Sir Willoughby Takes Over the Island
 49.   3- 7   14 Dec 1960   Mount Rumpus Atoll
 50.   3- 8   21 Dec 1960   Mr Murray's Houseboat
 51.   3- 9   28 Dec 1960   Johnson's Birthday 
 52.   3-10   4  Jan 1961   Povey's Unexpected Leave
 53.   3-11   11 Jan 1961   Families' Day
 54.   3-12   18 Jan 1961   Falmouth Ghost Ship      
 55.   3-13   25 Jan 1961   Onabushkan Flu
 56.   3-14   1  Feb 1961   The Efficiency Expert
 57.   3-15   8  Feb 1961   The Floggle Grummit Missile
 58.   3-16   15 Feb 1961   The Hitch Hiking Counterfeiter
 59.   3-17   22 Feb 1961   Commodore Goldstein
 60.   3-18   1  Mar 1961   Mr Phillips Has Navigation Tuition
 61.   3-19   8  Mar 1961   CPO Pertwee and the Laundry
 62.   3-20   15 Mar 1961   The Surprise Wedding

4th Series 1961

 63.   4- 1   15 Sep 1961   Returning from Leave        
 64.   4- 2   22 Sep 1961   Captain Povey's Spy      
 65.   4- 3   29 Sep 1961   The Secret of Nessie's Youth
 66.   4- 4   6  Oct 1961   The Northampton Hunt Ball
 67.   4- 5   13 Oct 1961   Hijacked
 68.   4- 6   20 Oct 1961   Admiral Troutbridge
 69.   4- 7   27 Oct 1961   Relatives and Reservations
 70.   4- 8   3  Nov 1961   Humgrummits on the High Seas
 71.   4- 9   10 Nov 1961   Are Captain and Mrs Povey Married?
 72.   4-10   17 Nov 1961   Cine Cameras at Sea
 73.   4-11   24 Nov 1961   The Citizen Adjustment Course
 74.   4-12   1  Dec 1961   A Hole Lieutenant
 75.   4-13   8  Dec 1961   Spy Catching in Casablanca
 76.   4-14   15 Dec 1961   Mount Pot Erupts
 77.   4-15   22 Dec 1961   Captain Povey's Shop
 78.   4-16   29 Dec 1961   Leading Seaman Goldstein's Party
 79.   4-17   5  Jan 1962   The Invitation
 80.   4-18   12 Jan 1962   The Cornish Exercise <<< missing (2013)
 81.   4-19   19 Jan 1962   A Strange Hobby
 82.   4-20   26 Jan 1962   Mr Phillips Get Engaged
 83.   4-21   2  Feb 1962   The Sinking of the Bubble Car
 84.   4-22   9  Feb 1962   Long John Pertwee
 85.   4-23   16 Feb 1962   The Admiral's Accident Report
 86.   4-24   23 Feb 1962   Over the Sea to Rosyth
 87.   4-25   2  Mar 1962   The Return of Sir Frederick Flatley
 88.   4-26   9  Mar 1962   The Ship's Concert

Christmas Special 1962

 89.   S- 1   Xmas   1962 Calling The Antarctic. (Christmas Special 1962. 
                          Not broadcast in the UK. Released on The Navy Lark: 
                          The Collection: Series 4, Vol 2.)

The TV Lark 1963

T01.                      Opening Night
T02.                      Advertising Drive
T03.                      The Party Political Broadcast
T04.                      Back to Portsmouth
T05.                      Serial Programming
T06.                      The African Incident
T07.                      Yours, or MINE!!!
T08.                      The Portarneyland Election
T09.                      [Title?] <<< (missing)
T10.                      Back in the Navy

5th Series spring 1963

 90.   5- 1   5  Apr 1963   First Day out of Dock
 91.   5- 2   12 Apr 1963   The New Barmaid (100th edition)
 92.   5- 3   19 Apr 1963   A Deliberate Bashing
 93.   5- 4   26 Apr 1963   Whittlesea Regatta
 94.   5– 5   3  May 1963   HMS Troutbridge Gets a Rocket
 95.   5– 6   10 May 1963   The Ghost Ship

6th Series autumn 1963

 96.   6- 1   27 Sep 1963   Wren Chasen Returns
 97.   6- 2   4  Oct 1963   On the Carpet
 98.   6- 3   11 Oct 1963   The Bungalese Spies
 99.   6- 4   18 Oct 1963   Troutbridge's Party
100.   6- 5   25 Oct 1963   Rescuing Admirals
101.   6- 6   1  Nov 1963   Demise of the Depth Charges
102.   6- 7   8  Nov 1963   The Struggle for Promotion
103.   6- 8   15 Nov 1963   Fred Computables
104.   6- 9   22 Nov 1963   Stormy Weather
105.   6-10   29 Nov 1963   Chasing the Kepeac
106.   6-11   6  Dec 1963   The Submerged Island
107.   6-12   13 Dec 1963   The Sicilian Secret Agent
108.   6-13   20 Dec 1963   German's Troutbridge
109.   6-14   27 Dec 1963   Confirming Povey's Rank
110.   6-15   3  Jan 1964   The Calais Dock Strike
111.   6-16   10 Jan 1964   Johnson's Memoirs
112.   6-17   17 Jan 1964   The Emperor of Tratvia
113.   6-18   24 Jan 1964   Open Day
114.   6-19   31 Jan 1964   Stuck on a Sandbank

7th Series 1965

115.   7- 1   11 Jul 1965   Back in the Muck Again
116.   7- 2   18 Jul 1965   Smugglers in the Solent
117.   7- 3   25 Jul 1965   Mr Murray is Victimised
118.   7- 4   1  Aug 1965   The Poveys Move House
119.   7- 5   8  Aug 1965   Captain Povey Reports Sick
120.   7- 6   15 Aug 1965   Admiral Pertwee's Fleet
121.   7- 7   22 Aug 1965   Let Loose with a Chopper
122.   7- 8   29 Aug 1965   Making a Right Pig's Breakfast
123.   7- 9   5  Sep 1965   The Mysterious Pudding Mine
124.   7-10   12 Sep 1965   The Hovercraft Training Course
125.   7-11   19 Sep 1965   Sabotaged Floggle-Toggle Box
126.   7-12   26 Sep 1965   The Portarneyland Training Exercise
127.   7-13   3  Oct 1965   Going on Leave to Croydon

Christmas Special 1965

128.   S- 2   Xmas   1965 Hitting the Ice Floe. (Christmas Special. 
                          Not broadcast in the UK. Released on The Navy Lark:
                          The Collection: Series 7.)

8th Series 1966

129.   8- 1   4  Sep 1966   Searching for Their Ship (a.k.a. Where is Troutbridge?)
130.   8- 2   11 Sep 1966   Float a Peddle Fiddle
131.   8- 3   18 Sep 1966   Gumming Up the Works (a.k.a. A Sticky Business)
132.   8- 4   25 Sep 1966   Buoys Will Be Buoys
133.   8- 5   2  Oct 1966   Steamship Day
134.   8- 6   9  Oct 1966   Farewell to HMS Varsity
135.   8- 7   16 Oct 1966   Blowing Themselves Up (a.k.a. The Army Lark)
136.   8- 8   23 Oct 1966   Buying Tickets (a.k.a. Just the Ticket)
137.   8- 9   30 Oct 1966   Mr Phillips Promotion
138.   8-10   6  Nov 1966   Pertwee and the Tratvian Beer
139.   8-11   13 Nov 1966   The PM Papa
140.   8-12   20 Nov 1966   Getting Rid of Pertwee
141.   8-13   27 Nov 1966   Off to Sea at Last

9th Series 1967

142.   9- 1   2  Jul 1967   Back from the Antarctic
143.   9- 2   9  Jul 1967   Fishing in Troubled Waters (a.k.a. Fishers off the Faroes)
144.   9- 3   16 Jul 1967   Cleaning Up (a.k.a. A Filthy Ferryboat)
145.   9- 4   23 Jul 1967   Doing a Disastrical (a.k.a. Jigsaws and Jemmies)
146.   9- 5   30 Jul 1967   The Naval Review (a.k.a. Deliberately Abandoned)
147.   9- 6   6  Aug 1967   Going Caravanning (a.k.a. The Curious Caravan Case)
148.   9- 7   13 Aug 1967   Having a Bit of Trouble with the French (a.k.a. Frenchmen in J.41)
149.   9- 8   20 Aug 1967   Tangling with the Law (a.k.a. The Police Drop In)
150.   9- 9   27 Aug 1967   Mr Murray's Endurance Course
151.   9-10   3  Sep 1967   Women in the Wardroom (a.k.a. Have Been Redecorating)
152.   9-11   10 Sep 1967   Troutbridge's Silver Jubilee (a.k.a. Celebrating Their Important Anniversary)
153.   9-12   17 Sep 1967   Computerising (a.k.a. CECIL the Navigation Computer)
154.   9-13   24 Sep 1967   A Russian Rendezvous
155.   9-14   1  Oct 1967   The Bugged and Burgled Beer
156.   9-15   8  Oct 1967   Picking up the Poppadom
157.   9-16   15 Oct 1967   Cuthbert Joins the Navy
158.   9-17   22 Oct 1967   The Flying Machine
159.   9-18   29 Oct 1967   Sub-Lieutenant Phillips at Dartmouth
160.   9-19   5  Nov 1967   Frying Up
161.   9-20   12 Nov 1967   Troutbridge in Quarantine

10th Series 1968

162.  10- 1   13 Oct 1968   Lighting Up (a.k.a. Troutbridge Electrifies Portsmouth)
163.  10- 2   20 Oct 1968   The Redundancy Drive
164.  10- 3   27 Oct 1968   The Smugglers Return
165.  10- 4   3  Nov 1968   Captain Trotter Takes Charge
166.  10- 5   10 Nov 1968   The Anti-Submarine Missile
167.  10- 6   17 Nov 1968   Accredited (a.k.a. Sub-Conductor Phillips)
168.  10- 7   24 Nov 1968   The South Kawowan Summit
169.  10- 8   1  Dec 1968   Pertwee's Enlistment Expires
170.  10- 9   8  Dec 1968   Capt. Povey Takes Over
171.  10-10   15 Dec 1968   Sir Willoughby Goes to Kawowa
172.  10-11   22 Dec 1968   The Padre's Birthday
173.  10-12   29 Dec 1968   The Portsmouth Kiosk
174.  10-13   5  Jan 1969   The Radio Beacon
175.  10-14   12 Jan 1969   The Wrong Uniform
176.  10-15   19 Jan 1969   Harold Wilson Reviews the Fleet
177.  10-16   26 Jan 1969   Relief of the Weather Ship
178.  10-17   2  Feb 1969   Bunging Up (a.k.a. The Mickey Mouse Toothbrush)
179.  10-18   9  Feb 1969   The Brick Smugglers

11th Series 1969

180.  11- 1   28 Dec 1969   The Squatters
181.  11- 2   4  Jan 1970   Admiral Hunting (a.k.a. What is the S.S.E.?)
182.  11- 3   11 Jan 1970   The Promotion Ladder
183.  11- 4   18 Jan 1970   Stranded
184.  11- 5   25 Jan 1970   StarrSir Willoughby's Party
185.  11- 6   1  Feb 1970   Fleet Initiative Test
186.  11- 7   8  Feb 1970   C.P.O. Pertwee's Long Service Medal
187.  11- 8   15 Feb 1970   The Phenomenal Pertwee Tug
188.  11- 9   22 Feb 1970   The Security Clampdown
189.  11-10   1  Mar 1970   The Anniversary and the Washing
190.  11-11   8  Mar 1970   The Forbodians Hijack Troutbridge
191.  11-12   15 Mar 1970   Getting Spliced (a.k.a. Number One Gets Married)
192.  11-13   22 Mar 1970   The Honeymooners Return
193.  11-14   29 Mar 1970   C.P.O. Pertwee and the Lead Half Crowns
194.  11-15   5  Apr 1970   Dartmouth Naval College Has Had a Narrow Escape 
                            (a.k.a. Sub-Lt Phillips to Leave for Dartmouth)
195.  11-16   12 Apr 1970   The Mark 31 Radar

12th Series 1971

196.  12– 1   16 May 1971   The Put-a-Horse-out-to-Graze Fund
197.  12– 2   23 May 1971   Impressions for Survival
198.  12– 3   30 May 1971   The Beard-Growing Race
199.  12- 4   6  Jun 1971   The Mysterious Radio Signals
200.  12- 5   13 Jun 1971   Operation Recovery
201.  12- 6   20 Jun 1971   The Slogan Contest
202.  12- 7   27 Jun 1971   Sir Willoughby at Shanghai
203.  12- 8   4  Jul 1971   Operation Cowes Barge
204.  12- 9   11 Jul 1971   Number One's Anniversary
205.  12-10   18 Jul 1971   The Loch Ness Monster
206.  12-11   25 Jul 1971   The Forbodian Attaché

13th Series 1972

207.  13- 1   26 Mar 1972   The TV Documentary
208.  13- 2   2  Apr 1972   The P.O.W. Escape Exercise
209.  13- 3   9  Apr 1972   Number One's Married Quarters
210.  13- 4   16 Apr 1972   Operating for Profit (a.k.a. The Newhaven-Dieppe Smuggling Run)
211.  13- 5   23 Apr 1972   The Bumble Spit Lighthouse Affair
212.  13- 6   30 Apr 1972   The Tongipouhaha Treasure
213.  13– 7   7  May 1972   The US Navigator Swap
214.  13– 8   14 May 1972   Son of a Sea Lord
215.  13– 9   21 May 1972   Hypnotising Ramona
216.  13–10   28 May 1972   The Master of Sardinia
217.  13-11   4  Jun 1972   Opportunity Knockers
218.  13-12   11 Jun 1972   Friday the 13th
219.  13-13   18 Jun 1972   The New NAAFI

14th Series 1973

220.  14- 1   29 Jul 1973   The Montezuela Revolution
221.  14- 2   5  Aug 1973   The Island Swordfish
222.  14- 3   12 Aug 1973   Bunged in the Brig (a.k.a. Bunged in the Rattle)
223.  14- 4   19 Aug 1973   Kidnapped Down Under
224.  14- 5   26 Aug 1973   The Digital Isles Go Unstable
225.  14- 6   2  Sep 1973   Egbert Hitches a Ride
226.  14- 7   9  Sep 1973   Povey an Admiral at Last
227.  14- 8   16 Sep 1973   The Bergan Horse Trials
228.  14- 9   23 Sep 1973   Captain Povey's Wig
229.  14-10   30 Sep 1973   Brain Pill
230.  14-11   7  Oct 1973   Operation Showcase
231.  14-12   14 Oct 1973   Living the High Life (a.k.a. CPO Pertwee Yachtmonger)
232.  14-13   21 Oct 1973   The Talpinium Shell

15th Series 1975

233.  15- 1   9  Nov 1975   Sequel to the Talpinium Shell
234.  15- 2   16 Nov 1975   NANA
235.  15- 3   23 Nov 1975   Helen, the New Wren
236.  15- 4   30 Nov 1975   Relief for Station 150
237.  15- 5   7  Dec 1975   Black is Beautiful
238.  15- 6   14 Dec 1975   Sidney and the Stamp
239.  15- 7   21 Dec 1975   Riding to Victory (a.k.a. Commander Murray Becomes a Showjumper)
240.  15- 8   28 Dec 1975   Horrible Horace
241.  15- 9   4  Jan 1976   Officer's and Gent's Lib
242.  15-10   11 Jan 1976   The Case of the HGM Mark 5
243.  15-11   18 Jan 1976   Uncle Wilberforce Pertwee

Special 1977

244.  S - 3   16 Jul 1977   The BBC Are Sending The Bill To Buckingham Palace
                            (Queen's Silver Jubilee Edition)

Special 2009

245.  S - 4   30 Mar 2009   The Reunion
See also: Radio comedy

References

  1. ↑ BBC Comedy: The Navy Lark
  2. ↑ John Pertwee the biography authour Bernard Bale
  3. ↑ as before p108
  4. ↑ Obituary of Jon Pertwee in The Independent
  5. ↑ Obituary of Ronnie Barker in The Times
  6. ↑ Obituary of Tenniel Evens in The Independent

External links

The Navy Lark Appreciation Society The Navy Lark at BT Internet dot Com ( revise spacing and Capitals)