Career: Lowe made his professional acting debut at the Manchester Repertory Theatre in 1945 and went on to work in various repertory companies around the country. By the 1960s, he made the move to TV, landing the role of Leonard Swindley in Coronation Street. The character was given its own spin-off series, Pardon the Expression, and its sequel Turn Out the Lights. He also made guest appearances in a number of TV series and films, including Kind Hearts and Coronets and Britannia Hospital. He landed his most famous role in 1968 when he was cast as Captain George Mainwaring in BBC sitcom Dad's Army, a role he would play in 80 episodes on TV, a radio series, a feature film and a stage show. After Dad's Army ended in 1977, Lowe went on to star in sitcoms Bless Me Father and Potter, and continued to work on the stage in pantomimes and touring theatre productions. He was appearing in a stage production in Birmingham on April 15, 1982, when he collapsed from a stroke in his dressing room. He died in hospital shortly afterwards at the age of 66.

Career: After the war, Le Mesurier returned to the stage and made his film debut in 1948 in Death in the Hand. He appeared in a number of films and television series during the 1950s and 1960s, including I'm All Right Jack, I Was Monty's Double, Hancock's Half Hour and The Pink Panther. In 1968, he landed the role that made him famous, playing Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army. He won a Best Actor Bafta in 1971 for his performance in Dennis Potter's Traitor. He continued to be in demand after Dad's Army finished in 1977, appearing in a number of TV programmes, including Ripping Yarns, Worzel Gummidge, Brideshead Revisited and Hi-de-Hi! He died from a stomach haemorrhage on November 15, 1983, at the age of 71.

Career: Dunn had a few small roles in Will Hay films during the 1930s. During the Second World War, he was captured in Greece and spent four years in prisoner of war and labour camps in Austria. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he was a regular fixture on TV in the likes of The Tony Hancock Show, After Hours, Bootsie and Snudge, Orlando and The World of Beachcomber, before he got his big break in 1968, winning the role of Lance Corporal Jones in BBC comedy Dad's Army. He went on to play an elderly character in the children's TV series Grandad in 1979. After the cancellation of Grandad in 1984, he retired to Portugal. He died on November 6, 2012 at the age of 92.

Career: Laurie made guest appearances in a number of TV shows during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, including The Scarlet Pimpernel, Kidnapped, The Citadel, Steptoe and Son, Z Cars, Emergency Ward 10 and The Avengers. In his best known role, he played pessimistic undertaker and Home Guard soldier Private James Frazer in the hugely popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army. The show ran from 1968 until 1977 and remains popular today with modern audiences. His film credits include Henry V (1944), Treasure Island (1950), Richard III (1955), Dad's Army (1971), One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1979). He died from emphysema at the age of 83 on June 23, 1980. His ashes were scattered at sea.

Career: Ridley starred in a number of TV shows, including Crossroads, The Avengers and Z Cars, but he is best remembered for playing the elderly Private Godfrey in the BBC's hugely popular sitcom Dad's Army. He also wrote a number of stage plays, including The Ghost Train, Recipe for Murder, Murder Happens and Beggar My Neighbour. He was made an OBE in 1982 and died two years later at the age of 88 on March 12, 1984.

Career: At the age of 22, Lavender was signed up to play Private Frank Pike in Dad's Army, the classic sitcom about the Home Guard. He went on to feature in various other TV series including The Glums and That's My Boy, plays for TV and radio, as well as summer tours and pantomimes. He has also made West End appearances, in the farce Run for Your Wife and The Merchant of Venice, starring alongside Dustin Hoffman. He successfully won a battle against cancer of the bladder in the 1990s and survived a heart attack in 2004. His last regular appearance on the small screen was as Pauline Fowler's gay friend Derek in EastEnders, a role he played for four years until 2005. Lavender then toured with The Rocky Horror Show musical, playing the Narrator and continues to work on stage and screen. In 2009, he appeared as Monsignor Howard in the West End theatre production of Sister Act the Musical.