Obituary: Eric Longworth

Sep 24 2008 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

HIS thin face seemed sucked of humour, so, when he cleared his throat in an authoritative manner, all frivolity ceased and he became the embodiment of officialdom.

But keen ears could, on occasion, sense a hint of fun in the Lancashire accent, which had clung faithfully to him, as he joined the greatest parade of British characters ever gathered in a situation comedy.

He wasn’t quite as well known as Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson, Corporal Jones, Frazer, Godfrey or Pike, but Eric Longworth, as Mr Gordon, the Town Clerk, was part of the blessed casting that has made Dad’s Army (1968-77) such a popular and enduring show.

Aficionados particularly admire The Godiva Affair, in which Longworth uses the word “fleshings” to describe the costume, which would be worn by Pamela Cundell (widow Mrs Fox, fancied by Jones), as she mounts the white steed to lead a procession for the Spitfire fund in Walmington-on-Sea.

The episode has all the qualities – Lady Godiva, the verger, vicar and the air raid warden, spinning in the usual mix of pomposity, patriotism and absurdity.

But, as this was a civic enterprise, the Town Clerk is in charge, his spectacles gleaming, his head glowing and his moustache bristling.

Longworth was brought up in Shaw, Lancashire, where his father was a cotton mill director. He was sent to board at Rydal School, Co- wyn Bay, where he furthered his interest in the stage.

But, on the outbreak of World War II, he joined the Army, seeing action in the Dunkirk evacuation, before being commissioned into the Indian Army, where he was able to study the mannerisms of officers, which he would later use on stage and subtly adjust for Dad’s Army.

After the war, Longworth entered repertory in Oldham and then became a theatre manager.

But he was also much in demand as a character actor in films and TV plays.

Before being the Town Clerk, he had been in ITV’s Lollipop, meeting its writer Jimmy Perry, who teamed up with David Croft to script Dad’s Army.

Longworth, married with four sons, later settled in Guildford and then in Peterborough. He was very proud of his part in Dad’s Army, which seems to gain new admirers every time it is repeated on TV, and he would regularly appear at gatherings celebrating the series.

Eric Longworth, actor; born July 20, 1918, died August 20, 2008.