HOME guard veterans have paid tribute to the creator of the “timeless” comedy classic Dad’s Army.

The veterans have joined the world of comedy in paying tribute to one of the country’s greatest scriptwriters Jimmy Perry who has died at the age of 93.

The screenwriter, who worked closely with producer David Croft, was also responsible for popular TV comedy shows It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang M'Lord?

Brighton-based Home Guard veteran Adrian Montford said Mr Perry would be greatly missed.

The death of Mr Perry, who died at his home on Sunday morning surrounded by loved ones after a brief illness, has been described as the end of an era.

His writing drew on his life experiences as a young member of the Watford Home Guard during the Second World War and as a Butlin's holiday camp Redcoat at Pwllheli in north Wales.

Mr Perry based Dad’s Army’s lovable idiot Private Pike’s on himself as a teenage mummy’s boy. It is believed the village in Dad's Army was based on Bexhill and Captain Captain George Mainwaring claims to be the son of a successful tailor in Eastbourne.

Mr Perry was called up in 1943 and while his role as a member of the camp concert party meant he was not involved in the D-Day landings, he was posted to Bombay and then Burma which later inspired It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum.

Despite being best known for Dad’s Army, which also appeared on the big screen twice in 1971 and 2016, he regarded It Ain't Half Hot Mum as his and Croft's funniest sitcom.

He once dismissed criticism of the show, set in India, saying it was considered racist "because of ignorance".

Volunteer veteran Adrian Montford, from Brighton, said that in reality Home Guard duty was not as exciting as depicted in the classic BBC comedy Dad's Army, which ran between 1968 and 1977 but that some of the characters were similar.

He said: “What I remember most was mainly sitting around playing four card brag.

“I was one of the younger members but I hope I wasn’t as dumb as Pike and we did have a lot of veterans from previous wars.

“I think he was very nice to us in the show, I think people like the Home Guard.

“He will be missed, Dad’s Army is timeless.”

HOW AREA HELPED INSPIRE A FICTIONAL TOWN

WHILE it may have struck a familiar chord with many, Walmington-on-Sea, so stoutly defended from any impending hoardes of Nazis by Dad’s Army, was entirely fictional.

Many believe it is based on Bexhill but that has not been confirmed.

The south coast of England found itself on the front line against Hitler in the wake of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk.

In the show, sleepy Walmington-on-Sea is located in Sussex, close to Eastbourne where Captain Mainwaring was educated at the local grammar school.

And the name may well have been a slight twist on nearby Wilmington – home of the famous Long Man.

A big-screen version of the classic TV show was released in 1971 with Seaford as the backdrop.

Excited fans got to see the beloved cast as the cameras rolled on Seaford Head during three days of filming in September 1970 with the crew based at the Mercury Motor Inn, Seaford.

In the 2016 film remake, featuring an all-star cast including Michael Gambon, Bill Nighy and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Seaford plays a slightly less prominent role, with its cliffs featuring in one scene.

In 1998 Dad’s Army fan Paul Crook wrote a book about the Sussex Home Guard describing hilarious incidents which could have easily appeared in the classic BBC comedy.

These included volunteers in Petworth preparing for battle when they saw 12 paratroopers gliding towards them only for them to turn out to be swans and 78-year-old recruit George Lyle, of Hove, who would have given Private Godfrey a run for his money in the age stakes.