The Navy Lark

The Navy Lark (1959-1975, United Kingdom)

HMS Troutbridge is one of many warships guarding waters around Great Britain, but in a way it is a unique one. The crew of this frigate is constantly keeping their commanding officers on their toes - either through their natural reluctance to take up any work, incompetence or just sheer bad luck, they end up in trouble on each and every mission (at least when they manage to actually leave the port). The superiors of Lieutenant Phillips just adapted to a simple rule: if it ain’t broken don’t fix it, if it is broken the crew of HMS Troutbridge had something to do with it. The crew itself is full of colourful characters from their commander, Sub Lieutenant Phillips, who is the oldest ship commander of such low rank and not without a reason (his most sophisticated orders are "steer left hand a little bit"). Chief Petty Officer Pertwee is constantly keeping an eye on his various businesses and schemes, which does not leave him a lot of time to actually take care of the ship (unless that would be more profitable). Even lower rank sailors could create quite a havoc on any given day. But there is one thing that usually saves them - the navy hardly ever remembers that HMS Troutbridge actually exists.

Lawrie Wyman created 4 radio series with "Lark" in the title, after The Navy Lark he also wrote The Embassy Lark, The TV Lark and Big Business Lark, all of which were similar in style and atmosphere. The Navy Lark had a long and successful run (from 1959 to 1976), cast filled with great comedians (f.e. Ronnie Barker, Leslie Phillips) and some good scripts (although some of them were appealing mostly to the "army humour" aficionados). Of course with such long run some of the episodes were a bit below par, but overall it is still popular in the United Kingdom, still being repeated on BBC Radio and considered an evergreen classic among British radio shows.

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Episodes of The Navy Lark

Season 1 (1959)

1. The Missing Jeep

2. Operation Fag End

3. Number One?s Chair

4. The Fairground Lights

5. The Comfort Fund

6. Stuck up the Inlet

7. The Admiral?s Party

8. The Hank of Heather

9. The Multiple Mine

10. The Gun Mechanism Test

11. The Whittlesea Bay Yacht Regatta

12. The Psychology Test

13. A Watch on the Initiative

14. An Exercise in Filming

15. The Smuggling Spy

16. The Whittlesea Carnival and Fête

Season 2 (1959)

1. New at the Helm

2. Fatso?s Box Brownie

3. Bring Back the Barge

4. The Mock Action

5. Going Dutch

6. The Figurehead

7. Gunboat to Gumba

8. Johnson Finds Treasure

9. The Charter Trip to Antarctica

10. Cementing Relations

11. Strike up the Band

12. The Route March

13. A Trip up the Thames

14. Radar Talk Down System

15. A Crisp Romance

16. The Lighthouse Lark

17. Pertwee Posted to Portsmouth

18. Johnson?s Diet

19. Tug of War

20. Return to Potarneyland

21. The Cross Country Run

22. The Morning After

23. The Admiral?s Present

24. Secret Mission to Calais

25. Mr Murray Goes Sick

26. The Portarneyland Fishing Limit

Season 3 (1960)

1. In Portsmouth for a Re-Fit

2. Wrens Reunion at the Royal Festival Hall

3. Refitting Ebeneezer Pertwee

4. Sea Trials of the Poppadom

5. Mutiny Aboard Troutbridge

6. The Explosive Biscuits

7. Sir Willoughby Takes Over the Island

8. Mount Rumpus Atoll

9. Mr Murray?s Houseboat

10. Johnson?s Birthday

11. Povey?s Unexpected Leave

12. Families? Day

13. Falmouth Ghost Ship

14. Onabushkan Flu

15. The Efficiency Expert

16. The Floggle Grummit Missile

17. The Hitch Hiking Counterfeiter

18. Commodore Goldstein

19. Mr Phillips Has Navigation Tuition

20. CPO Pertwee and the Laundry

21. The Surprise Wedding

Season 4 (1961)

1. Returning from Leave

2. Captain Povey?s Spy

3. The Secret of Nessie?s Youth

4. The Northampton Hunt Ball

5. Hijacked

6. Admiral Troutbridge

7. Relatives and Reservations

8. Humgrummits on the High Seas

9. Are Captain and Mrs Povey Married?

10. Cine Cameras at Sea

11. The Citizen Adjustment Course

12. A Hole Lieutenant

13. Spy Catching in Casablanca

14. Mount Pot Erupts

15. Captain Povey?s Shop

16. Leading Seaman Goldstein?s Party

17. The Invitation

18. The Cornish Exercise

19. A Strange Hobby

20. Mr Phillips Get Engaged

21. The Sinking of the Bubble Car

22. Long John Pertwee

23. The Admiral?s Accident Report

24. Over the Sea to Rosyth

25. The Return of Sir Frederick Flatle

26. The Ship?s Concert

27. Calling The Antarctic
Christmas Special

Season 5 (1963)

1. First Day out of Dock

2. The New Barmaid

3. A Deliberate Bashing

4. Whittlesea Regatta

5. HMS Troutbridge Gets a Rocket

6. The Ghost Ship

Season 6 (1963)

1. Wren Chasen Returns

2. On the Carpet

3. The Bungalese Spies

4. Troutbridge?s Party

5. Rescuing Admirals

6. Demise of the Depth Charges

7. The Struggle for Promotion

8. Fred Computables

9. Stormy Weather

10. Chasing the Kepeac

11. The Submerged Island

12. The Sicilian Secret Agent

13. German?s Troutbridge

14. Confirming Povey?s Rank

15. The Calais Dock Strike

16. Johnson?s Memoirs

17. The Emperor of Tratvia

18. Open Day

19. Stuck on a Sandbank

Season 7 (1965)

1. Back in the Muck Again

2. Smugglers in the Solent

3. Mr Murray is Victimised

4. The Poveys Move House

5. Captain Povey Reports Sick

6. Admiral Pertwee?s Fleet

7. Let Loose with a Chopper

8. Making a Right Pig?s Breakfast

9. The Mysterious Pudding Mine

10. The Hovercraft Training Course

11. Sabotaged Floggle-Toggle Box

12. The Portarneyland Training Exercise

13. Going on Leave to Croydon

14. Christmas Special 1965
Christmas Special

Season 8 (1966)

1. Searching for Their Ship

2. Float a Peddle Fiddle

3. Gumming Up the Works

4. Buoys Will Be Buoys

5. Steamship Day

6. Farewell to HMS Varsity

7. Blowing Themselves Up

8. Buying Tickets

9. Mr Phillips Promotion

10. Pertwee and the Tratvian Beer

11. The PM Papa

12. Getting Rid of Pertwee

13. Off to Sea at Last

Season 9 (1967)

1. Back from the Antarctic

2. Fishing in Troubled Waters

3. Cleaning Up

4. Doing a Disastrical

5. The Naval Review

6. Going Caravaning

7. Having a Bit of Trouble with the French

8. Tangling with the Law

9. Mr Murray?s Endurance Course

10. Women in the Wardroom

11. Troutbridge?s Silver Jubilee

12. Computerising

13. A Russian Rendezvous

14. The Bugged and Burgled Beer

15. Picking up the Poppadom

16. Cuthbert Joins the Navy

17. The Flying Machine

18. Sub Lt. Philips at Dartmouth

19. Frying Up

20. Troutbridge in Quarantine

Season 10 (1968)

1. Lighting Up

2. The Redundancy Drive

3. The Smugglers Return

4. Captain Trotter Takes Charge

5. The Anti-Submarine Missile

6. Accredited

7. The South Kawowan Summit

8. Pertwee?s Enlistment Expires

9. Capt. Povey Takes Over

10. Sir Willoughby Goes to Kawowa

11. The Padre?s Birthday

12. The Portsmouth Kiosk

13. The Radio Beacon

14. The Wrong Uniform

15. Harold Wilson Reviews the Fleet

16. Relief of the Weather Ship

17. Bunging Up

18. The Brick Smugglers

Season 11 (1969)

1. The Squatters

2. Admiral Hunting

3. The Promotion Ladder

4. Stranded

5. Starr Sir Willoughby?s Party

6. Fleet Initiative Test

7. C.P.O. Pertwee?s Long Service Medal

8. The Phenomenal Pertwee Tug

9. The Security Clampdown

10. The Anniversary and the Washing

11. The Forbodians Hijack Troutbridge

12. Getting Spliced

13. The Honeymooners Return

14. C.P.O. Pertwee and the Lead Half Crowns

15. Dartmouth Naval College Has Had a Narrow Escape

16. The Mark 31 Radar

Season 12 (1971)

1. The Put-a-Horse-out-to-Graze Fund

2. Impressions for Survival

3. The Beard-Growing Race

4. The Mysterious Radio Signals

5. Operation Recovery

6. The Slogan Contest

7. Sir Willoughby at Shanghai

8. Operation Cowes Barge

9. Number One?s Anniversary

10. The Loch Ness Monster

11. The Forbodian Attach?

Season 13 (1972)

1. The TV Documentary

2. The P.O.W. Escape Exercise

3. Number One?s Married Quarters

4. Operating for Profit

5. The Bumble Spit Lighthouse Affair

6. The Tongipouhaha Treasure

7. The US Navigator Swap

8. Son of a Sea Lord

9. Hypnotising Ramona

10. The Master of Sardinia

11. Opportunity Knockers

12. Friday the 13th

13. The New NAAFI

Season 14 (1973)

1. The Montezuela Revolution

2. The Island Swordfish

3. Bunged in the Brig

4. Kidnapped Down Under

5. The Digital Isles Go Unstable

6. Egbert Hitches a Ride

7. Povey an Admiral at Last

8. The Bergan Horse Trials

9. Captain Povey?s Wig

10. Brain Pill

11. Operation Showcase

12. Living the High Life

13. The Talpinium Shell

Season 15 (1975)

1. Sequel to the Talpinium Shell

2. NANA

3. Helen, the New Wren

4. Relief for Station 150

5. Black is Beautiful

6. Sidney and the Stamp

7. Riding to Victory

8. Horrible Horace

9. Officer?s and Gent?s Lib

10. The Case of the HGM Mark 5

11. Uncle Wilberforce Pertwee

12. Queen?s Silver Jubilee Edition
Christmas Special

Listen The Navy Lark

Creators of The Navy Lark

Lawrie Wyman

screenplay

Cast of The Navy Lark

Leslie Phillips

as Sub Lieutenant Phillips

Jon Pertwee

as Chief Petty Officer Pertwee

Stephen Murray

as Number One

Richard Caldicot

as Captain Povey

Ronnie Barker

as Lieutenant Queeg

Heather Chasen

as Aunt Morpeth

Judy Cornwell

as WREN Cornwell

Michael Bates

Lawrie Wyman

Tenniel Evans

as Taffy Goldstein