Captain Mainwaring often a sympathetic subtext to his own personal neuroses; it is apparent several times that he devotes his energies to his Home Guard unit for a sense of comradeship and purpose lacking in other parts of his life, such as his career and marriage. On one occasion when his men spurned a parade to play darts against the ARP he expressed bewilderment, saying coming to the platoon is "the highlight of my day". It is frequently implied that he is trapped in a loveless and unhappy marriage to Elizabeth, his unseen wife, who is domineering, neurotic and withholding of affection.
Captain Mainwaring that he is actually of working class origins and his father was a heavy drinker, as is his profligate brother, Barry, who is a travelling salesman specialising in novelty toys. He has many redeeming qualities: he is essentially brave, loyal and industrious, generally kind-hearted beneath the bluster and unfailingly patriotic. Mainwaring believes in following rules and orders, sometimes to a ludicrous degree and is class-conscious and a snob. Being educated at the local Grammar School - as a scholarship student - he considers himself middle class and looks down on anyone he considers beneath him, which may be because he