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 other, Mainwaring and Wilson do have moments during the series where they reach a sort of understanding, if not actual friendship. In the episode "Boots, Boots, Boots", Mainwaring tells Wilson that he considers him a friend and that he actually admires how Wilson handles the men "quietly and subtly". In the episode "Something Nasty in the Vault", Mainwaring and Wilson bond during their time trapped in the bank's vault while holding an unexploded (and potentially unstable) German bomb that was dropped during an air raid, with Mainwaring even going so far as to scratch Wilson's nose for him when it