Windsor Davies miner and a teacher at Mountside School for Boys in Leek, Staffordshire and did national service in Libya and Egypt with the East Surrey Regiment between 1950-1952 before deciding to become an actor. Davies' best known role was as Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the British sitcom "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" (1974–81). Among his catchphrases was "Shut Up!!", delivered as an eardrum-shattering military scream. Another phrase was "Oh dear, how sad, never mind", delivered in a dry, ironic manner, and used when others around him had problems. Davies and co-star Don Estelle had a number one hit in the
It Ain't Half Hot Mum Film Institute's Screenonline website, a belief that it contains "national stereotyping and occasionally patronising humour". According to Mark Duguid, writing for the same website, it suffers "from its narrow stereotypes of its handful of Indian supporting characters as alternately servile, foolish, lazy or devious". Its flaws have not stopped it appearing in several "best of" lists. The show's producers had been aware of the issues around the casting a white actor to play one of the Indian characters, but relented owing to the lack of suitable Indian actors at the time. Jimmy Perry defended the casting as Bates "spoke fluent