Mainwaring is the bank manager and Home Guard platoon commander, in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War.

[1] He is considered a classic British comic character owing to the continuing currency of Dad's Army via regular repeats and Lowe's portrayal.

Despite his claim to be the son of a master tailor, it is revealed that his father was a poor draper and a heavy drinker, as is his profligate brother, Barry, who is a travelling salesman specialising in novelty toys.

However, Mainwaring does have many redeeming qualities: he is essentially brave, loyal and industrious, generally kind-hearted beneath the bluster, and unfailingly patriotic.

[4] As a bank manager, he is efficient, if ruthless and stingy; as a military commander he can at first glance be seen as barely competent, such as being confused by the 24-hour clock, and his plans often result in chaos.

Mainwaring has no combat experience, which causes tension with the other members of the Home Guard, particularly Wilson, who was a decorated captain in the Royal Artillery (Mons, Gallipoli, and Passchendaele) during the First World War.

"[5] He volunteered to enlist in 1914 but was rejected with poor eyesight (during the Second World War, John Le Mesurier, who played Wilson, had been a captain while Arthur Lowe was a Sergeant Major.

In one episode, "A Soldier's Farewell", Mainwaring dreams he is Napoleon Bonaparte and is thwarted at the Battle of Waterloo by a Duke of Wellington resembling Wilson.

Mainwaring's position as captain of the Home Guard is a great source of pride and he dislikes being reminded that he is merely a volunteer, part-time soldier.

Mainwaring's character flaws, however, are presented in a comical rather than a spiteful manner and there is 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".

[5] 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.

In "Command Decision", Mainwaring is prepared to relinquish control so that the platoon could gain rifles, arguing that the defence of the country is more important than his ego.

[8] In addition he is prepared to "march in the ranks as Private Mainwaring" when he is briefly decommissioned as he had never actually been made an officer, implying that he was merely overzealous rather than a control freak.

In "Wake Up Walmington", Mainwaring raves about how after the war, the country "will be run by professionals", by people who have worked like him, but does not approve of Hodges being Chief ARP Warden because he is a greengrocer.

[13] Contrastingly Wilson is portrayed as flirtatious with women and has slightly more bohemian ideas about sexual morality (as he is in a secret relationship with Private Pike's mother).

In June 2010, a statue of Captain Mainwaring by sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn was erected in the Norfolk town of Thetford, where most of the TV series Dad's Army was filmed.

[15][16] The statue shows Captain Mainwaring sitting upright on a simple bench in Home Guard uniform, with his swagger stick across his knees.

The statue is mounted at the end of a winding brick pathway with a Union Flag patterned arrowhead to reflect the opening credits of the TV series and the sculpture has been designed so that one can sit next to Captain Mainwaring and have one's photo taken.

In 1995, the series 2 episode of Goodnight Sweetheart entitled Don't Get Around Much Anymore had a meta reference to the character, whereby the series protagonist, Gary Sparrow, travels back in time to visit a wartime bank and finds that its manager is in fact the "real" Mr Mainwaring (portrayed by Alec Linstead) who, accompanied by his chief clerk Mr Wilson, serves in the Home Guard.

In the 2015 Docudrama We're Doomed!, the fictional role of Captain Mainwaring and his actor Arthur Lowe are portrayed by comedian John Sessions.

In the children's television series Fireman Sam the character of Station Officer Steele was inspired by Captain Mainwaring.