[6] In 1941, the regiment was forced to surrender after it was overrun during the Greek campaign, and Dunn was held as a POW in Austria for the next four years.

He made his first television appearance in 1951 as the man in the pub in Surprise Attack, a short film commissioned by the Ministry of Health.

Born in Brixton, south London, Robert Bertram Dunn was the son of actor parents, and the cousin of actress Gretchen Franklin.

After leaving school, Dunn studied at the independent Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

However, the detective play was not a success because the billed star of the show, Terence De Marney, did not appear on stage and his dialogue was supplied by a gramophone recording.

[6] The regiment was posted to the Middle East arriving on 31 December 1940[9] and as part of the 1st Armoured Brigade in the 6th Australian Infantry Division which fought in the Greek Campaign.

In the 1960s, he made many appearances with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in Dad's Army in 1968.

In the early 1960s he made regular appearances on It's a Square World, including as the first parody of Doctor Who on New Year's Eve 1963.

He spent the last three decades of his life in the Algarve, Portugal, and occupied himself as an artist, painting portraits, landscapes and seascapes, until his sight failed.

He said that his outspoken socialist beliefs often caused conflict with his Dad's Army co-star, Arthur Lowe, who was a staunch conservative.

When Dunn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975, it was reported that Lowe would only accept a higher-rated honour from the Queen.

[20] Dunn died at his home in Boliqueime, Portugal, on 6 November 2012 as a result of complications from an operation that had taken place earlier that week.

[18][21] His death, and those of Bill Pertwee in 2013, Pamela Cundell in 2015, Frank Williams in 2022 and Ian Lavender in 2024 means that there are now no surviving Dad's Army principal cast members.