John Le Mesurier was born John Elton Halliley on 5th April 1912 at Chaucer Road, Bedford - England.

After leaving school, John went to work as an articled clerk at an old established Bury firm of solicitors called Greene and Greene, and six years later, just before his 21st birthday, John signed on for the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art, using his mother's maiden name, Le Mesurier, as his stage name.

A few months later, he had his first professional engagement at the Palladium Theatre.                       

In 1940, John joined the Royal Armoured Corps at Tidworth on Salisbury Plain and he attained the rank of Captain. He served at home and in India, where John's acting career was put on hold for 2 years, until he was demobbed in 1945.

In 1946, while visiting the Players Theatre in Villiers Street, near Charing Cross, he met Hattie Jacques.

In 1948 John made his first film, "Escape From Bradmoor".

John and Hattie were married in April 1952 and had two sons, Robin and Kim.

John appeared in his first "Hancock's Half Hour" BBC-TV show in 1957. John was to appear in a number of the "Hancock's Half Hour" TV shows. He was also in the "Hancock" series and the ATV "Hancock" series.

After making the film "Our Man in Marakesh", John then made the classic TV show "George and the Dragon" with Sid James and Peggy Mount.

The part for which John is perhaps most famously known is for the role of Sergeant Arthur Wilson in "Dad's Army". John was originally going to play the Captain and Arthur Lowe the Sergeant but the roles were soon reversed.

In 1971 John earned a Society of Film and Television Arts "Best Television Actor" award for his portrayal of Kim Philby in Dennis Potter's play "Traitor".

John's last film was in 1980 when he appeared alongside Peter Sellers in "The Fiendish Plot of Dr Fu Manchu", and his last TV appearance was with Anthony Hopkins in "A Married Man".

John Le Mesurier dies on November 15, 1983 at Ramsgate, Kent - England.In 1984, John's autobiography, "A Jobbing Actor", was published posthumously and in 1994, the Dead Comics Society erected a plaque to his memory at his former flat in Baron's Court with various surviving members of the "Dad's Army" cast in attendance.