Daily Mail 29th Jan 2010
Dad's Army racist! Who do you think you are kidding, Mr eBay?
By
Fay Schlesinger
The antics of the hopeless Home Guard heroes of Walmington-on-Sea are still raising a smile 33 years after the last episode was broadcast.
But it seems that Dad's Army is no laughing matter for the people who run eBay.
The auction website has banned from sale a board game based on the much loved comedy series, calling it 'offensive material' that could 'promote violence, hatred, racial or religious intolerance'.
Outraged: Seller Dave Davidson was told his board game breached eBay's offensive material policy because it had a Swastika on the cover
The family game features on its lid the swastikas and Union Flag symbols instantly recognisable from the opening titles of the series.
The board itself shows Walmingtonon-on-Sea, which has been occupied by Nazi troops.
Players roll a dice to collect 'bombs' and 'landmines' before swiping swastika markers off the board and replacing them with British flags to reclaim territory.
The aim is to get members of the platoon, including Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson and Corporal Jones, to a 'safe' location while watching out for the enemy.
The instructions say: 'In war you've not only the Jerry to contend with, but Dad's Army too - and we're not sure which of them's worse!'
The game was produced by Denys Fisher in the mid-1970s, at the height of the show's popularity.
Retired bank worker David Davidson, 62, came across the game while clearing out his loft and listed it on eBay with a starting price of 99p.
But the site then sent him an email banning him from selling the game because it was classed as 'memorabilia associated with the Nazi Party'.
Mr Davidson, from Droitwich, Worcestershire, said: 'Dad's Army is the most harmless TV programme in the world. There's no swearing, sex or violence and it's not Nazi memorabilia.'
He added: 'Instead of making a few quid and clearing some space, I've been made to look like I'm a racist or Nazi sympathiser. I'm very annoyed.'
He accused eBay of vetting content on the site 'without looking into anything properly. They allow coins and stamps with swastikas and there are hundreds of novels which are war stories that have them. It's ridiculous that they can't use common sense'.
Funnymen: The cast of Dad's Army, a popular TV show featuring characters in the Home Army during World War II
Mr Davidson, whose father John was stationed in Droitwich during the war in the Royal Army Pay Corps, said: 'My dad was like a character from Dad's Army. He could only see out of one eye and he had a laugh and joke with his workmates.
'His brother was killed in the Somme in 1915 so he knew all about war.
'The British people spent the war trying to laugh at these tinpot dictators and the situation they were in. That's what the programme Dad's Army and this game were all about.'
Paul Carpenter, of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society, said: 'When the show came out it was only 20 years after the war and people understood then, so they should understand now.'
Jenny Thomas, from eBay UK, said: 'We will remove listings that bear the marks of organisations that promote hatred and racial intolerance and we are strict and unapologetic in adhering to this policy.
'We have to apply this rule regardless of whether it is an innocent item like a board game.'
But there are a number of other items for sale on eBay carrying the swastika, including Dad's Army videos and an Escape From Colditz board game.
Some items have had their swastikas obscured. eBay also allows some historical items bearing swastikas, including stamps, letters and currency.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1246724/Dads-Army-board-game-banned-eBay-inciting-racial-hatred.html#ixzz0f1vmrTIa
