Peter Rhodes on Dad's Army bullets, bangs and preparing the nation for a stinker of a Budget

A yarn from the Second World War tells us how, in order to save ammunition, soldiers would spring ambushes on manoeuvres with choruses of “Bang! Bang! You're dead!” It worked well so long as you didn't encounter the much-feared squaddie lumbering into action with: “Clinkety-clank – I'm a tank.”