So how does it all work Gordon?

Each week we show up and there might be four or five on a broom and a couple with hoses and the rest of them stand around yapping and getting in the way.

We’re not a formal group and we don’t hold meetings we’re just a loose bunch of blokes who come together. It’s just one of those things that bumbles its way along and works and we get in and get the job done and have a bit of banter while we’re at it.

How many people are in Dad's Army and how long has it been running?

Dad’s Army have been in action since the late 80s and have recently enjoyed a massive increase in participants.

10 years ago we would have been lucky to have half a dozen blokes. Now we’ve got a mailing list of about 40.

Where did the group’s name come from?

When we first formed (in the late 80s) everyone who was doing it was well past the 50 age mark and the show Dad’s Army was still on tv and someone called us that one day and it just stuck with us.

You have been cleaning the pool and helping out for over 20 years. What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen or the funniest story to tell?

Now and then the young blokes might catch a wobbegong shark and throw in the pool. Fair to say when your in there doing laps and you see something like that it can give you a bit of a scare. There used to be a woman who would bring her pet pig down. That used to raise some eyebrows.

What’s it like trying to organise a group of not so young men to get together and clean the pool each week?

It actually works remarkably well. We don’t hold any meetings and we don’t have a committee or anything like that. One bloke just sends an email out each week and nominates a time and whoever turns up turns up. It’s good now because we have so many new blokes we have hats that are embroided with our names so we don’t even have to worry about Alzheimer’s and forgetting each other. You have to keep in mind the youngest is in his late 50s.

What’s the best thing about volunteering with Dad’s Army?

We are all an equal group on level pegging. There’s no social standing. One guy might have been a doctor during his working life and he’ll stop and chat with someone who might have driven trucks all his life. We’re just a bunch of blokes who get together have some banter and clean the pool.