The Last Salute

Harry Thorpe is told to recruit five new AA members by the end of the week, otherwise he'll lose his job.

There are rumours that the AA and the RAC are to be merged. When the men from the local RAC branch are invited to the annual AA dinner dance, it's a recipe for trouble.

A new bypass is about to be opened. The AA men are given the job of 'guarding' the new road before the opening ceremony.

Leonard becomes convinced that Joyce is being unfaithful to him. Joyce learns that Cliff Richard will be passing through the area and she's determined to meet him.

The AA men are told that, in future, they should only salute members when stationary. They are unhappy with the change. Harry keeps forgetting about the new procedure and goes on saluting while he's in motion. He manages to come off his bike, so Leonard tells him to use the AA van while his bike is being repaired. A competition has been organised to arrive at a new AA badge. All of the AA men decide to have a go at producing a winning design. Joyce decides to hold a 'soiree' to show off her new cocktail cabinet. Nobody turns up. The AA van is damaged when a drunken local magistrate runs into it. Harry has to resort to extreme measures to get it repaired before Leonard finds out about the damage.

Joyce is planning to go off with Johnny Lupus for a 'dirty weekend'. Her car breaks down and Johnny starts trying to fix it. Then Mr Bannerman comes along on his AA bike and insists on helping. Johnny has to hide in nearby woods. Their 'weekend of passion' is ruined. Harry stops to help a beautiful French girl who has broken down. He thinks it's love at first sight, but later realises she's just flirting with him. Pettigrew and Munce find a mysterious car parked in a secluded spot off the road. They think the vehicle must be involved in a crime, but eventually discover that it belongs to a couple who've stopped so that they can go for a walk.

Mrs Bannerman, who normally does the laundry for the AA, is holding out for more money. Leonard isn't willing to pay what she's asking, so the men are walking around in dirty, smelly uniforms. Leonard organises a first aid exercise, with embarrassing results. Joyce opens a roadside cafe. She thinks Leonard is proposing to her again, but he's only trying to persuade her to do the AA men's laundry. She gets angry and sets fire to his caravan.

Spurned by Joyce, Leonard is hitting the bottle. His carelessness results in an injury to Harry's foot, making him unable to go out on the road. It's Bank Holiday, so Leonard goes out on patrol while Harry looks after the office. After becoming bored with filing and inventories, Harry pretends to be Leonard while answering the phone. He gives Headquarters the impression that his men are ""on the verge of mutiny"". They are alarmed and send someone to investigate. Harry has to continue the pretence of being Leonard. Meanwhile the real Leonard Spanwick is having problems with a Maserati — and its owner. Leonard later has to ""carry the can"" for Harry's dealings with Headquarters. He gets his revenge by locking Harry in a cupboard and making him miss his date with Catherine.

Joyce is taking an interest in Raymond Cartwright, from the RAC. Leonard is enraged when he finds out. Harry is toying with the idea of a transfer from the AA to the RAC. Joyce offers to ""put in a word"" with Raymond for him. Harry takes Catherine out for a meal. Leonard invites himself along. When Joyce and Raymond turn up in the same restaurant, Leonard causes a 'scene'. Raymond tries to talk Harry into compiling a 'dossier' on Spanwick to prove that he's really committed to the RAC. Leonard tries his hand at being an 'agony uncle' on the radio. Joyce falls out with Raymond Cartwright when he tries to 'forbid' her wearing slacks. Leonard has a 'take away' delivered by the Indian restaurant and gets more than he bargained for.

Catherine wants to go on a hotel inspectors' course but Leonard won't recommend her. He thinks she's ""getting ideas above her station"". Leonard gets a letter from Canada. It's from his twin brother, Maurice, who says that he's planning to visit England. Because the letter is several weeks late, he's due to arrive later that same day. Leonard had been writing to Maurice telling him that he's become engaged to a beautiful young woman — Catherine. He offers to recommend Catherine for the hotel inspectors' course if she will help him to maintain the deception while his brother is in town. When Maurice arrives, he bumps into Joyce at her cafe and takes a fancy to her. He invites her to join him, Leonard and Catherine for a meal that evening. The two brothers end up fighting. The men from the AA have to help a pregnant woman when her car breaks down en route to the hospital. Leonard pretends to be Maurice so that he can ""get close to Joyce again"". She makes him ride a horse and, of course, h

Leonard has been invited to give a talk on ""The Motorist And The Law"" to the Women's Institute. He expects the AA men to attend, but they all claim to have ""prior engagements"". Most of the AA men are doing a bit of ""moonlighting"" to earn extra cash. Harry, for example, is running a fresh fish delivery service and Mr Bannerman is selling his wife's homemade preserves. Harry is delivering a box of live crabs to Joyce's cafe when he almost bumps into Leonard. He hides the box in Leonard's van. The crabs escape into the van and Harry has a job to recover them. He puts the box down next to the van and then watches in horror as a lorry runs over it. He later becomes convinced that Leonard's pet tortoise, Roger, was also in the box. Leonard gives the men a lecture about moonlighting. Having discovered that most of them have been 'at it', he threatens to 'put them on a charge'. He orders them all to attend his lecture that evening. Harry buys another tortoise and he and Catherine manage to con

It's the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and everyone is worrying about the possibility of nuclear war. Harry is planning a weekend away with Catherine. He's worried that any 'hostilities' will interfere with his plans. Leonard gives the AA men a talk on surviving a nuclear attack. He suggests that each of the men should protect himself by turning up his collar and putting a brown paper bag over his head. Leonard misunderstands a phone call and becomes convinced that a nuclear war has started. He tells Harry to take Catherine down into the cellar while he goes to get Joyce. She's preparing a meal when Leonard bursts in and carries her off to the old air-raid shelter in the garden. The house blows up because Joyce had not had chance to light the gas in the oven. Leonard spends the night with Joyce, while Harry and Catherine sleep together in the cellar. Next morning, Joyce is angry with Leonard when she discovers that there has not, in fact, been a nuclear attack.