First of the Summer Wine Episode Rating Graph

Dilys and Brad are getting married. The lads travel to the registry office on Compo's old motorbike and side-car, which keeps tipping up. At the reception, Compo has to sit with his trousers around his ankles because he's got oil all over them. Mr Clegg reads out the telegrams, one of which is from Brad's airbase, recalling him to duty. Later, the lads go for a walk and find Foggy guarding a bridge. He shows them his new bayonet, but manages to drop it into the river. Compo is lowered over the bridge using Seymour's long scarf. He falls in but manages to retrieve the missing bayonet. Next morning, war is declared on Germany.

The lads are all feeling stiff after pushing a gypsy caravan belonging to Compo's mother. Anita Pilsworth is still chasing Clegg. Foggy is practising camouflage techniques. He's talked into pretending to be a shop-window dummy and he subsequently manages to startle Wally. Compo devises a plan to help Wally by dressing up as a gypsy fortune-teller and convincing Nora that she'll marry a "short miserable little nit wearing an LNER cap". All goes well until the caravan rolls away, dragging Compo past the girls and revealing the identity of the fortune-teller.

The lads convince Foggy that they have 'borrowed' a dead body from the Co-op funeral service. It's actually Wally wrapped in a sheet. Mr Scrimshaw spends most of the day setting up a display of tins, only to see it collapse at closing time. At the cinema, Seymour learns that Deborah Norbury is upstairs in the circle. He goes up to see her but is tripped by Lena. He falls into Deborah's lap and she walks out on him. Compo is thrown out of the cinema. He tries to sneak back in through the window in the gents' lavatory. He manages to pull a cistern off the wall and gets soaked.

Compo is challenged to a fight by Chunky Livesy, so tricks Foggy into being his substitute.

After discovering Mister Scrimshaw is a secret snuff taker, Clegg, Sherbet and Seymour look for his stash in order to introduce a new ingredient.

Sulking because he hasn't been issued a real rifle, Foggy opts out of his army training and takes the boys camping instead. Unfortunately, his choice of campsite leads to an inevitable disaster.