Most of our British listeners – well at least the parents – will remember the late actor John Le Mesurier, best known as Sargeant Wilson in the television comedy, Dad’s Army. Like the wonderful, long running series itself, he summed up a certain type of Englishness. The character he played was gentle, civil and considerate beyond the call of duty.

We are pleased to say that you will shortly be hearing John Le Mesurier’s unmistakeably unflappable tones on Storynory. Our friends at Once Upon a World have uncovered some recordings he made many years ago of Bible Stories, specially adapted for children by Robert Duncan. Once Upon a World is selling the complete set of stories as audio downloads, but they are letting us publish six of them for free here. We are saving up one – the Nativity – for Christmas.

The Once Upon a World take on the Bible is fresh, original, and wry. They aren’t quite the King James VI version, but we trust they will appeal to children – and they are certainly very good tales. We feel that John Le Mesurier’s style of reading follows naturally from Natasha, who will introduce all the stories. We hope that you will agree. In any case, let us know.

In due course, you will find all the this special audio series here on Storynory, under the Bible Stories category.