Editing Ian Carmichael (section)

===Early career and war service, 1939–1946===
{{main|Ian Carmichael on stage, screen and radio}}
Carmichael enjoyed his time at RADA, including the fact that women outnumbered men on his course, which he described as "heady stuff" after his boys-only boarding school.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=74–75}} He remembered the time at RADA in the late 1930s fondly in his autobiography, describing it as:

<blockquote>A period of unconfined joy, occasioned by my finally shaking off the shackles of school discipline and being able to mix daily with young men and young women who shared my interests and enthusiasms. This joy was, nevertheless, being tempered by the worsening European situation. The fear that now, just as I was standing on the threshold of a future that I had dreamed about for years, the whole thing might be snuffed out like a candle was too unbearable to contemplate.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|p=72}}</blockquote>

During his second term Carmichael had his first professional acting role: as a robot in [[Karel Čapek]]'s ''[[R.U.R.]]'' at the People's Palace theatre, in [[Mile End]], East London.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=27}} He recalled the experience as "a dull play performed in a cold and uninspiring theatre and my particular contribution required absolutely no acting talent whatsoever".{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=77–78}} He then appeared as [[Francis Flute|Flute]] in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' at RADA's [[Vanbrugh Theatre]]. The opening night was 1 September 1939, the day [[Invasion of Poland|Hitler invaded Poland]]. After the play's second performance its run was ended, as RADA shut down in anticipation that war was about to be declared; the following day the UK joined the war. Carmichael returned to his familial home and completed the forms to join the Officer Cadet Reserve, hoping to be commissioned as an officer. He helped gather the harvest in a nearby farm until 2 October, when he was [[Oath of Allegiance (United_Kingdom)#Armed_forces|attested]] into the army; he was told he would have to wait until he was twenty—on 18 June 1940—before he started training.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=27–28}}

As the early months of the war were marked by [[Phoney War|limited military action]], RADA reassessed its closure, and decided to reopen. Carmichael returned to London and shared lodgings with two fellow RADA students, [[Geoffrey Hibbert]] and [[Patrick Macnee]]; Carmichael and Macnee became lifelong friends. Between June and August 1940 Carmichael was on a ten-week tour of ''Nine Sharp'', a [[revue]] developed by [[Herbert Farjeon]]. After the tour Carmichael reported for training on 12 September at [[Catterick Garrison]].{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=29–31}} After ten weeks' basic training, he was posted to the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]] to become an officer cadet.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|p=108}} He completed his training and [[Passing out (military)|passed out]] in March 1941 as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[22nd Dragoons]], part of the [[Royal Armoured Corps]].{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=33}}{{sfn|''The London Gazette''. 28 March 1941}}

At the end of training manoeuvres in November 1941, near [[Whitby]], North Yorkshire, Carmichael was struggling to close the hatch of his [[Valentine tank]] when it slammed down, cutting off the top of a finger on his left hand. The surgery was botched and caused him pain for several months; he had a second operation several months later.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=127–129}} He described it as "dashed unfortunate"{{sfn|"Ian Carmichael: Actor". ''The Times''. 8 February 2010}} and "my one and only war-wound, albeit a self-inflicted one".{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=127–129}}

In between training for the [[liberation of France]] Carmichael began producing revues and productions as part of his brigade's entertainment. On 16 June 1944, ten days after [[D-Day]], Carmichael and his armoured reconnaissance troop landed in France. He fought through to Germany with the regiment and by the time of [[Victory in Europe Day]] in May 1945, he had been promoted to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] and [[mentioned in despatches]].{{sfnm|1a1=Carmichael|1y=1979|1pp=145–146, 160–179|2a1=Fairclough|2y=2011|2pp=36–40|3a1=Barker|3y=2010|3p=35}}{{sfn|''The London Gazette''. 7 August 1945}}

[[File:Frankie Howard Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Howerd looking directly at the camera|[[Frankie Howerd]], whom Carmichael auditioned and thought "very gauche&nbsp;... too undisciplined and not very funny either".{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=41}}]]
Carmichael's regiment was part of [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|30 Corps]] and an initial post-war challenge in Germany was the welfare of the occupying forces. The corps' commanding officer was Lieutenant-General [[Brian Horrocks]], who ordered a [[repertory company]] to be formed for entertainment. When Carmichael auditioned he recognised the [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]] in charge of the unit as Richard Stone, an actor who had been a contemporary at RADA; Carmichael was taken into the company and assisted Stone with auditioning other members.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=182–184}}{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=41}} One of the comedians who auditioned was [[Frankie Howerd]], whom Carmichael thought "very gauche&nbsp;... too undisciplined and not very funny either. Very much the amateur".{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|p=184}} Stone disagreed and signed the comic up to perform in a [[Royal Army Service Corps]] concert party.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=42}} The corps' company was also joined by actors from [[Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA); Carmichael did not often appear on stage with them, but worked as the producer of twenty shows. In April 1946 Stone was promoted and was transferred to the UK; Carmichael was promoted to major and took control of the theatrical company. His leadership of the company was short-lived, as he was [[Demobilisation of the British Armed Forces after the Second World War|demobilised]] that July.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=190–191}}{{sfn|"Ian Carmichael: Actor". ''The Times''. 8 February 2010}}