# Olive Mercer

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**Olive Mercer** (15 September 1905 – 2 January 1983), born **Olive Maude Adams**, was a British television actress perhaps best known for playing Mrs. Yeatman, the wife of Maurice Yeatman, the Verger in *[Dad's Army](/source/Dad's_Army)*.

## Early life

Born in 1905 in [Hendon](/source/Hendon) in then the [country of Middlesex](/source/Middlesex), now the [London Borough of Barnet](/source/London_Borough_of_Barnet).[1] She was the daughter of Henry James Adams (born 1875), a theatre ticket agent,[2] and Fanny Maria (née Dunnett, 1875–1961).[3]

## Career

She often played stern older women in situation comedies, including *[On the Buses](/source/On_the_Buses)*, *[Billy Liar](/source/Billy_Liar_(TV_series)),* *[Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?](/source/Whatever_Happened_to_the_Likely_Lads%3F)*, and *The Ronnie Barker Yearbook* (1971).

However, she is best known for playing Mrs. Yeatman, the wife of [Maurice Yeatman](/source/List_of_Dad's_Army_characters#The_Verger), the Verger, in nine episodes from the third to the ninth series of *[Dad's Army](/source/Dad's_Army)* from 1969 to 1977.[4] In his book: *The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army*, [entertainment journalist](/source/Entertainment_journalism) Richard Webber lists Mrs. Yeatman's first name as Anthea, however Webber notes that over the course of the series, her first name is also given as Beryl, or Tracey, and that in early scripts, before any recording, she is referred to as Mrs. Harman. [5]

As well as TV, she also starred in film, appearing uncredited in *[A Clockwork Orange](/source/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film))* (1971) as the Old Lady at Duke of York, and as the Cleaner in *[Sex and the Other Woman](/source/Sex_and_the_Other_Woman)* (1972).[4]

## Personal life and death

In 1931, she married Charles Harry Mercer;[6] they remained married until her death. Olive Mercer died in [Hillingdon](/source/Hillingdon) in 1983. [citation needed]

## References

1. [1911 Census Record for Olive Maude Adams](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/2352/rg14_07039_0113_03?pid=39878406&backurl=http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DqzP36%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3DOlive%2520maude%2520%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3DAdams%2520%26gsln_x%3D0%26msbdy%3D1905%26msbpn__ftp%3DHendon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msbpn%3D85849%26msbpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C85849%257C0%257C0%257C%26msgdy%3D1931%26msddy%3D1983%26msdpn__ftp%3DHillingdon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msdpn%3D1671186%26msdpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C1671186%257C0%257C0%257C%26mssng%3DCharles%2520%26mssns%3DMercer%26cp%3D0%26catbucket%3Drstp%26MSAV%3D1%26uidh%3Drc8%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D39878406%26dbid%3D2352%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D13&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=qzP36&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true) - [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com) (subscription required)

1. [Baptism of Olive Maude Adams](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/1558/31280_198447-00339?pid=4964454&backurl=http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DqzP35%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3DOlive%2520maude%2520%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3DAdams%2520%26gsln_x%3D0%26msbdy%3D1905%26msbpn__ftp%3DHendon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msbpn%3D85849%26msbpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C85849%257C0%257C0%257C%26msgdy%3D1931%26msddy%3D1983%26msdpn__ftp%3DHillingdon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msdpn%3D1671186%26msdpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C1671186%257C0%257C0%257C%26mssng%3DCharles%2520%26mssns%3DMercer%26cp%3D0%26catbucket%3Drstp%26MSAV%3D1%26uidh%3Drc8%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D4964454%26recoff%3D8%25209%252010%252030%252043%26dbid%3D1558%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D9&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=qzP35&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true) - 26 November 1905, [Willesden](/source/Willesden), London - [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com) (subscription required)

1. [Family of Olive Maude Adams](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/78057780/person/30378521128/story) - [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com) (subscription required)

1. ["Olive Mercer (1905-1983) | Actress"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580293/). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220321114823/https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0580293/) March 21, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

1. Webber, Richard (2000). [*The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army*](https://archive.org/details/completeazofdads0000webb). London: Orion Books Ltd. p. 230. ISBN 0-75284-637-X. Retrieved January 15, 2026.

1. [Olive M Adams in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005](http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=qzP37&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Olive%20maude%20&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Adams%20&gsln_x=0&msbdy=1905&msbpn__ftp=Hendon,%20Middlesex,%20England&msbpn=85849&msbpn_PInfo=8-%7C0%7C0%7C3257%7C3251%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C5275%7C85849%7C0%7C0%7C&msgdy=1931&msddy=1983&msdpn__ftp=Hillingdon,%20Middlesex,%20England&msdpn=1671186&msdpn_PInfo=8-%7C0%7C0%7C3257%7C3251%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C5275%7C1671186%7C0%7C0%7C&mssng=Charles%20&mssns=Mercer&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=1&uidh=rc8&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=54262438&dbid=8753&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1) - [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com) (subscription required)

## External links

- [Olive Mercer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580293/) at IMDb
- [Photos of Olive Mercer](http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoXszbLRR53sA2tJNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dolive%2Bmercer%26fr%3Dyfp-t-702%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D1&w=522&h=600&imgurl=www.probertencyclopaedia.com%2Fphotolib%2Fpeople%2FOlive%2520Mercer%2520%28PD%29.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.probertencyclopaedia.com%2Fphotolib%2Fpeople%2FOlive%2520Mercer%2520%28PD%29.htm&size=34KB&name=%3Cb%3EOlive+Mercer+%3C%2Fb%3E%28PD%29+from+the+NSDK+Photo+Library&p=olive+mercer&oid=01d67b43535c889139478480415db0c7&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-702&tt=%3Cb%3EOlive+Mercer+%3C%2Fb%3E%28PD%29+from+the+NSDK+Photo+Library&b=0&ni=96&no=1&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12d6qs58n&sigb=13dokbrqb&sigi=1266a3o7b&.crumb=eHpd.1rxuXw&fr=yfp-t-702) at [Yahoo](/source/Yahoo)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Olive Mercer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Mercer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Mercer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.