Clegg meets Wally, who has started doing special exercises in a bid to become taller. He's hanging from the parapet of a bridge until he loses his grip and falls into the river. Back at work, Wally and Compo join the lads In the Coop cellar for a 'fag break'. That evening, the gang go to the cinema. In an effort to impress Nora, they hold Wally by the legs and dangle him over the balcony. All of them are thrown out.
Clegg and Sherbet have to deliver a roll of lino to the home of Miss Deborah Norbury. Seymour asks them to deliver a letter to the young lady. When they try to make the delivery, Mrs Norbury insists that they have brought the wrong lino, so they have to return to the shop. Mr Scrimshaw has to go out to a meeting, so he leaves Seymour in charge. He persuades Clegg to take his place so that he can help Sherbet to deliver the replacement lino to the Norbury's house. While Seymour is away, Clegg has to measure a man for a new suit. He makes a complete mess of things. When the customer returns for a final fitting, the suit is two sizes too small.
Clegg's dad is in a panic because his wife is dragging him off to the Co-op to buy a new suit. Compo has annoyed Chunky Livesey and now lives in fear of retribution. Mr Clegg goes to be measured for his new suit. He's surprised to learn that one of his shoulders is lower than the other. Chunky Livesey catches up with Compo and arranges to meet him in the park after dark for a fight. Compo 'persuades' Foggy to take his place. When Chunky turns up with a gang of his mates, the lads decide to beat a hasty retreat.
Clegg, Seymour and Sherbet suspect that Mr Scrimshaw is sneaking off to the gents' fitting room to take snuff. They wonder where he hides his snuff box. The lads persuade Wally Batty to pretend to be a customer trying on some trousers. He bursts into the fitting room just in time to see Mr Scrimshaw hiding his snuff under the seat of a chair. The boys put strong pepper in Mr Scrimshaw's snuff but it doesn't seem to have any effect on him. Next, they add mouse doppings. This doesn't seem to work either, though when Mr Scrimshaw gets home he can't understand why his cat is so interested in his moustache.
The lads decide to spend the weekend camping in the hills. Foggy finds a place to pitch their tent - in a dilapidated barn. They try to light a fire but only succeed in filling the barn with smoke. They take a trip to the nearest pub. When they get back to the barn, they find it full of cows, so they decide to pack up and go home. On the way home, they get Seymour to tow their handcart behind his car. His brakes fail and the car ends up in a ditch.
Mr Scrimshaw is advertising for a youth for light duties. Compo decides to apply for the job but Scrimshaw turns him down. Clegg's mother helps Compo to smarten himself up and gives him one of her husband's old suits. Scrimshaw still doesn't think he's 'suitable' for a job at the Co-op. Clegg, Sherbet and Seymour are having a 'fag break' in the cellar at the Co-op store. Compo joins them. Two men from head office make a surprise visit to check on air-raid precautions. Mr Scrimshaw takes them down to the cellar where they find the lads in the middle of their break. The men from head office want to know what Compo is doing there. Clegg tells them that he's a new member of staff. Mr Scrimshaw is in no position to contradict him.
Compo is washing the windows at the Co-op store. Clegg, Seymour and Sherbet swap his bucket of clean water for one containing dirty water. Foggy's mother takes him to the Co-op to buy new pyjamas. Mr Scrimshaw suggests a pair 'with a stronger gusset'. Seymour is still pining for Deborah Norbury. Compo suggests a plan to help Seymour out. He'll jump out of hiding in front of the young lady, allowing Seymour to come to her rescue. The plan goes wrong when Compo jumps out in front of Mrs Norbury by mistake
The gang discuss the Co-op dance which took place the night before. Clegg is rather embarrassed because Anita Pilsworth from Accounts walked him home. Compo bemoans the fact that he can't foxtrot. He practices with a shop dummy, thus annoying Mr Scrimshaw. Wally is still failing to impress Nora with his new motorbike, mainly because it falls over whenever he gets off. Seymour declares his intention to become a fighter pilot once the war starts. He asks Foggy what qualifications he would need. Foggy says that he would have to be able to spin around at high speed. The lads spin him round in Mr Scrimshaw's office chair. He ends up dizzy and very unsteady on his feet. Mr Scrimshaw thinks he's been drinking. The gang go to the cinema. Compo has no money, so he tries to sneak in through a rooftop window. He ends up dangling in front of the screen and is caught by the commissionaire.
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.
Deborah Norbury is unwell, so Seymour decides to take her a box of chocolates. He just needs to find a way of getting past her mother. Clegg's mother is upset because Mr Clegg's new Air-Raid Warden's uniform has arrived. It consists of an armband, a tin helmet and a whistle. With the help of the lads, Seymour tries climbing a ladder to Deborah Norbury's bedroom window so that he can deliver the chocolates. He only succeeds in scaring the young lady. Compo has been seeing Chunky Livesey's girl friend. At the cinema, Compo learns that Chunky is waiting for him outside. He manages to sneak out with Wally sitting on his shoulders, wearing a long trench coat.
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.
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.
