0:00:36 > 0:00:39This week the Roadshow has come to Lincolnshire,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42to the village of East Kirkby.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45This part of Britain has a vast amount of sky,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49which is why in the 1940s, it was chosen as the setting off point
0:00:49 > 0:00:51for a group of young men
0:00:51 > 0:00:54whose mission was to inflict as much damage as possible
0:00:54 > 0:00:58on their country's enemy and to protect a way of life.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Many of them went off into that sky. Not all of them returned.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23This is what they flew - the Lancaster Bomber.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Over 40 of these planes were stationed here. They all had names.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29This survivor was christened "Just Jane".
0:01:29 > 0:01:33She's one of only three operational Lancasters left in the world.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39There were seven crew members. The most dangerous job was generally
0:01:39 > 0:01:44agreed to be the rear gunner who sat alone and exposed to the enemy
0:01:44 > 0:01:47in outside temperatures of minus 40 degrees.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Most of them didn't survive more than four missions.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00The airfield and its buildings,
0:02:00 > 0:02:0430 miles outside Lincoln, have been meticulously restored
0:02:04 > 0:02:06to commemorate the days of Bomber Command.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09This is the original World War II
0:02:09 > 0:02:12control tower - some say it's haunted.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20And a chill is felt sometimes in this room,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24although when it was in use, it must have got pretty hot in here.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27This was the operational heart of the airfield
0:02:27 > 0:02:30where ground controllers talked pilots through their take-off
0:02:30 > 0:02:34and then waited anxiously for their hopeful return.
0:02:34 > 0:02:42In 1981, two brothers, Fred and Harold Panton, bought part of the defunct East Kirkby airfield
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and gave it a new name.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50Creating the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre has been a labour of love for Fred and Harold.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Their brother Chris was one of those brave young men.
0:02:54 > 0:03:00He died on a bombing raid over Nuremberg in 1944 aged just 19.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07In the twenty-one months East Kirkby airfield operated, 844 men were lost
0:03:07 > 0:03:12and of Bomber Command's total force of 132,000,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16more than 55,000 died in the defence of their country.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre aims to make sure
0:03:24 > 0:03:27those extraordinary times are not forgotten.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Thank you, all out, please.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Perhaps there'll be a few more reminders among the items we'll see
0:03:35 > 0:03:38in today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- Success to Lord Rodney.- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- Do you know who he is?- Haven't got a clue.- Do you know how old it is?
0:03:49 > 0:03:51No, that's why I brought it here.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56OK. Well, it's rather appropriate we're on an airfield. After all,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58the aircraft is the modern weapon of war,
0:03:58 > 0:04:04but in the 18th century, the lethal modern weapon of war was actually the ship.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- The ship, yes.- And this man
0:04:06 > 0:04:11was one of the most important admirals in the British Navy in the 18th century.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16If Lord Nelson hadn't been as famous as he became, especially after Trafalgar,
0:04:16 > 0:04:21you could argue that this man might have been our Lord Nelson.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Just looking at the portrait, it's fantastically well done.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28He was born in 1719
0:04:28 > 0:04:33- and he died in 1792, which is a very good and long career.- Yes.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37If we turn him round, we can see he's a jolly tar, because there he is -
0:04:37 > 0:04:40his sailor's pigtail.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44If you were a successful man of war - sailor - in the British Navy
0:04:44 > 0:04:49in the 18th century, it meant that you could potentially
0:04:49 > 0:04:54become incredibly rich, because you captured all the ships as prizes,
0:04:54 > 0:04:59- you took a share of all the money, you passed the money out amongst all the crew.- Legal pirates.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01It was, it was legalised piracy.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Now this guy, Lord Rodney was mustard-hot on getting prizes,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09and there were a lot of disputes between himself and parliament
0:05:09 > 0:05:11as to how much he and his men were entitled to.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Anyhow, in the Seven Years War, in the 1750s-60s,
0:05:14 > 0:05:20this man actually thwarted a French invasion of England.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- So an incredible hero. - Right.- Now, the question is...
0:05:24 > 0:05:27is this mug as old as the man depicted?
0:05:27 > 0:05:32He died in 1792 and this was probably made some time during the 1780s.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- Ah, right. - And at this time, he'd become an MP,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39he'd lost a fortune, he'd made another fortune and some people were
0:05:39 > 0:05:42against him, some for him, when it came to the elections.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45This is an electioneering mug
0:05:45 > 0:05:49and it says "Success to Lord Rodney".
0:05:49 > 0:05:54Obviously it's pro-Rodney. It's damaged, got a hairline fracture,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57but it's beautifully crisp.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01- I like it. Do you like it? - I like it very much.
0:06:01 > 0:06:07- Do you think it's worth anything? - Couple of hundred quid.- A couple of hundred, yeah, I should think so.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10To an English maritime collector, that's certainly £300 to £500.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Right, very nice.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The best one I've ever seen.
0:06:15 > 0:06:21In 1787, Captain Cook stopped at a small group of islands. Those islands
0:06:21 > 0:06:24we now know as Queen Charlotte Islands off British Columbia.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29There, he encountered a group of people known as the Haida.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35And for me, to have something like this arrive at the Roadshow
0:06:35 > 0:06:38is an ambition fulfilled because I hope that objects
0:06:38 > 0:06:40like this are going to turn up.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42These are Haida carvings.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48- In fact, one reason I'm so passionate about them is because I do have a piece at home.- Oh, right.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53I need to know where they come from, how you have them.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58- Well, the story goes that my great grandfather was the Mayor of Rochdale.- Right.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02And I understand that at that time,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Indian Chiefs were toted around towns in the UK and...
0:07:06 > 0:07:10- What sort of date are we talking? Do you know?- I think about the late 1800s.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- Right, OK.- But I'm not absolutely certain about the date.- Fine, OK.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Um, and these were the personal gifts that the Chieftain gave
0:07:17 > 0:07:22to my great grandfather and they were passed down through the family.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23And then when this lady -
0:07:23 > 0:07:27my aunt - died, they came to my mother
0:07:27 > 0:07:30and my mother wouldn't have them
0:07:30 > 0:07:33on display because she was a strict Methodist.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38- What did she regard them as being? Pagan?- I think idolatrous, that sort of thing.- That's interesting.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42She hid them in a drawer, then gave them to me, her wayward daughter.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Wayward daughter.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47- I see there's a photograph as well... - Yes.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49..with both items on the mantelpiece.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53- Yes.- And that obviously dates from the 1930s, that photograph.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58- Yes.- Seeing them in context here, beautiful, because it pushes the date
0:07:58 > 0:08:02and it makes me absolutely confidant of their place in history
0:08:02 > 0:08:04around about 1860-70
0:08:04 > 0:08:08and is very characteristic of this period of carving.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13They were a very interesting culture in that they had excess time
0:08:13 > 0:08:18and they had excess time because they lived in a very bountiful place.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22They were never short of salmon and game and natural materials
0:08:22 > 0:08:26to live with, so they had time to develop their art.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29After the earliest communications with Europeans, the Haida
0:08:29 > 0:08:34started carving in this material, called argillite - a kind of shale.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39- And what would they carve it with? - Well, they carved with metal tools
0:08:39 > 0:08:42essentially, or stone tools initially, but then metal tools
0:08:42 > 0:08:48and then polished with shark skin and oiled, and the symbolism
0:08:48 > 0:08:52- is extremely surreal and very, very complicated.- Right.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57They made full-sized totem poles and these are kind of argillite models
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- of their full-sized totem poles. - Right.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04They were an interesting race as well because they actually
0:09:04 > 0:09:08had what they called a "potlatch" culture.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13And they were conspicuous consumers, they had spare time, they did art,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18but they had so much spare time that they could keep making these things,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22- so every year they would burn or give away all their possessions.- Gosh.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26I know it sounds absolutely staggering, but it was a system that worked very well.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31- Especially coming from such a basic sort of culture. - They weren't basic.- No.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36The things that were given away would obviously be given to people who had already lost their things...
0:09:36 > 0:09:39It was a kind of perpetuating system,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- and it meant that they produced quite a lot of material as well.- Right.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47And this comes from that kind of culture and they're just
0:09:47 > 0:09:51absolutely magnificent. I would love to have them myself.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53I'm glad you like them and appreciate them.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- I always have done. - It's an interesting one
0:09:57 > 0:10:00because valuing these things is very difficult.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04They don't come up for sale that often. In fact,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08you can go on the internet and buy them, but the ones you buy
0:10:08 > 0:10:14are modern versions done by modern living Haida artists, but because these are old,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16they're a different matter.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18I have no hesitation in putting
0:10:18 > 0:10:21£1,500 to £2,000 on these two carvings.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23- Gosh.- I think they're superb.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24Oh, heavens, thank you.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27So what can you tell me about the history of this?
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Well, I want to know the history, I want to know about it,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33because I've no idea what it is.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35No, but where did you get it from?
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Well, my parents had it before I was born. They married in
0:10:39 > 0:10:44the '20s and I understand that it came from a Russian person
0:10:44 > 0:10:48who fled the Revolution,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and she, um, bought it and gave it
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- to my father because he'd been kind to her.- Really?
0:10:53 > 0:10:57- But I don't know what it is. - You can forget Russia.- Yes.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00You want to go west, south west.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01You want to go to
0:11:01 > 0:11:07South America because this nut fell from a tree in Brazil and instead of
0:11:07 > 0:11:12splitting open, it's been put on a lathe and spun on a lathe...
0:11:12 > 0:11:15- so that the outer surface has been cut away.- Yes.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18This little nipple turning has been made in the top.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22And then it's been cut through and the nuts that are inside...
0:11:22 > 0:11:23are brazil nuts.
0:11:23 > 0:11:30- Ah, right.- That's where the brazil nut comes from, within an outer nut which happens to be this nut...
0:11:30 > 0:11:33which is pretty nutty, isn't it, really?
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It's very, very strange.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Strange is not the word.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43I think it's the most bizarre and wonderful object, I have to say.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47- I'm amazed.- So Russia and fleeing from the Revolution...
0:11:47 > 0:11:48forget it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53But what would some nutcase pay for this, do you think?
0:11:53 > 0:11:58- Not much.- Well, actually, some nutcase would like it, because
0:11:58 > 0:12:00it is a nutcase and it's been turned in this way.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05- It was probably done maybe 100 years ago as a novelty.- Right. - You shake it like that.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08And you can hear the nuts running around inside.
0:12:08 > 0:12:15- I think somebody would pay for that - a treen collector - perhaps £100 to £150.- I'm amazed.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20So here we have "The Shakespeare Masonic Lodge, Stratford".
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Now, therein lies the root of it all.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28Yes, well this furniture originated in the Shakespeare Lodge,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Stratford on Avon which started in 1793.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37Now that Lodge ceased functioning in around about 1932.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42When they were setting up a Lodge here locally and one of the persons
0:12:42 > 0:12:44who was helping to set it up,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47was a prison governor and he came from Birmingham and he knew of this
0:12:47 > 0:12:51furniture that was in storage and he bought it, the whole lot, for £15.
0:12:51 > 0:12:57- For £15?- So I suppose he paid about £1.50 for this chair, £1 for this.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Those were the days, weren't they?
0:12:59 > 0:13:03So tell me a bit about Freemasonry. When was the first Lodge founded?
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Well, history says that it was Solomon, King of Israel
0:13:07 > 0:13:12- had the first lodge, but I don't think that's quite true.- Right.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17Freemasons used to be the Masons Guild. Masons in the 1600s and 1700s
0:13:17 > 0:13:22were running short of members, so to keep the guild going, they invited
0:13:22 > 0:13:28famous local dignitaries to become honorary members and gradually,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32the Masons Guild itself folded, and it changed into the Freemasons.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36I would be really intrigued to know the ceremonial role of these
0:13:36 > 0:13:39wonderful chairs for instance. Where do they fit into the whole scheme?
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Well, this one
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- with the plumes on is the Master's Chair.- Right.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47And these two are his deputies.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Associated with each chair is a candlestick.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- So there are three of those.- Three candlesticks, one for each chair,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and also the two deputies
0:13:56 > 0:13:59have one of those each and it's a sign of authority.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And these fantastic globes?
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Well, the globes, one of the world and one of the moon,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09the celestial and terrestrial globes,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13they're to signify that Masonry is universal.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Because you've got this wonderful gold filigree chains
0:14:16 > 0:14:22and above them on each side, these beautiful little roundels in enamel and what looks like
0:14:22 > 0:14:27fantastic quality silver and gold wire, which has been creating these
0:14:27 > 0:14:29little medallions with a portrait inside,
0:14:29 > 0:14:35- almost as if that's the original Grand Master.- I've no idea who he was.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38It's something that's been lost in the mists of time.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42And these are supposed to be pomegranates.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48Right, where do they actually sit in, in the Lodge? How is it arranged?
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Is this here... Is that...
0:14:50 > 0:14:54- that's exactly how the chair sits on top of there?- Yes, these two globes are those,
0:14:54 > 0:15:00a desk there and the Master's Chair is behind this pedestal.
0:15:00 > 0:15:06- That is a glazed window which is in the wall behind there. - Directly above it?- Yes.- Oh, right.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09And here we have all the Masonic symbols.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Yes, all the Masonic symbols.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15So the square and compasses and the all-seeing eye.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19So where does this wonderful sort of Pythagoras's theorem?
0:15:19 > 0:15:23It's called the Master's Tracing Board and as far as I'm aware,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26it's the only one in existence in England.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30I suppose the symbolism - it's supposed to teach industry.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Right, so here we have the Lodge founded in 1793.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37What's interesting about the chairs is stylistically,
0:15:37 > 0:15:42they're a little bit earlier, because they've got this wonderful sweep of the arm with these...
0:15:42 > 0:15:47oval back coming into these arms that go straight into the top of the legs
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and this is a constructional technique which was used by a firm
0:15:50 > 0:15:55called Mayhew & Ince who were great contemporaries of Thomas Chippendale.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59What's very interesting for me is that if we look at the construction, the underside,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02we've got this cut-out here, called crab-cuts,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06which is the way of gluing the joints on the backs of chairs,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11and although not a signature thing, those are some of the hallmarks used almost exclusively by Chippendale
0:16:11 > 0:16:14and by Mayhew & Ince only.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19And so it appears that these chairs, and indeed the Grand Master's chair,
0:16:19 > 0:16:25which these wonderful, sunburst and the Prince of Wales feathers, are all
0:16:25 > 0:16:27later additions which have been put on,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32actually had a former life, possibly not a Masonic life, because they
0:16:32 > 0:16:36haven't got the Masonic symbols on the chairs or frames unlike some Masonic furniture,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41but they actually were part of domestic furniture that was commissioned for a very grand house
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and was then was given to the Lodge when it was founded in the 1790s.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49This is an extraordinary group.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55They are worth dramatically more than the £15 that was originally paid for them.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01There are three of those wonderful candle stands, they're all from about 1790 when the Lodge was founded.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Three of those are worth probably £10,000 to £15,000.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Then we have our two...
0:17:09 > 0:17:13pair of columns here for authority, the pair of those
0:17:13 > 0:17:19which make wonderful objects, are probably worth £5,000 to £8,000.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Then we have the chairs.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25The chairs - these wonderful 1770s Mayhew & Ince chairs -
0:17:25 > 0:17:28this is probably worth £3,000 to £5,000.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32That one is a bit closer to Gillows in the straightness of the leg,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36is worth probably about the same, sort of £3,000 to £5,000
0:17:36 > 0:17:41and this beautiful chair here is probably worth £6,000 to £9,000...
0:17:41 > 0:17:44£7,000 to £10,000. And finally, the celestial
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and terrestrial globes, and they're probably worth £12,000 to £18,000
0:17:48 > 0:17:52so there are some pretty fantastic things here.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57Pulling all those figures together, it gets to a grand total of £40,000 to £60,000, maybe even a bit more.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59It's a very, very rare group.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Perhaps a trip to the Bahamas this year's in order for a holiday.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12It's a bit cheeky for you to bring me this rather grubby menu from "La Dolce Vita, Newcastle upon Tyne,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16"the North's most luxurious Night Club!"
0:18:16 > 0:18:20But that's until I turned it over and...
0:18:20 > 0:18:24fantastic signatures - Gerry of Gerry and the Pacemakers...
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- The Beatles, all of them.- Oh, yes.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30- And they said who they were. And Roy Orbison.- Correct.
0:18:30 > 0:18:36A very famous concert because Roy Orbison actually was the lead with follow-up by The Beatles.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38But during that tour, they swapped.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40And it says "To Margaret".
0:18:40 > 0:18:46- That's me.- That's you?- That's me. - But you're so young. You couldn't have been in a nightclub in 1963.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50I wasn't. I was about 12 years old at the time, and my brother,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53who was an entertainer, got them for me, because
0:18:53 > 0:18:58he was appearing at Dolce Vita on that particular evening
0:18:58 > 0:19:00and he woke me up at about 3 o'clock
0:19:00 > 0:19:04in the morning when he come home, after finishing work,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and he said, "Got something for ye, I've got you these...
0:19:08 > 0:19:11"One day, these boys will be famous!"
0:19:11 > 0:19:13And I've had them ever since.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16They're not a bad gift at 12 years old.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18- It wasn't. - Have you ever had it valued?
0:19:18 > 0:19:22- No.- Well, obviously, The Beatles signatures are the most valuable.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26But to get everybody who appeared is very unusual.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30For The Beatles to actually say who they were, George Harrison,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34again most unusual, and good strong signatures, so you've got it all.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Um, to a collector,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40we're probably talking about £4,000, £5,000, £6,000 at auction.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Oh, my goodness, oh.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49So from all those years ago, as a free gift to you.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Oh, I'm amazed.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- A fantastic piece of memorabilia. - Thank you, Eddie.
0:19:57 > 0:20:03You seem to have brought me a rather burned and useless Portuguese bank note. What's the story of that?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06It was retrieved from a crashed Lancaster Bomber
0:20:06 > 0:20:09that had just returned from a raid over Germany,
0:20:09 > 0:20:16- which, unfortunately, upon returning to the UK, crashed. - Where?- In Lincolnshire.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Some of this money was recovered from the aircraft because they used to carry this
0:20:19 > 0:20:23in case they escaped from a burning aircraft and made their way to Portugal,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26they'd always got some currency they could use to help them return.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Why did it come from the plane?
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Well, my father was a Senior Medical Officer for Bomber Command 617 Squadron,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- which as you'll know is the Dam Busters Squadron.- Right.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40He was based at Scampton and Swinderby and happened to be called to that site on that occasion.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43I suppose that was one of the more ghastly parts of his job.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Yes, one of the more upsetting parts of the job which affected him very much.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50One forgets that not everybody was shot down over Germany.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54- Aeroplanes crashed here on their way back.- Indeed, coming back. - Much more distressing.- Indeed so.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59- Is that him?- That is indeed him, before the war in Pittsmore in Sheffield,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03- proud father. - And proud of that little child.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06I know. Isn't it sad? That turned out to be me.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08You look just the same.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- Not a lot of difference, is there? - Now what's this autograph book?
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Is that part of the story?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16That's really the main part of the story in that I used to be
0:21:16 > 0:21:20invited to go to the Officers' Mess at Scampton on Sundays to have
0:21:20 > 0:21:23lunch with my father who always said, "Bring the autograph book,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27"because a lot of the pilots and crew will be there having lunch.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31"Take your book round and ask if they'll be kind enough to sign it."
0:21:31 > 0:21:34That must have been an extraordinary experience meeting those people.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39It was. I had to be on my best behaviour because I was the only child in the Officers' Mess.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43- And of course these were young men in their early 20s.- That's right.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- So here we've got a page which lists several names.- Yes, indeed.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Now these are the autographs you've got.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- Yes.- Royal Australian Air Force, what have you.- That's right.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57But then it says "Killed", "Missing", "Presumed Killed", "Prisoner of War".
0:21:57 > 0:22:01It's the saddest part of all because my father kept it up to date and...
0:22:01 > 0:22:04these people unfortunately didn't come back from a lot of these raids.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06So did you get any Dam Busters?
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Well, Melvin Young was one of the really important pilots in the 617 Squadron.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13We even went on holiday with him.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18- Unfortunately he didn't survive long after that.- He was a family friend?
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- Yes, he was indeed.- Did he actually die on the dams raid?
0:22:22 > 0:22:24On the Mohne and Eder dams, that's where he lost his life.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- An extraordinary story. - Very sad, but extraordinary indeed.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- So your father went on with a service career?- That's right.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33He left the Air Force at the end of the war in 1946
0:22:33 > 0:22:37- and set up as a GP again after the war in Stratford-Upon-Avon. - So he remained in medicine.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- Indeed, until he died. - So his experiences in the war hadn't put him off.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46No, but he loved the war, it was the sort of best thing that ever happened to him, rather sadly.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50I think it was for lots of people. It was an excitement that was never going to be matched.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55I've met so many people who've said, terrifying and frightening though they were,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57those days were just so exciting.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00He was a star in his own right, as a Senior Medical Officer,
0:23:00 > 0:23:05- but then he finished up as an ordinary GP in Stratford-Upon-Avon. - And life was never the same again.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07That's right, the contrast was unbelievable.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12Now this is wonderful personal memorabilia and wonderful documents and memories...
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- It has value, I mean, we've got to talk about value.- Yes.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21- In a sense, the value of this, which is probably a few hundred pounds... - Right.- ..is unimportant...- Indeed.
0:23:21 > 0:23:27- ..compared to what it's worth to you. - Yes.- But I've loved sharing this with you.- Thank you.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32A word I've heard several times from visitors here to East Kirkby Airfield is "humbling"
0:23:32 > 0:23:37and the people we have to thank for all of this here is brothers Harold and Fred Panton.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41So you are farmers who... who bought an airfield?
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Yeah, we bought part of this airfield in 1981.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48It was the death of your brother that really prompted you to do this.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Absolutely, yes.
0:23:50 > 0:23:57We done it as a memorial to bomber pilots, ground crew and whoever served in Bomber Command.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Did you know your brother very well?
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- Were you close?- Oh, God, we were yeah, very close, yeah.
0:24:03 > 0:24:09- I used to go and meet him off the bus when he used to come home on leave. - Ah.- Yes.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13I gather your father wasn't too keen on the idea of this.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17No, no, he wasn't. He never really got over it, Father didn't.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23He didn't want to know, we didn't even know really where he was buried until he asked me to go to
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Germany for some photographs of where he was buried and that was in 1971.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- Right.- And we didn't know... We had to get the information we required
0:24:31 > 0:24:35for me to go and find his resting place.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40- Well, you must be totally satisfied with everything you've managed to achieve.- Ah yeah, we are, yes.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45We are, it's gone well. We're having a job to keep pace with it really because it's growing too fast.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49You just don't know how big to go, but we think we're going
0:24:49 > 0:24:52then it's, "You're not big enough" so we're having to keep expanding.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55- Well, you keep doing it and they'll keep coming.- Yeah, that's it.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Thank you very much on behalf of all of us for doing this.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01All the memories here are not sombre ones.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05People in those days really knew how to have a good time
0:25:05 > 0:25:10and some of the stewards here have their own way of reminding us. Take it away.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13BIG BAND MUSIC PLAYS
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Well, I always think of these as being real sort of treasure chests.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04It's a work box and I used to love playing with my grandmother's work box when I was younger,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07finding all the little bits of elastic and strange hooks and things.
0:26:07 > 0:26:08What's the story behind this one?
0:26:08 > 0:26:13This one was my mother-in-law's, she died, and I inherited it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- Everything inside is as it came. - So totally untouched...- Untouched.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19- ..since the day you received it. - That's right.
0:26:19 > 0:26:25Despite the fact it's got all these little bits of shell which aren't from these shores as it were,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27it's definitely made in England.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30It's made of papier-mache. Sadly it's not by Jennings and Bettridge,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34who were a Birmingham-based firm who used to make a lot of papier-mache trays and boxes,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37but it's certainly an excellent example.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41The good thing about it is that the gilding hasn't worn too badly,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45because very often they do become quite sort of tired looking,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49and, er, also there are sections of mother-of-pearl inset into the top.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- Uh-huh.- And then the people who made these then painted over the top,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57so that you get this sort of rather nice iridescent glow coming through
0:26:57 > 0:27:00to give a more three-dimensional look to this spray of flowers.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Let's have a look inside.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Oh, even better.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08All the spools are here, now, so this...
0:27:08 > 0:27:10- They've always been with this?- Yes.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12- You've not bought anything to go in here?- No.
0:27:12 > 0:27:13These would probably have
0:27:13 > 0:27:18- been made in China, they're made to be slotted in here.- Oh.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19Now this is interesting.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24That's some wax and the idea with that is that you'd have a thick cotton
0:27:24 > 0:27:28and then to make it extra strong and sort of waterproof, if you like...
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- Yes.- ..you would then wind the cotton around there.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35- Uh-huh.- The box dates from around 1850 or thereabouts.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36Does it?
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Oh, even better inside. This is much better than my grandmother's box,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42which had all sorts of oddments in.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Lovely sections of silk ribbons,
0:27:45 > 0:27:50- it's just a really nicely put together box.- Oh.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55- You obviously don't use it now.- No, it's just beautiful to look at.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59- It's sort of like a little museum really.- That's right.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03It looks as though at the end of the 19th century, or earlier this century,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05nobody's used it, nobody's put anything else into it,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09so just confirmation there on the lock plate "VR"
0:28:09 > 0:28:11so we know it's Victorian.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15What sort of value do you place on it?
0:28:15 > 0:28:20I don't know, I hadn't thought of the value, um, £100?
0:28:20 > 0:28:22It's worth more than that.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26In such a complete condition, it must be worth in the region of £500.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29- It's a really well put together work box.- Really?
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Five hundred? That is lovely.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36This print down here, woodblock print
0:28:36 > 0:28:39looks just like a Sir William Nicholson.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42I'm absolutely fascinated by the inscription because it says
0:28:42 > 0:28:48"Skating with acknowledgement to Sir William Nicholson. Peter Blake 1980."
0:28:48 > 0:28:51As we know, Peter Blake, the great pop artist,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55one of his big things was he designed the cover for Sergeant Pepper's
0:28:55 > 0:29:00and here it's inscribed on the bottom here "For Celia from Peter Blake."
0:29:00 > 0:29:01And who's Celia?
0:29:01 > 0:29:04- That's me.- That's you.- That's me.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06And so why do you have this?
0:29:06 > 0:29:09I worked for a design group
0:29:09 > 0:29:14for many years, and every Christmas the partners of the design group
0:29:14 > 0:29:19got together all their friends and their friends were all contemporary
0:29:19 > 0:29:25artists of the time and each year we were given a little present...
0:29:25 > 0:29:29- as a Christmas present.- So Peter did this one in 1980?- He did.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31And what is really nice about it...
0:29:31 > 0:29:35when you buy a print, a woodblock, limited edition,
0:29:35 > 0:29:39you want a nice small edition and here you have the number "8/60".
0:29:39 > 0:29:40There are sixty like that.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44I just think it's fantastic and it's such a personal thing for you to have that.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49- I know.- And then we come up here, something very different by
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Jose Christopherson...
0:29:51 > 0:29:54who is a female artist.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56When did you acquire that?
0:29:56 > 0:30:00This has always been in my family
0:30:00 > 0:30:03and Jose Christopherson
0:30:03 > 0:30:09I believe was an art student with one of my great aunts who
0:30:09 > 0:30:13studied at The Slade School of Art.
0:30:13 > 0:30:19- And when do you think this was painted?- I think it's about 1920-25.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Well, she was born in 1914,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25so I think this is late '30s.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- Late '30s.- And obviously going down to St Ives,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30and as you know Ben Nicholson was in St Ives,
0:30:30 > 0:30:37and Christopher Wood was in St Ives and she's very influenced by Christopher Wood.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41I love this because it makes me laugh,
0:30:41 > 0:30:42it's just so humorous.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46It doesn't look like she's tried to do it, you know, really really perfectly,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50just it looks like she wanted to have fun with it.
0:30:50 > 0:30:51But when you look at this,
0:30:51 > 0:30:53this is painted in watercolour...gouache
0:30:53 > 0:30:56and it's very spontaneous, you know.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59It's not contrived and it's just freehand and actually the strength
0:30:59 > 0:31:03of line here is very, very good and I think it's fantastic because I've
0:31:03 > 0:31:08never come across this artist, but that doesn't matter, you know.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Because the style, because we can date it, I think that would
0:31:11 > 0:31:15- probably make £800 to £1,200 maybe £1,000 to £1,500 at auction.- Really?
0:31:15 > 0:31:19The Peter Blake at the bottom here... this wonderful present you got...
0:31:19 > 0:31:25I think that, one out of sixty, that's certainly worth £600 to £900,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28it could make £1,000. I just think it's lovely.
0:31:28 > 0:31:29Aren't we lucky?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Very, very lucky.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39Well, I can see from a case like this that the contents are...
0:31:39 > 0:31:41is going to be French and there they are.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45That's what we call a demi-parure of jewellery, definitely French
0:31:45 > 0:31:49and a demi-parure means a suite of jewellery in three parts.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53So tell me about its history in your family.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58It was a last minute purchase by my father, for a birthday present for
0:31:58 > 0:32:02my mother, in 1944-45... at the end of the war.
0:32:02 > 0:32:08I think he dived into a second-hand shop or a jewellery shop about five to six and just managed...
0:32:08 > 0:32:10I think he paid about £3 for it.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13- Three pounds! Well, it's certainly worth every bit of that.- Yes.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17- But it is a slightly sort of severe piece of jewellery...- Oh, yes. - ..to buy one's wife.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21It's a cross, it's also decorated with forget-me-nots
0:32:21 > 0:32:23which are very relevant I think
0:32:23 > 0:32:25to its history, which I think you know a little bit about.
0:32:25 > 0:32:32It's a commemorative piece made in 1871-72 to commemorate the
0:32:32 > 0:32:37Franco-Prussian War and in this case the French were soundly trounced by
0:32:37 > 0:32:42the Prussians and as a result Alsace-Lorraine, two provinces on
0:32:42 > 0:32:46the western border were annexed by Prussia, later Germany, and the
0:32:46 > 0:32:50French didn't get them back till 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54- So it's almost a sort of a mourning jewel.- Mm.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56There is a slightly gloomy character to it, it's made
0:32:56 > 0:32:58of oxidised silver and gilt metal
0:32:58 > 0:33:01and I think the message is pretty strong in the middle here
0:33:01 > 0:33:03because this is what the French call myosotis.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05It's forget-me-nots
0:33:05 > 0:33:07that are gathered together with the French colours,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10the colours of the flag, and it means "forget me not",
0:33:10 > 0:33:14I suppose really for those people that died in that hideous confrontation, doesn't it?
0:33:14 > 0:33:18And the "AL" in the middle of the cross presumably for Alsace-Lorraine.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23The extraordinary thing is to try to imagine what kind of a woman would have worn those at the time.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27I've a funny feeling that she was rather a sort of severe French lady,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30probably dressed as a sort of rather terrifying widow character really, in sort of...
0:33:30 > 0:33:35- Sombre colours.- I think so, sombre black I imagine and we think of her
0:33:35 > 0:33:39turning up at a reception wearing this commemoration of a defeat.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43So it's an extraordinarily unusual suite of jewellery
0:33:43 > 0:33:47because jewellery's usually rather sort of joyful and in a way this
0:33:47 > 0:33:51has a rather, rather morbid tone to it, but in a way
0:33:51 > 0:33:56because it is highly evocative of, of history, it's beautifully made,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59it's probably made in Paris, it's a collectable object,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02it's the sort of thing a museum I think would jolly well like to have.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06I think a French museum would be more pleased than anybody else to have it.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10And, and with that comes the usual old chestnut of value.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15Well, I think it's got to be worth about £800 of anybody's money today.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18It's a great thing, a great one to see. It's a historic jewel and...
0:34:18 > 0:34:21an enormous rarity, I've never seen anything like it.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Thank you very much for bringing it.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26I say, your hair's looking pretty fab.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29Thank you very much. It hasn't always been like this though.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34- I used to have it right down my back.- Did you?- Mm. - When would that have been?- 1964.
0:34:34 > 0:34:371964, and what else happened to you in 1964?
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- I went tenting.- Did you?- Mm.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43And was that when you acquired this magnificent piece of kit?
0:34:43 > 0:34:45This magnificent... it was, my husband bought
0:34:45 > 0:34:47it me from a camping exhibition.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Well, it does say on the outside "the caravan hair dryer".
0:34:51 > 0:34:57And I open it up, we can see what chic chicks were doing with their
0:34:57 > 0:35:01- hair when they went caravanning in 1964.- That was me.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Which was you? The chic chick.
0:35:04 > 0:35:05- Chic...definitely.- That was right.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Now, if we just take this thing out of the box and it's brilliant that
0:35:09 > 0:35:17it's survived intact in its box, we can see a hard baked Bakelite case.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20It says "mistral" on it which is kind of
0:35:20 > 0:35:25a nice way of saying that this is a windy object, which is a hint as to
0:35:25 > 0:35:32what it might eventually do, and lo and behold we have the hairdryer hose
0:35:32 > 0:35:35to beat all hairdryer hoses, right?
0:35:35 > 0:35:40But this is no ordinary gadget, because to generate the heat
0:35:40 > 0:35:42in your caravan or tent,
0:35:42 > 0:35:47you would set up a Primus stove under the bottom to heat the plate.
0:35:47 > 0:35:52- You then take this wire off to your twelve volt battery.- That's right.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Plug it into the battery, that gets the fan going, the fan goes
0:35:56 > 0:36:01over the hot plate, the hot air comes out of the tube, right?
0:36:01 > 0:36:04And if you wanted the special fitting,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- you get the paisley plastic bag... - Beautiful bag.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10It's a lovely bag.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14..into which you insert your hosepipe and as a cool chick...
0:36:14 > 0:36:18- I bet you're going to put that on me.- I am going to put it on you.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- Lovely.- As a cool chick...- Glamour.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- Glamour.- ..a cool chick in 1964,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28this is how you do your hair.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30That's it.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32I was beautiful.
0:36:32 > 0:36:38- This is how you do your hair before you go down to the pub when you got out of the tent.- That's it.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And that's what I think is so amazing.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Amazing, and I looked so beautiful after it was all finished.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45- You look so beautiful... - There you go.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47- You look so beautiful now. - With this on? Yes?
0:36:47 > 0:36:52I think it's the most wonderful piece of equipment, I have to say.
0:36:52 > 0:36:53- Right.- And what's it worth?
0:36:53 > 0:36:55No idea, no idea.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57- Well, you haven't got the faintest idea?- No.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01But there must be somebody somewhere that's collecting camping related equipment.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Yes, I think there must be.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07- And for a really unusual thing like this...- Yes.- ..in its box,
0:37:07 > 0:37:08I reckon somebody would pay what?
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Fifty quid for a good blow dry.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Probably, probably. Would you pay fifty quid for a good blow dry?
0:37:14 > 0:37:16Now there's a question.
0:37:19 > 0:37:20Yes!
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Well, first of all tell me where you got all of these things.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28The one you're holding at the moment I bought that last year
0:37:28 > 0:37:31in a local antique shop.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33- And you paid?- And I paid £60
0:37:33 > 0:37:37for that one, hopefully that is Japanese or Chinese Imari.
0:37:37 > 0:37:38And this one?
0:37:38 > 0:37:45That one came from an antique shop in Yorkshire. That was bought by my
0:37:45 > 0:37:48- mother-in-law actually for £14.- £14.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52Yeah, I looked in one of the marks books as being William de Morgan.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Yeah, OK. Well, that's what it is, it's William de Morgan
0:37:55 > 0:37:58and I would say it's actually quite a good price.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01£14 for a piece of William de Morgan is pretty good.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06- I mean I think he's one of the greatest ceramic designers of the 19th century.- Yes.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09And he uses this wonderful Persian colour scheme.
0:38:09 > 0:38:15He is a wonderful artist and he trained in Italy, he was obviously
0:38:15 > 0:38:19very, very keen on the arts of the Iznik potters, so a lot of
0:38:19 > 0:38:21the colour schemes, these turquoises,
0:38:21 > 0:38:25these lovely Persian blues are typical of the influence that...
0:38:25 > 0:38:29So £14 is I would say, very, very good. What about the big one?
0:38:29 > 0:38:34The big one, er, I've had that round about 8 or 9 years.
0:38:35 > 0:38:41I bought it sort of on speculation probably. There was no ticket on it.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46- Yeah.- So I decided after a while just to sort of speculate and hoping
0:38:46 > 0:38:51that, er, it probably was an early 18th-century vase or...
0:38:51 > 0:38:53- Early 18th-century? - Early 18th probably.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56- OK, that's what you're hoping for? - Right.- How deep in your pocket did
0:38:56 > 0:39:00you go for this, this would-be early 18th-century vase?
0:39:00 > 0:39:03- I had to pay £1,000 for it. - A thousand pounds?- Yes.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06A hard bargain. Actually it's quite a lot of money, isn't it?
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Yes, which is what my wife thought when I went home with it.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14I'm always interested to know
0:39:14 > 0:39:17what is it that drives people's taste...
0:39:17 > 0:39:21- A Japanese piece, a late 19th-century piece.- OK.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23English, and then a piece of Chinese... Why?
0:39:23 > 0:39:28Um, probably the, yeah, the Oriental design, Iznik design.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30I like Chinese, Japanese.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35- You basically have a sort of eye for Oriental works of art then? - Yeah. Yeah, I think that's the...
0:39:35 > 0:39:37how you'd probably link them all together.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Well, they link perfectly together
0:39:39 > 0:39:45for somebody of the aesthetic persuasion of the late 19th century.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48This is the sort of thing that the great China maniacs, people
0:39:48 > 0:39:52like Charlotte Schreiber, James McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55all of these people who were interested in Oriental works of art,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58they went for precisely what you've gone for.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00I think you could be a reincarnated aesthete.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Let's just look at it, before seeing whether we can put you out of your misery
0:40:06 > 0:40:08- or into even more misery. - Yeah, quite.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11First of all, it IS Chinese. The thing I particularly like about it
0:40:11 > 0:40:16is this wonderful vibrant clash of colours on the collar of the whole piece,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19this wonderful juxtaposition of under-glaze blue
0:40:19 > 0:40:22and then over-glaze yellow, green and red.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25It's actually quite a sophisticated production technique
0:40:25 > 0:40:27because all of the blue that you see on there
0:40:27 > 0:40:30- has been painted onto the jar before the jar was given a glaze.- Right.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34The whole thing was then fired, and then came out of the kiln
0:40:34 > 0:40:37and then had to go to the enamellers for lower-temperature firing.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41If you look at these designs around the front, for example,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44the painter had to imagine what this thing would look like
0:40:44 > 0:40:46when all the colours were filled in,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50so he did a bit of a rock down here, a bit of a leaf up here,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54a few more leaves up here, and he had to remember that his colleague...
0:40:54 > 0:40:56after the under-glaze blue firing...
0:40:56 > 0:40:59was going to have to fill in all the bits in between.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03So this would have come out of the kiln, looking rather naked really
0:41:03 > 0:41:07and sort of rather strange, with bits of design all over the place.
0:41:07 > 0:41:13Anyhow, the enamels are what we call the green family, the famille verte
0:41:13 > 0:41:18group of enamels, it is Chinese, it comes from the fabled city of Jingde Zhen,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21which is where almost all the porcelain we see in the great houses
0:41:21 > 0:41:24and palaces of Europe came from.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26It was made during the, the, the...
0:41:26 > 0:41:28the reign of the Emperor K'ang-Hsi,
0:41:28 > 0:41:36so I think if you say, late 1600s, early 1700s, that would be about right, so yeah,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38it's a nice purchase.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40£1,000, well we'll have to...
0:41:40 > 0:41:42- I'm just going to think about £1,000.- OK.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44Um, your Imari vase,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47yeah, I mean, there's nothing particularly special, again
0:41:47 > 0:41:50the same techniques that I've just described here, under-glazed blue
0:41:50 > 0:41:51and over-glazed enamels.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55That was made in the late 19th century, so I hope I'm not going to
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- disappoint you when I say...- Right.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00that its value is probably somewhere around what you paid for it.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03- OK.- OK. The little...
0:42:03 > 0:42:05I have a very soft spot...
0:42:05 > 0:42:08so don't get too carried away by my enthusiasm,
0:42:08 > 0:42:13because I have a real soft spot for William de Morgan. I think he's
0:42:13 > 0:42:18a wonderful, wonderful designer and, and I think his pots are undervalued.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21- Fourteen pounds was it?- Yeah.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24Fourteen pounds, well I think that today it's probably somewhere in the
0:42:24 > 0:42:29- region of let's say £5,000 to £8,000. - What?!
0:42:29 > 0:42:30Five to eight?
0:42:32 > 0:42:36Quite a nice little purchase actually.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38My mother-in-law's just stood behind here.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45- You're surprised?- I am, very.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48She gave it to me for my fortieth birthday.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Well, that was a lovely fortieth birthday present.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55And the one you treated yourself to, to the horror of your wife, for £1,000...
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Well, I mean, OK, we're not...
0:42:57 > 0:43:01- In terms of design it's maybe not in the William de Morgan league.- Right.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03But I think £1,000 is, that's not bad.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06I think a thousand pounds is quite a reasonable buy.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09It's probably worth somewhere in the region of, um...
0:43:09 > 0:43:12well, with all of those cracks... £15,000 to £25,000.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15GASPS OF ASTONISHMENT
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Seriously?
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Crikey!
0:43:22 > 0:43:25You are, you are...
0:43:27 > 0:43:31- I think he wants a taxi to take this home. - Fifteen to twenty-five thousand?
0:43:31 > 0:43:34I think it's a stunning piece.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36I have no problem with that at all. AEROPLANE OVERHEAD
0:43:36 > 0:43:39They're coming to take it away now.
0:43:43 > 0:43:48I haven't been able to hear so well today, ever since I had that ride in the Lancaster.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50Should have saved it perhaps for this glorious Spitfire.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Anyway, today's been a great experience for all of us
0:43:53 > 0:43:56and a timely reminder of all the brave and remarkable things that happened here
0:43:56 > 0:44:01so long ago, although to some of us, it doesn't seem that long ago.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04From East Kirkby airfield in Lincolnshire, goodbye.