0:00:03 > 0:00:05In the 17th century,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07sightseers would come to this garden,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10alert the head gardener, pay him a penny, and then set off
0:00:10 > 0:00:15to explore 250 acres of sublime views and countryside.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18This was one of the earliest grand estates in the land
0:00:18 > 0:00:20to open its gates to tourists.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Welcome back to Stowe House and Gardens in Buckinghamshire.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15For 250 years, Stowe House and Gardens were known as
0:01:15 > 0:01:17the most majestic in Britain,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19and the Temple-Grenville family, who owned them,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23were considered more powerful and wealthier than the king himself,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27thanks to marrying a succession of very rich heiresses.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30They were well-travelled, and crammed their home with
0:01:30 > 0:01:33the finest treasures and mementos
0:01:33 > 0:01:34from around the world.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38In the 1840s, catastrophic debts reduced Stowe
0:01:38 > 0:01:42to a state of penury, and almost all its magnificent furnishings,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46fixtures and fittings were auctioned off.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51In 1997, the Stowe House Restoration Trust was formed
0:01:51 > 0:01:54to restore the house and to find out where the contents had gone.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08So, what did happen to the lost treasures of Stowe?
0:02:11 > 0:02:13The major auctions of 1848 and 1921
0:02:13 > 0:02:17were the grandest ever seen.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21The original catalogues give details of every object, wall fitting,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24fireplace and garden ornament for sale.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27And they make fascinating reading.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Everything had to go - Chippendale furniture,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33priceless tapestries, the state bed.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36And these are the ladies and gentlemen of the auction house
0:02:36 > 0:02:38who got rid of it all.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40My goodness, they must have been kept busy!
0:02:40 > 0:02:45I'm told that two of these copper urns have been found
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and they are returning to Stowe.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Today, the house is home to students of Stowe School, who have kindly
0:02:52 > 0:02:54opened the doors to our visitors.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58I wonder if any have brought other lost treasures from the estate?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Do you know, this is one of the best rattles I've seen in a long while.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Really? Right.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07What we need to check is, does it work?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Now we've got a good volunteer here. Can you...?
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Let's try the whistle first. HE BLOWS WHISTLE
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Brilliant, that's working. What about the bells?
0:03:16 > 0:03:18BELLS RATTLE
0:03:18 > 0:03:21They work, everything works. Wonderful. Excellent.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Now, may I have it back? Thank you.
0:03:23 > 0:03:29OK, and then the coral - that was of course intended for teething.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Yes. So you've got the full works.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I think there are some teeth marks there. Yes!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Actually, you've got to bite jolly hard to make
0:03:36 > 0:03:39an impression in coral - it is a very hard material.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42The decoration actually is a lovely little bit of neoclassicism,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45which of course does blend with the building we're in. Mmm.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48And this was the sort of establishment where this
0:03:48 > 0:03:49would have been in use.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Is it a family one? Yes, it is.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55It's been in my mother's family for, well, as long as I can remember.
0:03:55 > 0:03:5750 weeks. 50 weeks? A bit longer than that!
0:03:57 > 0:04:00I think a bit longer than that. 60?
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Because we've actually got initials there.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05HM, yes. I know that that is my great-grandmother, Hilda Mary,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and I believe it belonged to her.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Yes, now, it probably belonged to her, but it wasn't made for her.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Oh, right. She was, you say, in the 1890s?
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Yeah, 1885, I think.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22Yes, well, actually, this was made about 100 years earlier than that.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Really? Gosh.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28This is why it's so remarkable, the way it's survived so well. Right.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Because mostly when you find a rattle like this,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35you find the end's been crushed where certain individuals bite.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36Yes, yes.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40They're supposed to bite that end, but they tend to bite that end,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43but the whistle working beautifully there.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And then the bells - more often than not, those are missing.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51You know what's happened, of course? You get a sleepless night.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54And what we've got very nicely here as well,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57we've still got the suspensory ring. Right.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Which of course makes this a health visitor's nightmare.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Imagine a ribbon round the child's neck. Not what you want.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10And I think it's so lovely that everything is actually intact,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and we get the exact date there.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Oh, right. 1793.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Wow!
0:05:16 > 0:05:21And then the maker's mark there of Peter and Ann Bateman.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Right, OK.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28There's a huge disparity in prices with rattles... Mm-hmm.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34..because most are in a very poor condition, for very obvious reasons.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38This one - I'm going to keep it away -
0:05:38 > 0:05:41this one is in such good condition.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45This is what every collector of rattles actually wants.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46Right.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49So, at auction...
0:05:49 > 0:05:52?1,000 to ?1,500.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Right, OK, we thought about ?50.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Seriously, I really did think ?50.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02OK, right, we're keeping that out of your hands.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07OK, shall we keep that a little bit more distant? Yes. OK. Wow!
0:06:07 > 0:06:11What I love about doing the Roadshow is, it doesn't matter
0:06:11 > 0:06:15how many times I do it, there's always something that arrives
0:06:15 > 0:06:20that surprises and absolutely enchants me, and this is it.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24And it's not obvious by looking at it exactly what it is.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I know what it is. Do you know what it is?
0:06:27 > 0:06:29I know what it is. Good!
0:06:29 > 0:06:31I know what it is, because my father told me,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35and there was one here, framed, which I knew about,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and he was often telling me that was done by Anne,
0:06:38 > 0:06:44one of two sisters, and she was 20 when she did this, and in 1738.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Now, he told me that it was a pocket.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49You're absolutely right.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Your father was completely right in his instructions.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55These are ladies' pockets,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58and they were worn with the ribbons,
0:06:58 > 0:07:03and as you say, tied around the waist, under the petticoat,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07but just to confuse us, in the 18th century when these were sewn,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11a petticoat was also the name for the outer layer of the dress.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Oh! So your skirt was also known as a petticoat.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Yes. And you've got to remember they were tight-waisted
0:07:17 > 0:07:19and full at the side, and then, as you say,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23you had these little slits and the pockets would be underneath.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Now I've always thought that this was for money,
0:07:25 > 0:07:30but you could put a key in there, your fan. Whatever you wanted
0:07:30 > 0:07:34about your person, you just popped it in your pockets. Fascinating.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38These are made of linen, they are beautifully sewn,
0:07:38 > 0:07:43and in the 1730s, this would have been a well-known image.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47A sort of Chinese vase of flowers full of these,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51what would have been very exotic flowers like the tulip and the
0:07:51 > 0:07:58stylised carnation there, sewn in coloured wools, in chain stitch.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01They're just very loosely sewn, so she might have drawn out
0:08:01 > 0:08:05the outline, but she's just really gone in the shape of the purse.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09And a pair is very, very unusual these days.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Beautiful - absolutely my sort of thing.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17And, you know, they're quite rare these days.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I haven't seen a pair for a long, long time. Really?
0:08:19 > 0:08:21When I first started working, I saw a pair,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24but I haven't seen them since.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27To put into an auction - a specialist textile auction -
0:08:27 > 0:08:31I would say they would put an estimate of somewhere between
0:08:31 > 0:08:33?1,000 and ?1,500.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Gosh.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40When you see a work like this, which is done in enamel,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42you get just a sense, just a taste
0:08:42 > 0:08:48of what pictures painted at this period - which was about 1820 -
0:08:48 > 0:08:51would look like if they hadn't faded, because enamel
0:08:51 > 0:08:54has a marvellous way of retaining the intensity of the colours,
0:08:54 > 0:09:01and you have a work by the greatest enamellist of them all - Henry Bone.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04How did Henry Bone come into your life?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07I was given it ten years ago on the death of my father,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and he was given it about 40 years ago by an elderly family friend.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16My father used to do a lot of work for him in the garden, and DIY,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18because he was elderly and unable to do anything.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Oh, that's rather touching. Fees for looking after the garden.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Yes, he was a colleague, a doctor colleague.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29The subject is Mary, Queen of Scots, is it not? Yes.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Now, of course, she died a number of centuries before, but Henry Bone
0:09:34 > 0:09:38made a speciality in going around finding ancient Elizabethan and
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Tudor portraits, and then capturing them in this exquisite process,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47first painting them, copying them, and then turning them into enamel.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51He became then the great enamellist of the day.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54I mean, he became enamellist to George III,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57so, thus, you know, having royal patronage like that,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01the man had done extraordinarily well.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03So, how do you respond to it?
0:10:03 > 0:10:05I just think it's beautiful.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08The lace work, it's just so delicate. I love it.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Yes, and have you noticed the colour of those cheeks?
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I mean, how rarely do we see cheeks with the pink suffusing with
0:10:14 > 0:10:18the white so graphically as that?
0:10:18 > 0:10:22And it's faded in so many instances, but not, of course, in enamel.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26So what you've got here is, in art world terms, something very good.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30You've got an extremely beautiful image of a very important
0:10:30 > 0:10:33emotive sitter, Mary, Queen of Scots,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38done, OK, a few hundred years later, by a very significant portrait
0:10:38 > 0:10:42painter and enamellist, Henry Bone, by appointment to the king.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47It's therefore worth approximately...
0:10:47 > 0:10:51?12,000. Golly. ?12,000!
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Gosh.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I think collectors in Germany and France might disagree,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59but I'm from Worcester and I'm biased, so I think
0:10:59 > 0:11:03the Stowe Service is the finest porcelain dinner service ever made.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05And, I mean, just look at it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I mean, how did you come to have two plates?
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Well, I was at the school for four years
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and I've collected one or two bits up to do with Stowe.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18I've got a few things for the gardens and things like that,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and I always wanted one of the plates.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24I always wanted that one. So you're an old boy from the school here?
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Yes, yes. Right.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29And a friend of mine was an antique dealer, and he found out for me
0:11:29 > 0:11:32that there was a plate I could buy, so I purchased it.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36When was that? 1987, so it's 25 years ago. Right.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Well, I mean, when the 2nd Marquess of Buckingham,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44when he inherited his title from his father in 1813,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46he inherited absolutely enormous wealth,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and he was determined to make his own impression
0:11:49 > 0:11:52by addition to the building here, by filling it with treasures,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56and he wanted a dinner service that really suited his place.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00And he went to Worcester, he went to the firm of Flight, Barr Barr,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02and commissioned this set.
0:12:02 > 0:12:03That was in 1814.
0:12:03 > 0:12:09This is just one plate from what would have been a couple of hundred
0:12:09 > 0:12:11pieces, and every plate
0:12:11 > 0:12:14was decorated with his full coat of arms.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17There it is. I mean, so many different titles had all
0:12:17 > 0:12:21come down to him, with their income and estates,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and so, how many quarters can you get in one coat of arms?
0:12:24 > 0:12:26They're all there, aren't they? Yes.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30As well as the wonderful lion and horse supporters.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31And they were used!
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Can you imagine entertaining at Stowe? Really, they were used?
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I mean, when you were here at Stowe, I don't think you
0:12:36 > 0:12:39ate off porcelain quite like this when you were at school.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40Not quite, no, not quite.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44It's fascinating to see, well, two different designs.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48This one hasn't got the full coat of arms, it's just the...
0:12:48 > 0:12:51well, just the crests. Yes, that's the one I don't understand.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53I've never seen reference to it.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56What you've got there is one of the samples,
0:12:56 > 0:13:01because when you commission a set to be made - a very long process -
0:13:01 > 0:13:04first of all, the factory would give you a specimen,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06samples of different designs.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09They would be submitted to the new Marquess.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11He would then choose the patterns he wants
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and then the set would be ordered, and this is one
0:13:14 > 0:13:19of the specimens that he rejected, he didn't perhaps go for the crest.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23It wasn't upfront enough like the other one. Wasn't enough.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25This has the whole works, doesn't it? Yes, yes.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Absolutely everything squeezed in there.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30And how much did you pay for one plate?
0:13:30 > 0:13:34I paid ?1,000 for the one nearest you, and ?1,250 for this one. Right.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Today, a Stowe Service plate is nearly ?10,000.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Mmm, yes.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49And the sample plate specimen is perhaps another 7,000,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51so perhaps 17,000 together.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Yes, I must think about insurance!
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Well, it looks to me as if you've contracted
0:13:59 > 0:14:01a dose of glass-nutteritis.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03THEY LAUGH
0:14:03 > 0:14:06A serious condition, I understand. Yeah.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08It came from my father.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12He was a manufacturing optician, a trade he learnt in Birmingham,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15and then he set up his own business in Cheltenham
0:14:15 > 0:14:18and was a self-made man from that. And in his retirement,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22his passion for glass still came through, and he started collecting
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Lalique. And when he passed away, he handed me a number of items -
0:14:27 > 0:14:30about 20 pieces of Lalique -
0:14:30 > 0:14:32and from that, I sort of garnered an interest.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34OK, so which is Dad and which is you?
0:14:34 > 0:14:38This is Dad and this is me. OK. And I've collected these and handed them
0:14:38 > 0:14:41to my wife as gifts for Christmas.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Presents? You're not a bloke who gives presents?!
0:14:43 > 0:14:46You're letting down the squad!
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Christmas and birthdays. OK.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Well, basically, I think you've stolen a march on Dad,
0:14:50 > 0:14:55because his one is late
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and not by Rene, and yours are.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Yours are Premiership and his is sort of...
0:15:02 > 0:15:04And, in a way, I'm slightly...
0:15:04 > 0:15:08We've had Lalique on the show so much that there's a sort of...
0:15:08 > 0:15:12It's almost a cliche, but I have to zoom in on one piece.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14The one is THAT.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18And THAT is just absolutely fab.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20So where did you dig that up from?
0:15:20 > 0:15:25A little shop I just came across, not particularly expert in Lalique,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and I just thought it was lovely and would be a wonderful gift.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32And how much did you shell out for that?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Maybe about ?400 or ?500.
0:15:34 > 0:15:40Well, it's an ammonite and it's Rene, it's about 1930,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and if you were to put that into auction,
0:15:43 > 0:15:48which is the price we give you, you've tripled up, maybe quadrupled.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50This is best part of ?2,000.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53?2,000?!
0:15:53 > 0:15:57So next time you're thinking of a present, bear me in mind!
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Right, the first question I want to ask you
0:16:00 > 0:16:04is why is this box so distressed?
0:16:04 > 0:16:09Because my mother kept it in a floor safe and it got flooded,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13the floor safe. Oh, really? Oh, that was stressful.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15SHE LAUGHS Yes.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20In this little box, I'm going to take off that piece of paper,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23revealing THAT pendant.
0:16:23 > 0:16:31Now, that is a very interesting, colourful and kaleidoscopic gem
0:16:31 > 0:16:34in a diamond frame, in the original fitted box,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37made in around about 1900.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40That's what I'm going to tell you.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Now you tell me as much as you know about it.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48What I know is that it's been in the family now for a good four,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50if not five, generations.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55So shall we say around about 1890-1900? Yes, yes.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58All right, so we've got quite a lot of background information
0:16:58 > 0:17:00on this little scrap of paper.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Now, on this side, we have a harlequin opal
0:17:03 > 0:17:06from Lightning Ridge in Australia.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Now, when we're talking about stones -
0:17:08 > 0:17:11incidentally, the very best opals come from Australia,
0:17:11 > 0:17:16Coober Pedy, Lightning Ridge - black opals,
0:17:16 > 0:17:22that's the very premier level of quality of this particular gem.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27This particular stone is interesting from a gemmological point of view.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Why? Because the play of colour is so incredibly uniform
0:17:31 > 0:17:33right the way through the stone.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Then you look at the harlequin play of colour, because black opals -
0:17:37 > 0:17:40which is what this is, a black opal -
0:17:40 > 0:17:44the body of it is black, or very, very, very dark bluish-green.
0:17:44 > 0:17:50And then it has a play of different flecks of fire that are tangerine,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53yellow, greens, violets, blues.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55It's got the lot.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59So this was a specimen stone that was bought
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and mounted up in a diamond frame.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05The diamonds themselves... Can you see how white they are? Yes, yes.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09So you've got this counterplay between the fire
0:18:09 > 0:18:13of the principal stone and the diamonds going round the outside.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16On a diamond loop, in the original fitted case,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19which I know is distressed... It is.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20..but the good news is
0:18:20 > 0:18:22it hasn't done a jot of damage to the opal itself.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28With regard to value, well, let me ask you a question about it first.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Have you got it insured? What's the story behind it?
0:18:31 > 0:18:35It is mentioned on my household insurance. Which says what?
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Up to the value of ?7,000.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Right, that's a problem I've got, actually. A bit worried about that.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44You see, I think that that piece of jewellery,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47in the right sale, in the right medium,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49is worth ?15,000.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Oh, crumbs. Oh, dear! Mmm.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I wonder if, like me, you saw the film The King's Speech about
0:18:58 > 0:19:01George VI and his stammer that he struggled with so much of his life.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05We've got some documentation here which sheds new light on George VI,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08something that you wouldn't have known from watching the film.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Now, your grandfather operated on George VI, didn't he? Yes, he did.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17Why was that? He operated on the King because he had lung cancer,
0:19:17 > 0:19:22and my grandfather took out one of his lungs. Just as a precaution,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25he took out the whole lung to make sure that he'd cleared it.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29And he did that, they had the operation in Buckingham Palace.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Why not it in a hospital? I don't think the King or the Queen
0:19:33 > 0:19:35went to hospital in those days.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37So he had to make Buckingham Palace sterile,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40or the room in which the operation was taking place? Yeah,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and in fact, he made two operating theatres.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46One as a, you know, back up, in case the first one, something went wrong.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50And they operated on 23rd September 1951,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and when he was about to start operating, he said,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56"Hang on a minute, the Changing of the Guard's
0:19:56 > 0:19:58"going to go on underneath these windows.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01"Can you stop that, please? Because that's going to interrupt me."
0:20:01 > 0:20:05And so it was all sorted out, and then my grandfather also refused
0:20:05 > 0:20:09to sew up the King's wound, because he said,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11"I haven't done that for years
0:20:11 > 0:20:14"and I'm NOT going to start doing it on the King."
0:20:14 > 0:20:16So he got someone more practised to do it?
0:20:16 > 0:20:19He got somebody with more practice to actually sew up the wound.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Now, the King was very grateful, and he knighted your grandfather.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Yes, he did. But in slightly unusual circumstances?
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Yes, he was called in on 7th December -
0:20:27 > 0:20:30and I have a letter to prove that -
0:20:30 > 0:20:34he was going in for his usual checkup, post-op checkup,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38and he said, "I would like to invest you with
0:20:38 > 0:20:40"the Knight Commander of the Victorian Order."
0:20:40 > 0:20:42This is what the King says?
0:20:42 > 0:20:45This is what the King said. And so my grandfather turned up
0:20:45 > 0:20:48and the King was, according to my father, because he was around,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51still in his pyjamas. Obviously, he had a dressing gown on.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53We'd like to think. We'd like to think.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55You'd like to think he had his dressing gown on!
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Yes, and he knighted my grandfather and his anaesthetist as well.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02In his pyjamas and dressing gown? I believe so, yes.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And here is the medal here.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08So this is the one he would wear on his chest.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11And this one around his neck.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14So, quite an unusual - in fact, a unique, I would venture to say -
0:21:14 > 0:21:18investiture ceremony for your grandfather. I would think so, yes.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Now, you've got this letter as well. Yes.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Which is written by the King to your grandfather. Yes.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25"My dear Price Thomas,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28"in thanking you for your most kind letter, I feel I must try and thank
0:21:28 > 0:21:33"you for your great skill in making me a healthy person once more.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36"This you have undoubtedly done,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39"as I do really feel a different man already."
0:21:39 > 0:21:42He was clearly very grateful to your grandfather
0:21:42 > 0:21:44and very fond of him, I think.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Yes, yes, they stayed friends for the rest of his life.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Well, it's a lovely, lovely letter,
0:21:49 > 0:21:54and to have it written by the King to your grandfather about something
0:21:54 > 0:21:59so significant and something which we now feel rather more familiar...
0:21:59 > 0:22:04Yeah. Even the letter, the envelope, is done in his own handwriting.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08And there we are, George Rex there. Yeah.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I did show this to one of our experts who specialises in this,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15in letters, and in letters associated with the Royal Family.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Yes. And she felt that, looking at this letter,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22with the story of your grandfather, the investiture, and the medals,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25together, this is worth about ?5,000. Oh, gosh, right.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29This is the sort of picture that
0:22:29 > 0:22:30people call macabre,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33because it's made of human hair.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35What can you tell me about it?
0:22:35 > 0:22:40It's come down from my father's maternal line,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44and I think four generations wove their hair together to make
0:22:44 > 0:22:49the picture, and mounted it some time around the mid-1800s.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Oh, my goodness, that's fascinating.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54But what do you feel about it?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57It's quite strange to see. It's always been there
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and it's quite strange to see your ancestors' hair behind glass.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03SHE LAUGHS Yes.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06I suppose it is. I mean, I hadn't thought of it like that,
0:23:06 > 0:23:11because if you think about the person who was wearing that hair -
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and there are some bits in it that are so beautifully made -
0:23:15 > 0:23:17I mean, that's what I find extraordinary.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21I think that probably one woman or two or three women in the family
0:23:21 > 0:23:25would get the hair from their children... Hopefully willingly.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Hopefully willingly!
0:23:28 > 0:23:33..and weave and make these extraordinary, beautiful flowers.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38It is a very difficult one to value, because it's such a wonderful
0:23:38 > 0:23:44work of art, and if you look at it as part of your family heirloom,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48if you like, it's probably worth more to you than on the open market.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52There are people that collect them, particularly Americans,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and I believe this actually came from America.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Yes, my family is from northern Kentucky.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00My cousin Cheryl sent across the family tree
0:24:00 > 0:24:01so I could do some research.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Oh, lovely.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08I would say probably a little less than 1,000, which is a shame,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10because they were making more.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13It's more than I'd expected for a box of hair.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15BUNNY LAUGHS
0:24:15 > 0:24:21Mid-19th century, Paris, porcelain, ormolu mounts, over-the-top.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23It's about being bling. It's about looking flashy.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26It's a bit like this place here, in a way.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28It's supposed to be Oliver Twist. OK.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32It's quite obviously a woman in drag, isn't it?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35There she is, I mean, look at that hairstyle. I know.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39This is very typical of the early 18th century, from the Kangxi era.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43But a plate like this is going to be...
0:24:43 > 0:24:47?600-800, maybe even ?1,000, so that's a nice thing.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The Marklin locomotive, it's play-worn, it's crazed,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53but a lot of collectors will happily accept it like this,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55and certainly in that sort of condition, you're going to be
0:24:55 > 0:24:58looking at about ?700 to ?900.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Quite a nice thing.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04So, a great little collection of removal men's perks.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Thank you very much. That is one surprise, thank you.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15So this is a fabulous carriage clock, with some exquisite panels.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18So tell me a little bit about the history.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20How did it come into your possession?
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Well, it was my grandmother's and we think probably
0:25:22 > 0:25:26her father's before, but we're not sure of its age.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29But we know that my grandmother had it when she lived in Malaya,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32where my father was born, and he has the memories of her pressing
0:25:32 > 0:25:35the button every night when he went to bed, on the top there,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37cos it makes it chime, apparently.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40And then of course there was the invasion of the Japanese,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42and they were able to just grab a few things
0:25:42 > 0:25:44and bring it back to England.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Unfortunately, not in its box, but they brought it back
0:25:47 > 0:25:51on the last ship that returned from the Far East in the war.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56That's an incredible story. To have the box would be fantastic.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Yes, well, at least we've got the clock!
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Purely from the story alone, how it's survived,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and in incredible condition.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07The panels are perfect, which is really important.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09The clock is a little bit dirty,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11but I wouldn't necessarily worry about that.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15The clock itself is made by a maker called Margaine.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Margaine was a top French carriage clockmaker, based in France,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25and it dates from 1870-1880.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29This is a fantastic example, because it has got these exquisite panels.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32They are Limoges-style panels, and when you look at them,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34the detail is fabulous.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39They really stand out. Now you say the button on the top, you push.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43It is what we call... It's a French striking repeating carriage clock.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Right.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49So the idea of the button on the top would be, at night-time, you just
0:26:49 > 0:26:52push the button and it gives you the last hour that the clock strikes.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55It just saves you having to light a candle at night,
0:26:55 > 0:26:57pre-alarm clocks and things like that.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Oh, I didn't realise that. That's interesting, yes.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01The clock is fantastic.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05It's got all the elements that people really, really want to see,
0:27:05 > 0:27:10and I imagine if it came up in a good auction,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13you'd probably easily have an estimate, an auction estimate,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15of ?3,000 to ?5,000. Oh, wow.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17So it's a nice clock. OK.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Yeah, that's very good.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22It's lovely to hear the history, that's the main thing,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24where it's made, because we didn't know any of that,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26so that's really good, thank you.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Sir Jackie Stewart, lovely to see you here on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34We're at Stowe, and of course, not far from Stowe is a very
0:27:34 > 0:27:35significant place for you.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Just over the hedge, really, is Silverstone,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41and in fact Stowe Corner is at the end of Hangar Straight,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44so I'm really next door to where I did a bit of work.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Quite a lot of work! You were three-times
0:27:46 > 0:27:48World Drivers' Champion, is that right? Yes, that's right.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52And everyone knows you for your racing in Britain, around the world.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We asked you to bring along two of your favourite cups,
0:27:55 > 0:27:56of which you have many. Yeah.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Now this one is for the British Grand Prix,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01but this is nothing to do with Silverstone, is it? Well, no.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04I think I'm the only person who's ever won a British Grand Prix
0:28:04 > 0:28:06in two different sports.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Of course, I won the British Grand Prix driving racing cars
0:28:08 > 0:28:12a couple of times, but this here is the British Grand Prix of shooting,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15because before I was ever a racing driver,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18my grandfather was a gamekeeper. I was brought up with a gun and
0:28:18 > 0:28:21a fishing rod in my hand, and I won the British Grand Prix of shooting
0:28:21 > 0:28:27way back in 1960, and I think again in '62, for clay pigeon shooting.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31It was called Olympic trap. And we've just seen the Olympics.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35I missed being in the Olympic team. I was in the British team,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39a four-man team, but the Olympics is only a two-man team,
0:28:39 > 0:28:43so I missed that, I was the reserve. Biggest disappointment of my life.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47But this trophy here is the German Grand Prix,
0:28:47 > 0:28:51which was won in the old days. It was the Nurburgring -
0:28:51 > 0:28:54187 corners per lap, 14.7 miles around,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57and it was in the fog and the rain,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59and I won it by four minutes, a little over four minutes.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Well, that's a fantastic distance, to win by that.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06Two very valuable trophies, at least in my life.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09And I was reading - tell me if this is right -
0:29:09 > 0:29:12that when you set off for the German Grand Prix,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16you'd look at your driveway and think, "Will I see that again?"
0:29:16 > 0:29:18I mean, obviously, it's a fantastically dangerous business.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22It's true, because in those days, unfortunately, my wife and I,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26lost most of our friends that were killed driving racing cars.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28If you raced for five years in Formula 1,
0:29:28 > 0:29:31there was a two out of three chance you were going to die.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36And the Nurburgring, because there was 187 corners every lap,
0:29:36 > 0:29:39it was certainly the most lethal racetrack in the world.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42More people died there than on any other racetrack.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45So, it was a great challenge. It was totally unsafe at the time,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49and when I started to change the safety in motor sport,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51we had to cancel the German Grand Prix.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53You were involved in an accident,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55and it took such a long time to get you out of the car.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Because the facilities were so poor in those days, medical facilities,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02marshalling was never what it is today. Britain leads that today,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05but in those days, it was very thin on the ground.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07So this is the cup from the Nurburgring, is it?
0:30:07 > 0:30:09This is the cup from the Nurburgring.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11It was a little more gold at the time,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13but my wife's polished it a little too well.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16We take a very strict view about that on the Roadshow, you know!
0:30:16 > 0:30:19People come along and say, "We've given it a great scouring
0:30:19 > 0:30:21"with a Brillo pad," or something,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23and the antiques experts throw their hands up in horror.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26No, she's kept it nicely, but it was a little more gold, I have to admit.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29It's lovely to see the cups and it's lovely to meet you.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Thank you. Thank you.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Well, these are the most stunning quality.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38I can only assume you must absolutely love them. Yes, I do.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42And where on earth did they come from? I don't know.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45They've been in my loft for the last 11 years.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Prior to that, they were my father's.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51I don't know whether they were my grandfather's before that,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54but we've just put them in the loft with all the other bits and pieces.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56So if you love them, why are they in the loft?
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Well, I didn't really know what to do with them. Right.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01Where do you put something like that?
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Well, they are decorative, aren't they? Yes. There's a lot going on.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09And of their type, they really are exceptional quality.
0:31:09 > 0:31:15What you're looking at is a pair of superb, 19th-century Bohemian,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Historismus vases and covers.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21The kind of glass that was coming out of Bohemia at this time -
0:31:21 > 0:31:24and by Bohemia, we're talking about a central European band,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28predominantly leaning towards what we now know as Czechoslovakia -
0:31:28 > 0:31:32is this wonderful-quality enamel glass,
0:31:32 > 0:31:37and these are hand-painted from top to bottom.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41And the sheer level of execution and skill in these
0:31:41 > 0:31:43just shouts out at you.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47In terms of the maker, difficult.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52There were a lot of firms working, some smaller key, some larger,
0:31:52 > 0:31:54and to be honest, it's quite difficult to pinpoint down
0:31:54 > 0:31:58because so many records were destroyed after World War II,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01and we've just lost track of who some of these people were.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06Well, Dad, or Grandad, had a really good eye,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08because these are quality things.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11And the market is actually quite strong for this kind of glass
0:32:11 > 0:32:16at the moment. Really, at auction, a pair like this,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19you would comfortably see them at ?2,000 to ?3,000.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Ooh. That's lovely.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26So, are they going to go back into the roof?
0:32:26 > 0:32:28No, I don't think so. Good.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31How nice. That's lovely, thank you very much.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Well, continue to enjoy them, thank you very much. Thanks.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Well, you've got a very, very careful family,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39because you've got the box, which is wonderful.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44It's so unusual to have the box and the toy. Did you play with it?
0:32:44 > 0:32:49Yes, a little bit, but Mother asked us - my sister and I -
0:32:49 > 0:32:53to be very careful with it, so it didn't get played with often.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55So it was your mother's, and before that... Her mother's.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Her mother's. So it's three generations. Three generations, yes.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Well, you've kept it so beautifully,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04and it's actually one of my favourite tin-plate toys,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08because it's by Ernst Paul Lehmann, of Germany.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12They started in 1881 in Brandenburg. Oh, right.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14And this is one of the earliest,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17because of this extraordinary ratchet. Right.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20A key, if you like, which is one of the earliest keys.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Afterwards, they'd have an ordinary key that you and I would recognise.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27But what I love more than anything is that it was obviously made
0:33:27 > 0:33:30for the English market, because it says here,
0:33:30 > 0:33:35"The Promenaders. Mr and Mrs Smith in Hyde Park."
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Isn't that marvellous? But it could also be Stowe, couldn't it?
0:33:38 > 0:33:40Well, it could, yes, definitely.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44And this is one of the great toys for collectors of tin plate,
0:33:44 > 0:33:45early tin-plate toys. Right.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50And I can see this making somewhere between ?600 and ?800.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55Wow, that's fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Thank you. Lovely.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00So, with this wonderful ratchet, shall we get it going? Oh, yes!
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Ah, success. Ooh!
0:34:05 > 0:34:07THEY LAUGH
0:34:07 > 0:34:11When you come across a portrait like this and you have,
0:34:11 > 0:34:15standing next to the portrait, the subject,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18the person who was painted, I love playing the game of trying
0:34:18 > 0:34:22to work out what the artist has tried to draw out of the subject.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25Now you were painted by someone called Mr Dunlop.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27That's correct, yes. And when was that?
0:34:27 > 0:34:31I should think it was about 1961.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34And how did this event take place?
0:34:34 > 0:34:39Because Dunlop is an interesting artist, he's a Royal Academician,
0:34:39 > 0:34:41a prominent landscape painter,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43not really a portrait painter.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47So, how did the commission happen?
0:34:47 > 0:34:51My husband loved to go to the Royal Academy,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54and he would look at the paintings,
0:34:54 > 0:35:00and apparently Mr Dunlop was there at one time when he went,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02and they got in conversation.
0:35:02 > 0:35:08And my husband invited him down to paint myself and him.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11How lovely, so because of an encounter
0:35:11 > 0:35:13in the Royal Academy, the artist is brought home. Yes.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16And this is the result. Yes.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Do you think he's done justice to your mother?
0:35:18 > 0:35:20I think he has done a very good likeness,
0:35:20 > 0:35:26although Mother's always been very modest and she wasn't really keen
0:35:26 > 0:35:30to have her portrait painted at the time, and she always said that
0:35:30 > 0:35:34it was a Monday, and it was a wash day, and she wasn't dressed suitably
0:35:34 > 0:35:38to have her portrait painted, but I think it looks very well.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42Well, he's caught you "au naturel". What a lovely recollection.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Because you're dealing with someone
0:35:44 > 0:35:46who actually didn't really do portraits.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48He did things like this,
0:35:48 > 0:35:53and you have a lovely landscape example by Dunlop,
0:35:53 > 0:35:54who, incidentally, has a first name,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57even though not many people know that.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01No, what is his first name? Well, Ronald. Ronald.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05But he signs himself "Dunlop", and in the many books he wrote -
0:36:05 > 0:36:07because he was a writer as well as an artist -
0:36:07 > 0:36:11often his first name doesn't emerge, so you have to sort of guess.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15But he always sent us Christmas cards -
0:36:15 > 0:36:20not ordinary Christmas cards, they would be a sketch that he had done -
0:36:20 > 0:36:24and always signed it "RO Dunlop".
0:36:24 > 0:36:26So, you never knew his first name? No.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28So, he was always Mr Dunlop to you?
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Well, let's unwrap a little bit about the story of Mr Dunlop,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33because he was born in Ireland,
0:36:33 > 0:36:38an Irish painter, in a great tradition of landscape painting
0:36:38 > 0:36:40that existed in Ireland in the 19th century.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45He was born in the late 1800s.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47And having written a lot of books,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49having become quite prominent as an artist,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51he then developed a technique
0:36:51 > 0:36:56which I think is very characteristic of a certain type of painter
0:36:56 > 0:37:00who is good at nature, and this is a painting of nature.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Do we know where it is?
0:37:02 > 0:37:08Yes, at our farm, and they are our Herefords.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11I used to show them and I was...
0:37:11 > 0:37:15won three firsts in one day at the Royal.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19So, he not only recorded your face, he recorded your cows? Yes.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21What a man! Yes.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25So, the value of these paintings... Well, the portrait of you,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28now, it's a lovely painting, but I think you have to ask yourself,
0:37:28 > 0:37:30who would actually buy a painting
0:37:30 > 0:37:33by an artist who's known for his landscapes,
0:37:33 > 0:37:38of, albeit a beautiful lady, but not one necessarily
0:37:38 > 0:37:42that is associated with the artist and what the artist does.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46It's just a jolly nice painting and, dare I say it,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50worth a few hundred pounds. Thank you.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53I adore your landscape.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55I would value this
0:37:55 > 0:37:59at around about ?3,000. Thank you very much.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04Now, this message terrifies me.
0:38:04 > 0:38:09It says, "Notice: Louis Berrier, a resident of Ernes..."
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Which I think is in northwest France. France, yes.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16"..is charged with having released a pigeon
0:38:16 > 0:38:18"with a message for England.
0:38:18 > 0:38:25"He was, therefore, sentenced to death for espionage," and was shot.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Now, that was during the Second World War. Yes.
0:38:28 > 0:38:29That is a frightening thing,
0:38:29 > 0:38:33to release a pigeon and to be shot for it. Indeed.
0:38:33 > 0:38:34But why was that?
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Because the pigeons were carrying messages from the French Resistance
0:38:39 > 0:38:41back to the UK during the war,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45and the Germans actually employed snipers along the French coast
0:38:45 > 0:38:47to shoot racing pigeons
0:38:47 > 0:38:50to stop them carrying the messages back to the UK, back to England.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53What's your interest in racing? My interest is,
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I'm the general manager of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association,
0:38:56 > 0:39:02and I look at these medals every day in my office and I think...
0:39:02 > 0:39:05We brought them today because they need to be seen.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Rather than me look at them, everybody else needs to see them.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10These are examples of the Dickin Medal, aren't they?
0:39:10 > 0:39:15They are indeed, yeah, and there were 32 awarded to racing pigeons,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18homing pigeons, during the Second World War,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21and that's 32 of a total of just over 60,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24so these are animal Victoria Crosses.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27That's right. Tell me what some of these pigeons did.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29This one, for example, what did this pigeon do?
0:39:29 > 0:39:32What's his name, first of all? This one is a rare one.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34This one's actually known by his number,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37which is NPS - National Pigeon Service - 42,
0:39:37 > 0:39:39and he came back three times,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41bringing messages back,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43and he was serving with the Special Air Service.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Three times he went across to the Continent.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Yeah, and they were parachuted in.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52The pigeons were actually tied into a small bundle,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54so they couldn't, obviously, fly away,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56and they were dropped out of an aircraft
0:39:56 > 0:39:59over to the Resistance fighters or the frontline troops and so on,
0:39:59 > 0:40:00so they could use them again.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Astonishing. Let's look at this one. Tell me about this one.
0:40:03 > 0:40:09Beach Comber, in '42, he actually sent the first message back...
0:40:09 > 0:40:14back to the UK from the Canadian troops - in Dieppe, this was.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Dieppe - this is the 1942 Dieppe raid. Yeah.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19A terrible raid. It failed dismally. Failed... Yes, exactly.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22And this actually brought the message back home.
0:40:22 > 0:40:23Good grief.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25That's a very famous moment... Indeed, yes.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27..or infamous moment, in the Second World War.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Did the owners know at the time
0:40:29 > 0:40:30what these pigeons were doing?
0:40:30 > 0:40:32No, they were actually enscripted.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35There were a quarter of a million pigeons
0:40:35 > 0:40:40in the National Pigeon Service, and every reconnaissance aircraft,
0:40:40 > 0:40:45every bomber that left the shores of the UK, had two racing pigeons.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48And here we've got some photographs... Indeed.
0:40:48 > 0:40:49..of aircrew with little boxes here.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52Yes. Presumably with pigeons in. With pigeons in, yes.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55And there's a coloured photograph here, again with the two boxes.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00And if the aircraft was shot down and the radio was lost,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03the pigeons would be released with the coordinates,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06they'd fly back and, basically, the aircrew would be picked up.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07That's astounding.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10They saved thousands of lives during the First and Second World Wars.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14They were very brave little animals. They were indeed, yes.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17And you've just... Not only the three, you've brought two more.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Yeah. You've got all sorts of other things as well?
0:41:19 > 0:41:21We have, and what you've seen today
0:41:21 > 0:41:23is only a fraction of what we've got.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26No? Yes, and we're beginning to... we're beginning to collate it all
0:41:26 > 0:41:28and archive it properly, because it's a fabulous story
0:41:28 > 0:41:30and it needs to be told.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32You love your pigeons, I guess. We do indeed, yes.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Do you think the owners of these loved their pigeons?
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Indeed, they must have. Did they ever see them again?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Quite a few of them, yes, yeah.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42Obviously many were lost in service and never returned,
0:41:42 > 0:41:44but all these pigeons, you know,
0:41:44 > 0:41:49the owners actually went and had medals awarded officially, so...
0:41:49 > 0:41:51What about the value? Do you have them insured?
0:41:51 > 0:41:55The whole group is insured at the moment for ?9,000.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57For the whole lot? Mmm.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59For insurance purposes,
0:41:59 > 0:42:03this collection of five Dickin Medals,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05plus all the ephemera that you've got...
0:42:08 > 0:42:11..should be insured for...
0:42:11 > 0:42:14?180,000 to ?200,000.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Wow!
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Our members will be pleased.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23Really? Wow!
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Absolutely.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27We'd just love to know where the other ones were.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Well, thank you very much.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Do you remember how I told you at the beginning of the programme
0:42:36 > 0:42:39that so many of the precious objects that were once in Stowe House
0:42:39 > 0:42:42were sold at these MASSIVE auctions
0:42:42 > 0:42:45that took place in the 1800s and the 1900s?
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Everything went, and we were hoping that some of those treasures
0:42:48 > 0:42:50might just make their way back to Stowe here today
0:42:50 > 0:42:52with some of our visitors.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Well, quite a few things have,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57including this lovely silver basket
0:42:57 > 0:43:01that once graced a table here at Stowe, and in fact,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05the owners have very kindly offered to donate it back to Stowe House.
0:43:05 > 0:43:10So, it will take its rightful place up those steps, inside.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12What a wonderful way to end the programme.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17From the Antiques Roadshow team here at Stowe, until next time, bye-bye.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54I have developed a technique to help me deal with annoying idiots.
0:43:54 > 0:43:55Lee, do you want to kick this one off?
0:43:55 > 0:43:58LAUGHTER
0:43:58 > 0:44:01I have trained my cat to wink.