War Flog It: Trade Secrets

Over the years on Flog It, you've brought us hundreds

of thousands of items to value

and together we've been to thousands of auction rooms

to put those valuations to the test.

In this series, we're pulling together all of that knowledge

to help you get in the know.

Welcome to Flog It! Trade Secrets.

On today's show we'll be exploring a theme -

where it's the weight of history or the personal stories

behind an item which determine its value.

Now, all antiques tell a story, as we know.

It could be a joyous occasion, a time of national celebration,

or a time of great adversity. Like war. Or austerity.

We're going to be investigating why these items

that have been touched by such tragedy are so highly sought after.

On this show, our experts will be getting into the wartime spirit.

HUMS MILITARY TUNE

And they'll let you into their secrets on what to look out for

if you find weapons of war.

What do we always say? Condition, condition, condition.

So stay tuned to find out about the most intriguing wartime memorabilia.

It can feel slightly uncomfortable talking about market values

when it comes to talking of items that are so closely related

to stories of horror and tragedy.

But there are many collectors out there

who regard the history behind the object as being of great interest.

And that's worth preserving.

So what are our experts' tips on buying wartime memorabilia?

When we look at militaria,

what we really want is documentation with it.

We want to see the whole picture.

As far as militaria goes, the most interesting area is medals.

It's so easy to fake certain badges and the like,

so the important thing is to make sure

you have the provenance and the pedigree.

So you must really know what you're handling

if you're putting a lot of money into buying militaria.

My top tip, if you're collecting it, is pick a battle. Pick a war.

Don't scattergun - because it's massive.

Objects in storage can bring the past back to life so vividly.

And there can be few moments in our history that resonate so strongly today

as those dark days of when Britain was at war.

Here are some of the finest examples we've come across

over the years, and what we've learned from them.

There's a huge market for any militaria - medals, cap badges,

uniforms, helmets, ration books.,..

The whole military area is a very collectible one.

I'm constantly surprised what you find in people's drawers.

As was the case at Eastbourne, when that lovely lady brought in the First World War

German pickelhaube helmet.

It belonged to my father's father.

-Did he serve in the First World War, do you think?

-Yes, I think so.

Because it certainly dates from that Kaiser Wilhelm period, doesn't it?

The Great War - 1914 to 1918.

And, of course it's a German army officer's helmet,

with the Imperial German eagle on the front and then the regiment.

These helmets were worn right throughout the 19th century.

But in the early part of the 20th century particularly,

in the Great War, they proved to have a bit of a design defect.

The problem was, whenever you stuck your head

above the parapet, as it were - or the trenches -

you could see the spike before you could see the helmet.

There's been a lot of discussion with my colleagues about this -

there's all sorts of different estimates coming in.

But I guess we'll never know, really, what it's worth,

unless it goes into auction.

Some of them think it's worth at least £200 to £300.

I think it's worth £150 or so.

But I'm going to follow their advice with an estimate of £200-£300.

Was Mark right to listen to the advice of the other experts?

Prussian pickelhaube,

military helmet for the guardsmen.

And we can start this one here on commission at £220.

230, 240, 250.

260 on the telephones, 250 here.

260, 270, 280, 290, 300.

These items are notoriously difficult to value.

Particularly in the heat of battle, as it were.

-£600. £620.

-(This is good.)

Hey-ho. We all got it wrong.

£750. £780.

£780 on the phone. £800. And 20. 820. 850?

820 on the telephone. Anyone else getting in involved?

You're all done at £820.

Hammer's gone down on £820!

I can't believe it!

Phew!

I'm sure the fact that the family who owned it

had never tried to restore or clean it or tamper with it.

So you had that original finish, colour, patina...

aging... created that wonderful item which the collectors wanted.

And therefore the price it achieved.

Mark learnt a good lesson there. And it's a tip for you, too.

If your item looks less than perfect, hold off on the scrubbing brush

until you've got advice from a specialist dealer.

As it may well be worth more in its original condition.

Anita knew that polish wasn't everything

when it came to valuing the next piece.

I suppose I'm always moved to some extent by what we call trench art.

Those items that are made by prisoners of war,

or soldiers during long periods of inactivity.

And there was one particular item which I thought was rather lovely.

And rather poignant. It was a little Stuka plane.

I believe it was made by a German prisoner of war in Sicily.

And it was brought back by an Irishman

who was an ordinary soldier there.

It was given to him by the prisoner who made it.

If you can imagine him - and he would be a very young man at that time -

incarcerated, a prisoner of war in a foreign country,

building this little plane, made out of aluminium.

And I found that very...

very touching.

And we have on the wings here, "Sicily" and "1944".

-So it was towards the end of the war.

-Yes.

-It's telling us a wee story, Hilary.

-Yeah.

There is a market for this type of items

that were made up by prisoners of war.

Value on it? I would say we could put it in at 20 to 25.

-It's really just a figure plucked out...

-Yes, yes.

These items appeal to the collectors because of the story.

It's the story that they're thinking about.

Did they find a buyer intrigued by the story of the prisoner of war at the auction?

Aluminium model of a Stuka fighter plane.

What am I bid on this - £30?

£20. £20, I'm bid. 22.50,

25. 7.50. 30. 2.50. 35. 7.50 40.

2.50, 45. 7.50? 50.

At 50, here on my left.

At £50. Have you all done? At 50. We're selling.

At £50, then.

-£50!

-Brilliant!

That's good, isn't it?

Not a huge price,

but that's not always what a piece like this is about.

As our expert Charlie Ross also found

when he came across an item discovered in a house clearance,

dating back even further - to the Crimean War.

I think this is the most interesting,

if not the most valuable thing

I've had today.

I'm absolutely astonished at the lack of

monetary value with something that I think is as significant as this.

It's a parchment dated 1854. What happened in 1854?

Charge of the Light Brigade.

As written and sung by Corporal John Brown.

Well, I dare say if you look up the records we'll find who

Corporal John Brown is of Grenadier Guards.

And it's done to the tune of the British Grenadiers.

-Do you know how that goes?

-No, but I'm sure you're going to show us.

Whether the words fit to it or not, I'll give it a try.

# Come all you gallant British hearts that love the red and blue

# And drink the health of those brave lads

# Who made the Russians rue... #

-It does fit!

-It does!

How many letters are there from the Crimea War

that have survived intact,

given the huge percentage of deaths that there were there?

Um, there can't be that many of them.

Historians love things like this!

It's very interesting historically because it talks about fighting -

"The French, they had the right that day,

"and flanked the Russian line,"

so it goes on and on and on

and it mentions commanding officers and what have you.

Isn't it more interesting

to know the thoughts of the rank and file soldier,

rather than the guy who's told them where to go?

It's not so much the value,

and we're not going to get a wonderful surprise.

And I think it's probably worth less than £50.

-And I'm sorry for the singing!

-That's all right!

-Been lovely to meet you.

-We'll forgive you.

Did the auctioneer convince the crowd

of its historical significance when it came to the sale?

The handwritten letter from the Crimea War.

A lot of history connected with this. For a bit of British history.

Only £70.

And 5! £80! At £80 now.

At 80. Get passionate about this!

All done at 80, I'll take a £5 again.

Done then at £80. Nobody else?

You're out on the net? You're out at £80.

You're disappointing me. Have another go.

Five! 90! Five! 100?

I'll take your five again!

105? Yes? At £105. Nobody else?

All done at £105!

-You've got to be pleased with that.

-Really pleased.

-Very pleased.

Hopefully, it's gone to somebody that really wanted it.

Exactly! Thank you for bringing in a wonderful piece of history.

Look at what you've got. This was on its way to a skip, I think.

As indeed so many things are,

and then somebody decided to have a look.

And he knew just enough to rescue it.

If you have items like this handwritten letter,

or the metal plane, they might not fetch the largest sums at auction,

but they could be invaluable to the right buyer

as a slice of history.

There's one kind of militaria that really gets Will Axon

and our experts excited.

A lot of the time

when you're dealing with items that are war related,

it's usually sort of printed matter.

Ephemera. Say, a ration book or a discharge sheet.

But what really excites the team on Flog It

is when, say, a medal comes in, or a group of medals.

Then you've got real physical evidence of what someone has done.

Now, what can you tell me about this medal?

How's it come to be in your family?

A friend of the family gave it to me about 20, 25 years ago.

It belonged to his brother,

so he gave it to me because he knew I would look after it.

I think I said at the time,

it's that all important word "courage" on the medal.

And people who are buying medals, that's what they're buying into.

They're buying into the history of this one person - what did they do? Where were they?

What happened to them later in the war? Did they survive the war?

It's a medal that was first issued in 1918.

It's for dedication or bravery or devotion in duty.

-And it was awarded to the RAF.

-To pilots, yes.

To pilots, because I understand he was a pilot?

He was a Spitfire pilot, yes.

Really? And did he survive the war?

No, no, he was shot down over Germany, I think about 1941.

Right, because I see you've also brought in

-some interesting paperwork.

-Yes.

-Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

-Mm-hm.

-Who have provided you with a photograph of his grave.

-Yes.

So we've got Squadron Leader Farmery.

And there's the DFM after his name

which is the Distinguished Flying Medal that we've seen here.

So that's really what medal buyers are after.

They're after the historical context of these medals

and who they were awarded to and how did he fit in

to the whole war story?

-We don't know why he was awarded this.

-No.

But somewhere, that's going to be recorded.

That, I suspect, is probably what the buyer is going to be doing after this.

He's going to be looking into the history and the research of it.

I would say, that at auction, a sensible estimate for a medal

-of this type, put it in with an estimate of 400-600.

-Gosh!

£400-£600.

I'm quietly confident that it's going to make more than that.

Then, I think, Olive, between then and the auction,

had found the more standard service medals.

Having found a clutch of medals, the auctioneer, Adam Partridge,

went for broke and upped the reserve.

I think even he was surprised at what they finally sold for.

470 is the medal group to Sergeant, later

Squadron Leader Clifford John Farmery of the RAF,

including his courage medal, a lovely medal group indeed.

I can start straight in at £1,050.

Crikey!

1,100, 50, 1,200, 1,250, 1,300,

1,350, 1,400, 1,450, 1,500,

1,550, 1,600...

I think there's still two phone bidders waiting to come in.

2,000...

2,100,

2,200, 2,300...

You'll have to pick me up off the floor in a minute!

2,300 on Mark's phone there. 2,300, are you all done now?

At £2,300, we sell at 2,300.

-Crumbs!

-Goodness!

-Wow!

-Gosh!

An incredible result.

I think the important facts that brought the medals

up to that sort of level was he was a squadron leader.

You had the medal itself presented for courage

and also you had a bit of paperwork there, as well.

You had the picture of the grave

as well as some paperwork from the War Commission.

Now I've got a little tip for you,

provenance is key to valuing any antique.

If you have the paperwork accompanying an item

that can prove ownership of somebody of note,

it will definitely put the value up, and here's an example.

A cigar box may cost just £10 or £20 but if you can prove,

with the paperwork, that it was owned by Sir Winston Churchill,

then it might just be worth £5,000.

Sometimes an item just speaks to you directly from the past,

as James Lewis found out.

There are certain pieces

when you pick them up and look at them

that immediately take you back to an earlier time.

One of the most incredible was an aviator's watch.

-Do you know much about it?

-No, I know nothing.

-OK.

Well, let's go back 60 years

into the middle of the Second World War.

At night, squadrons of bombers are coming over from Dresden

and if you were in one of those dark,

noisy planes, looking at your watch wouldn't be easy,

especially not if it was underneath your flying suit.

So, if you were an observer in one of the planes,

you would need a watch that would go over your flight suit

and this is what you would have worn.

You can imagine the fear

of the people in those very small, confined planes,

be it Germans coming over here, or us going over there.

Why it would have to be so big, why they would need a timepiece

to work out where they are and where to bomb.

It's incredibly rare.

-I've seen them in books, I've never handled one.

-No.

This is a first for me.

-What do you think it's worth?

-I've no idea.

What do you think?

A couple of hundred.

-It's probably worth a couple of thousand pounds.

-You're joking!

SHE LAUGHS

-I didn't expect that.

-It's a fantastic watch.

-Oh...

A bold valuation, but as so many men were shot down

in those air battles and few watches survived,

did the buyers value such a rare and poignant piece?

A rare, oversized, stainless steel navigator's watch,

in reasonable condition. We've had a lot of interest presale.

-I'm going to come straight in flat at £1,000.

-Oh!

£1,000. I have a £1,000 bid with me.

And 50, 1,100.

It's straight in at 1,000.

The bid's online at £1,200, 1,250,

1,300, 1,350,

1,400, and 50.

And the price went up and up.

2,250 online.

I've got 2,300. I've got 2,300 on the phone.

April, do you need a seat?

I've got 2,300 are you going to go 2,400?

-2,300.

-Blimey!

One more won't hurt you. I've got 2,300, bid it up.

We've got 2,300 on the phone. 2,400.

They are loving this, aren't they?

2,600.

The bid's at 2,600. It's against you online at £2,600.

I've got 2,700, 2,800, still climbing.

At 2,800.

James, this is unbelievable.

At £2,800, 2,900.

At 2,900, come on, round it up. 3,000.

I knew you liked this lot.

At £3,000, going once. At 3,000, going twice.

Last and final call, at £3,000 online, I'll sell.

GAVEL BANGS

£3,000!

It's the story and the feeling and the emotion

that comes with the object that is so much more important than its value.

It's those circumstances where you want it to go to the right home

and that watch made £3,000.

So, whoever wanted it, wanted it badly, so I hope it has.

This is an emotive market so look out for rare items

which embody a dramatic moment in history and you'll be on to a winner.

Here's what we've learnt so far.

If you're lucky enough to find war memorabilia

you're holding a little piece of history

and the value is in the story it's telling.

Don't clean things up - the more it conjures up the past, the better.

Keep hold of anything that enriches the story of your item,

like photos, or letters.

You might decide the value is in having

a piece of heritage in your hands.

In which case, find out more about your item

and enjoy something which gives you a connection with a wartime past.

I've always loved wartime stories of derring-do,

but none compares to the stories surrounding the Battle of Britain

and one of our greatest weapons of war, the Spitfire.

But, as I found out a few years ago, its story doesn't end there.

This is Manston Airfield in Kent.

As you can see, there are planes behind me here.

They take off daily carrying passengers and cargo,

across Europe and onwards to Africa,

but during the years of the Second World War,

there was only one destination and that was a short ten-minute hop

across the English Channel to France.

This airstrip played a vital role in Britain's air defences.

BELL RINGS

In 1940, the threat of German invasion hung over the country

and airfields across the south-east were put into service

as urgently needed RAF bases.

The Battle of Britain had begun

and much of it was fought in the skies above Kent.

Manston was home to hundreds of Spitfires.

The young pilots were on constant alert to intercept bombers.

And the people of Kent even raised enough money to sponsor their own squadron.

Unfortunately, none of those Kent planes survived

but you can still see a real Spitfire here at Manston Airfield

in the Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum.

This one saw active service at home

and across northern Holland and Germany.

Although it'll never fly again, it's been faithfully restored.

Imagine sitting in there as a young pilot chasing

the Messerschmitt 109s through the clouds.

When I say young, the pilots were young,

20 years was about the average age.

Skilful, brave men. And if you've ever wondered

what a Rolls-Royce V12 Merlin engine sounds like,

I've got a real treat for you.

I've come to meet the pilot of one of the few Spitfires still flying,

which is named in honour of the men and their aircraft who once flew out of Manston.

Some guys go fishing for a hobby,

or they've got classic cars, but Peter here flies Spitfires.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Pleased to meet you.

What a beauty, what a design icon.

I envy you, what's it like to fly?

-It's an absolute delight to fly, it really is.

-Is it?

It's an absolute privilege to be able to, you know,

have access to a Spitfire to fly.

-Even as a schoolboy, you made Airfix models, I guess? I did.

-Yes.

-I loved them, I loved making them. I've still got some!

-That's right.

This is the real thing, how did you come across this?

Well, I did a little bit of research and found that there were

a few that had been recovered from South Africa in a scrapyard.

-Really?

-In a very dilapidated state, to say the least,

but it was a starting point.

How did they end up there, do you know, did you find out?

Yes, at the end of the war, a number of Spitfires were sold

to the South African Air Force in about 1946, 1947.

I believe they operated them right up until the late '50s

and they were scrapped from there.

Was this a complete rustbucket then?

Erm, I suppose that's one way of describing them, to be honest.

-How many years did it take to restore?

-Eight years.

-Did it?

Eight years, and eight years of scouring the world,

looking for spare parts.

What was the hardest thing you had to find for this?

To be honest, the airframe parts, the bits you can actually see.

-The fuselage.

-The fuselage and wing components.

Engines are still not too much of problem and propeller blades,

ironically, are made, and they are made in Germany.

-Are they, really?

-Yes, they are.

Spitfires were not just fighters, many were equipped with bombs

and used as ground attack aircraft against road and rail targets.

Some were based on board aircraft carriers

and others were used for photo reconnaissance.

In all, 22,500 were built

and they became the iconic image of Britain's victory in the war.

But, by the late 1940s, with the war over,

most were quickly taken out of service and scrapped.

In the early 1950s, the RAF retired its last Spitfire.

Within a few short years, only a handful were still flying.

But thanks to enthusiasts around the world,

70 years after their greatest hour, there are believed to be

around 50 flying today, 20 of them are here in the UK.

You've done a terrific job.

Wonderful job.

-It just looks right, doesn't it? As an aeroplane.

-Yeah.

There's just something about it. They always say, if it looks right, it flies right

and I think it's definitely the case with the Spitfire.

-It's capable of speeds of up to 350 miles an hour?

-Yes, yes.

It's not particularly comfortable at high speeds,

there's very few comforts in the cockpit.

You need fly it for pleasure and the preservation of the aircraft.

Oh, thank you so much for letting me look around this

and I'm going to watch you take off and enjoy the moment.

ENGINE STARTS

Just look at that. The Spirit of Kent, that's nostalgia in the sky.

It's such a shame that it's just a short range, single-seater fighter plane

because if it had two seats,

I'd be hitching a lift and it'd be fly away Peter, fly away Paul.

What a treat!

You may not be able to afford a Spitfire

but don't let that stop you.

Any memorabilia connected to an icon like this is going to have

tremendous cachet and command the greatest premiums.

Coming up...

our experts tell you how to value weapons of war.

Whether or not you know the culture where an object's come from,

the one thing that is consistent is patination.

And we'll learn about the wartime surgical instruments

that have become collectables.

Go right round the limb

to divide the muscle, the fat and the skin.

We've all got something at home, that one special item

that we're particularly attached to

but I want to know what's the one thing our experts would

rescue from a burning building?

If there was a fire,

apart from my children and my husband,

it would be my great-grandfather's war medals, definitely.

He was in the Somme from 1914 to 1916.

It must have just been the most unimaginable hell

and my granny, God bless her, is 102,

his daughter, and still around today.

She only has the very, very briefest of memories of him

but that he sacrificed so much for us to be here today, really,

is just a daily reminder that we shouldn't take everything for granted that we do.

I think it's important for us to remember the past

and what people have given and sacrificed so we can be here today.

Our team of experts can tackle most things you put in front of them

at a valuation day

but they also have their own individual specialisms and passions.

Now, Catherine Southern has a keen passion for the tools of war

and navigation instruments.

Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but it is hers.

So she jumped at the chance of killing two birds with one stone.

HMS Victory, one of our most famous ships in British naval history,

commanded by the great war hero, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.

In 1805, he successfully drove Napoleon's French forces away

in the Battle of Trafalgar and lost his life on board his great ship.

What a perfect setting for Catherine to indulge her passions.

I think my interest with the sea probably stems from my father

being in the Navy.

I've always had an interest in ships,

not so much because of the construction but I think,

really, because of what really went on on ships, the adventure.

I started working at Sotheby's as a junior

and I was just helping out doing the filing

and writing all the letters, but I was actually drawn towards

the maritime items and the scientific instruments.

I was absolutely fascinated by this area and I went on to

become head of maritime works of art and scientific instruments.

Today is such a treat for me

because I'm coming to visit HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship.

Well, last time I came here, I was armed with a clipboard and a pencil.

I was about 11 and I was on a school trip.

But, just coming and looking around now,

what really would have gone on here during the Battle of Trafalgar?

Can you just paint the picture for me?

This would of been a hive of activity.

You could imagine during a battle, all the men manning the guns.

You would have men up in the rigging, OK, sailing the ship

cos the ship still has to manoeuvre, even during the battle.

It would have been organised chaos.

There would have been smoke, musket fire, splinters flying everywhere.

As you can imagine, not a very...

The noise, the blood everywhere and just these figures,

just dancing around.

-We're now standing on the poop deck?

-Yes.

And officers would have been up here?

You would have had officers up here.

This is like the bridge on a modern day ship.

But the senior officers would have been down on the quarterdeck,

like Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy,

because there was a lot more protection down there.

In fact, down on the quarterdeck is actually where he was shot

and you can see it's marked by the brass plaque on the deck.

So he actually fell here?

-Yes. Yes.

-And then afterwards, down...

He was carried down below to the orlop deck, where he died

about three hours later.

-And the orlop deck is where I'm heading next.

-OK.

-See you later.

Thanks, Alan. Thank you.

It's quite funny really that I'm interested in scientific instruments

cos people tend to think that I must have a scientific degree,

which is completely not the case

and I am not really scientifically minded.

In fact, I didn't do particularly well with science at school.

But ssh, don't tell anyone.

My degree is more in history of art but I love being given

an instrument and looking at it and thinking, "OK, what is this?

"What does it actually do? Is it a drawing instrument?

"Is it a surgical instrument?"

I think it's that whole idea of investigating it,

researching it and then finding out the answer.

That's where my passion is.

Today I'm meeting Mick Crumplin, who is a retired surgeon

and curator of the Royal College of Surgeons' collection.

-Mick, hi.

-Hello, Catherine.

-Good to meet you.

So, when the casualties were brought down from the upper deck,

this is what they were faced with. All these gruesome instruments.

Well, of course, they had gruesome wounds, that's the problem.

Here on the cockpit on the orlop deck was where they all congregated

and, as you can see, we're very cramped in our operating style.

I've got this vision of these casualties literally being...

coming down the steps with their arms all bleeding. What was it like?

Absolutely horrendous.

You've got to remember, there were three surgeons, two juniors

and the main surgeon of the ship, William Beatty,

to do all these procedures on the patients who had been injured.

Some of them would bleed out and die and were discharged dead

before they could be treated, because they just overwhelmed the surgeon.

So what are the most common injuries that the sailors had?

Well, the commonest type of wound was an injured limb

or a body cavity penetration by round shot or a shard of wood.

So the men, when they were brought down bleeding and in pain,

would need the bleeding controlled, the wounds trimming and dressed

and perhaps closing up the wounds with needle and thread

or adhesive or sticky plasters - we still use those today.

You might have to open up the wound with a scalpel a little bit

to make the entrance easier for the surgeon.

So for instance, here we have a musket ball

and if that was in-driven,

we could then put a finger down onto it, feel that it was there

-and then grasp it, having been guided to it by the finger...

-Incredible.

-..and remove it.

-And that was probably a daily occurrence.

Oh, absolutely, yes. Especially on the upper decks.

On the lower decks they were protected from musket fire,

but not from cannonball injury and bits of flying wood.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. So once we've done the exploration...

And the trimming and the cleaning and the stitching and the bandaging.

That was the majority of the work.

A lot of men would die quickly of bleeding.

We would then think about limbs that were so badly smashed

that they had to be removed.

But one of the things you did learn was how to control bleeding.

10% of Nelson's crews were trained in the use

of the field tourniquet, which was just a strap you put on the limb.

So what you do is, you put the tourniquet on,

having sat your patient on the end of a table.

And you have people to restrain the poor fellow,

and then you make an incision with a capital knife,

which means a large knife, to...

..go right round the limb to divide the muscle, the fat and the skin.

Right down to bone, and then you use a tenon saw to divide the bone

and that leg has to be steady during the procedure.

-And this is actually the amputation saw?

-Yes.

That's the type of saw that would've been used.

-Really?

-It's just really like a carpenter's saw.

That's the thing. Looking at it, that's exactly what you think.

-It's the sort of thing you'd have in your toolbox today.

-Absolutely.

Then you've got to stop the bleeding

and then close the wound over the skin with adhesive tapes or stitches

and bind it up in a linen bandage

and put the patient down to rest and perhaps give him a cordial afterwards,

some wine and water dilute.

I think he'd probably need more than some cordial!

-I'm sure he would think that, yes!

-Something very stiff.

When Nelson was brought down here, and presumably brought down

to William Beatty because he was the senior surgeon,

what would he have been faced with?

I mean, there wasn't an awful lot they could do for him, obviously.

No, I think he... Lord Nelson and William Beatty knew

that his spine had been shot through and he had a severe chest wound

and Beatty didn't spend all that long, he would have looked at him,

looked for an exit wound, had him undressed.

And as far as I know, he wasn't even given painkiller at that time,

which is amazing.

And he took him three and a quarter hours to die

with his spinal cord divided and he had paraplegia, of course.

So, Beatty and he agreed that his wound was mortal

and nothing more could be done.

Have you built up all this collection over a number of years?

Yes, probably over about 40 years.

But the thing is, the collection is not for hoarding and value.

The value of a collection is using it

so that you can teach people what it was really like.

Right. But we have to say how beautifully some of them are made.

I'm particularly focusing on this little shagreen set here

-of the little lancets.

-The thumb lancets.

-I mean, that's just...

For quite a gory little set of instruments, it's just... Oh!

Oh! Beautifully made. It's lovely.

Why do you think they're so important, though?

It's not everyone's cup of tea.

I like them because what we can do is teach people how surgery

has developed, and it wasn't as crude as people thought,

-given the time that we're working in...

-Not at this time, no.

The results at the end of this war that poor old Victory was involved in

were absolutely amazing,

with mortality rates around 11% in one hospital

after a big battle, which is phenomenal.

89% of patients walking out of hospital,

so they must have known something and it was using instruments

like these that contributed to that success.

Well, it's been...

..just fantastic. Absolutely brilliant.

I could talk all day long about every single instrument,

-but sadly we haven't got time. Thank you very much, Mick.

-Not at all.

-Lovely to meet you.

-And you.

What a fascinating, if gruesome collection

and a vital part of our maritime history.

If you find one of these instruments and you're too fainthearted

or squeamish to keep it, as the professor says,

there will be someone out there to take it off your hands.

From instruments produced to cure to implements designed to kill.

At almost every valuation day, people turn up with weapons

of some kind - bullets, guns, shields, spears, war clubs.

This is where our experts really do need to know their stuff.

When is an object a beautiful antique and collectable weapon

or when is it just an illegal and dangerous weapon?

In Cirencester,

we were fortunate enough to have one of these things that sometimes

does turn up on Flog It - a wonderful Polynesian war club.

My father initially bought it at a house sale, way before the war.

So I've always known it.

Your father was very forward-thinking

because, before the war, this sort of tribal art wasn't at all popular.

'Tribal arts are much sought-after now because the indigenous nations'

that it was originally taken from have achieved a level of wealth

and maturity that they want to reclaim these items.

But also major institutional European and American collections

want to buy these for their own collections.

Now, I will always be corrected by an expert in their field,

but I've always regarded these as Oceanic.

So, basically, Fijian war clubs.

Especially when they're this paddle form.

'Whether or not you know the culture where an object's come from,

'the one thing that is consistent is patination'

and that's what we look for, the build-up of grease and dirt

and polish and wear and handling that shows that an item is either

18th or 19th or 20th century.

The club certainly wasn't a tourist-made piece,

it was an authentic, early, tribal club.

I've had a look at it, I like the surface patination at the end

and on the handle.

So I'm quite happy to say that this is...

early to mid 19th century.

The class of wares that people want are those that are original

to the culture, not made when Europeans went over

for the tourist trade.

And the club was 18th century that we saw at Cirencester,

so that's, you know, it was carved for decorative pieces

but also for bashing somebody's brains out.

We'd be safe putting this in at, I think, £400-600.

-Yes.

-I'll be interested to see myself what it makes.

-You'll be at auction?

Oh, I will. Within a club's distance!

So I will be sweating furiously.

Did anyone at the auction also recognise that the club

was a unique antique piece?

We know these things are really hot right now

because they're going back to their countries of origin.

Museums are buying them up and they're paying top money, which is good news for you.

Watch this, watch this, see what happens.

Fijian carved wood tribal club. Super looking piece there.

-Got to be one of my favourite pieces in the sale.

-Oh, that's nice!

Who will start me? 500 to get on.

520. 540.

560. 580.

600.

620.

640. 660.

680. 700.

720.

750.

780. 800.

820.

850.

880. 900.

950. 1,000.

-At 1,000.

-The magic number.

1,000.

And 50 if you like, on the phone. 1,050.

1,100. At 1,100.

1,150, if you like now. 1,150 on the phone now.

At 1,150.

It's on the phone now. At 1,150...

-I'm happy with that.

-£1,150.

Of course you're happy with that!

Collectors should look out for me

and not take my advice when they're selling tribal clubs.

Well, thank you, Michael.

But I can tell you, if you have an old weapon, look at its patina

and the materials to date it. But be aware, these can be copied

so you should get some expert advice.

Our expert Charlie Ross knew exactly what he was looking at.

Nick, you look absolutely terrifying.

Fancy coming into the Sheldonian in Oxford with these!

When I saw the Zulu spear and shield,

I immediately thought back to Rorke's Drift.

-My grandfather went to Sudan in the 1880s, 1890s.

-Yeah.

-He wasn't in the services, so...

-Was he not?

-No.

So he didn't win it as a trophy at Rorke's Drift.

Not as far as I know! He never mentioned it.

It's from South Africa.

It's a Zulu shield and I think that dates from 1880, 1890,

which of course is the time pre-World War, the Zulu wars.

It's an extraordinary part of history, really.

And in remarkable condition.

I thought, in a rather whimsical way, that perhaps this had come back

from Rorke's Drift, one of the great battles in British history.

More VCs won at the Battle of Rorke's Drift than in any other battle in history.

About 150 British and colonial soldiers withstood an attack

by over 3,000 Zulu warriors at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in 1879.

I'm intrigued by the latticework of weaving more skin into it,

which also has a functional purpose.

It provides the handle, doesn't it?

Which is really interesting.

Just leaving out a couple of notches forms a handle.

-It's incredibly hard, isn't it?

-It is.

You think, all right, it wouldn't have stopped a bullet going through

there, but I think if you chucked a spear at it,

it would have to be thrown pretty hard to get through that.

'It was a zebra-skin shield. I hadn't picked that up.'

When I first saw it, I thought, "It's a shield.

"It's a Zulu shield."

But it was a zebra-skin shield, which I was told afterwards.

It meant that it was ceremonial, so it was a rare shield.

All the other shields were made out of cowhide,

so this was a particularly...

It was the Rolls-Royce of shields, if you could use that expression.

And it was quite obviously over 100 years old

and I think we can accept what happened 100 years ago.

Had that shield represented the killing, for example,

of a zebra last week or the week before, we certainly,

in no way, would countenance that.

The spear is also Zulu. Beautifully made, actually.

And look at the age on it, it's amazing, isn't it?

And it's become rock, rock solid hard. Value - any ideas?

-You hoped it was worth something when you brought it in.

-Of course.

-Yes.

-I think you've got a value here of between £100-200.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That has surprised me.

-Has it?

-Yes.

-That's good.

-Yes.

Because sometimes we get people on the programme who almost hit me

when I tell them what things are worth!

Watch out, Charlie, few of those people were armed.

Will he be any safer at the auction?

-I've checked with the auctioneer.

-Yeah.

-He said it could do a little bit better.

-Oh, really?

-Just a little bit.

-That would be pleasant.

-That would be.

The zebra-skin shield. Zulu one.

And what can we say for that -

a couple of hundred pounds start me for it.

500 I am bid. 550 anywhere?

£500. 550. 6.

650. 7. 750. 8.

850. 850. At £800, then.

Coming to you now, Pat, at 850.

£850.

-I can't believe it!

-850.

850.

900. 950.

1,000.

1,100 I'm bid. 1,150.

Oh, no.

£1,100 then, with Alan.

All done then? It's with Alan at £1,100,

are you all done at £1,100?

All finished?

Yes! £1,100!

I told you something fabulous was going to happen today, didn't I?

Not 100-200, but 1,100.

How do you guys manage it?

'I was absolutely astonished by the sale price.'

I think if somebody had pointed out to me that it was

a particularly rare ceremonial shield, then I might have put

400-600 on it, but £1,100 seemed to me a huge amount of money.

Authentic tribal items dating from before they were produced

for tourists are highly sought-after.

But be careful. There are subtleties in this specialist field

that can stump even our most enthusiastic experts,

so get some advice.

But sometimes the expertise we are looking for can come

from those of you who appear on Flog It.

I have to be frank with you.

Whenever I see weapons on the show, I'm terrified.

As I have very little knowledge of them.

Fortunately, when this Smith and Wesson revolver came in

to Herne Bay, the owner knew all about it.

It's a Smith and Wesson.

It's a .310-calibre rimfire.

It's what is also called a lock-up.

So rather than me educating him, he actually educated me.

-Explain that. Can you show us what that is?

-Certainly.

What you do is you cock the gun, take out the barrel...

You then push out the old cartridges with that piece, reload.

But it back in again, lock it up.

And it's got what they call the hidden trigger as well,

-so it's safe in somebody's pockets.

-So you don't blow your leg off.

-Exactly.

-Smith and Wesson are a very iconic American gun manufacturers.

Started in the mid 19th century, they were very inventive

throughout that time in the manufacturing

and design of weaponry, which really puts them up there

with Colt for well-known gun collectables.

Where did you get it from?

I had a very good friend, he was ex-Navy, same as I was.

And when he left the Navy after the war, he became a bookmaker,

a London bookmaker,

and he got friendly with another bookmaker

who was quite older than him.

He asked him if he would like this when this bookmaker was retiring,

and he said that he was issued with it by the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

-Really?

-Yes. For his own protection. He carried money.

And that was in the 1890s.

-HE GASPS

-Straight out of Agatha Christie.

I think a sensible estimate is £300-500.

-Is that something you'd be happy with?

-Oh, yes.

-It's better than being in the safe.

-Of course.

The Smith and Wesson lock-up patent five-shot calibre revolver.

Good thing, this. Several bids. Starting at £360.

I'm looking for 380. 380. 400.

And 20.

-440. 460.

-This is good.

480. 500.

No? It's at £480 on my right now. Any further offer?

Any further bid in the room?

If not, I'll sell at £480, the bid is on my right. At 480.

If we're all done, at 480...

-Top end of the estimate.

-We're happy with that.

-We're very happy.

-Thank you very much.

-Are you, Ted?

-Yeah, not half!

-Good.

The thing that helped us

make such a good price at auction was the fact that it had

never been fired, therefore it was in pristine condition.

What do we always say whenever you are buying?

Condition, condition, condition.

An iconic name like Smith and Wesson will always secure a good price.

And, as Mark says, condition is everything,

so let's have a look at some of those trade secrets in detail.

Weaponry really is a very specialist field,

with complicated laws around its use. So listen carefully.

Authentic tribal pieces have much greater value,

so try to date it from the materials.

By all means do some research.

But get expert help to be sure and look out for classic names

and great condition for a sure-fire piece.

As far as guns go, you don't need a licence to buy an antique,

but as antique isn't defined by law, how can you tell what you've got?

One rule of thumb is that if you can get modern ammunition for it,

it's not an antique.

And make sure you only keep it as a curio

and never use it as a firearm.

It's always a good idea to buy from a reputable dealer

and make sure you have the paperwork describing the weapon,

but it's always best to check the law with a firearms specialist

or the police before parting with your money.

As we saw with the Zulu shield made from zebra skin, there are items

that come to us on Flog It that can seem distasteful today.

Some of these are made from ivory.

In a moment, we'll be giving you some tips about how to spot

the real thing, when it is and isn't OK to buy it.

But first, here's a little bit about its murky history.

It became popular in Europe

when 19th-century colonialists made their way deep into Africa.

There, they became enamoured with the smooth,

creamy coloured tusks of elephants, which they called white gold

and which came to be known as ivory.

Soon, demand exploded, as rich westerners enjoyed the trend

of all sorts of carved ivory trinkets.

The repercussions were disastrous -

a brutal trade in which human life was cheap,

as local people were hounded to capture and kill elephants.

Finally, in the late 1980s, there was a worldwide ban

on the ivory trade,

with a few exceptions made for stockpiled ivory.

Here in Europe, the law says it's illegal to buy or sell ivory

if it was carved after 1947,

but whatever you think of it there's still a market for ivory

carved before this date, like this beautifully carved box

which appeared on Flog It, having been turfed out of an attic.

-So, do you like it?

-Yeah. It's different. I like it.

It's very intricate, isn't it? It's amazing carving, actually.

-It's carved from ivory.

-Yeah.

And it dates from the end of the 19th century, so over 100 years old,

and it's Cantonese, made for export, export ware.

-Any idea what that's worth?

-No.

-20 quid?

-Higher.

-£50?

-Higher.

-£100?

I'm not sure.

I think that's where I'd put the reserve, about 100, 80-100.

And I think it'll make 100-150.

So, how did it do at auction?

460, 480.

-500.

-Well...

-500.

-520. 550.

-THEY LAUGH

-£550! Megan, they love this.

-Oh, my God.

-600.

-My goodness me.

-680.

-Didn't you find it in a house?

-Yeah.

-What is Auntie going to say?

She'll go absolutely mental.

She's going to go mental!

I'm going mental, never mind my auntie.

780, on the phone. 780.

Would anyone else like in at £780?

She has just put the hammer down at £780.

£780 is an incredible price.

If ivory is old, at least pre-1947, collectors won't be put off,

sometimes paying big money to enjoy a piece of exquisite

craftsmanship and artistry.

So, if you come across a piece of ivory,

what should you be looking out for?

One of the things ivory can be mistaken for

is the less valuable bone,

but there are ways to tell which you have,

as our expert, Michael Baggott, explains.

-As you might know, most of these are ivory.

-Yes.

They're actually all from Japan.

-Right.

-And the earliest one is this one here,

and funnily enough, he isn't ivory.

He's bone.

And you can tell that because you've got that very coarse

open-work grain.

Plastic is used as a cheap modern copy. Try sticking a hot pin in it.

If it's ivory, the pin won't penetrate.

And some people might try to fake the age, so in this minefield

find an expert to help you make sure your ivory dates from before 1947.

There is often an explosion of literary expression in wartime,

and nowhere was this more evident than during World War I.

The early years of one of England's most famous 20th-century poets

was spent here at Rugby, where his father was a housemaster.

Rupert Brooke was an important contributor to Britain's collection

of First World War poetry, and I've come to meet English teacher

Richard Smith to find out more.

He went off to fight in the First World War. Did he see any action?

No. He died before he saw any action,

died in 1915 on his way to Gallipoli.

-He was quite excited about joining up and representing his country, wasn't he?

-Yes.

I think that's one of the reasons why Brooke's poetry is so different

from the other First World War poets, simply because

his poetry reflects that early optimism,

-the euphoria of fighting.

-Being the hero.

-Yes.

Blow, bugles, blow They brought us, for our dearth

Holiness, lacked so long, and Love and Pain

Honour has come back, as a king, to Earth

And paid his subjects with a royal wage

And Nobleness walks in our ways again

And we have come into our heritage.

It was believed that the war would be over by Christmas

and so there was that kind of gung-ho attitude

of fighting for King and country,

which is reflected in his most famous war poem, The Soldier,

where he says, "If I should die, think only this of me,"

that he'll be there. In a part of a foreign country there'll be a bit of England left

in the foreign lands where he died fighting.

So that's certainly the sentiment in his poetry which is different

from later writers.

If I should die, think only this of me

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England.

There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed

A dust whom England bore, shaped and made aware

Gave once her flowers to love, her ways to roam

A body of England's, breathing English air

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

One of the war poets who actually went to the front line

and described its horrors was fellow poet, Siegfried Sassoon.

Sassoon's poetry sought to betray the ugly truths of the trenches

to an audience lulled by patriotic propaganda.

He was very scathing about those who stayed at home.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye

Who cheer when soldier lads march by

Sneak home and pray you'll never know

The hell where youth and laughter go.

His poems also mocked the military top brass.

No-one is sure who coined the phrase "lions led by donkeys"

to describe the way the ordinary soldiers of the First World War

were let down by inept commanders.

But Sassoon certainly agreed with that point of view.

"Good-morning, good-morning!" the General said

When we met him last week on our way to the line

Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead

And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

Sassoon did survive the war,

but others, like fellow poet Wilfred Owen, died on the battlefield.

What they gave us was an insight into war

and also an incredible bounty of writing,

now highly collectable as first editions.

This first edition copy of writer Robert Graves' book

Goodbye To All That, annotated in the margins by his friend,

Siegfried Sassoon, astonishingly made over £31,000

at auction in 2007.

If you have a 20th-century first edition,

look for a signature, as the price skyrockets.

And don't get rid of the dust jacket!

It can drive up the value if you have a mint condition copy.

But most of all, enjoy a good read.

A literary adventure can be as rewarding as a lucrative one.

Many of us have got family war memorabilia sitting in cupboards

and drawers at home.

Of course, you may not want to sell it but do get it out

and do some research, because you'll probably find the story

behind it is absolutely priceless.

I hope you've enjoyed the show.

Join me again soon for many more trade secrets.

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