Wallasey 11 Flog It!

# It's a long way to Tipperary It's a long way to home

# It's a long way to Tipperary... #

Here amongst the quiet splendour of Dunham Massey,

it's hard to believe that at the foot of this grand staircase

was once an operating theatre.

Young soldiers with terrible injuries

underwent ground-breaking surgery.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Dunham Massey

was turned into a military hospital and later on in the programme

I'll be exploring an ambitious project which brings to life

that significant time in our country's history.

But first, it's a short trip west to Merseyside

for those all-important valuations.

Welcome to Flog It!

Sitting right on the banks of the legendary River Mersey,

today's valuation venue is Wallasey Town Hall on the Wirral Peninsula.

This imposing building dates from 1914,

when King George V laid the first foundation stone.

But before work was finished, came the outbreak

of the First World War and it was requisitioned by the War Department.

Like many public buildings and private stately homes,

it also became a military hospital,

looking after the sick and the wounded soldiers.

And it didn't properly open until 1920.

But ever since then, this town hall has been looking after

the needs of the good folks of Wallasey.

But today it's not about births, deaths and marriages

and council tax enquiries and wheelie bin complaints.

It's about what's in all of these bags and boxes.

Our experts are here to find the best items to take off

to auction and this massive crowd want to know the answer to that

all-important question, which is?

ALL: What's it worth?!

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

And somewhere in this huge queue, which snakes around the building,

our experts are already hard at work.

We've got Anita Manning, always at the vanguard

of antiques and fashion.

Does my bum look big in this?

THEY LAUGH

And hot on her sprightly tail is the indefatigable Philip Serrell.

What's in there?

-My great-gran's jewellery.

-Your great-gran's jewellery?

Yeah. In an old biscuit box.

OK, thank you very much. Lovely to see you, thank you.

Biscuits and jewellery - no wonder he's off.

Don't let her see, don't let her see!

Now, before we get everybody inside, there's just enough time

to exchange a few pleasantries.

-Oh, hiya.

-That's a very nice wee bunnet!

-Oh, that's a very snazzy scarf.

-Get out of here.

Sartorial delight!

As respectful as ever, I see.

Well, I think it's time we got those doors open, don't you?

And with this footfall, I think

our experts are going to be busy all day.

So while our crews gear up and the tea urn goes into overdrive,

let's take a look at what's coming up on the show.

Whilst Maureen is facing up to the realities of life...

-Do you like having a rummage?

-Oh, I do! Oh, I do.

I've got too much stuff and the boys... It will end up in the skip

when I pop my clogs.

Philip is having dreams of grandeur with a fabulous claret jug.

What a lovely thing to pass round the dinner table.

I'm very tempted to go and fill it and have a drink from it.

But can you can you guess which of these items

is our big hitter in the saleroom?

Well, from up here you get a great view of this building

and the scale of work that went into it.

I love the vaulted ceiling and especially those Art Deco lights

because they look incredibly industrial and oversize.

But that's what the Art Deco movement was all about, it was

about powerful statements. And we're making a powerful statement here

today. We've got hundreds of people already seated safely downstairs.

We're going to look for those treasures right here, right now.

So let's hand things over to Philip Serrell, who's on the table, right in the middle.

-How are you?

-I'm very well indeed.

-It's a busy old day, isn't it?

Not when you've stood outside for an hour waiting to get in.

It's really cold out there.

It's true, there's thousands of folk here. It's really lovely.

And for us it's lovely when you get that volume of people through.

-And I love things like this.

-Gorgeous, isn't it?

We've got a steam engine, we've got a tender,

three carriages and a level crossing,

although I'm not quite sure that's got the gate in the right order.

We've got our buffers over there and a track, and we've got some more in

a box down here, so, for me, you know...

Bit of a start for a collection for someone, isn't it?

So, were these yours?

No, they weren't. I work for a local charity and this came

into one of our charity shops.

So this has come in for you to raise money.

It's a little bit of serendipity, yes.

Well, you can see this is Hornby, and the Hornby factory

was set up by Frank Hornby in 1901.

Their first clockwork train came about in about 1920.

But I would guess...this is around 1930, something like that.

That sounds about right.

Hornby's still going today, branded by Meccano.

I think it's interesting.

Condition is everything with these things and this,

like all toys should be, has been well played with.

I think we've had the odd derailment here and there...

-I think loved is the word that's best used.

-Absolutely.

In good order, these things could make a couple of hundred pounds,

but in a way...you've got to sell them, haven't you?

We have indeed, and we need the money

so we can keep our charity going, yes.

Well, what I think we should do is put an estimate of £30 to £50.

That sounds fine to me.

That would be fantastic, wouldn't it?

Absolutely fantastic, yes.

I just love these. I love them.

# Pardon me, boy

-# Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

-Yes, yes. #

These collectables make you feel really nostalgic for times gone by.

But we've no time to linger - it's full steam ahead to Anita's table.

It's always a delight for me when people bring jewellery to "Flog It!"

I absolutely love jewellery.

Now, you've brought me two rings and this wonderful garnet necklet.

Tell me - where did you get them?

I inherited them over 20 years ago from my aunt.

I don't wear it.

I do love jewellery, I should wear it more often.

Yes, I know, that's what I think.

First thing is this garnet necklet here.

Now, I do like this and garnets are very,

very popular in the salerooms just now.

The market loves garnets

and the necklet is made up of a large quantity of small garnets.

They are arranged in this flower-like sequence, with the

little sort of pendant drop here and these little swags on each side.

I would like to put that into auction probably round about £80 to £120,

because it's not a precious metal, it's not set in gold.

Let's go onto our rings. The first ring is a five-stone opal ring.

Opals are mainly mined in Australia and you will get them

graded from a very milky-white opal right through fiery ones

to black opals, so you have a huge spectrum.

But my own personal favourite is this colour of opal,

which has fire pushing through it.

It's in 18 carat gold as well,

and I would put that between £100 and £200.

That's fine.

The diamond ring is set in a twist and each of these diamonds

is round about 0.4, so you've got nearly half a carat in each diamond.

But...

one of the diamonds has a big chunk missing out of it and I would

estimate that, because of the damage to one of the diamonds,

between £250 and £350.

So, cumulatively, it will all add up.

If you sold them, what would you do with the money?

-Would you buy more jewellery?

-I'd buy another ring.

A ring that would fit me and suit me.

Yeah, OK. We'll send them along to our auctioneer, Adam.

I'm sure he will sell these all as separate items because

they should stand on their own quite easily.

Thank you very much.

-Having a good time, everyone?

-Yes!

-Yeah, that's what it's all about!

So come on, hold up what you've got. Let's have a look at all these gems.

Wow.

It's take your pick time, isn't it? We are literally spoiled for choice.

Fine art and antiques everywhere. Gosh!

Oh, look at this, this is absolutely fantastic.

This is what it's all about - people who are so interested in

their own heritage, and you know, they're bringing it along

and they're sharing it. This is great.

I love that Bible box - look at that,

dated 1717. Isn't that sweet?

I'm not the only one to find some beautifully crafted wood,

although Philip's is a bit more contemporary.

Austin, how are you? Lovely to see you. Do you know what?

I've seen so many good things today.

Out of everything I've seen, I'd take these home.

-Thank you.

-I think they're fantastic.

How have they come into your possession?

My sister lived in a flat in London a while back,

and she moved into a larger place.

These were her kitchen/dining room chairs, and I've always thought

they were a bit stylish, so I...had them off her.

-You've got a good eye. What did you pay her?

-£100.

-£100.

These are made out of oak and I would say that they dated from that

1925-1935 period.

I think they're so stylish, with this horseshoe seat,

and they're just such cool chairs. They really are.

Now, I think I know who they're by.

Heal's.

You're right.

Really? Right, let's just have a look.

Oh, dear me.

There we are, look - Heal's.

Tottenham Court Road, London.

This is a registration mark on here, and you can date that

to within the year. I would suggest it's probably...

..well, it's got 33 on the end of it,

so there's a fair chance it might be 1933.

Have you ever given any thought as to what they might be worth?

Well, I was offered £100 by a dealer for them a couple of years ago,

which I thought was a little bit on the low side.

So, maybe, I don't know...£150.

£150, £300. OK, fine.

I would put...probably £300 to £500 on them as an estimate.

And I would put a reserve on them of £250, give the auctioneer...

You're looking surprised.

Very surprised. Yes.

Nice surprise?

Very nice surprise.

We'll put a reserve of £250, but we'll give him £25 discretion.

10% discretion.

-Fair.

-OK, that's fair.

Of all the shows that I've done, I'm going to remember these,

because I think they're lovely. They're a real thing of

the moment and they're really stylish, so thanks for bringing them.

-Really.

-It's a pleasure.

I'm not surprised Philip's taken with these chairs.

Heal's is a British name to be reckoned with.

Starting out as bed makers in 1810,

they advertised in Charles Dickens' novels...

..later embracing the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement

with their furniture.

They have a long history of promoting design innovation in Britain.

It'll be interesting to see how these gems fare at auction.

Well, we have been busy bees, haven't we?

It didn't take us long to find our first three items.

I've got my favourite and you've probably got yours.

So, let's put those valuations to the test, shall we?

Let's head over to the auction room for the very first time today.

And here's a quick recap,

just to jog your memory of the items we're taking with us.

First up, the Hornby train set.

It's been well played with, but I'm sure all proceeds will be

welcomed by the Wirral charity Mark works for.

We've got Ann's interesting jewellery collection, with that

lovely, fiery opal ring.

And then there's Austin's set of Heal's chairs.

Phil's recognised their stylish kudos, but will the bidders?

We're sailing across the choppy waters of the Mersey

for today's auction, heading into the vibrant city of Liverpool.

We'll be in the capable hands of "Flog It!" veteran, Adam Partridge.

40 now, 5, 50, 5, 60, 5...

Remember, if you are buying or selling in an auction room

there is commission to pay. It varies from saleroom to saleroom.

All the details are printed in the catalogue, or ask a member of staff.

Here, today, at Adam Partridge's saleroom in Liverpool,

it's %20 inclusive of VAT, so factor that in to the hammer price

because that is always added on or, if you're selling, it's deducted.

Well, there are plenty of browsers, but will this translate into bids?

As everyone takes their seats, the auction gets under way.

It's not long before our first lot comes round the bend.

We all love our boys' toys on this show, don't we?

You brought it to the right expert.

I did indeed, yes. We came down and met Phil outside.

And the rest is history.

And the rest is history. Every penny goes to charity,

-so it's a great cause.

-It does indeed, yeah.

Let's find out what it makes.

Small collection of Hornby Dublo. Tin plate accessories. £30 the lot.

Start me there, £30.

Oh, come on. Come on.

£20, then. 20 bid. A bid at 20. Is there 5 now? At 25 online.

Any advance then on £25? That's it. 30 here.

30 in the room now.

-It's a great name, though, Hornby.

-It is, it's local, isn't it?

£30 over here. 5 online, 35.

40, sir. For the hospice. Thank you, sir.

Pulling teeth, aren't we?

We're selling in the room then at £40.

Yes! Steaming ahead at £40.

That was great.

And every penny will go to the charity.

It certainly will. That's right.

Thank you for bringing that and carry on to do all the good work.

I will do. Thank you both very much indeed. Thanks for your help.

A good, solid, mid-estimate sale there. I'm pleased for Mark.

Now, let's hope Phil's prediction on the next lot is as accurate.

Going under the hammer now we've got a set of four

Heal's chairs. It's a retailer synonymous with quality.

It comes from the Tottenham Court Road in London and I love these.

It's style and I don't know why you're selling them, actually.

Well, they're surplus to requirements.

Philip, good luck with this.

I would really love to own these, I think they're such a cool lot,

and if they don't make the top end of £500, there's no justice at all.

Let's find out what this lot think.

Let's hand the proceedings over to Adam.

Interest here straight in at £200. At £200, the Heal's chairs.

We've got the reserve at £250.

At £200, is there 10 anywhere? at £200?

-At £200 it is, then. At £200.

-No.

We'll have to see about those.

My advice to you would be put them in a 20th-century modern sale.

-£50 a chair for those is a nonsense, in my view.

-Yes, it is, really.

It needs to go with things that are surrounded from that period

because people will buy into that, it will have a worldwide audience.

I wish Austin all the best with those chairs

and I'm sure they will attract the interest they deserve.

Next up, a bit of glamour.

Going under the hammer now is something for the ladies.

A little bit of jewellery - it's a mixed lot

and I think this will sparkle and light up the saleroom.

It belongs to Ann, and I have to say, we've got

three lots, Adam has split them up. Which is your favourite?

Do you like the necklace or the ring? The diamond or the opal?

The diamond ring, but I do like the opals as well.

Well, first up is the diamond ring,

so let's find out what the girls think, shall we? Here we go.

What about £250?

150, 160 bid?

170, 180, 190.

190 bid. 200. At £200 now.

£200 in the room. You're out online.

Any more at £200? 10?

Are you done at 210? Any more at 210?

I'm sorry, it's just not quite there.

The ring did not sell, the diamond didn't sparkle.

Here's our second lot.

18 carat yellow gold diamond and opal ring there. I've got £50 bid.

At £50, is there 5 anywhere?

Any advance? 5 over here, at £55.

Any more now?

At 60, 5, 70 and 5, 80.

£75 on my right now.

-We're getting there.

-£75 - any more?

80, and 5. 90, sir.

90 is on my right.

We're selling at £90 on my right. At £90.

Widely viewed and selling at £90.

Sold at discretion.

-He had discretion.

-A wee bit of discretion there.

Just. I wasn't quite sure about that then.

Let's hope we can make some money up with the necklace, which is

your favourite, and it's going under the hammer now.

A pretty thing indeed, at 80 online.

At £80, 80.

Online at £80.

5 at the back. 90, 5.

£95. At 95, is there 100 anywhere?

At 95, round it up!

At 95, 100 online, at £100.

-It's gone.

-Yes, it has!

Another one online or not? It's £110, £120 online.

-£130, is it?

-Gosh!

130 with a wave, a new place.

At 130, 140 online.

-It's 140 online. At 140, I'm working hard here.

-£140.

Online and away at £140.

Hammer's gone down. Crunch! That's a sold sound, isn't it?

It's very good, thank you.

-Happy?

-Very happy.

-Two out of three ain't bad, as the song says. Yeah?

-And thank you for bringing that in.

-Thank you.

Well, there have been some highs and some lows, but that happy result

completes our first visit to the saleroom.

Now, when the outbreak of the First World War was announced in 1914,

crowds of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace

and they all stood there cheering.

What they didn't realise was the slaughter that was to follow,

and quickly, casualties started arriving back in this country.

It became quite apparent that hospitals couldn't

cater for the beds required,

so many private buildings became auxiliary hospitals.

One of those wasn't far away - Dunham Massey.

And while we were up here filming, I went to investigate.

For around 300 years, Dunham Massey was the family home

of the Earls of Stamford and Warrington.

But by the outbreak of the First World War,

the 9th Earl of Stamford had passed away

and the estate was being run by his widow, Lady Stamford.

She was living at Dunham with her daughter, Lady Jane.

In 1916, Lady Stamford wrote a letter to her son telling him

that she was thinking of turning the house over to

a hospital for officers, because it wouldn't do for Tommies.

But something must have changed her mind

because in April 1917, Dunham Massey was full of rank and file Tommies.

Have a look at these pictures.

Any recent visitors to Dunham Massey would recognise this as the saloon.

But during the First World War, it looked much more like this.

The transformation of the original hospital took months to achieve.

As you could imagine, this house was brimming full of treasures.

First, the carpets and the chandeliers had to be removed

and then heavy, precious pieces of furniture, works of art

from the walls had to be put into storage and, finally,

these faux marble columns - a technique known as scagliola,

because they are hollow inside - had to be shuttered up

and boxed in, exactly like they are today.

And then, rows and rows of beds neatly put into position

to create the ward, exactly as it is here.

Later on, further wards were created by adding more beds.

Over the next two years,

nearly 300 patients were treated at Stamford Hospital.

They came from all over Britain and abroad.

Grievously injured,

their journeys from the battlefields would have been torturous.

Recreating this world was made possible by two key documents.

One here, I have in front of me, it's a beautiful handwritten journal.

It is the details of every single patient that's passed through the doors.

Sister Bennett handwrote this.

She was the nursing sister in charge of the whole hospital.

It records the name of the person, their rank, their regiment,

their injury, their treatment and their discharge dates.

It's beautifully written as well.

But what brings it to life is this recent discovery,

this scrapbook also belonging to Sister Bennett.

She put this together and really,

what you can do now, is you can actually put names to faces.

Here, look, we've got a Private Hodson.

He was admitted on 18th October 1917,

discharged around ten months later on 3rd June 1918.

If you look at this photograph, the chap on the end.

Look, there he is, Hodson. It's beautiful.

I mean, despite appalling injuries,

all of these guys in this photograph are smiling.

There's a happy atmosphere, there's a positiveness about it.

Volunteers working for the National Trust here at Dunham

then used Sister Bennett's information to find out what happened

to the soldiers who were treated here.

They found many of the men went back to the front-line.

Like Corporal Arthur Topham, treated for shrapnel wounds.

Discharged to duty in 1917.

He was tragically killed in action just a few months later.

Others were lucky.

Gunner Carl Brodie was sent back to France after recovering

from a shell wound but he survived the war and made it home to Canada.

For some, this was just a brief respite from the horrors of war.

But whatever their fate, while they were here,

they received the best possible medical attention.

Ground-breaking techniques were put into practice here,

in this very room.

Wounds were kept open, washed repeatedly

to stop gangrene from setting in, that was pioneered here.

This was an age before antibiotics,

antibiotics weren't developed until 1928.

Now, this puts a smile on your face. Look at this.

This is a copy of the hospital rules.

"Patients are asked not to smoke in the ward before 8am or after 9pm."

But it seems the 13 hours in between is perfectly fine.

I think the term "best care" has to be taken into context, don't you?

Lady Stamford's daughter, Lady Jane, was only 15 when the war broke out.

She trained as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse

and soon came to work here to look after the soldiers.

In 1991, Lady Jane sadly passed away.

But in the 1980s, the National Trust recorded two short interviews with her.

She recalled the area at the bottom of this grand staircase

being turned into an operating theatre.

Despite it being the darkest place in the house

and rather prone to cobwebs, it was suitable because just through there

there's a toilet and a hand basin, which was absolutely essential.

Her most vivid memory is assisting in an operation with

Private William Johnstone, who underwent brain surgery.

He had a bullet in his brain, you see, and this had to be got out.

Once they'd made the hole in the brain,

I was given the job of shining a torch right into it and I saw

the brain sort of pulsating and so I held the torch in front

and saw the bullet being extracted by the surgeon. It was very interesting.

You always wonder whether you're going to be a bit squeamish and

sort of faint but having being given the job to do, one forgets oneself.

Next door, the great hall became a recreation room for patients.

Here, soldiers could relax,

play the piano or in the case of the hospital's longest resident,

Percy Chaplain, find time to woo Mabel,

one of the housemates whom he married after the war.

The soldiers spent a lot of time outside,

here, in the inner courtyard.

Sister Bennett was a great advocate

of the restorative qualities of clean, fresh air and some bath treatments.

On a day like today, that's perfectly acceptable.

As well as relaxing in the courtyard,

soldiers were encouraged to make the most of the outside space.

They could play croquet on the lawns or go boating on the moat.

It's about as far as it's possible to get from the brutality

of the front-line and the contrast must have been dreamlike.

When peace was eventually declared in 1918 the bells rang out again and again.

There was singing and dancing in the wards

and a feast was held here in the great hall.

As one nurse recalled, "It was a festive scene as 72 of us

"sat down to the most sumptuous repast.

"The staff, the patients

"and the household were all here together to celebrate peace as one."

Welcome back to Wallasey Town Hall on the Wirral Peninsula.

Droves of people are still arriving.

They're keen to meet our experts to put a price on their precious cargo.

Including Maureen, who's with Anita.

-Maureen, welcome to Flog It!

-Oh, I'm welcome. Glad to be here.

It's lovely to see you.

You've brought this lovely wee ivory purse along.

Now, tell me, where did you get it?

I bought it in Croatia, in, like, a sort of a junk shop,

just crammed with all sorts of, erm, everything really.

I could've spent a week in there, Anita, I could've done.

Do you like having a rummage?

Oh, I do. Oh, I do.

I do, I love medals, stamps, anything old.

I've got too much stuff and the boys... It'll end up in the skip

when I pop my clogs.

They'll most likely sell it because they won't say,

"Oh, that's ivory," they'll think it's plastic, won't they, Anita?

How much did you pay for it?

-About £25.

-Hmm, right, that's not bad.

-It's a lovely wee thing. It's made of ivory.

-Yeah.

Now, this ivory would have been before 1947,

-which is the cut-off date.

-Yes.

A little Edwardian purse for a lady

and she would have kept her sovereigns in here.

Now, the interior is of silk. This lovely turquoise silk.

Would that be for stamps or something?

Little coins, small coins.

Sovereigns and half sovereigns.

None of your pennies and halfpennies for this posh little purse.

And you have a little closing device here.

We can close and lock that little piece there

-to keep your little, precious coins safe.

-Yes.

It's a very nice little item. So, price on it.

You paid £25.

It's not bad for £25.

What I would like to do is to perhaps estimate a bit higher

-than that and let it find its own level.

-OK.

-Erm, if we put it in at £30-50.

-Yes, that's fine.

-Shall we do that?

-That's fine, Anita.

-We'll enjoy seeing that sold.

-Thanks, Anita, awfully kind.

-Thank you for coming along.

It might not be to everybody's taste but ivory which predates 1947

can be legally sold according to the International CITES Treaty.

Now, it's time for a bit of luxury libation over on Philip's table.

-Linda, how are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-So, are you Liverpudlian?

-Or a Birkenheadian? Or a Wirralian?

-No, Liverpool born and bred.

-Liverpool.

-Born and bred.

You've brought along what I think's a really lovely item.

How long have you had this?

-I've had it 22 years.

-22 years. And did you buy it, or...

-No, no.

I inherited it from my aunt, who inherited it from her aunt,

-who bought it in 1898.

-1898, let's just see if that's...

Well, here's the hallmark and that is indeed London, 1898.

-So this was bought new.

-Yes.

-I think it's a claret jug, as you know.

-Yes.

And what's nice about it, it's by James Wakely and Frank Wheeler

and you can tell that from the maker's stamp, just here.

And if we look at this, we've got almost like, a...

It's almost like a Stourbridge rock crystal body

and then we've got the lid, which is gilded on the inside.

What I think's lovely about this, it's just attention to detail.

-If you look there, this trellis-work is blind.

-Yeah.

In other words, it's not pierced.

If you come down here, the trellis-work is all pierced

and it is just beautifully done.

What a lovely thing to pass round the dinner table,

with some wonderful claret in it. Did you use it?

-No.

-Never used it?

-No, no.

It's been on display all the time but I've never used it for wine.

So, we know that it's been in your family since 1898,

bought new, off the shelf, all those years...

Yes, by my very wealthy great-aunt.

She would've been seriously wealthy to have bought this.

-She married a mill owner. A very wealthy mill owner.

-Really?

They had a huge house, lots of servants, Rolls-Royce, chauffeur.

-Overwintered in Egypt every year.

-Really?

-Oh, yes. I never knew her.

-So, they did life in style?

-Oh, yes. And that's part of it.

What it is, it is the best, isn't it? It's the best.

-This is the Rolls-Royce of claret jugs.

-Oh, good!

So, I was going to ask you, why are you going to sell it?

Because my son isn't interested in it

and I thought I may as well enjoy the proceeds.

OK, so, what's it going to make? Is it going to make £200-£300?

Go on, then. Is it going to make £300-£400?

I would hope more.

I think it's too pretty to be...

Well, it's lovely and I think

-a sensible estimate would be £600-£900 for it.

-Yup.

And I think we'd put a fixed reserve on it at £600

-and I think it'll do really, really well.

-Good.

And thank you for bringing it, it's lovely.

I'm very tempted to go and fill it and have a drink out of it.

Well, be my guest.

Well, there's no sign of our valuations slowing down.

It's still buzzing with people.

But before our next valuation,

I'd like to take you back to what Wallasey Town Hall looked like

during the First World War, when it also became a military hospital.

With beds for 350 wounded soldiers,

it was reported at the time that it was one of the largest in the country.

Talking to some of the local people out there,

I found out some fascinating stories connected to the time.

Now, I've got two photocopies of news reports connected to the period.

The first one is about a Private Bernard Cadden

and there's a photograph of the chap here.

Now, he was wounded under heavy shellfire trying to rescue

an officer and he was awarded the military medal for his bravery.

He spent some time in the hospital and it says here, look,

"Having lost four fingers of his right hand,

"he was an inmate of the hospital and was so modest that he never divulged

"the fact of his gaining the medal until he left the institution."

Now, that is a telling indictment of the times.

That's a brave young man who didn't want to brag,

he didn't want to boast.

He was just getting on with his job and doing his duty.

The other article I have here pays tribute to all

the local owners of motor cars because the problem the hospital had

was it wasn't near a railway station.

They had one ambulance for the whole area

so they had to transport hundreds of patients about.

They needed vehicles. And look at this...

"He would like to also pay tribute to the local owners of

"motor cars who, at all times of the day and night,

"had been most willing to place their vehicles at the disposal of the detachment."

So, there you go.

The people of Wallasey and the local area

pulling together in times of need for the greater good.

Jill, welcome to "Flog It!" and thank you

for bringing along this lovely pair of figures.

Can you tell me, first of all, where did you get them?

They were handed to myself and my husband by my husband's parents.

Where they got them from, unfortunately, I don't know.

Do you like them?

Well, initially, I would have said no

but as I've come to look at them today they're growing on me.

THEY LAUGH

What we have here are a pair

of 19th-century German figure ornaments.

They would have been made between 1860 and 1890

and they are a rather romanticised and idealised subject.

Here, we have two rural figures, a mum and a dad,

and they have their lovely little children,

they're carrying them, perhaps home, after a day of work.

But would a farm worker, do you think, come home from his work

with a pair of trousers all decorated with hand-painted flowers?

-Not really, no.

-Not really. So, it's quite an amusing thing.

They come from, probably a factory in Eastern Germany.

Now, that area was similar to the Staffordshire Potteries

in that there were many small factories there.

I cannot identify the factory.

What I can say is that we have a mark here.

There is damage, we have some losses here in the child's finger,

on the basket that the mum is carrying

and various little bits and pieces on the other figure.

Taking into consideration the fact that we do have damage

and some losses on these figures,

I would like to put it into auction with an estimate of £70-£90.

Would you be happy with that?

Yes. I would, yeah.

Will we put a reserve price on it, Jill?

-Possibly £50?

-£50?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Let's put a reserve of £50 with an estimate of £70-£90.

-OK.

Will you be glad to see the back of them?

I think so, yes.

Well, that's it. Our final items have now just been found by our experts

and what crackers they really are.

I think we could have one or two surprises, so don't go away.

What a day we've had here in Wallasey at the town hall

but sadly it's time to say, "Goodbye, everybody," isn't it?

As we head over to the auction room for the very last time today.

Coming with us on the journey is Maureen's silk-lined purse.

Will her rummaging prowess pay off in the saleroom?

Then what about these German figurines?

They're not to everybody's taste,

so will they find a buyer in the auction room?

And finally, Philip could see himself living the high life

with this beautiful claret jug

made by renowned silversmiths Wakely & Wheeler.

I'm sure it'll attract a lot of attention.

'Adam's still busy on the rostrum

'and our next lot under his gavel are Jill's figurines.'

You don't really like these figurines?

-Not particularly.

-They are mass-produced, aren't they? Let's face it.

They are and they're not of high quality

but they have that look about them.

They're big and there is a sort of interest in them.

You don't have to convince us, we're selling, you know!

We're getting rid of.

I know there are collectors out there that will buy these

and that's the main thing. Anyway, good luck, both of you.

-Thank you.

-Here we go.

Some damage to these but I'm bid. 50 and 5 and 60 bid. At £60 here.

At £60, 5, 70 bid. At £70,

now at 70. At £70, selling them at 70.

They're off to Malta. At £70, is there 5 anywhere? At 70.

-Maltese buyer on the internet.

-Selling them at £70, all done.

And away at £70.

So, the hammer's gone down. That's not bad. That's not bad.

I think, really, you know, they stand quite strongly

and for £70 for a bit of decoration, that's money well spent, isn't it?

-Definitely.

-Off to Malta.

-Yeah.

-How about that?

That's one of the benefits of selling at auctions

that are also on the internet.

There's a worldwide market competing with local interest.

So, you get the best of both worlds.

It's not a lot of money but, boy, I'd like to own this. This is quality.

It's a little ivory sovereign holder.

-Did you use it at all for anything?

-No, no.

-Just bought it because it was a curio.

-Probably.

It's such a pretty wee thing and it's in good condition,

with that lovely silk lining inside. It was very sweet.

Let's see if we can send you home really happy.

Here we go, it's going under the hammer.

Next lot is the Edwardian, little ivory purse there. 30 bid online.

-Straight in.

-5, 40, 5, 50.

5, 65's online. At £65, an ivory purse.

-Every good lady should have one. 70 online. 5 at the back, at £75.

-Oh!

Any more on an ivory purse? You don't see them very often.

-80 online.

-It is a rare thing, isn't it?

-£85 at the back of the room.

At 85, are you all done? We're selling now?

At £85, the very back of the room.

Yes! The hammer's gone down, £85. Maureen, that's brilliant, isn't it?

-Yeah, great.

-What a good result.

-I'm pleased for you.

-Aw, thank you.

-That's a good day out.

-'Tis.

See, we did get a big smile on Maureen's face in the end.

Well, I'm pleased for Maureen.

Bear in mind, though, that ivory objects are contentious.

We were able to sell this because it predates the 1947 CITES Treaty.

Now, for an item that really evokes memories of a more stylish era.

Linda, it could be drinks all round, it could be. We could be smiling.

Going under the hammer is the most exquisite silver claret jug.

I love it, absolutely love it. We're looking at £600 at the lower end.

-Oh, we're going to be fine.

-We're going to be fine, aren't we?

-Hope so.

-Have you used this and enjoyed it?

-No.

-Never?

-No, never.

-Oh, no, really?

-I've just polished it.

I do like a good claret.

Anyway, let's find out what the bidders think.

You ready for this? Here we go.

Lot 608 is a late Victorian, etched glass, silver-mounted, claret jug.

Lovely thing, Wakely & Wheeler, London, 1899.

And 420, 440, 460 is bid. At 460.

At 80. 500. And 20.

540, 560, 580, 600.

600 down here. £600, any more now? At 20 online, 640 the bid.

-640 the bid, at 640.

-Can you see that chap in the front row?

Look, he's bidding.

680 the room. 680 bid, 700 online.

And 20 the room. 720, 740, 760.

760 in the room. At 780 online.

800 the room. At £800, in here.

820, 840, 840 bid. At 840.

Down here at 860 online. 880?

Says no. It's 860 on the internet now.

At 880, a new place.

880 online, 880 now. 900.

At £900 we're online.

Keep going, 920. 920 bid.

940 bid. At 960 bid, at 960.

-We're going to do a thousand, will we? Will we?

-At 980.

Round it up for me, please. It's 980. At 980.

£1,000, thank you.

-Done it.

-A super claret jug at 1,050. We're still going at 1,050.

The hammer's up at 1,050. Are you all done now? At £1,050.

Linda, £1,050 and that hammer's going down. Crash! There you go.

-How about that for a good result?

-Wonderful.

-It is.

-Cheers.

-He was right.

-He was right!

And what a way to end the show here in Liverpool.

Well, you can't top that, can you, really?

And if you've got something you want to sell, we would love to do it for you.

Dust it down and bring it in to one of our valuation days and we will Flog It!

But until then, from Liverpool, it's goodbye.