0:00:01 > 0:00:04We're travelling across the UK on a mission.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08All over the country our heritage is at risk.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Ancient buildings and monuments are under threat of demolition.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Valuable arts and crafts are on the brink of extinction,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19and our rich industrial heritage is disappearing fast.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22We're scouring town and country
0:00:22 > 0:00:25in search of the nation's unsung heroes,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29determined not to let our heritage become a thing of the past.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Today, we meet the men fighting to save
0:00:31 > 0:00:34one of our last great coastal defences.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38And the people resurrecting a very heroic little boat.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41- So, this is her, then? - This is Lady Cable.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45On this journey we're uncovering the hidden treasures of our country.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Treasures that are certainly worth fighting for.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51And meeting Heritage Heroes saving Britain at risk.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Right, then, John, pour the tea.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Here we go. Today, we're spending the whole leg of our journey
0:01:10 > 0:01:12here in glorious Devon.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15What it is about the great British experience that means
0:01:15 > 0:01:19we love to sit by a busy road when there are gorgeous views to be had,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21drinking a cup of tea?
0:01:21 > 0:01:24I can't really understand it, Jules, can you?
0:01:24 > 0:01:27I've no idea. But here we are in lovely Devon, and I thought, John,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31we couldn't start our trip here without a cream tea.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34It turned out nice, really. Yeah.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42On this journey, we explore the glorious south-west of England.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46We're travelling through some of our most beautiful countryside,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50finally ending up at the western tip of the country in Cornwall.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57From its coastal waters to its rolling hills,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00today we explore Devon and meet the people working hard
0:02:00 > 0:02:03to preserve some of the area's rich history.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Driving round here reminds me of the first time I came to this area.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11I arrived in the dead of night.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It was pouring with rain, and I was 16 years old.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19I was coming down to spend two weeks at the Naval Academy at Dartmouth.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I thought about joining the Navy. I fancied being a merchant marine.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26I went along for an eyesight test. My eyes were pretty good back then.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30As I was waiting to go in, a guy came out in tears in his 30s,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and he'd just failed the eyesight test.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35That meant his career was over in those days
0:02:35 > 0:02:39because you were not allowed to wear spectacles if you were a navigator.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43So, I thought if a career can be based on something
0:02:43 > 0:02:46as flimsy as that, I don't want to know.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49But, John, think of what the nation would have lost
0:02:49 > 0:02:53if you'd joined the Navy, and not become the legend that you now are.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55They would have been spared so much!
0:02:55 > 0:02:57THEY LAUGH
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Our first stop is Torquay,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07and the largest surviving medieval monastery in Devon,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11with a barn where the crew from a Spanish Armada ship was imprisoned.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Torre Abbey was founded by an ancient order of Catholic cannons
0:03:14 > 0:03:16in 1196.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20At that time, it was believed you could buy your way into heaven,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23which often lead to generous donations.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26By the end of the 15th century,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29the abbey was bringing in a staggering £1.8 million a year
0:03:29 > 0:03:33that's a quarter of a billion pounds in today's money!
0:03:33 > 0:03:39Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the mid-16th century.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Later, one of the wealthiest landowning families in Devon,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45the Careys, made the abbey their home until the 1930s.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49This important building has recently been opened to the public.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53However, the abbey is still undergoing major restoration works,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55overseen by Michael Rhodes.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It looks to me to be clad in concrete - is it?
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I'm afraid it is.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06That's hard cement, and it was put on to try and keep the damp out.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10In fact, what's happened is that it's kept the damp in.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13As a result of that, every lintel over every door and every window
0:04:13 > 0:04:16is now at the end of its life - completely rotten.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19So the wall is now becoming unstable.
0:04:19 > 0:04:20So what's the big plan?
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Well, first of all, we have to take the render off.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27That will be fascinating because of the archaeology that'll be revealed.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29There will be the mediaeval walls,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32then the Tudor building,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35then the late 18th-century building,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39then the adaptations of 1740, which is what you see today,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41and all that will be carefully recorded.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Then we will repair the stonework and put back lime render,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46which will allow the building to breathe.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Only then will we be able to go onto the roof
0:04:51 > 0:04:53and put a new lead roof up there.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55There we go.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- John...- Wow, what a view!
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Lovely, isn't it?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Fantastic vista of Torbay.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Staff have been known to come up here sunbathing.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11The whole of this roof is going to have to be replaced, is it?
0:05:11 > 0:05:15The whole thing. It's 18th century. It's patched to death.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16It's right at its end of its life.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19There's nothing we can do but replace it.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23You can see why people coming in from the sea
0:05:23 > 0:05:27couldn't fail but to notice this big house.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31- Yes.- A house that told everybody...
0:05:31 > 0:05:32Number one Torquay!
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- Yes!- Absolutely.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40And, turn this way, and we see the distant past, don't we?
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Absolutely, the mediaeval ruins of the church,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46and the chancel.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49And the founder's tomb over there.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The great boulders of stonework from the tower,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56and then the side chapels where masses were said for the dead,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59which was the whole purpose of the mediaeval abbey.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03And then, along came Henry VIII, all this was dissolved.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07The basis on which the abbey was founded, prayers for the dead,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10suddenly people didn't believe in it any more,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12and the abbey became redundant.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14And along came the Carey family, then.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The Carey family came here in 1662, yes.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Because the Careys were Catholics
0:06:20 > 0:06:23at a time when it was a dangerous thing to be,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26did they have hiding places in the house?
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Well, there are stories of a priest hole.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Where do you think this priest hole might be?
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Well, there's a record of a supposed priest hole
0:06:33 > 0:06:35in one of the ground-floor rooms.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I don't know if that's what it is, but we've arranged for some builders
0:06:39 > 0:06:41to uncover it today.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43So, a secret might be revealed?
0:06:43 > 0:06:44- It might be.- Intriguing!
0:06:44 > 0:06:49The search is being supervised by archaeology officer Hal Bishop.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- Can you feel the stone behind?- No.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Hello, Hal. Come at a good time, have we?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- I think you've come at a very good time.- Have you seen this drawing?
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Yes, it's an intriguing drawing -
0:07:02 > 0:07:05it shows what we believe may well be a priest hole here.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10At least, that's what they thought when they drew this 70 years ago.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Inevitably, there are more legends than ones that actually exist,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15which is why this is rather an exciting moment.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19- So, what's your hunch? - Let's wait and see.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Is it just the stud, or is it something else?
0:07:27 > 0:07:29What will be behind this wall?
0:07:37 > 0:07:38- Ah.- Ah!
0:07:38 > 0:07:40What do you make of that, then?
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Well, whatever that was, priest hole or fireplace,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47it's been infilled...
0:07:47 > 0:07:48With brick.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52But the mystery of whether or not this was a priest hole remains.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54For the moment, it does.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01The Careys built up one of the largest private art collections
0:08:01 > 0:08:03in the south-west of England.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06It's in the process of being moved
0:08:06 > 0:08:08so that vital restoration works can take place.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Several members of the Carey family still live in the area
0:08:13 > 0:08:15and one who remembers coming here as a child
0:08:15 > 0:08:17is Caroline Davey.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Your family has had connections with this abbey for centuries.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Yes, they lived here from about 1600, I think.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29My mother was brought up as a child here.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32In fact, I've got some photographs of when they moved here.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Where's your mother in this one?
0:08:34 > 0:08:36That's my mother.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39My Aunt Winifred, my grandmother.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45And, um... That's my mother sitting on the wall.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And my grandfather and my grandmother,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52and I think that is either Aunt Millie or the old nurse.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54I think it was probable Aunt Millie.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57What stories have you heard about the family
0:08:57 > 0:08:59over the years here?
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Oh, wonderful stories.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06My grandmother would never sleep here because it was so badly haunted.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11When she moved here she said she would have to sleep in Torquay,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13and she never slept a night here.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16How many ghosts were there supposed to be?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- Oh, the place is full of ghosts! - Really?!
0:09:19 > 0:09:23There's a wonderful story about one of the old Lady Careys, who,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27when she died, was so upset that she was giving up going to parties
0:09:27 > 0:09:31that you can hear her carriage going along the path there,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33as she's going off to her parties.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36But you've never seen a ghost here?
0:09:36 > 0:09:38No, but I find the Spanish barn really creepy.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41- The where?- The Spanish barn.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I mean, that has a very nasty feel to it.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52This is perhaps the spookiest place in the abbey.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56It was built more than 800 years ago and is known as a Spanish barn
0:09:56 > 0:10:02because during the Spanish Armada, 397 crew members from one of the galleons
0:10:02 > 0:10:06captured by Sir Francis Drake were incarcerated in here.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08They faced starvation.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Eventually, a Spanish nobleman came up with enough money for a ransom,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14and they were set free.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18I've found it fascinating
0:10:18 > 0:10:23to learn about this piece of history that is now open to all of us.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30Back on our heritage trail, we're now headed 40 miles west to Maristow,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32to see how their gardens grow.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38Now, I'm sure, Craven estate has its own walled garden, John.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43We do, actually. We have a stone wall around our small garden.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- Well, I love a good walled garden. - I do.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48And, of course, they were great barometers
0:10:48 > 0:10:50in terms of the success of their owner.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53The owner would take great pride in showing his guests
0:10:53 > 0:10:55around the walled garden.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- As indeed I do.- Do you have a head gardener that you do that with?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Is that Mrs Craven?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Yes, it is.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Maristow House is an 18th-century mansion, just north of Plymouth.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15Like many other great houses, it does have its own walled garden.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Landscape gardener Jenny TunleyPrice stumbled upon it
0:11:18 > 0:11:21while working at the house.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Despite being overgrown and with crumbling buildings, Jenny set about bringing it back to life.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28With the help of a range of groups,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33she hopes to highlight the merits of growing your own produce,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36and bring back heritage varieties of fruit and vegetables.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39I was designing a garden at Maristow House.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41One day, the builder and I came across a problem
0:11:41 > 0:11:43that we needed to think about.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48I decided to come for a walk and just have a jolly good think.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51As I did so, I came through the woods here with the dogs
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and came through the archway at the glasshouse over there,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56and all the hairs on the back of my neck went up.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00I thought, "Oh, goodness, this must be the walled garden from Maristow."
0:12:04 > 0:12:08The aim of what we're trying to do here is to restore the gardens
0:12:08 > 0:12:12to full productivity using different community projects.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Some of the people helping Jenny is this group doing community service.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20It was really interesting, working with the young people on the community task force.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24They were largely made up of a group of young people
0:12:24 > 0:12:28from a social background that I'd never had anything to do with.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31They wanted a chance to be able to prove themselves.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33They want to work, and that fired me up.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36The more I got involved, the more determined I became
0:12:36 > 0:12:38that this was what we should be doing with this garden.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43One of the major projects that will be running once the place is a little bit safer
0:12:43 > 0:12:47is a horticultural therapy project for injured servicemen.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50It's nice to hear that they're helping traumatised people
0:12:50 > 0:12:53with rehabilitation, which is nice to hear.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56They're trying to get the funding for that.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Today, there's lots of other people who have come volunteering as well.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03The training here is not just about food and growing.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06We look at heritage-building skills, traditional building skills,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09traditional joinery, masonry and so on.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11What I'm really keen to do
0:13:11 > 0:13:15is to show that anybody can grow an apple tree against a wall or fence.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18You can have the tiniest garden and still produce your own fruit.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22You can have a balcony and still produce really good vegetables.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26So, we've been growing heritage varieties of beans here,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30showing people that they're just as easy to grow as supermarket ones.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33The difference is, they taste fantastic.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34Mm, very fresh.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38I love the way they actually smell cold.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43I've always thought that it's really nice to become self sustained anyway.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I kind of think that's what she's doing on a bigger scale,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and she's trying to grow all of this fresh produce and help people
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and put it back into the community, and teach other people
0:13:52 > 0:13:56how to grow their own vegetables and become more self sustained.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00I think it's great as a county to be able to do that.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04I'd love to be able to take this historic structure
0:14:04 > 0:14:08and rather than preserve it in aspic as "this is what they did in 1860",
0:14:08 > 0:14:11I want to prove that places like this can be really useful
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and beneficial in the wider community.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22JULES: Marching on now. We're on our way to the coast at Brixham,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24an hour from here.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28So many of the things that are at risk now
0:14:28 > 0:14:30are relics of our military past.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Particularly the Second World War.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35People tend to forget the south-west's role,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38but actually, it played more of a part than many people realise.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43There are relics it all over the place IF you know where to look.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Along the south coast of England,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52boatloads of battered troops were pouring onto the quayside.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58In the midst of the Dunkirk disaster, Churchill was convinced that a German invasion was imminent.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Having hailed the Dunkirk rescue as a "miracle of deliverance",
0:15:02 > 0:15:04he was determined to strengthen Britain's position.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09Additional coastal defence batteries were hastily built the length of the country.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Let's pop down into this one here.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15This is the entrance to number two gun position.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Here at Brixham, retired Army officer Robbie Robinson
0:15:19 > 0:15:23has lead the charge in setting up a heritage group to preserve the battery.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- Now, you said this was number two. - Yes.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Let's walk down the hill and see what else you've got. It's fascinating.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The second gun is a relic from the First World War,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37installed in the hope that just maybe it'd be of some use.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43And there we are at the six-pounder Hotchkiss gun position.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49- Oh, now, then, the business end of the operation, Robbie.- Yes.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53This was designed and built in, what, 1880s?
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Dragged out of a museum for 1940.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59And your lovely replica here really does give this room
0:15:59 > 0:16:03a whole other feel, doesn't it? Does everything... Oh, it moves!
0:16:03 > 0:16:09- Yes, yes. And here's the shell. So, you can put the shell in.- Lovely.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11So, that's going to go in the breech.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Shove that up there. And then pull the breech.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17And you're now ready.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Ready to fire down there.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25But remember, the Luftwaffe launched 50 air raids on Torbay.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27They would come in as two dots above the horizon.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Somebody in the battery with binoculars would see them coming in, focus on them.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33From the moment you first saw them,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36to the moment they're above your head, you have 9.5 seconds.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39In those 9.5 seconds, the anti-aircraft weapons,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43which we had above the main guns, would aim and then fire.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Very often, they had to fire down
0:16:45 > 0:16:48because the guns are placed 160 feet above sea level,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and the German aircraft were coming in 30 feet above sea level.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- So these guns could come into action? - They might, as an anti-aircraft weapon.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- It would be a lucky hit, though, wouldn't it?- Very lucky, yes.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06With a recent grant, Robbie and his enthusiastic squad of re-enactors,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10have got their museum shipshape and open to the public
0:17:10 > 0:17:12as an educational resource.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Well, this looks like the place I'm looking for. Hi, guys. How are you?
0:17:17 > 0:17:21We've got the Paratroop Regiment, the Americans have turned up.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Mr Churchill, keeping up morale?
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Yes. If you go through that door there, you'll find our museum.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I shall do as ordered, sir. Absolutely. Right.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Now, this is my kind of place. Look at it!
0:17:36 > 0:17:40It's packed to the rafters with all manner of memorabilia.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Local film-maker Ashley Wing
0:17:43 > 0:17:47used many of the artefacts in a film he made about the Second World War.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49The proceeds have gone back into the centre.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Once the film was done and we screened it,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56and it went to film festivals, we used it in the archive building,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00and we had DVDs there for people to donate, you know.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04It was like a donation thing, and it's done really well.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08How important do you think this place is in terms of the local community?
0:18:08 > 0:18:13It obviously played a very practical role 70 years ago, but what's its role now?
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I guess the primary thing that it does is educate people -
0:18:16 > 0:18:19it carries on that message and that knowledge,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21which is very, very important -
0:18:21 > 0:18:24you know, what happened during the war,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and all those kind of things.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32I guess the main thing it does do is it brings the community together.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35It is about getting people involved in doing something.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Of all the heritage sites I've been to, this is the most impressive, and I'm not biased!
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Not at all, no!
0:18:44 > 0:18:48What a great bunch of Heritage Heroes!
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Now we're travelling 45 minutes north-west to Tavistock.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56Did you ever want to be an engine driver when you were growing up?
0:18:56 > 0:18:58I don't think I did, actually.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02- Steam engines and all that. - No, no. I like steam.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07You know, and I'm old enough to remember steamrollers
0:19:07 > 0:19:09on my way home from school.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14I can remember seeing steamrollers laying new tarmac on the road.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16They're a lovely sight.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I've only seen them in shows and museums, but there's something about them - they're alive.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23And they certainly revolutionised agriculture, didn't they?
0:19:23 > 0:19:26The steam engine, the steam plough.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31There's something special about those old steam engines.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37During the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40steam power changed for ever the way the nation worked.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Here in Tavistock,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53design and technology lecturer David Davies is doing all he can
0:19:53 > 0:19:56to give our engineering heritage a future.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01And finding an old, rusting Robey engine in a park proved to be the catalyst
0:20:01 > 0:20:06for what's become an important engineering museum leading the way
0:20:06 > 0:20:09in heritage restoration training.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12It had been there for 20 years and it was totally derelict.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14I wrote to the council and said,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17"Please can I have it to restore with my students?"
0:20:17 > 0:20:19They said, "Take it," and that's when it started.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24I took it down to Plymouth and my students took it all apart, restoration started.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28The students then said, "We're enjoying this, are there any more?"
0:20:28 > 0:20:32So we acquired another engine and then another, and it grew.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37No-one had really heard of the name of Robey,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39so we made some enquiries
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and then discovered just how big this firm really was,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46with exports for over 120 years all over the world.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51As soon as we found that out, we then started to look for other Robey artefacts
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and discovered a whole range of different things that they made,
0:20:55 > 0:21:00many of which - in different sorts - we've managed to collect here.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04We get many questions from children right up to middle-aged people
0:21:04 > 0:21:06and they say, "What was this used for?"
0:21:06 > 0:21:11I can say an agricultural engine was used before the modern farm tractor.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15This steam tractor was used before lorries.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18So therefore people can very easily relate
0:21:18 > 0:21:20to everything that we have here.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Now is the time, we feel, when the youngsters, the next generation,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26ought to be taught these traditional skills,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29so that when people like myself retire, and my colleagues,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32we've got the next generation who can take on
0:21:32 > 0:21:35the care of the nation's industrial heritage.
0:21:36 > 0:21:3917-year-old steam engine fanatic Jack
0:21:39 > 0:21:42has been coming here since he was ten.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Having recently won a technical achievement award,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48he's a young man who quite literally lives and breathes engines.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51The actual mechanics behind the engines
0:21:51 > 0:21:53are really what interests me.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55The mathematics especially.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59I think it all leads back to when these engines were built.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The designers, the apprentices, they had the skills.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06All those techniques have been lost.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10I think it's important for people my age to develop those skills
0:22:10 > 0:22:13because there's no-one to show us in 50 years' time.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18I hope when I'm older that I can pass those skills on to my children.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22I think you've got to preserve our heritage in this country.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31On now to meet more Heritage Heroes
0:22:31 > 0:22:34fighting to protect this region's military history.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36This time in Totnes.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Were you in the Army, John, did you do national service?
0:22:47 > 0:22:51No, I missed national service. By quite a couple of years!
0:22:51 > 0:22:52But my dad was in the Army,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55- he was a prisoner of war with the Japanese.- Was he?
0:22:55 > 0:22:56In the Second World War.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01For three-and-a-half years, my mother didn't know whether he was alive or dead.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07My grandfather was one of the 300,000 or so that came off at Dunkirk.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09- What, in a little boat? - In one of the little ships, yeah.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17During the Second World War, the battle of Dunkirk
0:23:17 > 0:23:21left hundreds of thousands of British and Allied soldiers stranded.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Surrounded in a shrinking pocket by German troops,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Prime Minister Winston Churchill dubbed it
0:23:26 > 0:23:28"a colossal military disaster".
0:23:28 > 0:23:30An effort was launched up and down the coast.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Over 700 boats of all shapes and sizes
0:23:33 > 0:23:35were deployed in a operation
0:23:35 > 0:23:37to rescue Allied troops from the beaches.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Lady Cable is one of the plucky little ships which helped save them.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46She was the last boat out of Dunkirk.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48We've come to meet John Duffin,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52who is heading up the restoration of this historic vessel.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Once restored, this incredible piece of living history
0:23:56 > 0:23:59will take people out onto the water to learn about the significant role
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Lady Cable played on that remarkable rescue mission.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06- So this is her, then? - This is Lady Cable.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11And you can see from looking at her here how shallow she was.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- And therefore she was ideal for the beaches at Dunkirk.- Yeah.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Because she could get right in.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20So her job was to ferry troops from the beach to bigger boats?
0:24:20 > 0:24:21To bigger boats, yeah.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24She did do two trips from Dunkirk to Dover with people,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28but the rest of the time she was ferrying them to and fro.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30- Are we allowed to go on board? - Yes.- Let's have a look.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34You'd better lead the way, Skipper.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40- It's a long time since she's had one of those, I suspect.- Yes.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41Clamber over.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46- It's like the inside of a great whale, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47Amazing!
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And why is she in such a sorry state now?
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Two reasons.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57The last owner, who used her for trips, died.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01She was left swinging around in Torquay harbour and eventually sank.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02There was quite a bit of damage.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05But also, because she's going to be restored
0:25:05 > 0:25:08to the condition she was in in 1940,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12we've had to rip out everything that wasn't original on the boat.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16It's quite a moving thought to imagine this boat
0:25:16 > 0:25:19in pitch darkness off the coast of northern France,
0:25:19 > 0:25:24packed with soldiers, soaking wet, tired, cold and hungry...
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- Under fire.- Under fire, completely demoralised.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And yet this boat, which was coming to give them salvation,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33- run by civilian crews who'd never have seen anything like that.- No.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Do we know much about the crew at the time?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37What we believe happened
0:25:37 > 0:25:42is that they put on a young naval cadet called Price to skipper it,
0:25:42 > 0:25:48with two new ratings, 19, straight out of the naval college.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53He took it back and he was there for the remaining three days.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56He was the one who brought her back with the French soldiers on board.
0:25:56 > 0:26:02It'd be nice to think that when we get round to the 100th anniversary of Dunkirk, in 30 years' time,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06this boat will once again be at sea reminding people of what went on.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Hopefully on a trip to Dunkirk.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11He's itching to get going.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- As soon as you can set sail, you'll be off!- Yeah, yeah.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21Dunkirk veteran Bob Jaffery remembers the evacuation vividly.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23We just got the order through a loudspeaker,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26"We're moving out in ten minutes.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29"All you can take is what you stand up in and your greatcoat."
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Just imagine it at the time,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34these little boats spread all along the south coast of England.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38They went out on Saturday afternoons, things like that,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42and suddenly they were asked to go and bring an army back.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Well, it's unbelievable!
0:26:44 > 0:26:50A lot of them did have a lieutenant or something in the Navy in charge,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54but many of them were just civilians running them.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59I think they were marvellous. They got away thousands of men.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Without them, it wouldn't have worked at all.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08And for you, who, unlike all of us stood here, remembers Dunkirk,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12seeing the Lady Cable come back to life
0:27:12 > 0:27:13must be incredibly moving.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18Oh, yes. I want to be alive when she is launched!
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Will you get in her when she goes back to Dunkirk?
0:27:21 > 0:27:25If she goes back to Dunkirk and they'll have me, yes, I will!
0:27:29 > 0:27:31So here, Jules, we have a little ship
0:27:31 > 0:27:35that was so much at risk in its hour of glory, wasn't it,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38and then it was at risk because it had been abandoned, but now...
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Hopefully it's got a very different future.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Just think, when it finally makes that passage back to Dunkirk,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48under very different circumstances, what a moment that will be.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49Who'd have thought it?
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I've been captivated by the military history on this journey,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and I'm delighted that people are working hard to preserve it.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06But as we saw with the Lady Cable,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09it wasn't just the military striving to save lives,
0:28:09 > 0:28:11but people like you and me.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Next time we'll be reaching the end of our journey through the south-west of England.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21We'll be focusing on artistic heritage in St Ives.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23And with a fair wind,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27I'll be shown the ropes on this beautifully restored fishing boat.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30You've got a work it fast now, no messing about.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd