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Antiques Roadshow Season 48 Episode 13
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00:00Today, the Roadshow is in South Wales at the National Waterfront Museum in the busy port of Swansea.
00:14We're surrounded by the city's maritime and industrial heritage.
00:18It might surprise you to know that Swansea was once known as the Brighton of Wales.
00:23It was a bustling coastal resort.
00:25And these little swimming costumes from the Swansea Museum are the kind of things children wore in the 1920s.
00:34Just adorable. But when they were wet, because they're wool, they must have weighed a ton.
00:41And our experts are also ready to take the plunge, looking at all the treasures our visitors have brought in.
00:49Does he do anything else? He cries.
00:50Is he quite, Charlie?
00:51Six weeks later, Elton foamed the house and asked me to join his rocket record company.
01:00Wow.
01:01When did you last have it cleaned and overhauled?
01:04Never.
01:04Never.
01:06Oh, dear.
01:09What?
01:09What?
01:11Sorry.
01:12What?
01:13Sorry.
01:13Glad I cheered you up.
01:17Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow.
01:21What a beautifully constructed violin.
01:48Maple wood, late 19th century, early 20th century, beautifully made, in lovely original condition.
01:55It has to be Italian or German, surely.
02:00No, it was made in Morriston in Swansea.
02:03It's Welsh.
02:04It's Welsh.
02:06So whose violin was this?
02:08This was made by my great-great-uncle.
02:11So that's my grandfather's uncle, in his early 20s, we think.
02:17It's one of 87 instruments, and it was number 14.
02:22His signature is inside the body of the violin.
02:26And what was his name?
02:27His name was Lewis Roberts.
02:29He worked in the tin industry in Morriston, and we believe he was self-taught.
02:34He made his own tools to make the violins, and I presume in the daytime he was a tinplate worker.
02:42That is absolutely astonishing.
02:44A Welsh violin maker here in Swansea, working from his own tools, one assumes in the evening, once he gets home from a hard shift,
02:53and producing violins that are works of art.
02:58And it's very, very rare to have a Welsh violin.
03:02And there weren't many Welsh violin makers out there, were there?
03:04No, they weren't.
03:06So is this a violin that's been handed down the family to you?
03:10Is that how you come into your possession?
03:12No.
03:12Over the years, I used to see if I could find any violins that were coming up for auction,
03:17and I found one in Sweden, America, and in 2016, I came across one being sold in a music shop in Moseley in Birmingham.
03:28Brilliant.
03:29And did you explain to the seller that you were related?
03:31Oh, yes, definitely.
03:33And how did he feel about that?
03:34I think he was quite surprised that somebody from the family was now going to be an owner of one of the violins.
03:41Yeah.
03:41So, yeah, it was really good.
03:43And did it cost you a bit or a lot?
03:47Um, $765, I think, something like along that region, yeah.
03:52If it wasn't in your family, then I would have thought a museum in Wales would covet this as well as collectors.
04:00I think it's very, very special.
04:02If it came to market, and I know it's not going to,
04:05I would not be surprised to see this sale past £2,000, perhaps even £3,000.
04:14It is very rare, it's very special, and what a beautiful story.
04:18Oh, great.
04:22It just means so much to me to have one of his violins within the family again.
04:27There's no way I would ever sell it.
04:30Never, never, no, no, never sell it.
04:33This is one of the most beautifully engineered little objects in the camera world.
04:52I absolutely adore these.
04:54It's a compass camera.
04:56Where did you get it from?
04:57So our grandpa was volunteering at a charity shop, and he was 16 or 17, in about 1965, 64,
05:04and he was completely fascinated by this piece.
05:07And after it hadn't sold, he bought it for £10.
05:10After he bought it, he was, you know, interested to do it, but then didn't really know what it was,
05:15so it sat in a drawer until they were recently clearing out and came across it.
05:19Well, that's a really interesting story.
05:21That's probably why it's in such good condition, because to be honest with you,
05:24when these were made, they were extremely expensive.
05:28It's an incredible little camera, because it was designed in sort of 1936, 1937,
05:34by what I would call a maverick designer and Member of Parliament, Noel Pemberton Billing.
05:41Oh, wow.
05:42He was quite an eccentric, by all accounts.
05:44So this camera is made out of a single milled block of aluminium,
05:49and that required the use of a very good manufacturer,
05:54and that manufacturer was LeCoultre Ecy, now the company that we know as Jégère LeCoultre, watchmakers.
06:02Oh.
06:02They needed that precision engineering set of skills to make this wonderfully intricate little camera.
06:09What is it that you particularly love about it yourselves?
06:15I just think the design is just so intricate.
06:18You can imagine that it does come from a single block, and it's just...
06:21I mean, I couldn't even imagine what the different things did on it when we first were shown it.
06:25What's very interesting about this one is, in fact, if we turn it around and look at it,
06:30of course, we see here that it says compass.
06:32And what's very crucial on your camera is this number here.
06:37The serial number, one, one, one, zero, means that it is the 110th camera that they made,
06:44because the serial number started at 1,000.
06:48I don't think anyone's absolutely sure how many were made,
06:51but it's kind of said that maybe around about 4,000 were made in total.
06:55So, it has a lift-off lens cap, which is quite basic.
07:02Later models had a hinged lens cap.
07:05This has no information around the lens about what the lens is.
07:11On the later models, you'll get that.
07:13So, it's a very idiosyncratic thing to look at.
07:17I just absolutely adore it.
07:19I think if this came up for auction,
07:22this is likely to make, in the region, of about 5,000 to 8,000 pounds.
07:27Wow.
07:28Well, I can probably please.
07:29Yeah.
07:30So, that 10 shillings was a pretty good investment, wasn't it?
07:34It really was a pretty good investment.
07:36Yeah.
07:37So, the sun has come out here in Swansea.
07:54Beautiful day, beautiful gold and gem set jewels in front of us.
07:59Which bits belong to you two?
08:02So, basically, this bits belong to me and the rest of it belongs to her, my friend.
08:09Okay.
08:09And these two pieces are nose rings, is that correct?
08:12Yes, correct.
08:13Okay.
08:13And then we've got a beautiful necklace and a pair of earrings.
08:18Tell me about the history of these and how they came into your families.
08:22So, with this nose ring, it basically belongs to my grandmother.
08:25Mm-hmm.
08:26And so, it's like a tradition.
08:27Like, obviously, it came through my mother first and then it comes through daughter and
08:33then, obviously, sometimes daughter-in-law.
08:36And so, the same with you?
08:37It was passed down from...
08:38Yeah, it's passed down, but I remember the date because I, yesterday, I asked my mum and
08:42she said 1951.
08:45Yeah.
08:46The earrings and this set was 1951 and this one, she said 1947 or 46, just during or before
08:55the partition of Indian Park stuff.
08:57Okay.
08:58So, for me, rubies and pearls have the meaning of rubies for passion and pearls for eternal
09:04love.
09:05And, of course, in your culture, am I right in thinking they were known as the king of
09:09gemstones?
09:10Yes, it is.
09:11Like, in Pakistan, religiously and culturally, rubies are known, well, it's called Yakut
09:17and it's known for energy, nobility, and it signifies that, you know, you belong from
09:22some royal family.
09:24So-called.
09:27Well, I'm sure you must.
09:28Yeah, and I think each gem has different significance.
09:32Do you know who made them?
09:35So, in those times, it was local goldsmiths who used to make, but obviously known to some
09:41families.
09:42So, there's a trust issue and everything to give them money and to make it.
09:46So, it's from some of the goldsmiths.
09:48But, obviously, there's no branding or brand name in that time.
09:52No, of course.
09:53Because, during the 20th century, of course, big makers like Garrard's, Asprey's were making
09:59beautiful suites of Indian-inspired jewellery.
10:03And, of course, we can put brands on that style of jewellery, but the more traditional
10:06style, it's lovely to know that it was all made, you know, by people that the families
10:12knew.
10:13Traditionally, of course, in this style of jewellery, we would have seen, perhaps, in the early
10:19centuries, all the way through to the Victorian period, that on the reverse of some of the
10:23pieces, there would have been enamelling as well.
10:25And part of that, I understand, was a structural point of view, because we are working with
10:3122, sometimes 24 karat gold, which, of course, is very soft.
10:35So, the enamel painted on the back with beautiful imagery of flowers and things would help to
10:40strengthen the actual piece as well.
10:44So, as we know, at the moment, gold is very high in value, and that will have an impact on
10:50the value of your items.
10:51And each of the nose rings are worth between £700 and £1,000.
10:58What?
10:59What?
11:00Sorry.
11:01What?
11:02I'm sorry.
11:03Sorry.
11:04Really?
11:05Really?
11:05And as for the necklace and the earrings together, we're looking at a minimum of £6,000.
11:16OK.
11:16OK.
11:17But if they went to auction, you've got to consider the decoration, the style, the beautiful
11:22craftsmanship of each of the pieces.
11:24I think the necklace and the earrings would be in at, say, £7,000 to £9,000, and the
11:30two nose rings would be in at £800 to £1,200.
11:34Show me the moolah.
11:35Show me the moolah.
11:36Yes.
11:36Show us the moolah, please.
11:41How wonderful.
11:42Well, I'm glad I've cheered you up.
11:43You have.
11:45Yes.
11:47Brilliant.
11:47Well, thank you very much for bringing them along.
11:49Thank you so much.
11:49It's lovely to hear about them.
11:52And, yes, just enjoy wearing them.
11:56I love wearing gold jewellery.
11:58But now, since finding out the price, I'd rather sell it and save it to down payment for
12:03my house.
12:04Yeah.
12:05Correct.
12:05Correct.
12:06So, when you see a chair like this, you just know there's a story.
12:19What is it?
12:20Well, in the early 80s, we moved to a cottage, and we were very lucky to make friends with
12:26the farmer who lived over the hill, and he became a part of our family.
12:32And so, how does the chair fall into that?
12:34Well, he had this little outhouse, and in the corner, I saw this.
12:39And I said, what's that doing in your outhouse?
12:41It shouldn't be out here.
12:42It's really nice.
12:43Take it indoors.
12:44Oh, I haven't got room for it.
12:45Then I said, well, I really like that.
12:46It shouldn't be outside in an outhouse.
12:49So, two or three years later, he came along, and he quite liked a mantle clock that I had.
12:56So, he said, I've come to make a proposition.
12:59Would you like to swap the Mauritania chair for your mantle clock?
13:02So, I said, yes, please, and that's how the Mauritania chair came to live with me.
13:06And, of course, the secret is, as you've said, this label at the top, Mauritania, SS Mauritania,
13:13as it was also known, RMS Mauritania, Royal Mail Ship.
13:17She was really a remarkable ship.
13:20When she was built in 1906, she was the world's largest ship.
13:27I mean, that's quite a record to hold, isn't it?
13:29It is.
13:30And, along with that national pride, there was a lot of luxury and opulence that went hand-in-hand with it.
13:39I mean, this was over ten years before the first transatlantic flight.
13:44So, if you wanted to go to America or cross the Atlantic, this was your way of doing it.
13:49And you would do it in quite some sort of Edwardian luxury.
13:54So, little wonder there are high-quality chairs like this on board, made out of mahogany.
14:01And all of this carved decoration is machine carved.
14:05And so, in 1935, Mauritania made her final voyage to Southampton.
14:13And there, she was stripped of all her furniture, furnishings and fittings.
14:19And there was an eight-day auction.
14:22Good grief.
14:23And so, that's where your neighbour's father obviously bought it.
14:29Yes.
14:30No idea what was paid for it.
14:32No idea at all. No.
14:33But the last one I saw in auction fetched £800.
14:38Oh, right. Very good.
14:41The remarkable thing about Mauritania is that it crossed the Atlantic over 500 times.
14:48So, it's an incredibly well-travelled chair, isn't it?
14:51It is, yes.
14:52Is it travelling anywhere else now?
14:54No. No. Back upstairs on my top landing.
14:58Thank you so much for bringing it in.
15:01No problem.
15:03Well, what an interesting item this is.
15:11This letter is signed by one of the greats, as far as I'm concerned, the great Muhammad Ali.
15:17Yes.
15:18How did you get it?
15:19Well, it's given to me by my mother.
15:23She is a nurse and she came from Jamaica.
15:26My father came from Nigeria and they met in England and had four children.
15:30When my father sadly got ill in the 80s, my mother needed strength and some inspiration and obviously Muhammad Ali is such a great figure and a civil rights hero as well.
15:42So, she wrote to him and amazingly, he took the time and was kind enough to write back.
15:48So, this is the letter.
15:50And would you like to read out the letter for me?
15:52Of course.
15:53So, it's addressed to me and my siblings and it says, love to all your family, Muhammad Ali, and then it says at the bottom, service to others is the rent we pay for our room in heaven, which I love.
16:09And it's got a smiley face and the date of October, 84.
16:12They are lovely words, aren't they?
16:14They are beautiful words.
16:15Because, you know, he was a poet.
16:17He wrote lots of poems and it was a very talented man.
16:21He was an artist, a poet, a boxer.
16:22I mean, he had lots and lots of talents.
16:25This signature I've had a look at and I've seen many, many Muhammad Ali signatures and this looks absolutely genuine.
16:32But that's not all we've got here, is it?
16:33No.
16:34Because the lovely Muhammad Ali, he didn't just send you this letter, if we reveal here, because he sent you another page, didn't he?
16:41He certainly did.
16:42And look at that.
16:43All their signatures.
16:43On that page, he sent you one, two, three, four, five, six, seven copies of his signature on a separate page.
16:52That's amazing.
16:52Now, have you any idea why he might have done that?
16:55I was wondering if it's a gift to my mother to help her because he knows his signature is of value and also it's an emotional thing.
17:01I'm not too sure, really.
17:02I think you're absolutely spot on.
17:04I really do because, you know, he couldn't send money.
17:07No.
17:08That was a difficult thing for him to do.
17:10But he knew that his signatures were worth money.
17:13So sending you these signatures, he knew that your mother, if she needed money, she could cash these in.
17:19He's even left a big enough gap so that they could be cut and sold individually as well, you know, which I think just shows you the beauty of the man as well.
17:28Absolutely.
17:28I have no problem at all with the provenance on this lot.
17:33I think it's fantastic.
17:34And I'm going to be conservative here.
17:36But I would have thought two to two and a half thousand pounds for the whole lot.
17:41Right.
17:42Which I think is fantastic.
17:44Amazing.
17:44But what's even more fantastic is that I've had to see them and I've heard the story.
17:49So thank you very much for bringing it in.
17:50Oh, thank you so much.
17:51It means an awful lot to our whole family.
17:53So thank you.
17:53I think now we're going to see a specialist to frame the letter and look after it the best way because we want to keep it for many, many years to come.
18:03Our venue for today, Swansea's National Waterfront Museum, charts Wales' industry and innovation over the past 300 years.
18:19From the early 1700s, Swansea became known for its copper smelting, initially using ore imported from Cornwall.
18:34Metal ores were brought here from overseas as well.
18:37Sailors would make gruelling voyages, one route being around Chile's fearsome Cape Horn where the Atlantic meets the Pacific.
18:43The metal was smelted here and then sent back overseas and this particular ingot was rescued from a shipwreck bound for India and it would have been manufactured into copper or brass bowls or utensils.
18:59And such was Swansea's association with this metal.
19:02It became known as Copperopolis.
19:06But it wasn't just about copper.
19:07As Wales had its own valuable resource right on its doorstep in the form of coal mines.
19:17Using this so-called black gold as fuel, this, the Penny Darren, is the first documented steam locomotive on rails, built and operated out of Merthyr Tidville in 1804.
19:28The Penny Darren locomotive was built by Richard Trevithig and demonstrated for the first time that a steam engine could pull a load on rails.
19:39And his pioneering experiments and innovations were part of what became the train revolution.
19:45And this hugely impressive machine was reconstructed in the 1980s and its real favourite here in the museum.
19:51Time to get back on track and see what our experts have turned up.
20:02Hello, sir. Are you having a good antiques roadshow today?
20:05Great time. Great time.
20:07And what's your name?
20:08Charlie. Charlie. Charlie.
20:11Charlie is a ventriloquist, Dole.
20:14You brought him. How did he come into your life?
20:16He came into my life via my father.
20:18He belonged to a Pembroke Lock celebrity called Ernest James.
20:23And he purchased this doll from Gamages of London.
20:25By thinking about the 1920s,
20:28Ernie was very, very popular on the variety circuit in Pembrokeshire before and after the Second World War.
20:36He died in 1968.
20:39And it was thought that Charlie here had been buried with Ernie.
20:44But then in 1980, my father, who was a schoolteacher and a magician,
20:51happened to be talking to an old friend, Clifford.
20:54And he told Clifford, oh, of course, Charlie was buried with Ernest.
20:59And Clifford said, oh, no, he's not. He's upstairs with me.
21:03So Clifford, very kindly, gave Charlie to my father.
21:07Well, he's rather splendid, isn't he?
21:09And he's got this papier-mâché head, piercing blue eyes, which do actually move,
21:14turned-up nose, a bit straggly on the hair, but I'm not one to judge,
21:18and this rather fine tweed three-piece suit and fetching silk bow tie
21:25and almost pink and leather black boots.
21:28But, of course, being a ventriloquist doll, he can speak.
21:32And we've got this articulated mouth here with a fine set of gnashers.
21:36Yeah, yeah.
21:37And something there?
21:38Yes, that is for the cigarette.
21:40Ah, of which we don't approve.
21:41Of which we don't approve.
21:42No.
21:42Does he do anything else?
21:43He does. He actually cries.
21:45Does he?
21:45He cries, yeah.
21:46Do you cry, Charlie?
21:46Do you cry?
21:47He cries.
21:48Yeah, I cry.
21:49We're all waiting.
21:51Thanks.
21:52Yeah.
21:55Poor Charlie.
21:56Much as I hate to spoil the magic,
22:03it's a bit like the Wizard of Oz.
22:04We've drawn back the curtain.
22:05Yes.
22:05Then this is the way it all happens.
22:07And we've got two rubber plungers, like bulbs here,
22:10which you press there, and that does the...
22:12One for the smoking.
22:13And then one for the other.
22:14I'm going to stand back for this.
22:15Oh, there we are.
22:18Sorry, Charlie.
22:19I feel like we're being rather indiscreet.
22:21Ventriloquist dolls do appear at auction fairly frequently,
22:28and they're normally the sort of home ones,
22:30the people who want to play with at home
22:32and wouldn't actually see the stage.
22:34Charlie is a completely different case
22:36because he has been a professional.
22:38And that makes a difference to the value.
22:40And I think if he was to come to auction,
22:42I can see him fetching between £500 and £700.
22:46I'm not really interested in the...
22:48Well, of course, you never sell it.
22:49...financial value.
22:51But I think, historically, he's, you know, a bit of history.
22:55Absolutely.
22:56Yeah.
22:56Absolutely.
22:57Well, Charlie, it was a pleasure to meet you.
23:01Thank you, thank you very much.
23:05He's not for sale.
23:06He's not for sale.
23:07It's just, you know, he's a bit of Pembroke-Glock history.
23:11I'm going to cry.
23:15So, here we have a silver shilling,
23:24a Edwardian silver shilling,
23:26and a period photograph of a gentleman.
23:30What's the association between the two?
23:32OK, so this is my great-great-uncle, Reginald Hale,
23:36and this is his shilling.
23:40Reg emigrated to the States in his early 20s,
23:44spent seven, eight years working over there,
23:47came back to the UK because his father died,
23:51and he wanted to be with his mother.
23:55Spent the winter here,
23:56and then in the spring of 1912,
24:01he'd always intended to travel back to the States.
24:04The first opportunity he had to go back to the States
24:09was on the Titanic.
24:12Reg boarded the Titanic.
24:14It didn't make it.
24:16He was found.
24:18The decision was made to bury him at sea.
24:22What was actually sent back were the effects
24:25that were in his pocket on his possession,
24:28and this shilling is one of those items.
24:35I actually checked on the Titanic register
24:37after speaking to you earlier
24:39and found Reg there,
24:40and he was body number 75.
24:43He was picked up on the second day,
24:45and there's very, very extensive lists
24:47of what were found on the bodies,
24:49and it says that he had 16 shillings,
24:53$10 note, gloves, a purse, and some keys,
24:57and they presumably were then returned to his mother.
25:03Yeah, yeah, as far as I'm aware,
25:04everything would have gone to her,
25:06and then that shilling
25:08has subsequently been sent to my great-grandfather.
25:12Do you know what happened to the rest of his effects?
25:16No, and this is what remains a bit of a mystery.
25:19I'm wondering if his effects
25:21were then kind of potentially divvied up
25:24between the siblings.
25:24Between the family.
25:25Because he had 11 surviving brothers and sisters,
25:29so it's a big family.
25:31What is really important, obviously,
25:32is that we have a cast-iron provenance
25:34as to where this shilling came from
25:36and who it belonged to,
25:37and obviously you have that.
25:39If it were to come up the sale at auction,
25:41I'm fairly certain it would have
25:43a sale estimate of $10,000 to $15,000,
25:46and it would make that quite comfortably.
25:48Gosh.
25:49Just, yeah, for something that in itself
25:51is seemingly so insignificant,
25:54that's incredible.
25:56And obviously there's more of them out there
25:58because he had 16 shillings on his body
26:00when he was recovered.
26:01So perhaps there are other members of your family,
26:03perhaps, however distant,
26:05do have these things.
26:07I'd love to know where they were
26:08and whether there's more little envelopes like that
26:10out there.
26:11But, yeah, we just haven't found out about yet.
26:13Well, you never know.
26:25I know that's a First World War pair
26:27and a memorial plaque.
26:30What I don't know is the connection
26:32between the doll and the medals.
26:35The medals belonged to my great-uncle,
26:38Edward Joseph Brouford.
26:40He was born in 1894 in Cornwall.
26:42In 1914, he enlisted into the 134th Cornish Heavy Battery Battalion
26:51and was sent to East Africa.
26:53My nan was born in 1912.
26:56He made this for my nan.
26:58But as far as far as we know, they never met.
27:02Oh, wow.
27:03He unfortunately died in East Africa in 1917.
27:08Do we know how it got back?
27:11We're not sure.
27:12Probably pigeon post.
27:14OK.
27:14Not sure.
27:15Well, it's a jolly strong pigeon.
27:17Yeah.
27:17Well, it's lovely because he's made it
27:20and he's drawn in the First World War uniform
27:25and even down to the puttees,
27:27which is a wrapped cotton round it.
27:29I'm interested in what it's made out of.
27:33What do you think it's made out of?
27:35I thought it was made from a knapsack.
27:38Yeah, I don't think so because that's very light material.
27:42I think it's made out of a shirt
27:44and I bet my bottom dollar it wasn't his shirt,
27:47it was probably somebody else's shirt he borrowed for the occasion.
27:51The fact they never met is really quite touching.
27:54Yeah, never ever met and my nan kept that all of her life
27:57and it's been passed now to my father.
27:59So, of course, you've got the medals
28:01and that's the victory medal.
28:03Round about 5.7 million of those issued.
28:07And this is the, people call it the death penny.
28:11It's a memorial plaque.
28:13Anybody who lost their lives, this was presented
28:16and I know you've got the original box for it.
28:19So, got to put a value on them.
28:23First World War pair and memorial plaque.
28:27Round about £250.
28:30Oh, right.
28:31I wasn't expecting that.
28:32I think if you sort of added the doll
28:34and the story, which is really wonderful,
28:38I think if you went to an auction and a collector,
28:40because it's the sort of thing they would love,
28:42I think you could put that up to about £500.
28:45Wow, I wasn't expecting that.
28:46I mean, but it's, what a fantastic story.
28:50And it's just so sad they never met.
28:52Very sad.
28:52Thank you very much for bringing this in
29:06because this is by Will Evans, a very local artist.
29:10So, how did you find it?
29:11A friend of ours some time ago rung us and said,
29:14do you know there's a painting of your house
29:17in an auction room in Cardiff?
29:20So, we went along and viewed it the day that viewing was
29:24and thought, oh, we'd have to have this.
29:27Of course you did.
29:29Do you still live there?
29:30Yes.
29:31Fantastic.
29:32And does it look like this?
29:33It doesn't look like this now
29:35because we've converted part of the barns
29:37into living accommodation.
29:40And it is a different colour
29:43because my father used to tell me
29:46that it was painted that colour during the war.
29:49So, they were not allowed to whitewash the houses.
29:52Is that right?
29:52It was always whitewashed when I was a boy growing up.
29:54Yeah.
29:55But I've never seen it that colour.
29:58It's rather nice, actually.
29:59And he's created it with that lovely kind of reddish palette,
30:03hasn't he, to match.
30:04And I rather like the corrugated iron panels,
30:07some of which are rusted.
30:09Do you remember those?
30:09I remember the corrugated roof.
30:11Do you?
30:11Yes, yes, as a boy growing up.
30:12Absolutely wonderful.
30:13Now, Will Evans is not only a Welsh artist,
30:16but he's actually local to Swansea.
30:18He was born in the 1880s
30:20and was working in the first half of the 20th century.
30:24Most of the views he does are of the Gower Peninsula.
30:27Yes.
30:27But he also, you're mentioning the war,
30:30he did a series of watercolours
30:32which are in the Glynth Bivian Art Collection.
30:33I have seen them, yes.
30:35Absolutely.
30:35And he was right in Swansea in 1941
30:38when they had the Blitz.
30:40Yeah.
30:40And he recorded these astonishing watercolours
30:43of the aftermath.
30:45Has your family always lived there?
30:48The first Jones would have been
30:50my great-great-grandfather to live there.
30:53And you farm the same land?
30:54And I'm still farming the same land, yes.
30:56You must have been so delighted when you found this.
30:58Oh, yes, yeah.
31:01At auction, I would say
31:03an estimate of something in the region
31:05of £1,000 to £1,500.
31:07Lovely.
31:07Thank you very much.
31:10I still keep a keen eye on the auction house
31:12where I bought this painting
31:13just in case another painting of our house comes up
31:16and I will be there like a shot.
31:28Well, I spotted you
31:30from all the way across there.
31:31You've got Vivian Westwood boots on.
31:33Yes, I do.
31:35So they date from her first collection
31:37with Malcolm McLaren,
31:38which would be the Pirate Collection,
31:401981, 1982,
31:41the first World's End collection.
31:43Dare I ask how much you paid for them?
31:45About £40.
31:46Wow.
31:47So were you pleased with that at the time?
31:48At the time, I thought that was quite a lot.
31:50Probably sort of £300 or £400 now.
31:53Wow.
31:53Wow.
31:54Thanks for wearing them in today.
31:58Oh, I wasn't expecting to see that.
32:05And who did it belong to?
32:06My great-grandfather.
32:07Why did he need it?
32:09He worked in a sweet factory
32:10and he had an accident with the machinery.
32:13So he lost these fingers
32:15and he just did the thumb.
32:17It's actually beautifully made, isn't it?
32:19This leather and all the stitching
32:22and then these movable, articulated fingers
32:26carved out of wood.
32:28That would have transformed somebody's life, wouldn't it?
32:31Yes.
32:31So of tremendous value in that respect.
32:33Yes.
32:38So I brought this very large picture
32:40of old Egyptian photographs
32:41that were given to my dad when he was a child.
32:44He's now getting on for 17.
32:45It's been in the attic for the last 60 years.
32:47So we just want to come and find out
32:50a bit more about it, really,
32:51because we don't know much about it at all.
32:59When I heard that an Egyptian photograph album
33:02was coming in,
33:03I had no idea that it was going to be one this size.
33:07It is absolutely enormous.
33:10And the photographs in it
33:11are just absolutely so special
33:13and so historic.
33:15Look at this wonderful view
33:16of Shepherd's Hotel in Cairo.
33:18Very famous hotel.
33:20Agatha Christie, I think,
33:21mentions it in one of her books.
33:23So, where did it come from?
33:26So it actually belongs to my dad.
33:28Right.
33:28He's had it since he was about 80 years old.
33:30He's now coming up to 70
33:32and it's spent most of its life in our attic.
33:34But he was given it
33:36by a brother and sister
33:38who ran our local pub
33:39in our village back in Pembrokeshire.
33:41And one day he got quite ill.
33:43And to make him feel better,
33:45they sent this down to the farm.
33:46I think that's a terrible thing to do.
33:48This is so heavy.
33:49You couldn't possibly handle this.
33:50Could you?
33:51I think it would have crushed him
33:53a little bit in the bed, to be honest.
33:55Yes.
33:56But it's a lovely album.
33:57I mean, it doesn't date from your father.
34:00It doesn't really, I don't suppose,
34:02dates from the pub, really.
34:03But this is sort of 1860s, 1870s.
34:06OK.
34:07The photographers were all going to places
34:09where people wanted to buy photographs from
34:11or wanted to see photographs of.
34:13And so the Grand Tour,
34:14and Egypt, of course,
34:15was the sort of more or less
34:16the end of the Grand Tour.
34:19These are absolutely stunning.
34:21And there's the picture of everybody climbing up
34:23because the pyramids were all raw.
34:26They hadn't been restored
34:27or anything happened to them.
34:28So you could actually climb up
34:29and you had to climb up block by block.
34:32And there are all these people here.
34:34And then on the other side,
34:35all the relieved people
34:36are coming down the other side here.
34:39And when you come to the views of Karnak,
34:44the photographer reveals himself
34:46because each of these is actually signed
34:49A. Beato, Antonio Beato of Egypt.
34:53And they're absolutely wonderful photographs.
34:57These particularly large ones
34:59are very, very desirable.
35:01And the fact is that they are so unfaded
35:04is incredible.
35:06Have you been to Egypt?
35:08No, never been, but...
35:09Does this give you a...
35:10Yeah, I feel like we want to now
35:12after looking through all these photos.
35:15So we've got, what, 200 pages
35:17and sort of two or three photographs
35:20on some of them.
35:21But the big ones,
35:22which are the ones that I consider
35:23to be the most desirable,
35:25the most valuable,
35:26I suppose about half of them
35:28would be on single pages.
35:31I think it would be cheap
35:33if it came in under £10,000.
35:36OK.
35:36Wow.
35:37Right.
35:38OK.
35:38Your dad wasn't expecting that.
35:40Definitely not, no.
35:41You're going to tell him, are you?
35:42Well, I bet I had, I think, yeah.
35:44Well, I think that's lovely.
35:45Well, such an excitement
35:46and thank you very much
35:47for bringing it in.
35:48Thank you very much.
35:49Yes.
35:50Great.
35:50Some of our visitors come
35:56with stories of meeting
35:57their childhood heroes
35:58and Chris Yeo is thrilled
36:00to meet a former child star
36:02who's given his big break
36:04by a music icon.
36:06One of Sir Elton John's
36:08best love songs is Rocket Man.
36:12You were the Rocket Boy.
36:14Yes.
36:15Tell me more.
36:16So in 1973,
36:17I sent a tape of some songs
36:18I'd written to Radio 1.
36:20They asked me up to do a session
36:21and six weeks later,
36:22Elton John phoned the house
36:23in Brinhover, just up the road
36:25and asked me to join
36:26his new record company,
36:27Rocket Records.
36:28So you've, obviously,
36:30since childhood,
36:30you've had an interest in music.
36:32What happened?
36:33What's the back story?
36:34So I just started writing songs,
36:35borrowed my brother's guitar,
36:36started writing my own songs
36:37and one of his friends
36:38suggested I send it to Radio 1,
36:40a late night show.
36:40I'd never heard the show
36:41because it was past my bedtime.
36:43And you signed to his record label,
36:45Rocket Records.
36:45Yeah.
36:46They'd only formed that year.
36:47They had formed.
36:48Me and Kiki T,
36:49I think were one of the first signatures
36:50on that record company list.
36:52He was actually on tour
36:53on the first day I was recording,
36:54but he still found time
36:55to send me a telegram.
36:57Oh, let's have a look at this.
36:58GPO, greetings telegram.
37:00Maldwin Pope,
37:01very best wishes
37:02for your recordings.
37:04Love, Elton.
37:05Isn't that fantastic?
37:06He always had trouble
37:07with my name.
37:08He actually called me
37:09Madwin there.
37:10And for a long time
37:11he used to call me Blodwin,
37:12Blodwin Pig,
37:13because it was a bandit.
37:13But eventually
37:14he got the name right.
37:16And I can see
37:17there's a Christmas card
37:18here as well.
37:19Got this Christmas card
37:20on the day
37:20of the first
37:21Hammersmith Odeon gig.
37:22Just open it up.
37:25Oh, you've got your name
37:25right here.
37:25To Maldwin,
37:26happy Christmas
37:27to our newest superstar.
37:29Lots of love,
37:30E-H-J.
37:31That's Elton.
37:33Hercules.
37:33John.
37:34And then in brackets,
37:35Sir.
37:35But of course
37:36he wasn't Sir in 1970.
37:36No, but he was my boss.
37:38So he was Sir to you.
37:38I had to call him Sir.
37:41The lovely thing was
37:42I went to his big
37:43Christmas concert
37:44at the Hammersmith Odeon
37:45and afterwards
37:46there was a party
37:46and Elton knew
37:47that I collected autographs.
37:49So he took me around
37:50to meet everybody
37:50who was at the party.
37:52So we had people like,
37:53well, Mickey Dillon's
37:54from The Monkees.
37:54He was fast asleep
37:55on a cushion.
37:56Elton had to wake him up.
37:57And at the bar
37:58was Ringo Starr.
37:59So Elton got everybody's
38:00autograph in my autograph book.
38:02This is one of my
38:03favourite autographs.
38:04Best wishes to our
38:06next star, Elton John.
38:09Isn't that lovely?
38:09And then at the party itself,
38:11let's have a quick look.
38:12So we had,
38:13well, that's Brian Ferry.
38:14That's Brian Ferry
38:15with his Gabbertine coat on.
38:17Ringo Starr.
38:18Amazing.
38:19Yeah, it was fantastic.
38:21So 1973,
38:22you're signed
38:23to the record label.
38:24You release a record?
38:26We released a single
38:26in March of 1974.
38:28My parents
38:29were both teachers.
38:30They said,
38:31can we put the album
38:31released back to the summertime
38:32when you've got
38:33those long holidays?
38:35The trouble was
38:35my voice broke
38:36in the meantime.
38:37The album never got released.
38:38Oh, no.
38:39Yeah.
38:40Oh, dear.
38:40Except 50 years later.
38:42Mm-hmm.
38:43So I got in touch
38:44with Elton
38:45on my 50th anniversary
38:46of signing to the record company
38:47and I said,
38:48do you mind if I have
38:48my tapes and songs back?
38:50And he said,
38:51yes.
38:51And I've even had the chance
38:52to do a duet
38:53to do a duet
38:53with my 13-year-old self,
38:54which is very strange.
38:56And I've got to ask,
38:56are you still in contact
38:57with Elton John?
38:58Yeah, I mean,
38:59I sent him this album
39:00and I got a lovely card back,
39:02a Cartier card,
39:03I should say,
39:04with a golden crocodile
39:04at the top of it,
39:06just saying,
39:06bravo,
39:07keep going,
39:07sort of thing.
39:08So he's been
39:08a remarkable part of my life,
39:10a massive part of my life
39:11and maybe I've been
39:12a small part of his.
39:14I think so.
39:15And Elton John found
39:16this unique collection,
39:17I think,
39:18is going to fetch
39:19£2,000 to £3,000.
39:22Oh, wow!
39:24What do you think of that?
39:26Oh, that's terrific.
39:28Obviously,
39:29it's going to stay in the van.
39:30Of course it is.
39:39Ben Rogers-Jones,
39:40you are our specialist
39:41in all things Welsh
39:42and he brought along
39:43three items
39:44which we have to rank
39:45in order of value.
39:46Three completely different things.
39:48What have they all got in common?
39:49Well, these can all be deemed
39:51small Welsh vernacular furniture
39:54and they're all very local
39:55to Swansea,
39:56all made from around
39:57the same period
39:58which would be 1780
40:00to about 1810.
40:03Let's start with a chair then.
40:05So this is called
40:05a stick-back chair,
40:06a Welsh stick-back chair
40:08or sometimes stick chair.
40:09What's amazing
40:10is that this is
40:11200 years old
40:12yet there's no screws,
40:13there's no nails,
40:14it's all joined wood
40:15yet it's a remarkable survivor.
40:18So you've got this triangular seat
40:20which is in elm
40:21and then the structure around it
40:24and beneath it
40:24is in ash.
40:25really, really beautifully crafted
40:27with limited resources.
40:29It is.
40:29It's a beautiful thing
40:30I have to say.
40:31And what about this piece of furniture here then?
40:33So that's called a coffer-bagh.
40:36Coffer of course is
40:37another word for chest,
40:38mule chest, blanket chest.
40:40Bach is the Welsh word for small
40:42and coffer-baghs were unique to Wales.
40:46There wasn't any other region of the UK
40:49producing chests of these type of proportions.
40:53They were used to store your valuable items.
40:56What about this table here,
41:00well-worn as I can see?
41:02This is in Sycamore.
41:04Again, using local materials,
41:06local wood,
41:07it's called a cricket table
41:09which is an intriguing name
41:10and there are lots of theories
41:11about why it's called a cricket table
41:13and one theory that I love
41:15is that it has this circular top
41:17which is the ball,
41:19three legs,
41:21the stumps
41:21and then three stretchers
41:23which could be the bales
41:24but I think that's a rural myth.
41:28And what values are we talking?
41:29I would put 800 to 1,000 on the basic.
41:33On the better, 1,500,
41:36maybe nudging towards 2,000
41:39and then the best,
41:40I would be comfortably saying
41:43£4,500.
41:46Any ideas?
41:49Oh, um,
41:51I have a feeling that the best item
41:53is probably the coffer.
41:55The fact that it's smaller
41:56and that it's unique to
41:58Welsh culture makes it
42:01more valuable
42:02because it's going to be harder
42:04to find something like it.
42:06OK.
42:07Do you agree with that?
42:08I guess so.
42:09I also think maybe the chair
42:10because it seems more finicky
42:11to, like, make and survive.
42:13The chair is...
42:14I think the chair is gorgeous, actually.
42:17Got a view?
42:19I think it's similar
42:19but I'd switch the chair
42:21and the kofferbach.
42:22I think the kofferbach
42:23would be a bit more
42:24because it's got, like,
42:25the colour patina of it.
42:26It is a beautiful thing, isn't it?
42:29I'm slightly...
42:30Go on, one last option.
42:32Basic the koffer,
42:33table better,
42:35chair best.
42:36Oh, so you think
42:36the koffer is the basic?
42:37Mm.
42:38The chest.
42:39Oh!
42:39I'm almost more confused now
42:42than before.
42:46The one thing I feel certain about
42:47and I'm going to feel
42:48a complete fool if I'm wrong
42:49is that this is the basic.
42:51I'm going to say
42:52basic, better, best.
42:56Yes, there's quite a lot of nodding.
42:57OK.
42:59The chair is the best.
43:00Yes!
43:01Well done, everybody!
43:04And, um...
43:05And one of you in the audience
43:08got it spot on,
43:10the lady in red over there.
43:12Congratulations.
43:13Well done.
43:13So the basic is the koffer.
43:16Oh!
43:18Not because it's basic
43:19but because the market
43:21has just waned a little bit
43:23from about ten years ago
43:24when they were really flying.
43:25The cricket tables
43:28have just...
43:29Probably saw their peak
43:31about five or six years ago
43:33and they're just plateaued.
43:35They're selling well.
43:36The great thing about these
43:37is they're so practical.
43:39And what's lovely
43:40about this particular table,
43:41it's in Sycamore
43:41which is very rare.
43:43But the chairs,
43:45they're just so wonderful.
43:46And I don't feel like
43:48they're there to be sat on anymore.
43:50These are sculptural items.
43:52They're works of art.
43:53You know,
43:54they're things of beauty
43:55that can sit in the corner
43:57of your kitchen,
43:58your parlour
43:58or your living room
43:59and just be.
44:01They're just wonderful things.
44:03Well, I love the chair,
44:04I have to say,
44:05so I'm thrilled
44:05that that is the best.
44:07Ben, thank you very much.
44:08Thank you very much.
44:21So here we've got
44:22a beautiful red leather box
44:24with gorgeous gold tooling around it,
44:26which when we open up
44:28has, of course,
44:29the name Cartier in the lid.
44:32And in the box
44:33is this beautiful gold,
44:36diamond and ruby set owl brooch.
44:38How did this fly into your house?
44:41Well, it was my grandmother's
44:42and she passed it down to me.
44:44I've had it for about 15 years.
44:46Obviously, I know it's something special,
44:47but I don't really know much else about it.
44:49OK.
44:51Of course,
44:51Cartier is a very important jewellers.
44:54It was founded by
44:55Louis-Francois Cartier in 1847
44:58and has become the renowned jewellers
45:00that we know today.
45:02And the little red box as well
45:03is so important
45:04in establishing the brand.
45:07Also,
45:08the brooch on the reverse
45:10is signed Cartier
45:11and is also numbered
45:13so we know that it is
45:15the genuine article.
45:16It is absolutely stunning.
45:19The designs became really popular
45:21in the 1940s and the 1950s
45:23off the back of the designer
45:24Jeanne Toussaint,
45:26who introduced the panther
45:27or cat jewellery
45:28as people came to know it.
45:30And people just loved
45:32anything to do with animals.
45:34I mean,
45:34we have the likes of
45:35Grace Kelly,
45:37Duchess of Windsor,
45:38all having beautiful
45:40animal jewellery
45:41in their collections.
45:43This little chap
45:44is so quirky though,
45:45isn't he?
45:45I mean,
45:45he's got his little nightcap.
45:48He's got his little lantern
45:50leading the way,
45:51protecting.
45:52It's just such a beautiful
45:54subject matter.
45:56Tell me a bit more
45:57about your grandmother.
45:58Was she a vivacious character?
46:00Was she fun to be around?
46:02She was lots of fun.
46:03She had a wicked sense of humour.
46:05Yeah.
46:05And we watched
46:05Antiques Road together
46:06every Sunday
46:07and did the Times Crossword
46:09together.
46:10So, of course,
46:11value-wise,
46:13if this was going to
46:14come up at auction,
46:15which I'm sure it won't,
46:16because you love it so much,
46:18the value would be
46:19between £6,000
46:20and £8,000.
46:21Well,
46:22that's a lot of money,
46:23isn't it?
46:27I'm slightly overwhelmed
46:28at the moment,
46:29but, yeah,
46:29it's amazing.
46:30It's amazing
46:31that it's worth that much.
46:32But, like I said,
46:33I have no intention
46:34of selling it.
46:35It's going to stay with us
46:36for a long, long time.
46:37We're planning a special edition
46:50of the Antiques Roadshow
46:51for 2026,
46:52looking back at the life
46:54and legacy
46:54of Her Majesty,
46:55Queen Elizabeth II,
46:57through a selection
46:58of personal
46:59and historic objects.
47:00I had to make
47:02the buttonholes
47:02and I remember
47:03seeing Princess Elizabeth
47:05wearing that dress
47:07that I'd worked on
47:08and she looked
47:09absolutely wonderful.
47:11We'll reflect on
47:12her remarkable reign
47:14decade by decade
47:15in what would have been
47:17her centenary year.
47:18It is such an iconic image
47:22made of Lego.
47:25So if you've got
47:26a cherished item
47:27and a story to tell,
47:29we'd love to hear from you.
47:31For more details,
47:32visit our website
47:33at bbc.co.uk
47:35slash
47:36antiquesroadshow.
47:48So,
47:49this one is something
47:51that you wear yourself
47:52or not?
47:52I do often.
47:54It works beautifully.
47:55It's an automatic.
47:56Pick it up
47:57and it starts immediately.
47:58So tell me about
47:59the history.
48:00I see it is interesting
48:01that it was purchased
48:02in 1959
48:04in Aden,
48:05this particular
48:06jeweller here.
48:07That's right.
48:07Aden down near
48:08the mouth of the Red Sea.
48:10Yep.
48:10Down in the Middle East.
48:12And of course,
48:13Omega is actually
48:14a Swiss product.
48:15That's right.
48:16My late husband
48:16was in the RAF
48:18and was in Aden
48:18and this is something
48:20that he bought
48:21and brought home.
48:23This is...
48:24Keith.
48:24Yes, his name was Keith.
48:26I can see he's wearing
48:27a watch
48:27but we can't see
48:28which one.
48:29It had what looks
48:30like a black leather strap
48:31and of course,
48:32this bracelet
48:33is not an Omega product.
48:35When was this put on?
48:36Do you remember?
48:36Probably in the 80s.
48:39Well, let's look
48:39at the watch itself.
48:41It's steel.
48:42It is fully signed
48:44automatic Seamaster
48:45and they did
48:47a vast range
48:49of Seamasters
48:50and still do
48:51for all sorts
48:52of purposes
48:52in gold,
48:55steel
48:55and I just love
48:57the black dial
48:58and the centre seconds,
49:00the import duties
49:03and I'm looking
49:06at this here
49:07and it says
49:08one gents Omega
49:10got a value
49:12of £18
49:13and the duty
49:15and purchase tax
49:16they charged
49:17a further £10.
49:19Yeah.
49:19That was 1959.
49:21I know.
49:22When did you last
49:22have it cleaned
49:23and overhauled?
49:26Never.
49:26Never.
49:28Oh dear.
49:29You're very naughty.
49:30You must,
49:30it's not your car,
49:31you must at least
49:32have it serviced occasionally.
49:33Because it works,
49:34I didn't.
49:35I know,
49:35but it needs oiling.
49:36So it's been years
49:37and years and years
49:38without an oil.
49:39OK.
49:41In this state
49:42at auction
49:43with all its paperwork
49:44which is lovely,
49:46I'm going to quote you
49:47between £9 and £1,200.
49:51That's good.
49:52You're happy.
49:53It's a lovely watch.
49:55Glad you liked it.
50:05There are many things
50:06I don't understand
50:07about this picture
50:07but I know
50:09I absolutely love it.
50:11I mean,
50:11we've got
50:11the slag heap,
50:13we've got the factory,
50:15we've got the gas works
50:16and we've got
50:18the chapel.
50:19Yeah.
50:19Bethesda chapel,
50:21there it is.
50:22And this row
50:24of little houses
50:25which are all painted
50:27these delightful
50:28kind of chocolate
50:29boxy colours.
50:31It's by Jack Jones,
50:33I read,
50:33and painted in 1967.
50:35Yeah.
50:36And is he anything to you?
50:37I assume he's local.
50:38He's a local artist.
50:40Well, he was.
50:41He passed away in 1993.
50:42He was a friend of my father
50:46who was a local artist as well
50:48and he used to come to the house
50:50and on one occasion
50:51he presented this to my dad
50:53and my mum
50:54and it's been with me ever since.
50:58Is it actually a place?
51:00Do you know where it is?
51:00It's in the Havod.
51:02That's where he was born.
51:03The Havod being a suburb of Swansea.
51:05Yeah, it's on the way
51:06to the Swansea football ground.
51:10So, it's an oil painting
51:11and it's on hardboard
51:12as people so often did
51:14because it's cheaper.
51:15Yeah.
51:15And it's rather a good key
51:17for pictures, actually.
51:19I love these slate roofs
51:20which are just...
51:21He really enjoys marking off
51:23those lines of the slate
51:25and this just single line
51:26running right the way through
51:27and I do love a letterbox format
51:30especially for this kind of thing,
51:32a row of houses.
51:33It gives you a sense of...
51:35I don't know,
51:36it's a bit cartoonish
51:37and yet it's more sophisticated than that.
51:39Well, he was sometimes told
51:40that he was the Welsh Lowry.
51:42Oh, we like that.
51:43But he tended to say
51:45he was more the Leonardo of the Slag Heap.
51:47The Leonardo of the Slag Heap.
51:48Yes.
51:48Brilliant.
51:50What on earth is it worth?
51:52Well, locally speaking,
51:53you know,
51:53because it is a local market,
51:55I think £1,000 to £1,500,
51:59that sort of thing.
52:00Yeah.
52:00But I can easily see
52:02how somebody would get
52:03really overexcited by it.
52:05That's really good to know
52:06but it's priceless to me so...
52:08Of course it is.
52:09It'll stay on my wall.
52:10Oh, good.
52:13I believe you're sisters, aren't you?
52:25Yes.
52:25Yeah?
52:26And that is a picture of your father?
52:29Yep.
52:30I don't need to guess
52:31what he did for a living.
52:32I think everything tells us.
52:35So why have you brought
52:36this collection into us today?
52:38So, unfortunately,
52:39we lost our dad
52:40about a year and a half ago.
52:41It was his wish
52:42to always have
52:44all of his memorabilia
52:45on Antiques Roadshow.
52:47We've got his diving helmet,
52:49his diving boots,
52:51his diving watch
52:52and his logbooks as well.
52:55Tell us a little bit about him.
52:57Dad was originally from here.
52:59He's from Swansea.
53:00He started diving
53:02when he was about 11 years old
53:03and got into commercial diving
53:04in the 70s,
53:05so he had over
53:06a 20-year career diving.
53:08He worked in the North Sea,
53:10Middle East and off Nigeria.
53:12So he worked on the Piper Alpha,
53:13worked on the Claymore,
53:15worked on the Tharos
53:16and many other places
53:17in the Middle East
53:17and Nigeria, yeah.
53:19So some famous places
53:20that people will know of.
53:21Yeah.
53:22Yeah.
53:22What are your memories
53:24of, for example,
53:25this diving helmet?
53:27My memory is Dad
53:28patting it on my head
53:29when I was a young child.
53:31They're heavy.
53:32Very heavy.
53:33They're really, really heavy.
53:35And those boots,
53:36have you ever put those on?
53:37Yeah.
53:37We've tried them on.
53:40You were telling me
53:41a story earlier
53:41about when he got fired.
53:44Hired and fired.
53:45In one day?
53:46In one day.
53:47Because?
53:48He was working off the Claymore
53:49and being in the North Sea,
53:51the seas are really,
53:52really rough and treacherous
53:54and he was quite a respected
53:55senior engineer at that point.
53:57So when Dad said no
53:59to his superintendent,
54:00I am not diving that,
54:02the other boys were like,
54:03well, if Gough's not diving,
54:05I'm not diving.
54:06So he got fired, essentially,
54:09and his boss said,
54:10you see that helicopter?
54:11You're on it.
54:12Off back to Aberdeen he went.
54:1412 hours later,
54:15phone call,
54:15can you come back?
54:17Yeah, we'll just show you.
54:17So yeah,
54:18he was very good at his job.
54:19He was very thorough.
54:20You can tell by his logbooks.
54:22Absolutely.
54:22And you've got all these logbooks,
54:24which I briefly had a flick through.
54:27I mean, they're incredible.
54:29As far as the value's concerned,
54:31the helmet itself,
54:32it's the Rolls Royce of helmets.
54:34What I like is it's got the dents.
54:36You know,
54:37when antiques experts look at things,
54:39we look for them to be perfect.
54:41But in certain situations,
54:42this tells a story.
54:43It's fantastic.
54:44And the boots,
54:45how worn they are.
54:45The helmet itself,
54:47without a doubt,
54:48£1,500 to £2,000.
54:50The boots,
54:51another £1,000.
54:53The watch,
54:54believe it or not,
54:55I've shown it to someone today,
54:56and they have told me
54:57it will fetch a minimum
54:58of £10,000.
55:01Okay?
55:02So if you add all this up,
55:04you know,
55:04we're talking £10,000,
55:06£11,000,
55:07£12,000,
55:07£13,000.
55:08I mean,
55:08as a collection,
55:09this is probably going to be
55:10somewhere between £15,000
55:11and £20,000.
55:14So your dad has left you
55:15a nice little legacy,
55:17although whether you would sell this,
55:19being part of him,
55:20who knows?
55:20But...
55:21I don't think we would.
55:22No.
55:22We love the story,
55:24and we love the fact
55:25that we can reflect back on this.
55:26Yeah.
55:26It'd be nice to make somewhere
55:27to show it all off as well,
55:29you know?
55:29Yeah, absolutely.
55:30I think it's a fantastic story.
55:32It really got to my heart,
55:34you know,
55:34when you told me about it.
55:36And thank you so much
55:38for telling us
55:39and for coming in.
55:41Brilliant.
55:41Thank you very much.
55:49Dad would have been very chuffed
55:51bringing all of his items on you.
55:53He was always a very proud man.
55:55Yeah,
55:56he would have loved
55:56to have shared his story,
55:57and I think he's looking down
55:58on us now,
55:59just smiling.
55:59Even laughing, possibly.
56:14We're coming to the end
56:15of our day here at Swansea,
56:16but before we go,
56:17I just want to show you
56:17these two remarkable pieces
56:20of local history.
56:21These are part of
56:22a 19th century tradition
56:23by Cape Horners,
56:25Swansea mariners
56:26who sailed around
56:27Chile's treacherous Cape Horn
56:29on their way to Chile
56:30to pick up copper ore
56:32from there.
56:33A long,
56:34arduous journey
56:35and plenty of hours
56:36to make mementos
56:37for those at home.
56:39So these were made
56:40by Captain Will Nelson
56:42of the SS Lucania.
56:43This one
56:44is of a local church
56:45here in Swansea,
56:46and this one
56:47was done in March 1898.
56:50Look,
56:50you can see the name
56:51of his ship there
56:52and it says,
56:53to Annie
56:54from Will,
56:56wishing you
56:57the compliments
56:58of the season.
56:59Aren't they remarkable?
57:01Just painted on feathers.
57:04The compliments
57:04of the summer season
57:05for us here
57:06at the Antiques Roadshow
57:06and all of us
57:07here in Swansea.
57:08Until next time,
57:09bye-bye.
57:10Bye-bye.
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