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FunTranscript
00:01Here at The Repair Shop,
00:03countless treasures have been brought back to life.
00:07Ka-ching.
00:08That reveal so much about who we are
00:11and where we're from.
00:14It's like it's brand new.
00:15But there's so much more out there.
00:17Let's do it.
00:18That's not yet made it to the barn.
00:20This is amazing.
00:22So the team are hitting the road.
00:25I just love getting up close and personal with the object.
00:27And we're going to get a glimpse into some amazing heritage crafts.
00:31Yes.
00:31I cannot wait.
00:34On a unique adventure.
00:36Oh, yes.
00:37This is terrifying.
00:39To join forces with expert craftspeople.
00:43Whoa.
00:44If we don't point these joints, moisture's going to penetrate.
00:47On their most ambitious restorations yet.
00:50To think every day you come up, this is your office.
00:52Wow, it's big.
00:54Keeping heritage crafts alive.
00:56Keep going.
00:57Keep going.
00:58It's getting hot in there.
01:00On precious restorations around the country.
01:03I can't even imagine what it looks like.
01:06Wow.
01:07There's a legacy here that needs to be protected.
01:16Today, a major repair job after a terrible act of vandalism.
01:21Somebody's really gone to town to destroy these.
01:25Will's shown the ropes of a heritage craft.
01:28Very impressed.
01:29Yes.
01:30Really?
01:30Yeah.
01:32And a cine projector restoration is loaded with memories.
01:36That awful, tragic episode has made me who I am today.
01:47Will and Dom are back on the road.
01:50This is going to be an inspiring day.
01:52It is indeed.
01:53Coming to the aid of a community with a proud military history in Chatham, Kent.
01:59Well, I'm on my way to meet Reverend Andrea, who has some memorial plaques that need attention.
02:06Oh.
02:06Yeah.
02:10Will is at a bronze foundry to meet Reverend Andrea Leonard, the priest in charge at Christchurch Luton.
02:18She needs help with two antique plaques that are in desperate need of attention.
02:24So, tell me a bit more about them.
02:26These are our First World War memorial plaques in honour of the 163 men who gave their lives in Luton
02:35in Chatham in the First World War.
02:37And they normally live in our Lich Gate in our church.
02:42They were put there on Remembrance Sunday, 1920.
02:46And then at the end of May, they were stolen.
02:52Were they?
02:53And we thought, to be honest, we'd never see them again and they'd have been melted down fairly quickly.
02:59But a very kind scrap dealer who received that plaque immediately contacted the police.
03:07The theft caused a national outcry.
03:09But a social media campaign and swift police action meant both plaques were returned within a week of the robbery.
03:18The moment I was allocated this case, I just knew that there wasn't just one victim behind it, but a
03:24whole community.
03:25And therefore, it was just so important to us to, you know, put our all into getting these plaques back.
03:31One plaque had been badly damaged with an axe or angle grinder, leaving it warped and broken.
03:39So everyone must have been absolutely devastated when these disappeared.
03:43There were tears and, yeah, incredulity and a real sense of loss, not just in the church, but in the
03:53community.
03:54And because Chatham is still a military area, we have quite a few veterans associations.
03:58OK.
03:59It's part of our national history as well.
04:02Ideally, how would you like the plaques to look?
04:04I'd like this one to be back in one piece and flat.
04:07It would be fantastic if they could look as they looked when they were first put up in 1920,
04:14which might give them another hundred years or so of life.
04:18Yeah, it almost restarts the clock.
04:20Yes.
04:21OK, so all back intact.
04:23Give the surface a clean and bring out some of these names because they are becoming quite faded.
04:28Every name on this plaque represents a precious life of somebody who bravely gave their life.
04:35And in fact, when they were stolen, I started to do a little bit of research.
04:40And I just looked up one name and I had to stop because I was crying.
04:44Really?
04:45And I shall get emotional now.
04:46Because they were men taken in their prime who left mums and dads and families, wives, children to go out
04:56and fight.
04:57And so many of them still have family and relatives living in the area who are proud of their people.
05:04When you look at the names, you don't sort of realise, you kind of forget that is a life.
05:09Exactly.
05:10Do justice to the names.
05:11That's the most important thing.
05:13Well, they're in the right place.
05:14Would I catch up with you soon?
05:15Thanks so much, Will.
05:17Bye.
05:18These memorial plaques need expert care.
05:22So Will has called on specialists in bronze casting, John Bull and Paul Stocks from the Talos Art Foundry.
05:31Now, there's a lot of history behind this.
05:34Yeah.
05:34Clearly, yes.
05:35There's a lot of damage.
05:36Somebody's really gone to town to try to destroy these.
05:39It's so sad it's been done.
05:41It is sad.
05:42It's tragic, actually, isn't it?
05:44Yeah.
05:44But it's something we should be able to work on.
05:47It's going to take a bit of effort and a bit of care, but we will get there.
05:50Yeah.
05:51It is bronze.
05:52It's an older type of bronze.
05:54Probably got more lead content than we would use today.
05:56Is bronze quite hard to work with?
05:57It can be.
05:59It can be, especially when it's in a condition like this.
06:02It's going to be a lot of work.
06:04But it is a softer metal.
06:05It can be manipulated.
06:07We've got a flat plate here by the look of it, and then obviously a framework and a scroll work.
06:12So that would have all been made as separate items and then assembled together.
06:15In this case, it looks like they've been screwed together.
06:19What we'll do in this instance is restore that in the same fashion.
06:24John and Paul specialise in fabricating sculptures for contemporary artists.
06:28But today, they're turning their metal work skills to something much older.
06:35We make all sorts, from very tiny items right the way up to full size horses.
06:40We're both chasers, which is basically you're chasing the metal.
06:43You're using tools and equipment to replicate what the artist has done in the past.
06:49So we will chase this, repair this.
06:52Yeah.
06:52So basically what you see in front of you now won't be visible.
06:56It will be a matching pair.
06:58Every piece we do is always unique, I suppose.
07:02Now, when it comes to finishing this, Andrea would like these to pretty much look like they would have when
07:07they were first made.
07:08It has this lovely kind of green patination to the surface.
07:12It would be really nice to clean them up so you can really see the names again.
07:15Yeah, no, we can take it back to how it would have looked originally.
07:20The patina is beautiful because it's evolved over time, but it will be back to its beautiful dark patina.
07:26Is this challenging for you?
07:28It certainly is.
07:29There's a lot of work involved on both of them, but especially as we can see on this one.
07:34It's challenging as well because of the importance of it.
07:36Yes, of course.
07:37It means a lot to a lot of people.
07:38We will do our very, very best to honour the gentlemen that are on here.
07:46While John and Paul size up the damaged plaques.
07:55Dom's meeting Dawn from London.
07:58She has a broken heirloom that holds special family memories.
08:03Dawn, hello.
08:04Lovely to meet you.
08:05What have you brought in for us then?
08:06Well, this is my dad's cine projector that he purchased in 1980.
08:12Okay.
08:13With a video recorder and a cine camera.
08:15He liked the gadget.
08:17Great sound system, great TV.
08:19All the mod cons.
08:20All the mod cons for the 70s.
08:22So tell me a bit about your dad then.
08:23So my dad was born in formerly British Diana, which is South America.
08:28Okay.
08:29And he came over to the UK when the Queen said we need some help after the Second World War.
08:34He came over in 1960.
08:36He came from a very wealthy family and he studied to be a civil engineer and worked for London Transport.
08:43You're just very proud to be British.
08:45Hard worker.
08:46Very much a hard worker.
08:48After qualifying as an engineer, Dawn's dad worked for some time in Zambia, where she was born.
08:55The family returned to the UK when Dawn was three.
09:00The film projector was always on, showing these happy times.
09:05It's a legacy.
09:07I mean, my dad gave it to me.
09:08I want to hand it down to my daughter, Eleanor.
09:10She's 17.
09:11She never met him because, sadly, he was killed in 1985.
09:18He was a victim of knife crime and he was stabbed to death.
09:21And that's, you know...
09:22Really?
09:23Yeah.
09:24So...
09:24So sorry.
09:25It was just a really, really awful time.
09:27I was 16, but that awful, tragic episode has made me who I am today.
09:37What do you mean by that?
09:38Well, I listened to what my dad said, that I could be anything that I wanted to be,
09:44regardless of my gender or my ethnicity.
09:47Was he right?
09:48He's absolutely right.
09:49I work in the legal system, which I thoroughly enjoy, and it's where my heart lies.
09:55I go into schools and I talk about knife crime, I talk about the consequences.
10:00How does that feel, then, when you finish these talks and you see the room full of kids
10:04that need your help?
10:06Oh, wow.
10:07It's mind-blowing.
10:09And when they clap, tears come to my eyes because it's so emotional.
10:13But, yeah.
10:14But he would have done the same thing.
10:16None of us knew what was going to happen.
10:17My dad only died when he was 49.
10:20But he's always with me and he's with me in what we have here.
10:25In this film?
10:26In the film.
10:28Is there more than this?
10:29There is loads of it.
10:31Really?
10:31There is.
10:32And this is the splicer.
10:34Not many of these around.
10:36What does that do?
10:37So, when you wanted to edit, so you get one end, put another end on, put the liquid to stick
10:47it together.
10:48Yeah.
10:48And then you've got one whole reel.
10:51It bonds it together.
10:52Yes.
10:52How do you know how to do that?
10:54Because my dad taught me.
10:55I'm starting to understand why this is all so important.
10:59It's so important.
11:02What's happened to it?
11:04So, the arm that would normally go in here.
11:09Oh, there's a piece missing here, is there?
11:11There's a piece missing.
11:12Okay.
11:13Yeah.
11:13That's what holds the film.
11:14That's what holds the film.
11:15Film goes in there, down there, through there.
11:19And then it comes out and the magic happens.
11:24Yes.
11:24So, when is the last time you've seen that magic happen?
11:2835 years.
11:29Really?
11:30Yes.
11:30My daughter's never seen her granddad, only pictures.
11:34She's going to be stunned.
11:38Thank you for sharing your journey with me.
11:42Honestly, it's been lovely talking to you.
11:44We'll do the best we can.
11:48As Dom heads to the barn with Dawn's cine projector,
11:53in the bronze foundry,
11:57work on the First World War plagues is about to commence.
12:03So, what's the first task?
12:05We'll get that shot blasted,
12:06so we have a nice, clean, even finish,
12:09and then we've got to manipulate this with clamps,
12:14presses, and we might even have to beat little areas of it gently.
12:18Oh, my.
12:19It sounds quite involved, but...
12:21Yes, yes.
12:21But all process is to get this flat,
12:23and that's our first task.
12:26John is flattening the plaques
12:28with a giant pair of G-clamps.
12:34And for those particularly stubborn parts,
12:37nothing quite beats a good old hammer.
12:44Surfaces levelled and prepped,
12:46the real repairs can begin.
12:51First to be welded is the badly damaged panel.
12:58Before John turns his hand to the half-moon relief.
13:08Small gaps are filled with lead,
13:10and damaged lettering repaired with bronze,
13:13before work can begin on restoring the plaques
13:15to a colour that befits their grand old age.
13:26In the barn,
13:28Dom has a special delivery for electronics expert Mark Stuckey.
13:34Mark.
13:34Ooh.
13:35I have got a treat for you.
13:37This is very precious.
13:39Belongs to Dom.
13:40Right, okay.
13:41Do you want to take a look?
13:42Yeah.
13:42I know what it is,
13:43because I recognise the name.
13:44Oh, don't cheat, Mark.
13:45Come on.
13:46Oh, wow.
13:47Oh, it's heavy.
13:49Wow.
13:50A projector.
13:52Yeah.
13:52So, Dawn has a huge collection of film
13:55that her father's created,
13:56and she's desperate to show her daughter
13:58what's on these films,
13:59but she can't,
14:00because the projector's not working.
14:02As yet.
14:03Exactly.
14:04Thanks, Dom.
14:06Before he can start any repair,
14:09Mark's first job is to assess the damage
14:11from the outside in.
14:14Well,
14:15this really is in a poor way.
14:17For example,
14:18we are missing,
14:19at the front,
14:20there should be a way of presenting this reel
14:22to feed through,
14:23but importantly,
14:25the rear one,
14:26that has actually smashed out,
14:27because the casing is totally damaged.
14:30If we go round to the back,
14:32that is freely moving.
14:34That should certainly not be freely moving.
14:36And on top of that,
14:38where we have the facility,
14:39so we can adjust what we call the rake,
14:41the up and down motion of the projectors,
14:44that's broken off as well.
14:45Hence why it's sitting down.
14:48So what I need to do now,
14:49is take the front and the rear panel off,
14:52so we can have a better full picture.
14:54Pardon the pun.
14:59So we take that off.
15:01The belt is still connected.
15:03No superficial damage visible at this stage.
15:08Right,
15:08let's see what we can see when I take the back off.
15:15Nothing directly is obvious.
15:19In this corner,
15:21the pickup reel is missing,
15:26and the casing has been smashed.
15:28Can you repair that?
15:31Doubtful.
15:32That's the frightening bit,
15:34because it's a major breakdown.
15:35It's like,
15:36if you had like a very fast super car,
15:40and the head gasket goes,
15:41it is a major strip down to get everything off of it,
15:44to get into it,
15:45to replace it.
15:46The motor,
15:47which is a cooling fan,
15:48that seems to be okay.
15:50So I think probably the next stage,
15:51will be to plug it in.
15:53It certainly won't do any damage,
15:55by putting it on now.
15:56I expect the motor to come on first.
15:59Let's turn the power up a bit.
16:02Right,
16:03we're at full mains voltage,
16:06and the fan is happily going,
16:10quite quiet,
16:11which is really good,
16:12because some of these can be quite noisy.
16:15I'm smelling,
16:17just to make sure there is nothing apparent with burning,
16:21which doesn't seem to be.
16:23I think it looks fairly safe to actually turn the projector to run,
16:29which will be one of these,
16:32and it's not doing anything.
16:34Now that should be going,
16:35Tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch.
16:39Belt work.
16:39Oh, the light works.
16:42100 watts is quite bright.
16:44And those are not...
16:45There we go.
16:46Give it help.
16:47Go on,
16:48try to get going.
16:49go on but that is prophetically slow we've got a lot of damage and I've got to sort that out
16:57so I've got to do a few more tests on this motor to see how it's functioning but we'll get
17:02there
17:04while Mark gets on with the projector
17:10Will's arrived at Chatham's historic dockyard
17:16it's home to the oldest rope making facility in Britain
17:21operating on the same side for 400 years
17:27wow oh my word look at this
17:34absolutely huge
17:37rope making is a highly skilled and ancient craft
17:41here in Chatham they use traditional methods Victorian machinery and a very
17:47long aisle called a rope walk
17:52this was once one of four Royal Navy rope yards and produced up to 5,000 tons of
17:59rigging for nearly a thousand ships okay
18:04and they continue making rope products to this day
18:14master rope maker Leanne Clark has worked here for 13 years
18:19I've already got my steps in how long is this place
18:22uh it's a quarter of a mile from outside brick to outside brick
18:25my word what exactly was that machine doing so that's the closing machine and that is dated from 1860
18:32and it's essentially twisting the strands together to do the process of rope making
18:37right and that skateboard thing you were riding on
18:40that's the top cart which is basically the important bit of rope making
18:45okay both ends of the machines are twisting
18:48but it's that top cart would be what essentially makes the rope
18:52we can make a thousand meter coils what but otherwise it comes to 220 meters that's the standard
18:59now who kind of buys the rope from here is that sort of shipping or your scouts a lot of
19:06scout groups yes
19:07wooden ships still buy it historical ships gymnasium zoos anyone that needs a bit of rope
19:13ropes all around us it really is yeah this is quite an involved process isn't it yes
19:18definitely it takes about two and a half years to three years to become fully trained rope maker
19:23really yes quite dangerous with lots of rope moving quite quickly it can be and that's why it's so
19:29important to be fully trained this is a more traditional way and then we have the hands-on
19:34machine that we use to demonstrate how rope is made to the children okay i'd love to take a look
19:39yes definitely let's go the earliest ropes were made by twisting and braiding strands of plant fiber
19:47and here in chatham the process has advanced from people power to steam power and now electric
19:56though the machines and methods have barely changed however the craft is in decline with less than
20:0520 professional rope makers left in britain so this is a smaller version of what we've just seen
20:11yes a small version yes it takes three people so we've got stewart down the other end there right
20:16shirt there's a massive crank handle here yes is that a technical term yes what you're going to do
20:24is just turn the wheel that way yeah and stewart is going to match your speed turning the opposite way
20:30more twist the better the rope okay here we go you ready stewart yes i am okay the yarn fiber
20:36is called
20:37chatham hemp but it's actually flax which is strong enough to pull three to four hundred kilos
20:45right there we are so we've now twisted the yarn to strands and what we're going to do is twist
20:51in the
20:51opposite direction now we're going to go from strands to right exactly that this is really clever isn't it
20:57it is very clever and very simple okay here we go
21:05leanne's wooden tool is carefully combining the three already twisted strands to form a rope
21:14okay that's a lovely bit of rope
21:20there you go lovely look at that i feel like a cowboy now do you love rope making i love
21:28rope
21:29making i really do i started selling tickets at front of house i walked in that door and i saw
21:35them
21:36zooming off down the rope walk floor on the top car and the smell and the noise and everything and
21:41just went that's what i want to do and that's why somewhere like this is really important because for
21:45people to actually see the craft sparks the interest yes and uh keeps the craft alive definitely
21:58in the barn mark's finished assessing the projector's condition after stripping this down
22:05the actual problem now that i can see is that the parts which are missing are an integral part of
22:11the
22:11actual case itself and it's actually pretty serious so this particular part it actually holds both the
22:18spools and this type of machine there's just no chance that this projector will ever work safely
22:25because of the extent of the damage so the only option for me on this particular occasion and it's
22:32one i don't want to go down but it's the only way i can see it and that is i've
22:36managed to find
22:37a suitable replacement outer case which has that fitting an attachment on it and what i'm going
22:43to have to do is strip out the whole unit piece by piece and incorporate it into the new case
22:50which
22:50is no easy task by any means i'm going to keep as much of this as i possibly can original
22:56so then dawn
22:58and her daughter will be able to enjoy all those happy memories which is on that film
23:04the only silver lining is the fact why it's out i can actually get
23:09easy into it to give it a really good service
23:14the server starts with cleaning and lubricating the mechanical parts
23:20using liquid silicone oil everything in here is so tightly based you can't really see what you're doing
23:34using a thicker silicone grease because what i do i just put some on and then i just move all
23:40the
23:40wheels so then they get lubricated now doing the back ones his full service should give the internal
23:51moving parts a new lease of life okay that's good next is the delicate job of putting dawn's vintage
24:00mechanism into the substitute case that's the last of the mechanical components now fitted into the
24:07replacement chassis i'm now ready to put some power through it and then that's really the moment of
24:13truth have i done it all correctly changing the chassis over is never an easy solution when i've settled
24:20into their home for many years and you suddenly pull them out of it they get a bit grumpy i
24:26find at
24:26times generally when there are problems with them they go slow so i'll turn the power to projector on
24:32turn the variac which is a way to allow me to turn the voltage slowly up so i can see
24:38if there's anything
24:39occurring which shouldn't be happening so we just do this and now fans coming up
24:47that all sounds all good we'll go up to full whack well that's all good so what i'm
24:56going to do now is turn it on to run and we'll get an idea if everything's synced together all
25:02the cogs
25:03and wheels i've separated are all back in place
25:08um which they seem to be that that sounds like a good speed it's got a nice smooth
25:15melodic sound to it which gives you a element of feel of confidence
25:21so far so good but it's not quite ready to project yet
25:31at the foundry will is dropping in on john and paul to check on progress with the plaques
25:39hi guys good to see you again this looks amazing is this the one that wasn't as bad or the
25:44one that
25:45was really bad no this is the really this is the bad one oh you guys have been busy it's
25:49completely
25:49changed color it has yes why this was the process of blasting off so all that sort of um hundred
25:57years
25:57of muck corrosion weather it's all gone and we will eventually brush the whole surface to get it prepared
26:04for the new color get them both back to how they would have been when they left the foundry originally
26:09so we'll be both will look identical we're going to end up with a matching pair yes with a matching
26:14pair
26:15fresh uh dark glossy ready to go on the wall it's going to look great is what you're trying to
26:22say
26:22it will look great yeah yeah i still don't understand how you're going to be able to
26:26color match this i'll show you how okay where follow me oh brilliant
26:32whilst john and paul share many skills they also have individual specialisms
26:39paul is an expert in patination and he's trying to color the repaired plaques with
26:45the same chemicals the original makers would have used but he wants to carry out a test first
26:52right what we're going to do is a sample patina on this piece of bronze we'll apply this chemical
27:00albeit diluted down the potassium sulfide it's all a chemical reaction it is yeah yeah this is one of
27:06the chemicals that reacts when it's cold and when it's hot we'll go darker lovely what we'll do i always
27:13start off a little bit lighter and we can build it up as we need to so i'll put this
27:16on cold this
27:17smells a little bit as well it's not great very eggy how much are you applying is it like a
27:22thin coat
27:23i haven't made it particularly strong but what you'll see straight away is how the bronze
27:27takes the chemical albeit the diluted chemical okay
27:35and you're just slapping it on there aren't you yeah you can see instantaneously it goes a slightly
27:42warm brown color
27:46that's really quick it is it is i mean rub back you can get a classic penny bronze color just
27:52with this
27:52now i'll apply a bit of heat and we'll pop the chemical back on again when the surface of the
27:59metal is a a higher temperature what difference is the heat going to make what the heat will do is
28:05darken everything down and enrich and everything there we are oh it's already beginning to change
28:14is that it is even without adding any more it's darkening down already but you can see as soon as
28:22that goes on so yeah we just want to ensure we get a nice even coverage i'll turn this off
28:31now
28:32what we see there is a pre-waxed finish so once we add wax to that again it's going to
28:37enrich in it
28:38but it's always best to wax while it's hot as well so the wax will seal everything in there's a
28:43lot of
28:44thought that goes into this and there's a lot of chemistry as well i feel like i'm back in school
28:47you guys have a real passion for what you do right yes yes it's a great process i love it
28:52you know it's an honor to work on on these plaques because you know they mean so much we can
28:56apply some
28:57wax to it see how dark it goes if you want to yeah please oh that's a nice big tin
29:03of wow it is a nice
29:04antique wax i'll load the brush for you while it's hot you can just dab it on just dab dab
29:09dab dab dab
29:10dab it on you'll see it go instantly darker richer it's got a bit more depth to it that is
29:17beautiful
29:18and uh it will preserve it for the years to come lovely work it's all down to the wax application
29:24oh
29:24yeah of course it is lovely this is a really cool process and i can't wait to see this on
29:29the actual
29:29plaques themselves yeah me too it's going to be fun right well i'm going to let you uh touch on
29:33a few
29:33patches that i missed and i'm going to catch up with john okay john is preparing the surfaces of
29:39the plaques before paul colors them all right john oh i will is anything i can do to help yeah
29:47if you
29:48want to pick up a drill and do some wire brushing with me that'd be fantastic definitely love getting
29:53stuck in and having a wire brush on a drill definitely uh saves a bit of time yeah much easier
29:58than uh doing it by hand yeah right here we go okay so if you want to work on that
30:03area there that'd be
30:04fantastic i'll be down here and we'll get it done ready for paul lovely
30:15the first world war memorial plaques are progressing and in the barn mark's getting
30:21ready to run an all-important test on dawn's cine projector i've now finished putting the projector
30:31all together it's all back in it looks really smart full service now dawn left me a couple of her
30:37films here so we'll try and look at one and just to see how it goes
30:49just check the film uh mainly for to see if there's any breaks in the sprockets which can cause a
30:54problem there may be some sound on this but i won't know to run it through the projector
30:59turn it on and this is where we feed this in and it should then just automatically take it
31:05it comes out the other end and what i have to do is now stop feed this on we do
31:11that that's now ready
31:13to go so we'll continue let's see what we've got here
31:24so it works forward let's now try and reverse that's all good excellent but yes it's working in
31:38reverse i'm really happy with that all i've got to do now is get all the covers on and get
31:44it ready so
31:45that dawn and her daughter can have some really happy memories
31:57for dawn who is awaiting a knee operation it's a chance to show daughter ellie moving images of her
32:04grandfather for the first time come on in come on in welcome to the barn nice to see you how
32:11are you
32:12feeling today dawn very nervous actually nervous yes why because it means so much he's no longer
32:18here and that was 40 years ago and he's still a part of me every single day so this is
32:24this is his
32:25legacy for me to pass on to my daughter how does that feel hearing that really great yeah i know
32:31how
32:31much it means to my mom so i'm just excited to see it yeah what are you hoping to see
32:36today then
32:37i'm hoping to see that the projector is working and there's some images that both myself and ellie
32:43can see of when i was back in zambia it was like two three years old and quite mischievous and
32:50very much a copycat of my dad so yeah i'm really excited are you both ready to take a look
32:56yes yeah
32:57yeah yeah yes here we go whoa
33:06it looks like the day that my dad bought it to be fair that's lovely yeah it does yeah it
33:11just looks
33:12wonderful should we try and plug it in please oh look already look at that i turn that on ready
33:20yes thank you
33:24that's me can you see me yeah
33:31that's that might be my birthday party
33:36that's my friend angela that's grandma that's uncle uncle nelson that's my dad driving the land rover
33:47uh oh my gosh oh my gosh this is so we lived in um kabui in zambia that's where i
34:08was born and
34:10my dad made so many friends and that's where this is and this is yeah
34:17how are you feeling watching this now he's never left me no never you're smiling that's great yeah
34:23he's never left me and ellie this is your family heritage i know it's so crazy because i've seen
34:29pictures of this moment but i've never seen it live so it's really amazing it's very special
34:39wow it's just real real that is a just a little snip a small glimpse yes what else is on
34:48there what did you think
34:51i just stopped myself from crying at that at a point yeah the happy memories happy tears
34:59wonderful yes really really yeah i'm just lost for words which people will think that's on
35:07unbelievable but and it looks like fresh fresh yeah uh it works as good as a day your dad would
35:15have used it yeah and brought it home wow and it's there for you now to enjoy i bet you
35:19cannot wait
35:20to get it home and watch the rest of that yeah family definitely yes this is a party yeah gonna
35:26get
35:27the guys around friends around hang the bed sheet on the wall that's it exactly turn all the lights
35:33out you'll be back there thank you mark thank you don not at all he will just be like wow
35:38to see him
35:40in film yeah it's really really really good i'm just so happy thank you i'm just really happy your smile
35:48says it all exactly yeah thank you thank you bye-bye
35:54wasn't that magic it was it was great to do it you know well done mark well done oh wow
36:00um
36:02it's what i dreamed of really so that i can pass the legacy on to ellie of the importance of
36:07documenting
36:09and sharing your lives with others because none of us know what's around the corner so it's important it
36:15was really amazing seeing my granddad for the first time because i've seen like pictures but i've
36:20never seen the videos or the reels so it was really great it's very very emotional because i didn't
36:26know what i was expecting but he was there my dad was there yeah
36:40in chatham will's arriving at christchurch luton where john and paul are waiting with the restored plaques
36:53oh my word they look amazing they're absolutely amazing this color match is unbelievable are you both
37:01pleased yes i mean obviously one needed a little bit more work than the other one i still can't believe
37:08it they look absolutely fantastic now there's lots of people about to come in to take a look
37:13let's get this covered up this is a historic day for the rescued memorial plaques and the chatham
37:22community reverend andrea veterans and locals are gathering to see the plaques and to take part in
37:31a special remembrance service i'm feeling a great sense of anticipation about the the plaques coming home
37:39uh excitement um and also i think there'll be incredulity when i see them because i saw them
37:46when they were so badly damaged our uncle is on the plaque percy leonard swan i think it's great that
37:53we can still remember people that we didn't even know um you know they died all everybody on the plaque
37:59died before anybody that's here today
38:04come in come in
38:12wow what a lovely bunch of people well they're wonderful people from the community
38:18we've got our wonderful police without whom we would not have the plaques back
38:25and i think most importantly we have a wonderful bunch of veterans
38:36it was particularly galling to hear of the loss of these but uh thrilling to learn of their
38:44restoration and repair so it's absolutely terrific terrific news these two men here are fantastic
38:51people this is john and paul um and they've been working on the plaques
38:58thank you it was always going to be an important uh project to work on and very proud to work
39:04on it
39:05as well also thankfully they're back home where they should be exactly are you ready to take a look
39:25what do you think i had to look at the names to work out which was one that was damaged
39:30you've done such a brilliant job so grateful and they look as they would have looked in 1920 and
39:37you can read it clearly and it's fantastic thank you thank you do we have any descendants
39:45here that can want to come up and try and find your name uh yes yeah well come on up
39:53um
39:54let's see leonard swann he was our uncle there were three brothers who went to the first world war
40:01and two came back unharmed report percy didn't well his name will live on certainly will
40:09Walter Williams staff
40:12He's our great uncle
40:14He served with the Royal West Kent Regiment
40:16He was killed in 1918
40:19A place called St Quentin in France
40:21He was 27 I believe when he was killed
40:25So he left behind a wife and a young child
40:30So yeah, it's very important to us
40:33Very important to the family as well
40:34And our children
40:35Thank you very much
40:37Thanks very much
40:37Brilliant
40:38Thank you
40:40The back home
40:41The back home
40:44Lord, we thank you with humble gratitude
40:48For those who gave their lives for our freedom
40:52At the going down of the sun
40:54And in the morning
40:55We shall remember them
40:57We shall remember them
41:01We shall see you next time
41:29We shall see you next time
41:32When you go home, tell them of us and say,
41:35for your tomorrow, we give our today.
41:41Well, you guys have done a fantastic job at preserving
41:46those fallen men and those lives, so thank you so much.
41:51APPLAUSE
41:58It was great to see my uncle's name on the plaque
42:01and we know now that he will live on forever.
42:06There was no-one here today that was around when he was alive
42:10and yet we're still here in big numbers.
42:13The restoration really was quite astounding.
42:16Having seen the damage to the original ones and thinking,
42:20gosh, how on earth are they going to restore them?
42:22But it was a perfect job.
42:24To have something so mangled in the first place
42:28when it was initially stolen to how it is now is just unbelievable.
42:33Absolutely unbelievable.
42:34Fantastic. Yeah.
42:36I prayed that God would bring good out of the bad
42:40and that's happened so much more than we could have imagined.
42:45The plaques are a great link to the past
42:47but actually there's this new connection
42:50with the community and the future
42:52and it's a positive one that has brought everyone here together
42:55today and as a community as a whole
42:57and that's such a beautiful thing.
43:02If you'd like to see more fantastic fixes and restorations,
43:06search BBC iPlayer for The Repair Shop on the road.
43:40We'll see you next time.
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