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Short filmTranscript
00:01Here at The Repair Shop,
00:03countless treasures have been brought back to life.
00:08That reveal so much about who we are
00:12and where we're from.
00:15But there's so much more out there
00:17that'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 objects.
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.
01:06There's a legacy here that needs to be protected.
01:16Today, a major repair job after a terrible act of vandalism.
01:20Somebody's really gone to town to try to destroy these.
01:25Will's shown the ropes of a heritage craft.
01:28Very impressed.
01:29Yes.
01:30Really?
01:31Yeah.
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.
02:00Well, 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.
02:38And 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.
03:59It'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, which
04:15might give them another hundred years or so of life.
04:18Yeah, it almost restarts the clock.
04:20Yes.
04:21OK, so all back intact, give the surface a clean and bring out some of these names because they are
04:26becoming quite faded.
04:28Every name on this plaque represents a precious life of somebody who bravely gave their life.
04:35And in fact, when when they were stolen, I started to do a little bit of research and I just
04:41looked up one name and I had to stop because I was crying.
04:44And I shall get emotional now because they were they were men taken in their prime who left mums and
04:53dads and families, wives, children to go out and fight.
04:57And so many of them still have family and relatives living in the area who are proud of their their
05:03people.
05:04When you look at the names, they sort of realize you can 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.
05:14I'll catch up with you soon.
05:15Thanks so much, Will.
05:17Bye-bye.
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, clearly, yes.
05:35There's a lot of damage.
05:36Somebody's really gone to town to try to destroy these.
05:40It'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, 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.
06:09And 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.
06:29But today, they're turning their metal work skills to something much older.
06:35We make all sorts, from very tiny items right of 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.
07:01Now, 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.
07:16Yeah, no, we can take it back to how it would have looked originally.
07:21The 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.
08:12OK.
08:13With a video recorder and a cine camera.
08:16He liked the gadget.
08:17Great sound system, great TV.
08:19All the mod cons.
08:20All the mod cons for the 70s.
08:22Tell me a bit about your dad then.
08:23So my dad was born in formerly British Diana, which is South America.
08:28OK.
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, she'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 and that's...
09:22Really?
09:23Yeah.
09:24So...
09:24So sorry.
09:25It was just a really, really awful time.
09:27I was 16.
09:30But 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.
09:42That I could be anything that I wanted to be, regardless of my gender or my ethnicity.
09:48Was he right?
09:48He's absolutely right.
09:50I 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 that need
10:05your help?
10:05Oh, wow.
10:08It's...
10:08Mind-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.
10:18My dad only died when he was 49.
10:20But he's always with me and he's with me in what we have here.
10:26In this film?
10:26In the film.
10:28Is there more than this?
10:29There is loads of it.
10:31Really?
10:31There is.
10:32Oh, and this is the splicer.
10:35Not many of these around.
10:36No one really...
10:37What 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 hole.
10:51It bonds it together.
10:51It bonds it together.
10:52Yes.
10:53How do you know how to do that?
10:54Because my dad taught me.
10:56I'm starting to understand why this is all so important.
10:59It's so important.
11:03What's happened to it?
11:04So, the arm that would normally go in here...
11:10Oh, 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.
11:15The film goes in there, down there, through there.
11:19And then it comes out and the magic happens.
11:24Yes.
11:25So, when is the last time you've seen that magic happen?
11:2835 years.
11:29Really?
11:30Yes.
11:31My daughter's never seen her granddad.
11:33Only pictures.
11:35She's going to be stunned.
11:38Thank you for sharing your journey with me.
11:42Really, honestly, 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 plaques is about to commence.
12:03So, what's the first task?
12:05We'll get that shot blasted, so we have a nice, clean, even finish.
12:10And then we've got to manipulate this with clamps, presses,
12:15and we might even have to beat little areas of it gently.
12:18Oh, it sounds quite involved, but...
12:21Yeah, yeah.
12:21But all process is to get this flat, and that's our first task.
12:26John is flattening the plaques with a giant pair of G-clamps.
12:34And for those particularly stubborn parts, nothing quite beats a good old hammer.
12:44Surfaces levelled and prepped, the 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 and damaged lettering repaired with bronze
13:13before work can begin on restoring the plaques to a colour that befits their grand old age.
13:26In the barn, Dom 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. Belongs to Dawn.
13:40Right, okay.
13:41Do you want to take a look?
13:42Yeah, I know what it is because I recognise the name.
13:44Oh, don't cheat, Mark. Come on.
13:46Oh, wow.
13:47Oh, it's heavy.
13:50Well, a projector.
13:51Yeah.
13:52So, Dawn has a huge collection of film that her father's created
13:56and she's desperate to show her daughter what's on these films
13:59but she can't because the projector's not working.
14:02As yet.
14:03Exactly.
14:05Thanks, Dom.
14:06Before he can start any repair, Mark's first job is to assess the damage
14:12from the outside in.
14:15Well, this really is in a poor way.
14:17For example, we are missing at the front.
14:20There should be a way of presenting this reel to feed through.
14:23But importantly, the rear one, that has actually smashed out
14:27because the casing is totally damaged.
14:30If we go round to the back, that is freely moving.
14:34That should certainly not be freely moving.
14:37And on top of that, where we have the facility so we can adjust
14:40what we call the rake, the up and down motion of the projectors.
14:44That's broken off as well.
14:46Hence why it's sitting down.
14:48So what I need to do now is 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.
15:00The belt is still connected.
15:04No 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, the pickup reel is missing and the casing has been smashed.
15:28Can you repair that?
15:31Hmm, doubtful.
15:32That's the frightening bit because it's a major breakdown.
15:36It's like if you had like a very fast supercar and the head gasket goes,
15:41it is a major strip down to get everything off of it, to get into it, to replace it.
15:46The motor, which is a cooling fan, that seems to be okay.
15:50So I think probably the next stage will be to plug it in.
15:53It certainly won't do any damage by 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 main voltage.
16:06And the fan is happily going quite quiet, which 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, which 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...
16:39Belt work. Oh, 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.
16:50But that is pathetically slow.
16:54We've got a lot of damage.
16:55And 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.
17:01But we'll get there.
17:04While Mark gets on with the projector.
17:10Wills 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.
17:28Oh my word.
17:30Look at this.
17:34Absolutely huge.
17:37Rope making is a highly skilled and ancient craft.
17:42Here in Chatham, they used traditional methods.
17:45Victorian machinery.
17:47And a very long aisle called a rope walk.
17:51Alright.
17:52This was once one of four Royal Navy rope yards.
17:56And produced up to 5,000 tonnes of rigging.
18:00For nearly a thousand ships.
18:02Okay.
18:04And they continue making rope products to this day.
18:10That is amazing.
18:14Master rope maker Leanne Clark has worked here for 13 years.
18:19I've already got my steps in.
18:21How long is this place?
18:22It's a quarter of a mile from outside brick to outside brick.
18:25My words.
18:26What exactly was that machine doing?
18:28So that's the closing machine.
18:29And that is dated from 1860.
18:33And it's essentially twisting the strands together to do the process of rope making.
18:38Right.
18:39And that skateboard thing you were riding on?
18:41That's the top cart.
18:42Which is basically the important bit of rope making.
18:46Okay.
18:46Both ends of the machines are twisting.
18:48But it's that top cart with what essentially makes the rope.
18:52We can make a thousand metre coils.
18:55What?
18:56But otherwise it comes in 220 metres.
18:59Yeah.
18:59That's the standard.
19:00Now who kind of buys the rope from here?
19:02Is that sort of shipping or your scouts?
19:06A lot of scout groups, yes.
19:07Wooden ships still buy it.
19:09Historical ships.
19:11Gymnasiums, zoos.
19:12Anyone that needs a bit of rope.
19:14Rope's all around us.
19:15It really is.
19:15Yeah.
19:16This is quite an involved process, isn't it?
19:18Yes, definitely.
19:19It takes about two and a half years to three years to become a fully trained rope maker.
19:23Really?
19:24Yes.
19:24Quite dangerous with lots of rope moving quite quickly.
19:27It can be.
19:27And that's why it's so important to be fully trained.
19:31This is the more traditional way.
19:33And then we have the hands-on machine that we use to demonstrate how rope is made to the children.
19:38OK.
19:38I'd love to take a look.
19:39Yes, definitely.
19:40Let's go.
19:42The earliest ropes were made by twisting and braiding strands of plant fibre.
19:48And here in Chatham, the process has advanced from people power to steam power and now electric.
19:57Though the machines and methods have barely changed.
20:01However, the craft is in decline, with less than 20 professional rope makers left in Britain.
20:09So this is a smaller version of what we've just seen?
20:11Yes.
20:11A smaller version, yes.
20:13It takes three people.
20:14So we've got Stuart down the other end there.
20:16Right, Stuart.
20:17Right.
20:17There's a massive crank handle here.
20:19Yes.
20:20Is that a technical term?
20:21Yes.
20:22OK.
20:22What you're going to do is just turn the wheel that way.
20:26Yeah.
20:27And Stuart is going to match your speed, turning the opposite way.
20:30More twist, the better the rope.
20:31OK.
20:32Here we go.
20:32You ready, Stuart?
20:33Yes, I am.
20:34OK.
20:35The yarn fibre is called Chatham hemp, but it's actually flax, which is strong enough
20:41to pull three to four hundred kilos.
20:45Right, there we are.
20:47So we've now twisted the yarn to strands, and what we're going to do is twist in the opposite
20:52direction.
20:53Now we're going to go from strands to right.
20:54Exactly that.
20:55This is really clever, isn't it?
20:57It is very clever and very simple.
21:00OK.
21:01Here we go.
21:02Whoa.
21:04Slush.
21:05Leanne's wooden tool is carefully combining the three already twisted strands to form
21:11a rope.
21:14OK.
21:15That's a lovely bit of rope.
21:20There you go.
21:21Lovely.
21:21Look at that.
21:24I feel like a cowboy now.
21:27Do you love rope making?
21:28I love rope making.
21:29Do you?
21:30I really do.
21:31I started selling tickets at front of house.
21:33I walked in that door and I saw them zooming off down the rope floor on the top cart and
21:39the smell and the noise and everything and just went, that's what I want to do.
21:43And that's why somewhere like this is really important because for people to actually see
21:47the craft sparks the interest.
21:49Yes.
21:49And keeps the craft alive.
21:51Definitely.
21:58In the barn, Mark's finished assessing the projector's condition.
22:03After stripping this down, the actual problem now that I can see is that the parts which
22:09are missing are an integral part of the actual case itself.
22:13And it's actually pretty serious.
22:15So this particular part, it actually holds both the spools and this type of machine.
22:22There's just no chance that this projector will ever work safely because the extent of
22:27the damage.
22:28So the only option for me on this particular occasion, and it's one I don't want to go
22:33down, but it's the only way I can see it.
22:35And that is I've managed to find a suitable replacement outer case, which has that fitting and attachment
22:42on it.
22:42And what I'm going to have to do is strip out the whole unit piece by piece and incorporate
22:48it into the new case, which is no easy task by only means.
22:53I'm going to keep as much of this as I possibly can original.
22:56So then Dawn and her daughter will be able to enjoy all those happy memories, which is on
23:02that film.
23:05The only silver lining is the fact why it's out.
23:08I can actually get easy into it to give it a really good service.
23:14The server starts with cleaning and lubricating the mechanical parts using liquid silicone oil.
23:22Everything in here is so tightly based.
23:25You can't really see what you're doing.
23:27Hang on.
23:28Let's turn there.
23:31Do some grease next.
23:34Using a thicker silicone grease.
23:37What I do, I just put some on and then I just move all the wheels.
23:42So then they get lubricated.
23:45Now doing the back ones.
23:48His full service should give the internal moving parts a new lease of life.
23:54OK.
23:55That's good.
23:56Next is the delicate job of putting Dawn's vintage mechanism into the substitute case.
24:04That's the last of the mechanical components now fitted into the replacement chassis.
24:09I'm now ready to put some power through it and then that's really the moment of truth.
24:13Have I done it all correctly?
24:15Changing the chassis over is never an easy solution.
24:20When they've settled into their home for many years and you suddenly pull them out of it,
24:24they get a bit grumpy I find at times.
24:27Generally when there are problems with them, they go slow.
24:30So I'll turn the power to projector on.
24:33Turn the variac, which is a way to allow me to turn the voltage slowly up.
24:37So I can see if there's anything occurring which shouldn't be happening.
24:41So we just do this.
24:43And now fans coming up.
24:47That all sounds all good.
24:50We'll go up to full whack.
24:52Well that's all good.
24:55So what I'm going to do now is turn it on to run.
24:59And we'll get an idea if everything's synced together.
25:02All the cogs and wheels I've separated are all back in place.
25:09Which they seem to be.
25:11That sounds like a good speed.
25:14It's got a nice smooth melodic sound to it,
25:17which gives you an element of feel of confidence.
25:21So far so good.
25:23But it's not quite ready to project yet.
25:31At the foundry, Will is dropping in on John and Paul
25:35to check on progress with the plaques.
25:39Hi guys, good to see you again.
25:41This looks amazing.
25:42Is this the one that wasn't as bad or the one that was really bad?
25:46No, this is the really bad one.
25:47Oh, you guys have been busy.
25:48It's completely changed colour.
25:51It has, yes.
25:52Why?
25:53This was the process of blasting off.
25:55So all that sort of hundred years of muck, corrosion, weather.
26:00It's all gone.
26:01And we will eventually brush the whole surface
26:03to get it prepared for the new colour.
26:06Get them both back to how they would have been
26:07when they left the foundry originally.
26:10So they both will look identical.
26:12We're going to end up with a matching pair.
26:13Yes, with a matching pair.
26:15Fresh, dark, glossy, ready to go on the wall.
26:20It's going to look great is what you're trying to say.
26:22It will look great, yeah.
26:24I still don't understand how you're going to be able to colour match this.
26:26I'll show you how.
26:28OK, where?
26:29Follow me.
26:29Oh, brilliant.
26:32Whilst John and Paul share many skills,
26:35they also have individual specialisms.
26:39Paul is an expert in patination,
26:42and he's trying to colour the repaired plaques with the same chemicals
26:46the original makers would have used.
26:48But he wants to carry out a test first.
26:53right 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
27:07the chemicals that reacts when it's cold and when it's hot we'll go darker lovely what we'll do i
27:13always start off a little bit lighter and we can build it up as we need to so i'll put
27:16this on cold
27:17this smells a little bit as well it's not great very eggy how much are you applying is it like
27:22a
27:22thin coat i haven't made it particularly strong but what you'll see straight away is how the bronze
27:28takes 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 does a slightly
27:42warm brown color that's really quick it is it is i mean rub back you can get a classic penny
27:50bronze
27:51color just with this now i'll apply a bit of heat and we'll pop the chemical back on again when
27:58the
27:58surface of the metal is a higher temperature what difference is the heat going to make what the
28:04heat will do is darken everything down and enrich and everything there we are oh
28:12it's already beginning to change isn't it it is even without adding any more
28:16it's darkening down already
28:20but you can see as soon as that goes on
28:27so yeah we just want to ensure we get a nice even coverage
28:30i'll turn this off now what we see there is a pre-waxed finish so once we add wax to
28:36that again
28:37it's going to enrich in it but it's always best to wax while it's hot as well so the wax
28:42will seal
28:42everything in there's a lot of thought that goes into this and there's a lot of chemistry as well i
28:47feel
28:47like i'm back in school you guys have a real passion for what you do right yes yes it's a
28:51great
28:51process i love it you know it's an honor to work on on these plaques because you know they mean
28:56so much
28:56we can apply some wax to it to see how dark it goes if you want to yeah please
29:02oh that's a nice big tin of wine it is a nice antique wax i'll load the brush for you
29:06while it's hot you can just dab it on just dab dab just dab dab dab dab dab it on
29:12you'll see it go instantly darker richer it's got a bit more depth to it that is beautiful
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
29:29actual plaques themselves yeah me too it's going to be fun right well i'm going to let you uh touch
29:33in a few patches that i missed and i'm going to catch up with john okay john is preparing the
29:38surfaces
29:39of the plaques before paul colors them all right john oh i will is anything i can do to help
29:47yeah if you
29:48want to pick up a drill and do some wire brushing with me that'd be fantastic definitely love getting stuck
29:53in
29:53and having a wire brush on the drill definitely uh saves a bit of time yeah much easier than uh
29:59doing it by hand yeah right here we go okay so if you want to work on that area there
30:04that'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 ready to run an all
30:23important test on dawn's cine projector i've now finished putting the projector all together it's all
30:32back in it looks really smart full service now dawn left me a couple of her films here so we'll
30:39try
30:39and 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
30:55problem
30:55there 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
31:38in reverse i'm really happy with that all i've got to do now is get all the covers on and
31:44get it ready
31:44so that 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
32:12are you
32:12feeling today dawn very nervous actually nervous yes why because it means so much he's no longer
32:18here that was 40 years ago and he's still a part of me every single day so this is this
32:25is his legacy
32:25for me to pass on to my daughter how does that feel hearing that really great yeah i know how
32:31much it
32:32means to my mom so i'm just excited to see it yeah what are you hoping to see today then
32:36i'm hoping to
32:38see that the projector is working and there's some images that both myself and ellie can see of when
32:46i was back in zambia it's like two three years old and quite mischievous and very much a copycat of
32:52my
32:52dad so yeah i'm really excited are you both ready to take a look yes yeah yeah yes here we
33:00go
33:05it looks like the day that my dad bought it to be fair that's lovely yeah it does yeah it
33:11just
33:11looks wonderful should we try and plug it in please oh look already look at that i turn that on
33:19ready
33:20yes thank you
33:25that's me can you see me
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
33:45uh 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 that is a just a little snip a small glimpse yes what else is on there
34:48what did
34:49you think i 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
35:20cannot wait
35:20to get it home and watch the rest of that yeah family this is a party yeah gonna get the
35:27guys
35:27around friends around hang the bed sheet on the wall that's it turn all the lights out you'll be
35:34back there thank you mark thank you don not at all he would just be like wow to 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
35:47smile says 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 it's what i
36:02dreamed of really so that i can pass the legacy on to ellie of the importance of documenting and
36:09sharing your lives with others because none of us know what's around the corner so it's important it
36:15was really amazing to see 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 know
36:26what 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 look absolutely amazing this color match is unbelievable
37:01are you both pleased yes i mean obviously one needed a little bit more work than the other one
37:07i still can't believe it they look absolutely fantastic now there's lots of people about
37:12to come in to take a look let's get this covered up this is a historic day for the rescued
37:20memorial
37:20plaques and the chatham community reverend andrea veterans and locals are gathering to see the plaques
37:29and to take part in a special remembrance service i'm feeling a great sense of anticipation about the
37:37the plaques coming home uh excitement um and also i think there'll be incredulity when i see them
37:45because i saw them when they were so badly damaged our uncle is on the plaque percy leonard swan i
37:52think
37:52it's great that we can still remember people that we didn't even know um you know they died all
37:58everybody on the plaque died before anybody that's here today come 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
38:22and 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 and they've been working on the plaques thank you thank you it was
39:00always going to be an important uh project to work on and very proud to work on it as well
39:05also
39:05so thankfully they're back home where they should be exactly are you ready to take a look yes come on
39:14right
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 you
39:38can read it clearly and it's fantastic thank you thank you do we have any descendants here that
39:45want to come up and try and find your name uh yes yeah well come on up
39:54percy leonard swan he was our uncle there were three brothers who went to the first world war
40:01and two came back unharmed the poor person well his name will live on certainly will walter william staff
40:12he's our great uncle um he served with the royal west kent regiment he was killed in 1918
40:20a place called st quentin in france he was 27 i believe when he was killed so he left behind
40:26a
40:27um a wife and a young child so yeah it's it's it's very important to us very important to the
40:34family
40:34as well and our children guys thank you very much thanks very much thank you very much thank you
40:40the back home the back home
40:45lord we thank you with humble gratitude for those who gave their lives for our freedom
40:52and at the going time of the sun and in the morning we shall remember them
40:58and we shall go there for them
41:00so
41:11so
41:18WHISTLE BLOWS
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
41:47those fallen men and those lives, so thank you so much.
41:58It was great to see my uncle's name on the plaque
42:01and we know now that it 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
42:19and thinking, gosh, 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 when it was initially stolen
42:29to how it is now is just unbelievable.
42:33Absolutely unbelievable.
42:34Fantastic.
42:35Yeah.
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 with the community and the future,
42:52and it's a positive one that has brought everyone here together today
42:55and as a community as a whole, and 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.
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