Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.

The first arrival to the barn is Patricia Eva from West Sussex, joined by her mother Morna. They are desperate for master silversmith Brenton West to rescue a family heirloom which was the casualty of a tragic house fire. The ornate silver brushes and mirror set has been passed down four generations of women within the family and was one of the few items to survive the fire. They are charred, singed and in a sorry state. Brenton carefully cleans and repairs the silver casings and enlists the skills of traditional brushmakers Alistair Russell and Gail Gomm. They salvage then rebuild the brush inserts, using as many of the original sections as possible, and hand threading the new bristles in place. Brenton replaces the blackened mirror glass and polishes the silver handles and casings with miraculous results. Patricia and Morna return with the next lucky recipient of the set - Charly, Patricia’s teenage granddaughter.

Metalwork conservator Dominic Chinea is assigned to an exciting mission when Francis Suttill from Herefordshire appears with an intriguing metal canister, which was used by his father during his time as a secret agent during the Second World War. Cells like this were packed with munitions and equipment and parachuted to secret locations where British secret agents would be waiting. Owner Francis has spent years researching the life and death of the father he never had the opportunity to get to know, but he has been unable to identify what the exact contents of the cell would have been. The identifying series of digits and numbers painted on the cell must be deciphered and restored to solve the puzzle. Thanks to Dom’s patience and ingenuity, he cracks the code and preserves this important wartime relic, enabling it to continue telling the story of the brave man who used it.

Wood expert Will Kirk also takes on a former wartime operatives keepsake when Susan Wyatt delivers a miniature wooden carousel. The toy belonged to her dear mother, who worked at the renown Bletchley Park during the war as a code cracker. The faded, dilapidated toy may be a tiny treasure, but it holds a very big place in Susan’s heart. Will is determined to put the spin back into the trinket and carefully replaces the tiny missing figures and carriages before enhancing all the paint work, bringing it back to life. Show less