The Repair Shop: Fixing Britain

Original version

BBC One West Midlands

Factual: Antiques

Jay Blades delves into the stories behind the items restored in the Repair Shop.

Jay Blades delves into the stories behind the items restored in the Repair Shop, and finds out more about the show's team of craft experts.

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Jay Blades

Paula Fasht

David Sayer

Rob Butterfield

Emma Walsh

Ricochet Limited

The Repair Shop: Fixing Britain: Series 1: Episode 10

Episode 10

BBC One - The Repair Shop: Fixing Britain, Series 1, Episode 10

Jay Blades uses three repairs to examine the legacy of the First World War in the UK.

Jay Blades explores the legacy of the First World War in the UK by delving deeper into three restorations: some bagpipes, a soldier’s wire cutters and two RAF mascots.

Jay Blades delves deeper into the restoration of three amazing family heirlooms that survived the First World War. 

The first item is a pair of wire cutters brought in by David Broome. They were previously owned by his grandfather, who fought as a soldier at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. During an attack, he was hit by a bomb and blown onto some barbed wire. He awoke to see a dead German lying next to him. Fortunately, the late soldier’s wire cutters were in reach, allowing David’s grandfather to cut himself free and walk to safety. Jay uses archive to show how the typical Tommy was kitted out during World War I and how infantry kitbags have changed since then. He also looks into the history of barbed wire and how it came into military use, particularly in No Man’s Land during battles like the Somme. 

Next is a set of bagpipes that belonged to a bagpiper with the Royal Scots regiment during the First World War. Jay tell the heroic story of Scottish bagpipers, who were frequently the first out of the trenches, leading troops over the top during attacks. Unarmed and playing their pipes, they were sitting ducks for enemy fire, but continued to march resolutely on despite the dangers. He brings their story up to date with their role in the modern day royal household. 

Last but by no means least are a pair of mascots owned by sisters Susie and Kasha. Their grandfather, Oswald, was a pioneering reconnaissance pilot for the newly formed Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, flying dangerous missions over enemy lines to photograph German positions in order to help guide British artillery attacks. Like many pilots, he owned mascots, in this case two teddies. Jay explains how brave pilots like Oswald pioneered a whole new way of fighting that still exists to this day, as well as tracing the early development of the modern RAF.

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