What did you miss?
In the latest Antiques Roadshow, which took place in Colchester, Essex, appraiser Mark Smith was granted access to a little piece of wartime history. The guests brought along war medals, a logbook, and a dog tag from a soldier who served in WWII.
The soldier in question was Flight Lieutenant William McTurke — the two guests’ father and grandfather, respectively. Through the memorabilia, the war hero’s daring past was pieced together, as viewers discovered that the pilot was a prisoner of war in German prison camp Stalag Luft III in 1944.
But the most shocking part of this story was yet to come, as Smith’s valuation of the memorabilia changed everything.
What, how, and why?
Smith examined several of McTurke’s medals, including a 1939-45 Star and Air Crew Europe Star. But the most revelatory products were the Stalag Lift III dog tag and McTurke’s log book.
While the dog tag served as proof of his imprisonment, the book indicated in red ink that McTurke was missing in action. Furthermore, it contained a sketch showing the escape route and tunnel. It was these two items, Smith explained, that upped the value of the memorabilia from £1,000-1,500 to £8,000-10,000.
“And that in itself just puts us there in that camp,” Smith added.
The pair also brought a poster of The Great Escape, the movie based on the escape of Stalag Luft III prisoners — but it turns out Lieutenant McTurke himself wasn’t a fan.
“He spent the whole film saying, ‘Well that wasn’t right,’ and ‘It didn’t happen that way,” the guests revealed.
What else happened on Antiques Roadshow?
Lieutenant McTurke’s wartime heroism wasn’t the only daring escape to feature in this episode of Antiques Roadshow. An aquamarine teardrop pendant appraised by Siobhan Tyrrell came from quite a long way away: Russia.
The guest explained that before the necklace came into her keeping, it belonged to her mother’s friend, Vera. Vera, in turn, was raised in pre-revolutionary Russia, and, at the age of twelve, had to escape from St Petersberg as the revolution loomed.
“And the story goes that they sewed all the jewelry into the hem of her dress, and they escaped just with what they could carry,” the guest added.
The necklace, which features old-cut diamonds in a milgrain setting, was appraised between £4,000 and £6,000.
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One at 8pm on Sundays.
