Jay Blades

Steven Fletcher

Suzie Fletcher

Jay Blades revisits three repairs - a watch, a swagger stick and a belt - that tell heroic stories from the Second World War that still resonate today. Dutch couple Ron and Toos Schemering Reelfs visited the Repair Shop with a wat...

Episode #1.13

Jay Blades revisits three repairs - a watch, a swagger stick and a belt - that tell heroic stories from the Second World War that still resonate today. Dutch couple Ron and Toos Schemering Reelfs visited the Repair Shop with a watch that belonged to Ron's grandparents. They were living in the former Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) when it was invaded by the Japanese. Ron's grandmother was taken to a prisoner of war camp, losing everything except this watch, which she managed to sew into her dress. Jay reveals more about what Ron's grandparents went through: his grandfather was forced to work on the Burma Railway, known as the Death Railway because of the harsh conditions under which it was built. Lance Corporal Thomas Hassall was among the D-Day landing troops and helped the Allies fight their way to Germany, liberating France, Holland and Belgium along the way. After the war he was stationed in Berlin, where he was presented with a swagger stick by his company commander for being so well turned out at regimental parades. Jay uses archive to tell the story of the British Army's battle to liberate Europe, the brave stories of soldiers like Thomas, and how the tradition of the swagger stick lives on today. The final item also has a connection to the D-Day landings: a belt that belonged to the father of Graham Hinson and Janet Hollingsworth, who was in the army catering corps and was also part of the D-Day landing force that helped defeat Germany. His regiment's final destination was the Fallingbostel prisoner of war camp, where they liberated British PoWs and were based after the war, dealing with German prisoners. One of the prisoners gave Graham and Janet's father a specially carved belt as a thank you for his kind treatment. Jay reveals more about the British Army's postwar work in Germany and what has happened to their barracks since they left in 2015.

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Episode #1.13

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