The Repair Shop Catch up, Series 14: 17. VE Day Special on BBC 2

The Repair Shop

Series 14: 17. VE Day Special

To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the team open the barn doors to four very special items, each with an extraordinary wartime story behind them. \n\nHorologist Steve Fletcher is honoured to welcome 101-year-old Royal Navy veteran John Holloway, who brings with him a very special timepiece. As an engineer on board the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, John was responsible for servicing the planes and installing the precisely calibrated cockpit clocks that US pilots relied upon to carry out their missions. Left in possession of one of these clocks at the end of the war, John gifted it to his beloved wife Connie, and it remained on her bedside table for the rest of her life. But now, with the intricate mechanism no longer working, Steve and his watchmaker son Fred have a delicate and very tricky job on their hands to get it ticking again.\n\nTeddy bear ladies Julie and Amanda also find themselves up against it when faced with 86-year-old Haisi, a small plastic doll who accompanied her then two-year-old owner Ruth on an extraordinary journey from wartime Austria to the safety of the UK. As a Jewish orphan with no passport or papers, Ruth’s future in Nazi-occupied Vienna looked bleak, until she – and Haisi – were smuggled out of the country, courtesy of a remarkable feat of subterfuge at Dover customs. Plastics restorer Charlotte Abbott is called in to work on Haisi’s cracked and shattered celluloid limbs. However, even with three top experts on the case, it feels like it could be touch and go for Ruth’s precious, but very fragile, lifelong companion.\n\nAlso in this VE Day special, master hatter Jayesh Vaghela weaves his magic on an RAF cap with a remarkable story behind it. The cap was worn in combat by Johnny Smythe, a young man from Sierra Leone who volunteered for action and was selected to serve as a navigator with Bomber Command. One of only 60 Black African airmen to serve in the RAF, Johnny survived being shot down over Germany and imprisonment in Stalag Luft 1 before going on to a glittering career as a senior diplomat in his native Sierra Leone. John’s son Eddy would love to see the cap restored to a presentable state, with its battle scars preserved, as a testament to his father’s many achievements.\n\nAnd finally, bookbinder Chris Shaw is left spellbound by the contents of a little autograph book, full of heartfelt and poignant messages written to a wartime nurse by her patients. Brought into the barn by Dorothy Orr from County Antrim, the book belonged to her mother Margaret, who tended to soldiers from all over the world as they were recovering from their wounds in military hospitals across Scotland.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of The Repair Shop

The Repair Shop

Series 14: 17. Ve Day Special

To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the team open the barn doors to four very special items, each with an extraordinary wartime story behind them. \n\nHorologist Steve Flet ...

07-05-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 16

Kicking things off are Melissa and her mum, Hari, who bring in a novelty party piece that’s lost all impact. They’re hoping that Pete Woods can drum up a solution. T ...

05-05-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 15

First up in the workshop is a mandriola belonging to internationally celebrated folk musician Vin Garbutt. Vin’s son Tim and family friend Maggie are hoping Julyan Wallis ...

29-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 14

Kicking things off is a life-sized model horse used as a teaching aid at a riding school for disabled people. Instructor Ena and star pupil Ellen are hoping Hector, who is badly ...

22-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 13

Entering through the barn doors first are siblings Michelle and Paul along with their mum, Ann. They have an unfinished family project that needs the help of metalworker Dominic ...

15-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 12

First into the barn are Keith and his daughter Kirsty, who have brought a cleverly designed accessory that requires the skills of resident horologist Steve Fletcher. Keith&rsquo ...

07-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 11

First into the barn is Zelda, with her most precious possession, a ring bought by her father on a day out together when she was a teenager. But the ring looks nothing like it or ...

01-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 10

First through the workshop doors is Ben, with an unusual item needing a joint crusade to get it back on its feet. Silversmith Brenton West, woodworker Will Kirk and leather expe ...

24-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 9

It's the return of smoke and mirrors from times past as Camilla arrives with a groundbreaking form of Victorian entertainment she’d like to see back in action. Her revolvi ...

17-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

The Repair Shop

Series 14: Episode 8

First through the workshop doors is Bev, bringing a local landmark that has lost its way. The dilapidated village sign from Broome in Norfolk was designed for the millennium by ...

10-03-2025

BBC 2

All episodes