WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
An Antiques Roadshow expert was visibly moved by a Battle of Britain collection which had a top price tag that made its owner “gulp”.
The BBC daytime series travelled to the Pitzhanger Manor in London to film another fascinating episode, this time, with expert Mark Smith on hand to meet a guest with an extensive archive that immediately caught his eye.
“You have made my day. You have made my day”, Smith began.
“Forty-four years ago, I was at school, a friend of mine, his dad used to write books and I helped to write a book about the Battle of Britain.
“The most iconic thing from the Battle of Britain was the B-type flying helmet and the D-type cloth oxygen mask.
“Now, in my time, I have owned both of these but I never knew who they belonged to.
“These belonged to one of the few, a Battle of Britain pilot. Who was he?”
The guest began to explain that the items belonged to his uncle, Richard Edgar Peter Brooker, his mum’s younger brother.
He explained that he had joined the RAF in 1937 and returned to the UK in 1943 to train pilots on air-to-ground attacks before moving down to Thorney Island where he commanded a unit on D-Day.
Picking up the oxygen mask, the expert commented: “The Battle of Britain, that’s the bit.
“To actually hold one of these things which was worn in the battle, which is such a pivotal moment in World War Two.
“Because without these people wearing these horrible cloth things as oxygen masks with their microphone in the front, the Germans would have come and it was these people that stopped it.
“The bar, ‘Battle of Britain’, there are only 2,500 odd of those in the world for the air crew that fought during that battle.”
According to the guest, his uncle had shot down seven or eight German planes, making him a fighter ace, while in his fighter aircraft, the Hawker Hurricane.
Talking about the Hurricane, Smith said it was a “fantastic aircraft, which we always forget because we always think of a Spitfire.
“But it was the Hurricane really that was the workhorse for the battle.”
The expert then began to list some of the medals that appeared on the table, including two Distinguished Service Order (DSO) medals, Flying Crosses, Star of Battle of Britain and a war medal, just to name a few.
Sadly, it wasn’t a happy ending for the guest’s uncle who died while on duty.
The visitor elaborated: “He was killed just before the end of the war on April 16, 1945.
“His aircraft disappeared, they don’t know where he crashed, because on that day he wasn’t wearing his dog tags.”
Beginning to summarise, Smith said: “It’s such a collection. What if I said to you then, £3,000.”
Clearly not happy with that value, the guest joked: “Bye bye”.
He continued: “Well £3,000 will buy you just the bar that says ‘Battle of Britain’”, with the guest querying: “Really?”
Smith added: “So on the table, £60,000”, causing the audience to gasp and for the visitor to have an intake of breath before stating: “Gulp.”
Smith then added: “To actually be able to hold something that was there on one of those days in the sky over London, you honestly don’t know what this means.
“Thank you so much for bringing this in. Absolutely fantastic.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.