property of cilldargan public library, 1979. are you sure about that? i see. right. well, thanks for your trouble. you've been very helpful. good-bye. it's bad news, isn't it? you might say that. i knew it. me poor pigs is finished. it's nothing to do with your pigs, eamon. it's about your niece. what do you mean? come on, eamon fess up. i know what you've been up to. you'd better come inside.

her real name's finnoula. so quigley's rigged this beauty contest? he says she'll win because she's more glamorous than any of the girls around here. i might have known that sleazebucket was up to no good. fair play to him, siobhan. he didn't force me into it. he didn't have to. he knew you were short of cash. promise me you won't say anything. please, siobhan. you've got some good music here... for an old fella. i've always been something of a musical trendsetter. i was the first kid in my hometown to buy a bay city rollers record. and this was the first album i ever bought. i was only ten. brilliant... they don't make them like this anymore. i'd love to have been a musician but i've no real talent for it. do you play? would it be stuck up there on the wall if i did?

could i have a look? well -- i won't nick it, if that's what you're worried about. it was a birthday present from my parents. they were hoping i'd turn out to be a musical genius but it's been hanging on the walls ever since. what about yourself? can you play? a bit... me granddad taught me. he was a brilliant fiddler. give us a tune then. no. go on. you can't be any worse than me. i'm a bit out of practice; i don't have a fiddle. i used to play granddad's until after he died and it disappeared. here, give it a go. [ ♪ violin playing ♪ ]

would you like to borrow it? yeah! all right, then, but only on one condition. better hurry up and get back to school. thanks. i'll see you later. see you. what's he doing with that? hello, naomi. how are you? i'm fine, thanks. yes, i suppose so. a small little town. assumpta. father. hello. good-bye. bye. busy? when am i not?

you really should get help, you know. oh, yes. bar staff or therapy? i'm trying, assumpta. [ ♪ phonograph playing ♪ ] what's the matter, eh? don't yous worry about a thing. it'll be all right. uncle eamon'll look after you. i must say, i can't see the harm in it. me neither. well, you're men you wouldn't. oh, come on, siobhan. what is wrong with showing a little admiration for the female form? i'm not even going to dignify that

with an answer, padraig. the whole thing is a joke. well, i'm all for it if it helps to improve business for ballykay. what? the rose of the tralee festival helped put tralee on the map. well, thanks for the support. i run a business, siobhan. i can't afford to knock anything that might help me. help you? would you wake up, assumpta. beauty contests were set up to make out money out of stupid, vain women and dirty old men. they're just glorified cattle markets. [ door shuts ] in your opinion. what do you know about beauty contests? children, please. let's face it... ... it's a long time since you've qualified for a beauty contest of any kind, if ever. large whisky please, assumpta. there was no need for that, brian.

she shouldn't dish it out, if she can't take it back. she's only trying to make trouble. you're well out of order and you know it. shouldn't one of us go after siobhan? [ assumpta ] no, i think she'll want to be left alone right now. i'll call in to her on my way home. mind you don't choke on it, eh? you must have been the star pupil at charm school, brian. thank you. he's lucky i'm on this side of the bar, or i'd lump him one. yeah, the thought had crossed my mind. [ knock at door ] go away. [ persistent knocking ] go away, will you! oh, come on, siobhan. answer the door or i'll break it down.

[ siobhan ] have you been in the pub all this time? [ brendan ] i have, yes. just a small one for me, please, siobhan. help yourself. ohhh! are you all right? why shouldn't i be? sure, i enjoy being humiliated in front of all me friends. oh, pay no mind to brian, sure. he didn't mean it. maybe. but he has a point. stop feeling sorry for yourself. god knows i'm no oil painting. know what that is? that's drink talking.

you know you're a good-looking woman. says who? oh, me. i do, for one. oh, you're just saying that to make me feel better. we've been friends for years, have we not? then you know i wouldn't lie to you about anything like that. you're a very attractive woman. the only one that doesn't know it is yourself. do you really think so? i'm telling you. looks and brain's a deadly combination in any woman. sure, i don't know why you weren't snapped up years ago. i've had me fair share of offers. i can believe it. oh, brendan. er, i'd best be going now.

oh, my god.

[ niamh ] keep backs straight. come on, chins up. look as if you're enjoying it. come on... you look like you could do with some sleep. have you seen brendan, father? i -- er. i don't know -- er, siobhan. he was here a little while ago. sure, never mind. i'll catch up with him. what was all that about? i've made the mother of all mistakes. it can't be that bad. do you want to bet? father clifford, have you got a minute? talk to you later.

one minute i was offering her a little friendly comfort and the next -- yeah, i get the picture. has siobhan said anything? she doesn't have to. it's all in the eyes with women. that's why i'm trying to avoid her. it was just, well, you know how it is. we had a bit to drink and one thing led to another. right. and you think siobhan might have ideas about something more permanent? i think she's in love with me. well, you can't keep avoiding her. i just don't want to hurt her feelings, that's all. all the more reason why you should say something.

i can't. not until i've had a good night's sleep anyway. coward. knackered coward. brendan. what's all this? it's my contribution to the festival. that's very generous of you. sure, i'm all heart.

erm, can i ask a favour? well, what is it? i really need your help. that bad is it. er, john, two minutes? come on inside. would you talk to her? it's not my place to. what happened between siobhan and brendan is their business. yeah, but we just can't stand by and watch them fall out over this. well, things might work out between them. no. these complications always end up ruining friendships. it happens. sometimes it can't be helped. i hate to see people i care about get hurt. all right, all right. i'll talk to her. when i get a chance. thanks. i really appreciate this.

what are friends for? good news, eamon. your pigs are clean. i don't believe it. oh! music to me ears! you hear that, mary! look. she's over the moon, siobhan. so what have they got? a strain of flu virus. the symptoms are similar to aujesky's. i'll start them on antibiotics straight away, and they'll be as right as rain in no time. you know, i reckon all this is my punishment for getting involved in quigley's little scheme. pretty girls mean trouble. at least you know where you are with an old sow. eh, siobhan?

here we go. you spoken to siobhan yet? no. are you going to? yes, later. later. oh, no. brendan.

the sounds of ireland... that restless whispering you never get away. from seeping out of low bushes and grass heather bells and fern wriggling and scraping tree branches. light haunting cloud sound hounding sight. a hand ceaselessly combing and stroking the landscape through the valley... upon the mountain. [ applause ] [ ♪ irish folk music ♪ ]

i hope after all this, my daughter isn't going to be disappointed, brian. no worries. finnoula's been through a lot for this living with that man and his pigs. sure, she had to be local. anyway, she looks a million dollars. trust me, dessi, she'll walk it. i certainly hope so. [ ♪ music continues ♪ ] [ drumroll ] [ applause ]

[ speaks into unpowered mic ] [ crowd laughs ] ladies and gentlemen -- ladies and gentlemen... welcome to the lily of ballykissangel contest. organised in conjunction with babbling brook, the unique taste of pure irish springwater. >> shove your water! we want to see the girls! it promises to be a most entertaining event. and so i would ask you to put your hands together for our first contestant mae houlihan. big round of applause for mae. [ applause ]

cheers. so, come on, siobhan. what's the gossip? gossip? you've been keeping things to yourself. i can tell. well? don't breathe a word to a soul. eamon's niece, naomi, is an impostor. what? she's not who she says she is. what are you talking about? i've been doing some research. the real naomi is a nun. works with the little sisters of the poor in liverpool. has done for years. so who's she? finnoula mcmichael. her father runs a big shipping company in dublin. he's an old buddy of brian's. she wants a modelling career. so they fixed up an agreement. if she wins the competition, quigley gets himself a major building contract. and this is going to help her? if she gets through and wins the final. first prize is a huge modelling contract

to help promote that piddle. oh, i don't believe this. quigley reckons there's no competition. as far as looks go she's a dead cert. oh, is that a fact? well, we'll soon see about that. no. wait until she's pronounced the winner. why spoil the fun? relax, you'll be fine. i think i'm going to be sick. it's just your nerves. it happens to all great performers. it's nothing to worry about. there's only a couple of hundred people here. oh, no. con! [ drumroll ]

and now, ladies and gentlemen. the moment we've all been eagerly awaiting. let me do it. not a chance, i've been looking forward to it. ...thank you. in here is the winning name. and the winner is -- the winner is... right! ...deirdre patrick. [ applause ] good woman! big, big round of applause for deirdre. well, this is indeed a proud day for pat's pantry. and now, deirdre your prize. you will go forward to the national heat in the search for the new face for babbling brook. oh, yes, and a free hairdo from lilian's premier styling salon. well done.

[ applause ] now, back to our musical program. we're about to enjoy a contribution from one of our visitors from allanstown. con o'neill is going to play a little something that's guaranteed to get your feet tapping. con o'neill. [ crowd applauds ] [ crowd applauds ] [ ♪ violin playing off-key ♪ ]

[ other instruments join in ] come on, con. [ ♪ music playing ♪ ] [ crowd claps to rhythm ]

sorry you didn't win. thanks. eamon? i'm glad your pigs are okay. come on, let's go. okay? dessi! dessi! wait up.

dessi! wonderful show mr. quigley. we've got ourselves a real country beauty, exactly what we're looking for. thank you very much indeed. thank you, that's very kind. beauty is in the eye of the beholder, eh, brian? siobhan, can i have a quick word? come on father let's have a go. siobhan, i've something i have to say to you. brendan... you're a great pal; you know that. i think the world of you, but that's all. i don't want to hurt your feelings but i have to be honest i'd much rather we stayed friends. i'm sorry. but thanks for the flowers. they were a lovely thought.

[ ♪ folk music continues ♪ ] captions by: midwest captioning des moines, iowa

six months ago we set sail on the roadshow. since then, we've weighed anchor from the cornish coast to the dock at dundee. and tonight, we've reached the end of our journey. i think you'll find we saved the best till last. it's something of a special edition tonight because we've asked our experts to choose their favorite finds of the series.

and when i tell you they've seen over 150,000 objects that's quite a task. so here's your chance to catch up on the highlights and see what happened to some of those most talked-about items. i know it sounds a cliche, but they have been in the attic. this is fantastic. there was fireworks going off in there. there were bells ringing there were sirens blaring. we're looking at porcelain painting as good as it will ever get. it was mine. i wanted to take it home. it was one of those items where i thought i'm not gonna get through the filming of this, because it is having such an impact upon me. this was vintage roadshow stuff. i have to try and value it really. the only way i can do this is to go like this. ( clock chimes once ) being a specialist on the roadshow requires all sorts of qualities. not only do you need the knowledge of the encyclopedia britannica,

you also need patience. you see, it's taken roadshow stalwart eric knowles 28 years to uncover his best find. it happened one soggy afternoon in scotland. dumfries house really was, for me one humdinger of a day. it was the icing on top of the cake. where has this rather unpretentious vase been lurking before you brought it along today? it's been up in the loft. i was cleanin' out the loft and we came across it. we were going to bin it. we thought it was just a heap of junk. so we were going to bin it and then we thought we'll hold onto it. 'cause we heard the antique roadshow was comin' here. and that's why i've held onto it. i actually bought it at a car boot. and it had a plant kind of purple plant that was the reason we bought it, for the plant, 'cause it was quite nice in the bowl. knowles: as for the owners it was only too obvious that they really, really didn't have a clue about what they'd picked up at that car boot.

it was obvious, also that there was no great attachment, be it emotional or whatever to it. do you know who made it? i don't know anythi well can i tell you? yes. okay. because if you look very carefully there's actually a name on it. the name is sort of lurking behind here. we'll turn it round. and that name is lalique. and so.. have heard of lalique? lalique? no. well, you're on a rapid learning curve today aren't you? keeping your face straight was the hardest thing to do. i mean, what was going on in my mind at the time there was fireworks going off in there. there were bells ringing there were sirens blaring, all because of this very sort of slightly nondescript little glass vase. there's lots of different types of lalique glass. yours is that little bit different. now and then, you get something called a cire perdue, or a lost wax process. most lalique glass is made using

steel molds, so you can replicate as many pieces as you like. this particular piece was from a group which were made using the lost wax process or cire perdue. in other words, all cire perdue pieces are unique. you've got to actually break the mold to actually retrieve the piece. date-wise, i suppose you could be anywhere round about 1920 to maybe 1935. so, car boot. yes. for plant. how much were they asking for the plant? we only paid a pound. you paid a pound. paid a pound right. okay. i know it didn't look ofny great consequence but it was a collector's dream to find, a cire perdue vase of that type. the questions i get asked about this program-- what's the most expensive thing you've ever had on the antiques roadshow? i remember, it was probably in grimsby about 15 years ago and it's a great big huge french

jardiniere. that was grimsby then. but i've got to tell you now that as of today i think it might be this, because this is worth... are you jokin'? when it came to valuing this lalique vase, it was really a matter of calling upon the best part of 30-something years of experience. it's worth a mere £25,000. oh, my god! man: lot number 107. ( speaking french) it's a very fine thing a unique piece. knowles: something of that value, and something so fragile unfortunately, then becomes something of a liability so i wasn't too surprised when i heard through the grapevine that the lady had decided to actually consign it to a specialist auction in london. i can't believe it's gonna sell actually 'cause we've had it for that long in the loft. but i'm very excited but nervous as well. very nervous. we'll find out what happened later in the program

when owner ann's vase went under the hammer. you've probably imagined from watching the program that every day is packed with outstanding finds for our experts. well, you'd be wrong. some roadshow days just don't yield anything very exciting. and our silver expert, alastair dickenson thought he was in for a bit of a lean day when we visited nottinghamshire last year. southwell had had a pretty bleak day and then, at about 5:00, a young couple came in with push chair and a rucksack, and out of the rucksack, he brought out one of the dirtiest pieces of silver i'd ever seen in the 18 years i've been doing the roadshow. obviously, your love of silver must stop at cleaning, because where have these been to get in such a black state? i know it sounds a cliche, but they have been in the attic, along with broken umbrellas and 3,000 coat hangers. and do you know why they were put there or where they were before that? no, we don't know too much.

it's my wife's father, so i've asked my father-in-law about his memory of it and he's very sage and he seems to recall them, but isn't too sure about exactly when or how. but i think he's had them a few years. silver takes a long time to get black like that so when he said it had been in his father-in-law's attic i knew he was telling the truth, 'cause it had been there a long, long time. in fact, before we started filming, he said it was next to old bicycle tires and squirrel droppings. and i had this wild fantasy of this thing being an up-market squirrel latrine. but in all seriousness it was a fantastic find. there are a number of things that intrigue me about this. the first thing is these kangaroo handles. now these are pieces of english silver, so i can only imagine that these kangaroos on the edge here it must have been made for some special australian dignitary or a family with australian connections. 'cause it's quite unusual to find a piece of english silver

with kangaroos on. more importantly if we tip it up here it's got a set of hallmarks along here which is for the most famous 19th-century silversmith of them all. a chap called paul storr. and he was the royal goldsmith to george iv. and we have a date letter here for 1837. i've only seen two or three pieces by paul storr in all the years i've been doing the roadshow. and after paul de lamerie, he's probably the most famous silversmith working in the british isles. he was the manager of the greatest firm of retailers at the time rundell, bridge and rundell, and they supplied the royal family with a lot of the best silver made during the regency period. look at these beautiful sea horses. wonderfully sculptured. this great plume of reeds coming up supporting this rather big grand bowl.

so we're talking of a very important silversmith, and a sizeable object. all the armorials or crests or any inscription that might have been on the plinth or on the side of the bowl had been removed which is a great shame because that might have taught us who it was made for. my guess is that as it was dated 1837 that it was probably made for the coronation of queen victoria, but ordered by a governor of one of the australian states. what we've got to imagine is this put together on its plinth... like that. and imagine it shining bright and sparkly. because this is a seriously important bit of 19th-century silver. it was a tricky thing to value. it was so dirty and so black that it was impossible to know, when cleaned up whether the tarnish had eaten into the surface.

i wouldn't have any hesitation in expecting that to be worth in the region of £30,000. right. thank you. that's rather a good sum for something lying around in the attic. it was a true discovery of something really impressive, something sizeable something that, also when cleaned up, would look quite magical. and one day, i really hope to see it cleaned up because that would really be the icing on the cake. i'm delighted to say the owners took alastair's advice and after some delicate polishing in the hands of a professional silversmith here's what it looks like today. you'd barely recognize it. and just cleaning it has added £10,000 to its value. this year has been absolutely extraordinary. a really memorable year.

none more so than when i was at southwell and this extraordinary train arrived on my table. it's a pretty beat-up train. it is, isn't it? who sat on it? i think it was well-played with when the child had it. actually, i don't think it was well-played with. i think it was really badly played with. so whose was it, because obviously, it's much too old to be yours. yes, i think it belonged to my father-in-law. i think he had it as a child. well, let's just have a look at it. the first thing that strikes you is it doesn't really look like an english or a european locomotive. the thing that struck me immediately was the stencil decoration. that got some bells going in my brain. also, the fact that it was made of wood and metal, something really unusual. my feeling is that it is an early american toy. i suppose the ultimate giveaway then is actually what the locomotive is called, new york. the thing about the american toy

manufacturers is that they were creating toys with an element of whimsy about them that perhaps one doesn't see so much in europe. it's almost a child's drawing of a train. the mechanical toy industry in both europe and america started roughly at the same time, within a decade. 1840's in europe 1850's in the states. but then their paths went down different routes. the americans, they used different materials and also, because of the expansion westward in america, the train really became an icon of everything new and modern. it's also, i have to say, probably the earliest train that we've ever seen on the antiques roadshow. oh, heavens. it was such an exciting find for me, because you never see toys from this period outside museums or outside collections. and it's worth some money.

really? sat upon and badly played with, it may be but i'm absolutely certain in auction, that would fetch more than £1,000. really? heavens. that's a surprise. it's a rare and unexpected find like that that makes the roadshow so special to me. but the excitement didn't stop there this year, because at dumfries house another extraordinary train steamed my way but this time, i have to say it was in amazing knick. and... quite nice. quite nice. i love... i love your talent up here for under-description. "quite nice," he says. this is fantastic. i think collectors seeing that train on the program would have said, "i want it."

it is right up there right at the top the zenith the top of the pyramid of what a collector would want. so this train i can date pretty much to 1906 to 1912. you can see the letters g-b-n in this sort of radiating lozenge here and that's a mark that this particular company used from about 1906 to about 1912. and the name of the company, the g-b-n, stands for gebruder bing of nuremburg. this toy really ticks all the boxes for a toy connoisseur. it's by a great maker, gebruder bing, one of the best german makers. it's from what's known as the golden age of toys. this is a period when toys were beautifully crafted made of prestige materials hand-finished.

that period didn't last long. then, it's in terrific condition. we can see that it's spirit fired, so it's a live steam train. fired by spirit... and here are all the accoutrements to fill the spirit burner. we've got the measuring jug, the little funnel, the oil can here. and so the burner was put underneath the train, and it would operate by live steam. it's a huge excitement for me to see a train like this. i suppose, in over 30 years in the antiques business i have never seen a better one. it is in fabulous condition. absolutely everything is there. it's one of the rarest trains i've ever seen, not because of its outline, but because of its condition. i think, in the right auction, with the right buyers there you could see it going for between

£7,000 and £10,000. gosh. i can't believe that! i really can't. and when the cameras stopped running, he did say to me "what did you say again?" as if maybe i was joking and i'd give him the real answer the second time round. but no, no i stuck to my guns. a team at the roadshow always guaranteed to ferret out an interesting find are our art specialists. philip mould is a seasoned professional when it comes to discovering paintings with extraordinary stories. but even he was shocked to see what emerged amongst a pile of discarded old paintings found by an angler during our visit to althorp. it was early in the morning. it was the first item, i recall. i was feeling slightly groggy as one does first thing in the morning with the sun glaring in your face. and these objects just dropped in front of me. so you went on a fishing trip but you came back with more than just fish. you came back with these.

yeah. it's my local spot i always fish, 'cause it's only half a mile walking distance to where i fish, and so, i just gathered 'em up and took 'em home. in a fly tip? well, a disused tip, yeah. a disused tip, a fly tip. whatever you like to call it. this was vintage roadshow stuff. here was a man who had been on a fishing trip had found these things either around his feet or in a tip nearby. he had no idea what they were he had no idea of their value and just came to me in that innocent, wonderful way that people do with the words "what is it, and how much is it worth?" did they all come together as a group? yeah. so we can assume safely that they're the same person's pictures. i would think so. somebody had a clearing of the attic or something. it was a bit of a rag bag at first glance, and then when i looked closer i saw amongst them a watercolor which didn't look that exciting, but then, as i began to observe it more i noticed a sort of deftness in the coloring and then, being the art dealer that i am

i lighted in the bottom right-hand corner the signature. and for me that said it all. i've never looked at it. well, there's a signature. winston, is it? winslow. oh, winslow. i can't read it. well, the next word is homer. winslow homer. and winslow homer is about the most important water colorist at work in america in the 19th century. so clearly, this traveling family have got hold of a work by one of the leading artists around. winslow homer is the greatest water colorist in 19th-century and early 20th-century american history. he's fresh ,and he's direct. he's exhilarating. and when you consider that the history of america is all about conquering the wilderness here was the man who could and did do it, but he did it with a brush. when i first saw this watercolor, i thought, hmm i'm a bit disappointed by the look of that. the colors look a bit strange. then i thought the faces look a bit disappointed

but then, when you study them more carefully, you can see that this is an illustrator who's got a most beautiful finish, a clarity, trying to impart information not just about people generally but about the situation. what's going on. there seems to be a box of gold or jewelry or something that they're discussing. almost certainly this is painted in cuba, which is where the artist was working. if it were in really, really good condition it would be one of the most exciting pictures i've ever seen on the roadshow. but it's not, unfortunately. tell me, did you catch anything that day? only a flat flounder that was just spent. how big was it? could've been a specimen if it wasn't spent. in other words it had spawned. that would've been me only luck other than pickin' them up. well, you netted something else that day. you got a picture worth up to £30,000. ( spectators gasping )

bingo! well, that's nice. that's lovely. you don't have to cry like that. it's yours. fiona: well, that was quite an exciting find wasn't it, philip? and i know the owner said he wanted to sell the painting so what happened next? i gather the picture has gone to a major london auction house and they have now sent it off to america. in fact, i think it's going out there as we speak. and they are intending to get it certified by an expert. every great artist has their appointed man or woman on earth whose job it is to certify. and once it's been certified then i suspect it will be sold. are you confident it will fetch a good price? well, let's hope so, but these are difficult times. we're seeing markets particularly specialist markets, crashing around us. and we live in pretty broiling waters. and things are pretty bad in the russian market, aren't they?

the russian market is a particularly good case in point. do you recall that piece i did in oxford at your old college? a marvelous picture by ilya repin. but sadly, when it came up to auction six months later, despite the fact that, when i valued it at just under £200,000 or close to £200,000, it failed to sell. and this was the fate of many pictures in that sale. i'm afraid the market has turned. the tide has gone out. so if people are thinking, if they've got a family heirloom, say and they're thinking about selling now, what would your advice be? my advice would be to wait. although i think there is one flip side to all of this. it may sound rather carnivorous. but it's a great time to buy. sounds like good advice. if the roadshow were handing out long service awards, our top medal would have to go to veteran potaholic henry sandon. it was a very special year for him

last year, and we took time to mark it on one of those rare sunny summer days. ladies and gentlemen, can i have your attention, please? welcome to leeds castle. we're having a lovely day here. i hope you're enjoying yourselves. it's a very special day today, because our beloved henry sandon is very soon going to be 80 years old and also has been given an m.b.e. so... i know. so we wanted to celebrate. round of applause for henry. i suppose it's been the most memorable year of my life. wonderful roadshows, i suppose culminating in the one at leeds castle, which celebrated both my 80th birthday and the grant of the m.b.e. i'd love you to have your family here. your wife barbara, of course. your two sons, your grandchildren. it's marvelous. really. they're not as old as me but they will be one day. and you've been awarded an m.b.e.

congratulations. was it a big surprise? it was, yes. i had no idea it was coming. barbara opened the letter and thought it was the m and b. mitchells and butlers. the award of the m.b.e. was given for three reasons-- all very dear to my heart. for services to the ceramic industry to television, and also, to charities. so it meant a great deal to me to have all those three things which sum up my life. the ceremony was terrifically exciting. we all had to queue up and then, one by one be introduced to the queen and bow, and be marked with the medal which was wonderful. this is the medal. then a few questions and words from her. then a backwards step, a bow again, and off you go. it was all over in a little trice, but it was a wonderful experience.

it was very moving the whole thing. not just henry the whole performance. it was marvelous. and the tears came to my eyes, believe me. 2008 has been very poignant for me because not only is it the 90th anniversary of the armistice of the first world war but we seem to have had a lot of first world war memorabilia brought in, and the first item was at bodnant gardens when what turned up at my table seemed incredibly moving. you've brought along today a piece of ironwork, which is not something i normally see in militaria. so tell me what's the story behind it? it's one of the handles, the pattern that was made, for the coffin of the unknown warrior in westminster abbey. the tomb of the unknown warrior, is the focus of the nation's attention

on armistice day every year and is the place where families whose loved ones fell and whose remains were never found can go and commemorate their loved ones. the ceremony took place, i think, exactly two years-- two years after the armistice. to the day. to the day. november, 1920 at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day. and an oak coffin, i believe, made from british oak. from hampton court. and it was a gift from the british guild of undertakers to the people of great britain. and this is an example of one of those handles. obviously not the original. what an astonishing thing. what's the relevance to you? it's the company brunswick ironworks in caernarfon, founded by my grandfather. and in 19-- 20. 20. they received a telegram. to go down to london and then he was then commissioned to do

the eight handles and the straps on the coffin. you've also brought along some photographs. and this photograph here shows very clearly the handles. what was incredibly poignant to me was the fact that these photographs of the coffin, the actual coffin, had probably never been seen by anybody who was alive today. and what about the plaque? because i see you've also brought along a plaque, so how can this plaque be there? well, they had two plaques. what happened was, they weren't sure whether it was going to be "for king and country," or "king and empire." so by 1920, they thought it should be "for king and country." because a lot of the countries in the empire were already considering independence, weren't they? yes. yes. normally on the roadshow of course, at this point we talk about value. to be very honest, i really would rather not in this case because i think something like this is beyond value. such things as the items belonging to

the tomb of the unknown warrior are what makes the antiques roadshow so special for me. but equally interesting, equally unusual, are items that turned up at dundee, but for completely the opposite emotional reasons. you've brought along a few items today that are anti-war. i have indeed. tell me something about them and who they belong to. these refer to my grandmother's brother. his name was bernard douglas taylor. this is him. that's him, yes. prior to the war starting, he took part in many anti-war committees and so on. oh, did he? and once the war had started he helped out with other conscientious objectors and so on. of course, to go to war was an incredibly brave thing, but also not to go to war, deliberately not to go to war, also took tremendous courage. it must have been a most appalling thing to be the subject of people's ridicule because he would have been ridiculed at home in britain. i don't know that ridicule is exactly the word. i would say disliked even to the point of being hated.

in fact, if you open that, you'll perhaps see what i mean. what's this dated? 1916, it looks like from the postmark. it's a letter to him. you'll see. oh! oh my... oh, goodness me. it's a white feather. it's a white feather as in the four feathers film. it says, "noble sir, "if you are too proud or frightened.." underlined "to fight, wear this." and this has been kept. it's been kept, yes. it was kept by my grandmother just to show the feelings that some human beings have towards others. to receive a letter in which was pinned a white feather the symbol of cowardice, that we all know, of course, must have been a terribly emotional thing for the person that received it. how would you feel if you'd received this? i don't know. i think from what i've read of his background

that he would have accepted it as an example of how human beings can look upon each other and feel sad and sorry perhaps for the person who wrote it. that's an interesting perspective, isn't it, i suppose. i have to say, i've never seen another white feather letter ever. because i doubt whether anybody kept them. i would have thought-- i think most people would have been very anxious to get rid of them completely very quickly. i actually feel quite privileged to have been able to see it. it's quite incredible. and i wouldn't mind betting that if this was actually sold-- i'm sure you don't want to do it-- but if this was sold at auction today you'd get a number of people willing to pay probably £500, £600 for it because it's most unusual. fiona: two very different but equally moving stories from our arms and militaria man, graham lay. the day after the roadshow the owners took the items