Antiques Roadshow experts gathered at the grounds of Eltham Palace in South London, with museum curator and military medal specialist Mark Smith on hand to deliver some news to one lucky guest on the BBC programme.
The guest explained to Mark he had come across Sir Winston Churchill’s belongings whilst working at a dump, having collated the items during their 15 years at the site.
Among the belongings were items such as Sir Winston’s iconic top hat, cigar and cigar case, as well as a collection of letters from one of the women who worked alongside Sir Winston during his time as Prime Minister.
After examining the items, the expert went on to tell the guest his collection was worth £10,000 as he had found the pieces by mistake, rather than going out and finding them, leading the owner to say: “Oh my god that’s crazy.”
Also this evening, jewellery and metal work specialist Geoffrey Munn left another guest on the verge of tears after valuing a pair of relics.
Recalling the events of how they came to acquire the relics, the guest began: “Well, actually this was around 15 years ago. I was in an antique market in Bruges and there was this guy around 81 years old.
“These are from his grandmother and then passed on to his mother and then the mother passed away and then he got his from all the junk in the house.
“I asked him what this is because I am attracted to religious arts and artefacts. He said to me these are relics which are normally some bones of some Saints.
“I said, ‘How much are they?’ He said, ‘I’ll give it to you for 400 euros’. I said, ‘Well, can I have them for 300 if I buy the two?’ He said, ‘Well ok, ok’.
“Anyway, I took them home and just put them in my window but I truly adore them,” the guest concluded, before Geoffrey began his evaluations of the relics.
The expert began: “So, here are relics, almost certainly the relics of arm bones of two Saints and they have little windows in them so that these fragments of the very Saints themselves can be seen.”
Antiques Roadshow: 'That's crazy' Guest
