• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
BBC Antiques Roadshow expert emotionally refuses to value item in tragic show first

Home> Entertainment> TV

Updated 15:56 10 Jan 2025 GMTPublished 13:16 10 Jan 2025 GMT

BBC Antiques Roadshow expert emotionally refuses to value item in tragic show first

It was during a World War Two special

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

During a World War Two special of Antiques Roadshow, expert Bill Harriman became distinctly emotional and decided not to value an item he'd been asked to appraise.

The experts on the show have seen all sorts of items over the years but sometimes they come across a piece of history that deeply affects them. Take a look:

In the episode, filmed in 2019 to mark 80 years since the beginning of World War Two, the experts took a departure from the usual format of Antiques Roadshow by not appraising the things brought to them.

Advert

It's rare for the experts not to give a value to an item, but there are times it has happened.

Many people brought in old keepsakes and objects from that time, including pictures of a meeting between Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain in 1938, and Bill Harriman was clearly affected when a guest brought on a series of letters which told a sad story.

Bill Harriman was deeply affected when he read the letters a guest had brought in. (BBC)
Bill Harriman was deeply affected when he read the letters a guest had brought in. (BBC)

One of the letters was sent to the parents of a young child called Audrey, who in 1940 had been sent to Canada by ship in an attempt to keep her away from the Nazi bombings.

Sadly, the letter was to tell Audrey's parents that the ship taking their daughter across the Atlantic had been hit by a torpedo and sunk.

Advert

The letter, dated 19 September, 1940, read: "Dear Mr Mansfield, I am very distressed to inform you that in spite of all of the precautions taken by the ship carrying your child to Canada was torpedoed on Tuesday night September 17th.

"I am afraid your child was not amongst those reported as rescued."

The expert then became emotional as he read a letter from Audrey to her parents written while she had still been in England.

The letter was from a child named Audrey who was killed soon after writing it. (BBC)
The letter was from a child named Audrey who was killed soon after writing it. (BBC)

It read: "Dear mummy and daddy, I am somewhere in England and having a good time.

Advert

"We have lovely playing fields with all sorts of things. Give my love to Nanny and Panky, don't worry. Love from Audrey.

"P.S. I have made some friends."

The letter ended with a series of kisses from the child who would soon afterwards be killed during attempts to evacuate her to Canada.

That made the expert tear up as he dabbed his eyes and called the message 'truly, truly heart-wrenching' knowing the details of Audrey's life and its end far too soon.

"I don't think I've seen anything like it before, this little girl hasn't got a grave but in you she has a very great advocate," Harriman told the guest who'd brought the letters onto Antiques Roadshow.

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: Antiques Roadshow, BBC, History, World War 2

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Hidden hack to get £50 to spend at top restaurants this January
  • ‘Uncomfortable’ Antiques Roadshow host refuses to value item because of its distressing history
  • Antiques Roadshow viewers left unable to sleep after freaky dolls get valued

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
9 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    Bryan Cranston explained real reason Erik Per Sullivan turned down Malcolm in the Middle return

    He's not going to be part of the return

    Entertainment
  • 9 hours ago

    Orlando Bloom shares bizarre 'blood treatment' that costs £9,750 a pop

    Orlando Bloom posted a snap from the Clarify Clinic in London

    Entertainment
  • 9 hours ago

    Price of every drink at Jeremy Clarkson's pub as customers question receipts

    The prices of Clarkson's Farmer's Dog pub have come into question in recent weeks

    Entertainment
  • 11 hours ago

    'DIY Netflix' streaming service offers completely free watching with thousands of titles

    You're getting it for free, so you can't really complain

    Entertainment