Antiques Roadshow teen’s jaw drops at life-changing worth of field

Another Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless during an archived episode of the hit BBC show. 

As the hit daytime series visited Caversham, one teenager struggled to get his words out after he found out that a box which had been wrapped up in ‘brown paper and a tablecloth’ was worth a five-figure sum.

Expert John Foster was presented with a ‘stunning’ stumpwork box as he explained: ‘So over the years, we’ve seen on the Roadshow, quite a lot of stumpwork and needlework, stumpwork being the raised panel sections of this box.’ 

He continued: ‘You can date it quite easily to the reign of Charles II, so 1675-ish because his image is on top.

‘Now how has something like this – because when we usually see it, it’s faded, torn – how has something survived for so long in this condition?’

Explaining the origins of the box, the young guest relayed: ‘Well it came from Milton Manor in Oxfordshire which is where I’m the tour guide and the house was unoccupied for 40 years.

‘And then when the family decided to move back in, a maid discovered this in one of the old servants’ bedrooms, wrapped up in brown paper and a tablecloth.

‘So she brought it down and said ‘ta-dah!’

After analysing the antique, John surmised: ‘You could go on about this endlessly, like I say, it’s just stunning to see it like this.’

He then revealed the incredible sum the piece was worth as he exclaimed: ‘It’s staggering to see. I mean, this is museum quality at its best… So, value, at auction, easily £50,000 to £70,000.’

The teenager’s mouth dropped open at the value as he was left struggling to find any words to express his feeling. 

He joked: ‘Wow. Shame it’s not mine, I can’t believe it’s travelled down in our car and it spent the night in our sitting room.’

John added: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it and I don’t think I will in a long, long time.’

On Sunday’s episode of the show in Dundee a guest was lost for words after expert Mark Smith met one man whose father was an SAS soldier as he showcased his paperwork, medals and badges – which are often ‘faked all across the world’.

The man showed a black and white photograph of his father, called David Cargill, before being sent to France with the BEF. 

Impressed by the collection on the table, Mark said: ‘You said to me this morning ‘my dad was a soldier’ then you started to get this stuff out and I got so excited because this man was in the SAS, this is fantastic.’ 

‘We have a Territorial medal here. He went to France and he starts off his war by coming off a beach, somewhere called Dunkirk because he has the Dunkirk medal as well. What did he join then?’

The guest replied: ‘He joined the Parachute Regiment, did his training and once he’d got his wings, he immediately volunteered for SAS and was accepted.’

Mark continued: ‘Now, when you see these badges and things that you have here and you see SAS wings, usually they are fake. You have a Kings Crown Parachute Regiment badge. 

‘Even they today are hard to find and usually they are copied as well. You then have two of the shoulder titles for the 1st SAS. Now, I’m not certain that I’ve ever seen those before, in the flesh to actually touch them but there they are.’

Mark was particularly impressed at the beret that belonged to the guests father as it obtained genuine details, including the little badge that he said was often ‘faked all across the world’. 

Mark added: ‘These things just don’t come on the market, so to actually be able to stand here and touch the real thing, it’s fantastic!’ 

Putting a value on the items, the BBC star said the medals alone were worth around £200, with the full collection worth close to £8,000.

The guest was stunned by the valuation and said to Mark: ‘My father would be very surprised.’