Windrush75 Turning back the clock

BBC’s Repair Shop fixes some very special and sentimental items from the Windrush era

THE BAFTA award-winning series The Repair Shop returns on June 7 to BBC One with four new peak episodes, including a special programme marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush to the UK.

To mark National Windrush Day, the barn team fixes four items that celebrate the contribution and achievements of members of the Windrush generation and their descendants.

First into the barn is Beverley with a memento that tells a tale of her father’s heritage. The British passport was issued to Beverley’s father, Alfanso, in Jamaica in 1948 and served as his legally binding document to come to the UK to help rebuild the ‘Mother Country’ after the Second World War.

Cherished

In 1950, he travelled on the SS Eros and, after settling in London, sent for Beverley’s mother who travelled from Jamaica to be reunited with him. The passport has been cherished for nearly 80 years but is sadly now showing its age.

Beverley hopes bookbinder

Chris Shaw can restore it to remind her elderly dad of his pioneering bravery moving and settling in a new country as a young man.

Next to arrive is Keithly with a suitcase owned by his trailblazing mother, Locita. Known as a Grip, the case holds memories of a journey filled with opportunity, adventure and resilience. Locita travelled from the island of Nevis to the UK in 1956.

PRECIOUS: Right, Bookbinder

Chris Shaw, Beverley and presenter Jay Blades take a look at a very special passport that belonged to her father; far right, sister and brother Dorcas and Stephen with a clock that means so much

The journey was arduous, with Locita spending a long time aboard the SS Irpinia on very rough seas before eventually docking in Southampton.

She started her life in the UK in menial jobs, but her tenacity and drive meant she worked and studied hard, eventually becoming a local councillor in Manchester, helping many in the community.

Keithly is now hoping the barn’s leather expert Suzie Fletcher can repair the Grip so that Locita can take it back to the West Indies with her when she returns later this year.

Sister and brother Dorcas and Stephen bring a precious clock to the barn for the attention of the barn’s horologist, Steve Fletcher.

The clock belonged to the siblings’ parents, Hermann and Keturah, and was one of the first items they saved up to buy after arriving in the UK from Antigua.

The plan was to stay for five years and return home, but the couple soon put down roots and ended up remaining in the UK for the rest of their lives.

The pair worked hard and went from living in a single bedroom in a shared house to eventually owning their own home in Birmingham.

The chiming clock took pride of place in their front room and served as a status symbol of the fact they had ‘arrived’ and established themselves.

Now, the siblings would love to hear the broken chime ringing again, to remind them of their parents’ tenacity and what they did to not only help rebuild the UK but also to build a new life for subsequent generations of their own family. The barn’s final visitor is Patrick Vernon OBE who led a successful campaign for June 22 to be recognised annually as Windrush Day.

He brings along a radiogram that once belonged to his late friend Eddie Noble, a Second

World War British-Jamaican veteran who settled in the UK following his service in the RAF. The radiogram was one of Eddie’s most prized possessions and he gifted it to Patrick in his later years.

Electrical whizz Mark Stuckey acts with military precision to get the radiogram back to its former glory for Patrick.

Alongside their hard-working schedule filming for the next series of the much-loved programme, The Repair Shop team is reaching out to a wide range of communities for the future series.

Presenter Jay Blades said: “We are looking for unique items for our new series. They don’t have to be antique, it can be absolutely anything, but it must have that sentimental value and it must mean something to you and it needs repairing. We want you to get in contact because we want to get these things fixed for you.”

Ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay added: “In the previous series we’ve fixed a whole host of items, traditional instruments, garments, books, crockery and more. So, please get in touch about your amazing items in need of some love.”

Email therepairshop@ricochet. co.uk or log on to www.bbc.co.uk/ takepart for more information.