In last night's episode of the The Repair Shop, Roger and Thomas arrived to see bookbinder Chris Shaw with a very special heirloom: a tatty paper journal that had belonged to Roger's grandmother, Lillian.
Lillian Maud Le Page grew up in Guernsey in the English Channel and was living there when the Nazis occupied the island during World War Two. She started to keep a diary in 1942 recounting her experiences during the war and all of the hardships that she and the other islanders experienced, including food shortages.
Half of the island's population were evacuated, but those who were left behind were forced to live under German rule for five years.
In one entry, she describes how the Nazis confiscated the islanders' radios to stop them hearing news from the outside world: "Rotten news for us over here. We've been told to give in our wireless sets, because the Germans think the news is too good for us."
In another moving passage, Lillian talks about her son who had gone away to war: "I dreamt of Eric last night, he was home from leave. I woke up and we were still in this rotten mess. I feel so fed up. When will this all end?"
Roger's grandfather, along with a fisherman friend, planned a daring escape from Guernsey. They smuggled little bits of fuel and kept topping up the boat after curfew. They made it out of the harbour without the engine running, then turned on the engine and made it all the way to England! The boat they escaped on now sits outside of the Occupation Museum in Guernsey.
Roger and Thomas recognised the historical importance of Lilian's diary and wanted to preserve it for future generations.
The book arrived in a fragile condition with a missing spine and loose pages, so Chris needed to take it apart in order to salvage it. He carefully strengthened the delicate pages and stitching, before adding a brand new spine that closely matched the original binding.
He even touched up the cover with watercolour paints to hide some of the scuff marks caused by wear and tear and finished it with a protective layer of wax.
Roger was deeply moved when he saw his grandmother’s diary and couldn’t believe how fantastic it looked. “It’s just making me think of me gran,” Roger said tearfully. “It’s taken me back years.”
Catch up with the episode on BBC iPlayer.
Catch up with The Repair Shop on tour!
We're thrilled to reveal that The Repair Shop is out on tour again, bringing unique tales from the barn to theatres across England. The 'Secrets from the Barn' tour will be hosted by some of your Repair Shop favourites and will feature never-before-seen footage from the show.
Find out more about The Repair Shop tour.
