A painting sewn into the lining of a coat during World War II to hide it from the Nazis has been restored in an emotional episode of The repair shop.
Tuesday’s episode of the BBC show saw retired florist Maria Kirk, 74, bring in a damaged 19th-century painting of Madonna and Child, whom she described as the last connection to her Ukrainian family.
During the show, Maria explained that the painting was given by his father to her grandfather in the 1880s and hung in a village church in Skowiatyn, Western Ukraine.
She then explained how the family took it with them when they fled to Poland at the beginning of the war and continued to switch from person to person as they were captured and sent to a labor camp.
She said, “My grandfather Joseph had passed away. My grandmother Halyna, mother Irena and aunt Stefania fled to Poland. The Russians came on one side and the Germans on the other.’
Moving: A painting sewn into the lining of a coat during World War II to hide it from the Nazis has been restored in an emotional episode of The Repair Shop
“They decided to take the painting with them. They took it out of the frame, rolled it up and stitched it into the lining of a winter coat.
‘Eventually they were all captured by the Germans and sent to a labor camp in northern Germany. They kept changing coats.’ Ms Kirk said that while her grandmother died in the camp, her mother and aunt survived. Her aunt gave her the painting in 1990.
In the episode, she cried as Lucia Scalisi, the show’s restoration expert, removed the dirt and removed the discoloration.
Maria tearfully said the painting was “tangible proof that my family existed” and was a “beacon of peace, faith and beauty” to them.
The BBC show often welcomes special guests to the restoration shed, including actress Judi Dench and Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood.
But one notable guest was King Charles, whom Jay Blades said the British public had ‘never seen’ like how he is during his appearance at The Repair Shop.
Presenter Jay, 52, and the team visited Dumfries House in Scotland for a one-off episode to mark the BBCfilmed when Charles was still the Prince of Wales.
In The repair shop: A Royal Visit, broadcast in October, Charles needed help with an 18th-century bracket clock and a piece made for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee by British ceramics maker Wemyss Ware.
History: On last night’s episode of the BBC show, retired florist Maria Kirk, 74, brought in a damaged 19th-century painting of Madonna and Child, which she described as the last connection to her Ukrainian family
BBC hit: During the show, Maria explained that the painting was given by his father to her grandfather in the 1880s and hung in a village church in Skowiatyn, Western Ukraine
He said the damaged 19th-century ceramic piece fell over when someone opened a window — “they didn’t allow it,” he joked.
Speak against The mirrordescribed Jay King as “a real joy” to meet and said it was a “wow moment” to have him on the show.
He said, “People often say you should never judge a book by its cover, so you don’t listen to what people say until you’ve met the real person.
‘It was a real pleasure and an honor to work with him, just wait until you see it, you will be amazed. You never see him like that.’
Jay previously spoke of the importance of Charles appearing on the show and speaking to someone “from a council estate.”
He said: ‘You have someone from a council estate and someone from a royal estate who have similar interests in terms of apprenticeships and heritage crafts, and it’s incredible to see two people from so far apart, from different ends of the spectrum, actually have the same interests.’
Show: Presenter Jay, 52, and the team visited Dumfries House in Scotland for a one-off episode to mark the BBC’s centenary, filmed when Charles was still the Prince of Wales
In the episode, Charles met students from the Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Program – a training initiative that teaches traditional skills such as blacksmithing, stone carving and woodcarving.
The monarch said: ‘I still think the great tragedy is the lack of vocational education in schools, in fact not everyone is made for the academic.
‘I know about The Prince’s Trust, I’ve seen the difference we can make for people with the technical skills we always need, I have the greatest admiration for people.
“I think that’s been the biggest problem, sometimes that’s forgotten. Internships are vital, but for some reason they just gave up on the internship. It gives people intense satisfaction and reward.’
Charles said what he “really likes” is students returning as tutors year after year — “filling the school gaps,” he said.
Before the results are revealed, Charles asked the crew, “Did you solve this?” The tension is killing me.’
The monarch also loaned Prince’s Foundation graduate Jeremy Cash to The Repair Shop to work with metalworking expert Dominic Chinea on a third item described as a fire in the shape of a soldier with a poignant story behind its existence. of it.
Jay said, ‘It’s been a real pleasure and an honor to work with him, just wait till you see it, you’ll be amazed. You never see him like that’