The Repair Shop guest breaks down as treasured WWII diary is restored from 'fragile state'

A guest on The Repair Shop was moved to tears after witnessing the restoration of his grandmother's World War II diary.

In tonight's episode (Tuesday 12 August), Thomas and his grandfather Roger brought a "pocket-sized treasure" from the war era to the barn.

The item in question was a diary from 1942, belonging to Roger's grandmother during the German occupation of Guernsey.

Initially, the diary was in a dire state, "falling apart" and "hanging by a thread" with loose pages. The narrator cautioned that the "fragile state" of the pocket book could result in the loss of its precious entries.

Roger had requested the experts to restore the diary to a "decent condition, in one piece," confessing: "It has been handled a lot," reports Gloucestershire Live.

Following the restoration process, the diary was revived with a new cover and the pages reattached.

An excited Roger confessed he was "tingling" with anticipation to see the diary restored, and was left speechless when it was unveiled.

"That's crazy," commented Thomas.

As Roger gently leafed through the pages, he became emotional, saying: "It's just making me think of my gran. It's beautiful, it's taken me back years."

Comforting Roger, Thomas said: "Seeing him have that connection with his grandparents the way that I've got with him makes it extra special.

"It doesn't look new, it looks matched in. Incredible work, like it's just come out of Lillian's pocket."

Earlier in the episode, Roger had revealed the profound bond he shared with his grandmother Lillian, explaining how the diary served as her means of "therapy".

Excerpts from her writings detailed how Lillian and her relatives endured isolation during the occupation, surviving on meagre rations whilst grappling with anxiety when her son departed for war.

"She was a wonderful woman, she was lovely, she died when I was just nine and it was the saddest day of my life," Roger said.

He discovered the diary following his own mother's passing in 2021, remarking: "When I started looking through it, I ended up in tears because of what they had to go through."

The Repair Shop airs Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One and is available to watch on iPlayer.