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Metro
5 days ago
- General
- Metro
The Repair Shop restoration leaves man in tears over grandmother's wartime diary
A man has been left in tears after his grandmother's wartime diary written during the Nazi occupation of Guernsey was restored. On tonight's episode of The Repair Shop, Rodger arrived at the workshop with his grandson Thomas – and an incredibly delicate family heirloom. As they explained, the small pocket diary they wanted repaired belonged to Rodger's grandmother Lillian, who detailed her daily going-ons in 1942. At that time the Channel Islands had already been occupied by German forces for two years. Although half of Guernsey's residents had been evacuated, those who stayed endured five years under authoritarian rule and faced curfews and food rationing, As Thomas explained the diary appeared to be 'a form of therapy', with his great-great grandmother detailing her wartime experiences. 'I feel so fed up. When will this end,' she wrote, as well as explaining how her family had no food and were constantly battling sickness. Eventually Rodger's grandfather and a man he co-owned a fishing boat with decided to stage an escape. Saving small amounts of fuel at a time, after curfew they'd gradually top it up and then made it to England with their families. That boat they escaped on is also currently on display at the Occupation Museum on the island. Rodger's grandparents eventually settled in Essex. Recalling his relationship with his grandmother, he called Lillian a 'wonderful woman'. 'She died when I was just nine and it was the saddest day of my life,' he shared. After Rodger's mum died in 2021 he was given Lillian's diary and ended up 'in tears' reading what she'd gone through. However, over the decades the diary had started falling apart and the spine was completely gone. The experts were then tasked with bringing it back to its former glory. Throughout the process it was explained the diary was 'hanging by a thread'. After some tense moments that could have left the pages ripped, bookbinder Christopher Shaw managed to separate the pages to be able to attach them to a new cover. When returning to see 'if Lillian's memories could live on', Rodger was left emotional. 'I'm tingling with excitement,' he first said before seeing the restored diary. Gasping, he flicked through the pages and started tearing up. 'It's just making me think of my gran,' he said. 'Thank you. It is beautiful. It's taken me back years. More Trending 'It's really lovely and I am so grateful.' Meanwhile Thomas said he felt a 'deeper sense of connection' to Lillian being able to hold and read her diary. 'Her story is an incredible one and one I'm happy others are going to hear it as well.' View More » The Repair Shops airs Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Inside Jay Blades' career as The Repair Shop host charged with two counts of rape MORE: The Repair Shop host Jay Blades appears in court on coercive control charge MORE: The Repair Shop's Jay Blades charged with two counts of rape
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Family of Guernsey WW2 doctor meet with patient's relative
'I would not be here if not for WW2 doctor' 12 minutes ago Share Save Olivia Fraser BBC News, Guernsey Share Save Kowald family Dr Albert Kowald, who is known as the "good doctor", with his daughters Helga and Irmtraud The family of a doctor who risked his life to supply medicine to islanders during the Occupation of Guernsey has had an encounter with a relative of one of the people he helped. Luftwaffe officer Dr Albert Kowald was stationed in Guernsey during World War Two. However, the former SS officer was imprisoned by the Germans after he was discovered to be helping islanders and was not released until Liberation Day. At a book launch on Monday, there were a number of surprises in store for the family, including a meeting with Margaret Richardson, whose father and grandfather were treated by Dr Kowald. Dr Kowald's family and researchers who worked on the book attended the launch The book about Dr Kowald's life, called The Good Doctor, was published with the help of his daughters, sons in laws and researchers. Enlisting historian Richard Heaume, researcher Olivier Bailey started to piece together the story using letters and artefacts back in 2018 for the family. It was launched at the Occupation Museum, where Dr Kowald's son-in-law Horst Schmidt-Bischoffshausen and daughter Irmtraud Zotti signed copies. Mrs Zotti said: "It means quite a lot and I am so happy that now this book has been finished. I nearly didn't believe that it would be." Mr Schmidt-Bischoffshausen expressed how proud he was of his father-in-law. "It was very risky for him, fortunately he survived," he said. Margaret Richardson's father penned a letter of support for Dr Kowald Mrs Richardson, whose father William Carre suffered with asthma, said she had "such a debt of gratitude for this family". Without Dr Kowald's medication, she said she did not know if her father would have survived. "If this hadn't happened and hadn't got through this, I wouldn't be here," she said. Mr Carre wrote a letter of gratitude in support of Dr Kowald in the hope he could use it as evidence of his good actions. The letter was signed by 16 islanders, but it did not help, and just days after being freed by the British, Dr Kowald was taken away from the island and moved through a number of prisoner of war camps. It was not until 1947 until he was fully free and allowed to continue to practise as a doctor. The family of Dr Kowald were keen to hear from any others whose relatives may have been helped by him. Dr Albert Kowald kept his daughter's birth announcement with him Researcher Oliver Bailey presented Mrs Zotti with a second surprise at the evening. During his research, Mr Bailey said he had found her birth announcement, which her father had kept with him during his imprisonment. He said there had been "ups and downs" to the research but he was proud to have helped uncovered so much. "There are more leads now, so we might have to do a second edition," he said. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to
Russia Today
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU state calls for Schengen ban on Russians
Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis has urged EU member states to stop issuing Schengen tourist visas to Russian citizens, claiming they pose a threat to the bloc's national security, media have reported. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU has fully suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia and imposed travel restrictions. Latvia, along with Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, and the Czech Republic, has banned tourist visas for Russian citizens. Norway, which shares a land border with Russia, and is not an EU member state, has also closed its border for Russian tourists and other 'non-essential' visitors. Presenting so-called Schengen Barometer data for 2024 in Brussels on Thursday, Kozlovskis said the EU 'must admit' that it is 'in a hybrid war' with Russia, and that 'this affects the daily work of security institutions both on the border and within the country,' X reported. He urged the bloc to 'seriously recognize the threat' that Russian tourists allegedly pose to the EU's internal security, asserting that a complete visa ban was the bloc's 'moral duty.' To justify his initiative, Kozlovskis claimed that Latvia has encountered 'illegal border crossers and acts of sabotage,' including 'the arson of the Occupation Museum, border crossings by drones, and propaganda attempts to influence public opinion.' The number of Schengen visas issued to Russian passport holders surged by 25% last year compared to 2023, surpassing 500,000 in total, despite sanctions targeting Russian applicants, according to the Schengen Barometer tracker. Italy led in visa applications received from Russians, accounting for 28% of all requests and granting 134,141 visas, which made it the primary destination for Russian tourists within the Schengen Area, data showed. Last month, the National Security Committee of the Latvian parliament drafted a law proposing a travel ban to Russia and Belarus for certain government employees. The restrictions would also apply to transit through these countries. Latvia has taken a hardline anti-Russian stance since the conflict in Ukraine broke out, announcing sweeping travel restrictions for Russian nationals including barring Russian-registered vehicles from entering the country. Along with neighboring Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia has also exhibited hostility to its ethnic Russian minority, which currently comprises around 25% of the country's population. In addition to spending more than 1% of its entire GDP on weapons for Ukraine, Latvia has begun to deport thousands of Russians who refused to take or failed a mandatory Latvian language test. It has also destroyed Soviet-era World War II monuments, as well as arresting dozens of people for celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
