Antiques Roadshow expert left in tears as fathers RAF pilot boots returned after 20 year quest

The guest continued: “I found in a pair of flight boots that I bought many years ago with a letter which sparked me on a 20-year quest to find out all about the man in the letter, his family and what happened to him.

“I brought the letter up and I said to you ‘I have a letter here from a lady about her dead son’. A lady called Hilda Shirt, and you stopped dead in your tracks and stepped back as if you’d been hit with a cattle prod.

“And you looked at me and said, ‘Not Thomas Henry Shirt?’. And I looked at you in surprise and I said ‘How do you know?’. And it’s all stemmed from there.”

Recalling the moment and laughing, Smith added: “Yeah. So, my dad used to tell me stories of his 65 trips that he did, out of this log book. There is one entry which was always something very special for my dad because it says ‘Operation Nickle II, Special Duties.

“Encountered anti-aircraft fire over one target during which engagement Flight Sgt Shirt list his life’. Now, Harry, Flight Sergeant Shirt, was my dad’s best friend.

“My dad told me the harrowing story of how Harry was killed on that target, and they swapped over a job in a gun turret. And as they swapped they were hit by over 1,000 bullets.”

Stating the horrific truth, the guest noted that Smith would not have been standing there if the pair hadn’t swapped over, before handing over the letter.

However, as the Antiques expert began to read through it, he became emotional and told the guest he couldn’t continue: “I can’t do it. I can’t do it, your go.”

The guest done the honours of reading the letter which said: “Dear Flight Lieutenant Ayshford. I thank you for your letter concerning the death of my son Harry. The shock of Harry’s death has made me really very unwell. I do wish to thank you sincerely and all the members of your crew for all you did for my dear boy.”

Smith noted that his father had told him of the incident and noted: “Wow. My dad held his hand, for pretty much all the way back, and the doctor said ‘He’s gone son, he has been gone for hours’ but my dad held his hand all the way.

“You showed me a photograph of Harrys funeral which I have never seen before and there is my dad, standing at the back. I have a photo and there is the owner of your boots.”

Brining their conversation to a close, the guest revealed: “It makes me quite emotional. Well, there is one last surprise.