Antiques Roadshow expert moved by teen soldier's paintings of WW1 'horrors'
An Antiques Roadshow guest left one of the show's experts visibly emotional with her deeply moving story. Tonight's episode (October 25), filmed at Bangor Castle in Northern Ireland, featured a host of remarkable items, including a rare grasshopper-shaped vase and a pair of recliner chairs originally intended for the Titanic. Yet it was the poignant tale behind a collection of watercolour paintings that truly stopped expert Mark Smith in his tracks.
TL;DR
- A guest on Antiques Roadshow brought a collection of six watercolour paintings by a WW1 soldier named Archibald McMillan Hanna.
- The paintings depicted scenes from the trenches, including gravestones and fallen comrades.
- Archibald Hanna was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme at 19 years old.
- Expert Mark Smith was visibly moved by the story and the quality of the artwork.
- The paintings were valued at around £400, but the guest hoped to send them to a museum.