Hero Soldier's Television Knowledge Aids Recovery of Stolen Napoleonic Artefacts
A decorated soldier previously honoured for bravery has played a crucial role in recovering priceless altar plaques stolen from Napoleon III's tomb, with assistance from a 33-year-old episode of the television series Lovejoy.
Unexpected Discovery at Military Base
Sergeant Grace Gostelow of the Royal Horse Artillery discovered two wooden prayer frames in a plastic bag within a storage unit at Pirbright Barracks in Surrey. The artefacts had been found by soldiers during training exercises in the nearby training area, where they were digging shell scrapes for shelter.
The 37-year-old soldier, currently instructing trainee soldiers at the Surrey barracks, recognized the items might be significant and sought permission from her chain of command to involve her antique dealer father, Paul Gostelow.
Television Memory Provides Crucial Breakthrough
Paul Gostelow, 68, enlisted the help of a metal detectorist friend to identify the mysterious frames. Remarkably, the friend recognized the Napoleonic ball and crown emblem after recalling a 1993 episode of the BBC comedy-drama Lovejoy starring Ian McShane.
In that particular episode, McShane's character discovers a commode allegedly owned by Napoleon Bonaparte and attempts to sell the dubious item while his friend Tinker Dill tries to forge the Napoleonic emblem for other artefacts.
"It was my friend who identified the emblem after remembering an episode of Lovejoy where he comes across a commode with the Napoleonic crest," explained Mr. Gostelow from his Derbyshire home.Return to Rightful Home
The prayer frames were returned last week to St Michael's Abbey near Farnborough, Hampshire, which houses Napoleon III's tomb. The artefacts had been stolen from the crypt during a 2014 burglary, making their recovery after twelve years particularly significant.
Hampshire Police confirmed that after investigation with the International Stolen Arts Register, the items were indeed the stolen altar plaques. Officers traveled to Derbyshire to recover the frames and return them to the abbey for restoration.
"After 12 years they were thought to have been lost, until a chance call from Mr. Gostelow," said a police spokesman. "Remarkably, Paul knew them to be from the Napoleonic era due to the ball and crown in the corner of the frame - recognized from an episode of the 1990s' TV series Lovejoy."
Soldier's Distinguished Service
Sergeant Gostelow's involvement in the recovery adds to her distinguished military career. She received the Major General's Award for Bravery in 2016 after saving spectators from a runaway gun carriage pulled by six spooked horses during a rehearsal in Charlton Park, London.
Despite breaking her neck in the accident after hitting a tree, she underwent lengthy rehabilitation and returned to the saddle for Queen Elizabeth's Accession Day Gun Salute in Green Park in February 2019. Last May, King Charles presented her with a silver salver at Windsor Horse Show after she led the best turned out gun team.
Historical Significance of the Artefacts
The recovered prayer frames hold particular historical significance. When Napoleon III's son died in the Zulu War in 1879, handwritten prayers were found in his wallet. His mother, Empress Eugenie, had these prayers engraved and mounted to create the altar frames that were stolen in the 2014 burglary.
Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, fled to England in exile in 1871 after losing the Franco-Prussian war and being captured by Germans. He died in 1873 after surgery for bladder stones. His widow built St Michael's Abbey as a monastery with the Imperial Mausoleum for her husband and son's remains.
Community Reaction and Ongoing Investigation
Brother Aelred Cuthbert of Saint Michael's Abbey expressed the monastery's joy at the recovery: "We had almost forgotten about them. We were all very excited because visitors would often ask, 'Did you ever hear what happened to the altar cards?' so it was always a bit of a gut-punch."
He added: "It was so long ago that we thought we'd never see them again and some wealthy person who could commission a theft had them up on their wall."
Police continue to follow multiple lines of inquiry to locate the missing third plaque from the original theft. The damp conditions where the recovered frames had been stored may have helped preserve them during their twelve-year absence from the abbey.
Paul Gostelow, who turned to antiques dealing after 27 years as a policeman including service as Derbyshire Constabulary's Physical Training Instructor before retiring in 2003, expressed satisfaction with the outcome: "I'm just heartened that, because the frames are of significant interest, they have been returned to their rightful owners and can adorn the walls of the tomb again."
