A guest on The Repair Shop was moved to tears after a battered family Bible, once owned by her grandmother, was restored during a repeat episode aired on Wednesday, 11 November.
The episode, originally broadcast in October 2025, featured Judy and her daughter Laura, who brought in a small Bible that had belonged to Judy's grandmother, Florence. Florence had been imprisoned with her children in the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre in Shanghai during the Second World War.
A Family's Wartime Ordeal
Laura explained the family history: "She was living and born in China, her father was an Irishman and her mother was a local Chinese lady and at some point, Florence met her future husband, an Englishman. Unfortunately, he left her widowed in her early 30s with three children and he died just a few weeks after their son was born."
Bookbinder Chris Shaw reacted to the "terrible" story as Laura noted the young age at which Florence was widowed. The family faced further hardship when war broke out and Japan invaded China.
Florence and her children were marked as British and placed into the internment camp. At the time, the children, including Judy's mother, were aged 17, 15 and 10.
Life in the Internment Camp
Judy described the poor conditions in the camp: "They were all crammed in, it was hot, little food. They were having very watered down rice with added maggots. Then my grandmother caught TB and she was taken out of camp to a hospital, and they were on their own in camp for about 18 months without their mum."
The three children found comfort in the Bible during their four years in the camp. They were liberated after the war ended and were reunited with their mother.
Judy recalled how the camp experience stayed with her mother throughout her life: "The habits, if you like. We had a walk-in larder when I was a little girl and it was rammed, floor to ceiling, with tinned food, saying she'd never starve again if war broke out."
Laura also remembered her grandmother's spirit: "She did have a terrific sense of fun. Obviously as my grandmother, she was always up to mischief, she was definitely your ally. And she was very much of the view that childhoods should be fun and lighthearted, because she felt robbed."
Restoration and Emotional Reaction
Judy and Laura hoped Chris could restore the "battered and weathered" Bible, which had survived the wet and damp conditions of the camp and was over 100 years old.
After the restoration, Judy was left in tears seeing the Bible brought back to life. "It represents my mum and my nan's legacy really, and what they went through. Their strength, their endurance, and hopefully this book can survive a little bit longer, too," she said.
"Oh gosh," she said, seeing the restored Bible in disbelief. "Is that the same one? It's amazing… this is how it would have looked." She thanked Chris, adding: "It's something my nana would have held, and obviously it meant a lot to my mum and her sister in camp, giving comfort when things were so bad. We've got it back in one piece that we can hold, it's a lesson that not all is lost."
The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
