OPERATION DAD

Antiques Roadshow expert Mark Smith's passion for military medals began as a child when he heard his father's Second World War stories. Now to honour the late RAF special operative's unpublished wartime memoir, he has finished his poignant story

- By Karen Rockett

SUNDAY evenings wouldn't be the same without Antiques Roadshow's Mark Smith, the medals and militaria expert who wears bright silk handkerchiefs tucked into his jacket breast pocket. Seeing beyond the military memorabilia to the hugely moving human stories at their heart has made Mark, a global expert on the Victoria Cross, a national treasure among the show's fans.

Mark's fascination with the men behind the medals all began with hearing the stories of his dad Les Smith's Second World War experiences. His veteran father shared tales of flying special operations for the RAF and the young Mark, an only child growing up in east London, couldn't get enough.

But Smith Snr was also haunted by the loss of his best friend, Harry, on a secret mission over the Indian Ocean. Now, from the pages of his late father's unpublished wartime memoir, to a pilgrimage to a Chennai cemetery to visit Harry's grave, Mark finally brings closure to his father's story in a new book called Medal Man: Dad, Me and the Second World War.

"Medals are the time machines that take us back to these stories," explains the 63-year-old television presenter. "My dad had tried to get his story published only to be told no one is interested in the Second World War any more, but that clearly isn't true.

"He would be thrilled to bits it is finally being published and I only wish he was here to see it."

Les died in 2004 aged 81 of lung disease so he never got to see his son on the TV either. As well as vowing to publish his dad's wartime story, Mark promised he would go and visit Harry, buried in a Commonwealth War cemetery in Chennai.

In the book, Mark recalls his father telling him about the blood gathering in the bottom of the Catalina, the flying boat Les Smith flew.

"It was Harry's blood, he was 22," he wrote. "There were 10 of them. One died and two were wounded. There were a thousand bullet holes in the plane.