Antiques experts explore Carrick’smilitary past for TV show

Antiques experts have been delving their way through Mid and East Antrim’s treasures for a forthcoming episode of BBC’s Antiques Road Trip.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Mar 2019, 16:10 BST
Updated 27th Mar 2019, 16:21 BST
Angus Ashworth was put through his paces training as a Ranger with Shirin Murphy from US Rangers Museum.Angus Ashworth was put through his paces training as a Ranger with Shirin Murphy from US Rangers Museum.
Angus Ashworth was put through his paces training as a Ranger with Shirin Murphy from US Rangers Museum.

The programme sees specialists set off on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction.

Presenter and auctioneer Angus Ashworth, a fan of military memorabilia, who owns his own auctioneer’s in Yorkshire, was treated to a tour of US Rangers’ Museum at Boneybefore during the television crew’s tour of the Antrim Coast recently.

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Angus has also served with the Territorial Army in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Shirin Murphy from the US Rangers Museum chats to BBC Antiques Road Trip expert Angus Ashworth.Shirin Murphy from the US Rangers Museum chats to BBC Antiques Road Trip expert Angus Ashworth.
Shirin Murphy from the US Rangers Museum chats to BBC Antiques Road Trip expert Angus Ashworth.

The museum is dedicated to the men of the first battalions of the US Rangers, formed at Sunnylands Camp in Carrickfergus in June 1942.

The elite American commando-style force was set up during World War Two and remains the only US military unit to be formed on foreign soil.

Carrickfergus Museum’s Shirin Murphy told the BBC show, which rakes in millions of viewers, all about the US Rangers and their history with the coastal town.

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She said: “It was really exciting to be asked to take part in such a prestigious show, and it was really good fun. Angus was lovely and we talked all about how the US Rangers came to Carrickfergus and what they did when they were here to get them war ready.

Some of the artefacts that feature in the BBC show.Some of the artefacts that feature in the BBC show.
Some of the artefacts that feature in the BBC show.

“He even did a bit of the training that the US Rangers would’ve done and he held his own. We looked at a number of artefacts on display at the newly refurbished museum, including the ‘Pocket Guide to Northern Ireland’ that the some 300,000 troops who passed through here were given to fit in with the locals.

“It has some great tips about what to talk about, and even what drinks to enjoy and avoid.

“It was nice to show off all the amazing memorabilia kindly donated by a lot of the veterans themselves to a UK wide audience, and who knows, it may even hit America.”

The Antiques Road Trip is the latest television show to be filmed in the borough.

Others have included Line of Duty, Game of Thrones, Mrs. Wilson, Mother’s Day and Come Home.

Related topics:Mid and East AntrimBBCCarrickfergus