BBC The Repair Shop viewers moved to tears as Birmingham siblings honour Windrush generation

A brother and sister from Birmingham honouring the Windrush generation choked back tears as a treasured family clock chimed for the first time in 25 years. Dorcas Cain and her brother Stephen called on The Repair Shop team to restore a clock which proudly sat in their home for many years.

The treasured clock was one of the first items bought by their parents Hermann and Ketura Brown when they settled in Birmingham after travelling from Antigua. Once horologist Steve Fletcher had worked his magic, the siblings said they were left “overwhelmed” by the restored ornament.

Finally hearing the clock chiming after many years, they said it brought back the “best memories”. Viewers of The Repair Shop praised the “emotional” special episode deciated to the Windrush generation, with some saying they were moved to tears – especially when they also heard the clock chime.

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One person said: “This is so emotional. Thank you for doing this lovely programme.” Another said: “Time for a therapeutic cry.”

A viewer commented: “Wow that clock! Set me off. What an amazing restoration.” The Repair Shop team fixed four items to mark National Windrush Day.

Dorcas said: “This clock belonged to my parents. Mum and dad come from the sunny island of Antigua. Dad came in the March of 1960 and Mum came in September.

“In the Caribbean, they grew up seeing the Queen, head of state, and they saw England as somewhere that they belonged. I think they came here of ideas of what they thought it was going to be and I think they were surprised to find what it actually was.”

Sewing tutor Dorcas said the clock took “pride of place” on top of a cabinet within the family’s front room. It would chime every hour but her and brother Stephen had not heard its noise for 25 years, she told.

The siblings – whose dad was a Birmingham pastor for 40 years – wanted the team to restore the treasured clock so they could remember “growing up in a house full of love”. Dorcas said: “Mum and dad, well a lot of Carribbean people, simply couldn’t get credit, bank loans, to furnish their houses.

“So, they worked and they saved. The clock was one of the first items that they bought to furnish their room. They didn’t have a house, they had a room.”

She added: “I would like to honour the Windrush generation. They came here with nothing, they came with dreams but when they saw what it actually was, they stuck at it in the face of so much hostility.

“They taught us so much and I’m so proud that I am a product of the Windrush generation.” Stephen added: “They faced a lot of adversity.”

Talking about the clock, he said: “It goes a lot deeper than just a clock. It’s gone through generations, it’s seen a lot. So for this to be repaired right now, it would mean so much.”