100 Years Ago A Teen Went Mudlarking on the Thames & Put His Finds in a Large Box.Let's Look Inside! 

Wow, Nicola, it's a wonderful video you have made of my grandfather's story - really memorable, and all the comments are so lovely! Thank you all so much - I had no idea how much joy others would find in this box of treasures and Adrian's short but memorable life, and it took your knack and skills to make this happen. So interesting chatting with Ben and Steve and yourself for the day too, absolutely fascinating.

I love that we can all relate to a teen from 100 years ago through a shared interest in mudlarking! Such a fascinating story 🥰

With old photos of Adrian Beare surrounded by his living family, it is a very emotional video indeed. Thanks, Nicola, for that lovely and heartwarming moment.

You've outdone yourself, Nicola! Special thanks to the Beare family for sharing Adrian's treasures with us. In them I see the hope and excitement of the past and future. Love and hugs from me in New Mexico USA.

A very good job of presenting this story Nicola and a great addition to the memory of Adrian.Big thank you to the Beare family and to the service of this young airman 👍🇨🇦

One day whilst looking for something in the knitting box as a kid. I found what I thought was a giant penny, it was what they called the ' death penny' a large round plaque to commemorate the death of a serviceman in WW1, it was for my grandfather who was killed in the battle of Loos 1915. I hadn't known about my Grandfather until then. I visited the war grave in 1985 as far as I know the first family member to visit. Later when the missis was doing the family tree she found that my Grandmother also lost two of her brothers in that war. I always think it's sad when you see someone's medals at a junk market or a boot sale .

I really enjoyed this episode. Rest in Peace Adrian. Thank you for your Service from an old USA Marine Sgt. Thanks Nicola...........

Thanks Nicola for bringing us the story of Adrian and meeting his family, what finds and it was nice for them to be shown to one and all. Also what a great plane the Wellington Bomber was and served us well in the war, unfortunately many planes and crew never came back, but those crews will never be forgotten for their service, this makes this video extra special to say thanks for Adrian for his service and his super finds

The Beare family was so gracious to share their grandfather’s story and memories. It looks like he really enjoyed mudlarking to keep all of his finds. It’s so wonderful he left it to his family and to share with them his memories of the Thames. Nicola you did a grand job on this video! Thank you for sharing this with us subscribers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💜

My grandad, born in 1872, was a music bard, a member of the buffaloes, an inventor, a musician, church organist, historian and had an interest in archaeology. He left many things, fossils that i was fascinated with as a child. Pieces of shrapnel from 2nd world war, he lived in london so it was plentiful. He was aa very interesting man unfortunately he passed away when i was 8, i wish i could talk to him now. Thanks nicola for a very interesting, informative and poignant video. Xxxx

Mr. Beare is smiling right now. What a great thing you have given this family to add to their memories. This is an award winning you tube video!!! Nice work Nic. You took the time and energy to research this man, seek out and contact his relatives and organize a get to gether with mudlarking experts and family to create this thoughtful rettrospect into Mr. Beare's life.

Beautiful episode Nicola. Connecting the artifacts to so many past and present people - from the finder and family to the experts to wondering about the ancient peoples - made this episode poignant and moving. Well done. Thank you, Adrian Beare.

What a lovely name is Dolly Beare! 2 of my childhood favourite things. It makes her sound cuddly and playful 💞

Hi - Susan here. This was marvelous, Nicola! The whole story line was wonderful (kudos to Grace!). This is also one of those "six degrees of separation" stories for me, as on my last trip to England, I was at Brooklands when they first moved the Wellington into the hanger! My husband is an aircraft engineer, and his best mate Roger volunteers there. We were fortunate enough to be there for the big event (and go on the Concorde, Roger's main aircraft for years). As for having anything left to me, when my grandmother died, I was gifted a box of "odds and ends", which turned out to contain my GGgrandfather's Masonic ring, another GGgrandfather's gold buttons from his Royal Navy uniform (ca 1870s), and a swivel brooch (ca 1855?) with a lovely painted portrait(of a lady) on one side, and an ambrotype photo of a man (presumably my 2xGGrandfather) on the other. Each item has led to wonderful discoveries - and of course more questions!

Thank you, Nicola, Sarah, Thea and Lenny for sharing this beautiful story, and Gracie for the relief cameos! :)

What a wonderful interesting story about Adrian Beare a mudlarker from 100 years ago !!! That's awesome that his family kept his finds from the River Thames & handed down to his granddaughter & great grandchildren !!! Maybe the great granddaughters will become mudlarkers like their great grandfather was !!! Thanks Nicola for such a loving family story & a young mudlarker & soldier 🪖 !!! Lots of love to you Nicola !!! ❤️🙂

Isn’t it a shame that he died so young. Thanks goes out to the Bearer family, how gracious of the family to share this special family heirloom with you and us!! Getting a lesson in Flint was also exciting, thank you kind Sir. Great video Nicola!!😍😍

Nicola can I just say that was a beautiful, interesting & informative departure from your normal content and ......I LOVED IT !!! You could see the Beare family cherish those finds and its wonderful you've shown them and Mr Beares service to an audience far and wide ...... Thank you & the Beare family

Maybe your finest episode. Bringing the recent history of a 20th Century mudlark together with his prehistoric finds. We can all be glad that his family took such good care of them. Well done.

That was so much more than a 100 year old box of mudlarking finds. You managed to bring Adrian back to life by sharing his story.

This made my day. So great to see Adrian's descendants learning about his discoveries and learning more about him. I'm also pleased to do the same! Nicola, you and your friends, Steve & Ben, really did something special with this video. Fun too to see Grace enlisted (against her will?) to help!

Nicola, you're becoming a film producer in your old age, I see! An altogether different, interesting, and enjoyable trip back not only to the 1920s - 40s but thousands of years ago. Thanks to the Beare family and your colleagues for bringing history back to life once again. Poor Grace looked bored to tears, but she survived the ordeal! Very nice production, Nicola!

What a wonderful portrait of a mud larker from history! What a treasure his family holds! Nothing to do with mud larking, but I have a small cast iron tea pot from Falkirk that my Great Grandparents brought with them from Forres in Scotland to South Africa when my great grandfather was appointed as Station master for the South African Railways in about 1907. It came to me through my grandmother, who was the eldest sibling. In a twist of fate, both my mother {as bookkeeper} and my father{as apprenticed fitter and turner} worked at the Falkirk factory in Durban in the late 1950's.

Thank you to him and many others that fought for our country ❤❤❤

Nicola, thank you so much for sharing the story of Adrian Beare. What an amazing tribute! His family is duly proud of his accomplishments. We all have been the beneficiaries of their keeping safe the Treasures from the Thames that Adrian found. It was so lovely that you took them all back to the foreshore to experience finding flint tools. Wonderful film -- thank you for all the work it took to make it, edit it, and prepare it for us all to see. Works of love, for certain. xx Karen

This was a truly wonderful and fascinating post, Nicola. You can bet so proud t I have produced it, and best of all, people call over the world now know all about Adrien and his mudlarking finds. Youre famous, Adrien, and what you did was important and it mattered, and Im happy to know you. Thank you for your service.

Well done! Very warming! Not just the story but also seeing everyone outside in shirt sleeves...

This was a fascinating video. Adrian was obviously a very curious and clever young man. Such a huge number of men and women gave their lives in that war for our freedom. I found Adrians collection very interesting but the thing that struck me most in this video were the photographs at the end and how much of Adrian you can still see so clearly in the faces of his granddaughter and great granddaughters. They carry a face and a history to be very proud of.

What a fabulous story of Adrian Beare . Thanks to his family for allowing us to see all his finds. I see mudlarking is a growing hobby and the London Port Authority is swamped with requests for permits. I know it’s interesting and fun but I imagine it is tedious and backbreaking too. Thanks Nicola, great job!

Adrian Bears descendants look like a lovely compassionate family .

That was lovely. Adrian was a pre-permit-required mudlark,at a time when there surely must have still been mudlarks doing it out of necessity! Coal was still the main fuel,scrap metal was plentiful. I bet he met so many interesting people on the foreshore. I’m glad his descendants still have that collection,I love seeing people’s collections!!! It’s easy to imagine that the piece of skull was at the business end of that mace head! Fine job,Nicola. I would love to hear how you found out about Adrian and his story,but perhaps it’s like revealing a secret mudlarking spot, it just isn’t done…

Hi Nicola, one of your fans in the USA here. What a wonderful story, one of your best. Very exciting, skipping across time periods from today, to the Paleolithic to WWII to the 1920s. Thanks to the family for so generously sharing their story, artifacts and photos. WOW !😲🤯

This is the best video you've ever done! I am an amateur genealogist and every bit of this video reminds me of why I am passionate about research - the care you've done to honor Adrian's life, the introduction to his family, going to the exact spots where Adrian was. When the plane flew over the area of the Thames when you all were walking back, I got chills. It felt like Adrian was there with you all in spirit. The music and the pictures of him brought me to tears. Thank you Nicola for this beautiful video!

Hola amiga, te felicito por tu video y por esos hermosos hallazgos, te envío un gran saludo y un gran abrazo desde chile 🙋‍♂️🇨🇱⛏️💍🗝️💪👍👏😊💞💞💞🙏

Fascinating episode how you brought one person's life and passion to the forefront. Thank you for mentioning how the Thames still brings forth more bits and bobs of history. The Thames just seems to be an everlasting treasure trove of homo sapien handy work. You asked what treasures had been handed down to us. Back in the 60’s my grandfather and I would go on long treks in the High Sierra Nevada Mountains. He would point out grinding stones used by the indigenous people of our region along with spotting hand honed scrapers and arrowheads made from obsidian. One of our walks took us alongside a crystal blue lake where he found a rather long obsidian scraper. It was just so beautiful, pitch black and still looked fresh and newly made. It was a wonderful object, but the greater gift was my grandfather.

Hey Nic, thank you for sharing Adrian’s story! We are privileged to share in the history alongside several generations of his family. Really brings a personal touch to these amazing Thames artefacts with countless untold stories over the millenia which will now be secured for generations to come. A top effort! Cheers!

I often think that living in such a new Community on BC's northwest coast of Canada that there would be no point in mudlarking here but now I am seeing that I could be wrong. There would be no real modern day treasures but as 1st Nations lived here for thousands of years there could very well be many treasures, recognizing them would be the tough part. Thank you for this Nicola and perhaps there was a young person out mudlarking in the year 500AD who was just as excited with their finds.

Thank you for sharing Mr. Beare’s story and his finds. Great video.

What a generous thing you did by showcasing the family and its story.

That man Adrian sure led an extraordinary life! May he rest in peace! Also, your daughter, Grace, is ADORABLE! And the mace head looks like it was done with power tools...look at that perfectly drilled hole...

Hey Nicola ✨️, I love these 'Special Episodes', it adds even more sparkle ✨️ and quality to an excellent channel. Having shared my uncles story with you a while back, like Adrien, he served in the RAFVR , and lost his life on a bombing mission 1st Jan 1945. I am the custodian of his collection. Adrien's story and part of his life brought back to the present....superb work to everyone involved 🙏🫶 ✨️☯️🕊☮️🧡🙌

Thank you for another wonderful documentary, made with compassion and knowledge. It is thought provoking to see the face of Flying Officer Adrian Beare, RAFVR a young man who gave his all for us to live our lives - and will now also be remembered for his mudlarking discoveries. Really feel for his wife and children. I think of him as a young teenager, the joy of discovering his Finds in the Thames mud and learning to fly ❤

Thank you for sharing this brilliant story ❤

Thank you so much Beare family for sharing your handsome Grandfathers amazing finds with us! Nicola, this was one of my favorites, you really did an awesome job bringing us this story! Thank you to the fellows who gave us an idea of what these items are and when they were made! ❤❤❤ From North Carolina

Amazing man. The grief for his family. Very generous of everyone to celebrate the very special finds of Adrian Beare

If I remember correctly, the hammer head takes about 800 hours of work to make. I have seen stuff from New Zealand that is very similar. In some ways. It will have taken someone one year of their entire leisure time to make the hammer.

I feel like I've just watched a beautifully-done PBS documentary! This is beautiful!

Wonderful ! Thank you so much Nicola for introducing us to Adrian and his fantastic foreshore collection. And thank Adrian not only for the finds but more importantly his Service and ultimate sacrifice.

Extraordinary ! A true time capsule! The photos made it real! I’m not crying!

Fantastic video Nicola! I was lucky enough to be given a taxi ride in a Lancaster bomber which looks similar inside to the Wellington and I was shocked to see how cramped it was. It made me appreciate those airmen even more than I already did. So sad that Adrian lost his life so young but what a wonderful story to leave behind for his family 💖x

I know what he is talking about teaching your eyes to spot one thing..I walked fields with my Mother in Arkansas, USA looking for arrowheads and tools...I miss doing that but I have a nice collection... :) .

Hi from Hampshire Nicola. I can quite honestly say this has been one of best posts ever. Emotive. Evocative. Huge congratulations to the family for sharing. Thank you...

Wonderful story!! Well produced and filmed

I was so touched by this story.You are so historically curious and respectful of any and every item that Beard a name,place or date,and when you connect with a family that was involved in a collection like this,it makes my heart sing! Fascinating items and Mr Bears was honored and brought to life for all of us to learn.I was given 2 silk postcards that my grandfather sent home to family dated 1916..I treasure them and learned so much about my British roots from his family.Thank you so much for sharing this lovely family and the history of a treasure box.Much love

Wonderful history !!! Thank you for sharing Nicola 💞👊

This was a fun video. Thank you mudlarkers & the Beare Family for sharing with us. Also, special props to Steve Crow for donning the Bad Brains shirt! Until next time Nicola~! 🖖🙂

A spectacular story and I really enjoyed the section on the Wellington Bomber being a flight instructor and corporate pilot I was extremely impressed with this part. The Thames foreshore finds by Adrian’s Beare were most impressive. Thanks to the Beare family for sharing them with us. ❤

Just the greatest channel and content creator 🙂♥️

What a lovely story from the Beare family. I really enjoyed that. My Grand-dad in Northern Ireland was a tool and die maker. I have his old beautiful tools but that is it. He was around the docks when Titanic departed and later worked on other ships. When he and my Gram would visit us in the states, they would stay for months. He built some of the most amazing things in my parent's home during those times. I still miss them. I will be in Northern Ireland this coming July to bury my parents next to my grandparents and great-grandparents! Can't wait!

Wow! I was not expecting that! That was an amazing story about a lad who could have lived anytime between ancient times and today! All those items Adrian collected were mega interesting and vital pieces of everyone’s history. Any one of us could, and probably IS related to one of the people who created these tools, not for fun, but to survive in the wild world in which they lived. The mind boggles to see the jigsaw of history displayed from a little boy’s box of collectables! I am utterly floored, and thankful to everyone who helped in the making of this documentary. May there be many more.😁 from Melbourne Australia with THANKS❤️🦘

I think great grandpa is looking down with a smile

Thank you so much to the Beare family for allowing Nicola to share your amazing History with us all.

History upon history upon history. This had me in tears at the end. What a beautiful story.

You didn't tell us what the box was from that Adrian put all his Thames treasures in. :D Loved all his finds!!!! I wonder if people on the Thames were mudlarking back in the 1600s/1700s? They would have found some extraordinary things for sure. So glad Adrian kept all his for the generations of his family to enjoy.

Beautiful that Granddaughters of the young man’s keep and admire his gatherings

That was so enjoyable. Thanks to the Beare family for sharing.

Thank you so much for sharing that story with us. It's fascinating to discover that people did the same things we do now, and that the finds were passed down through the generations of family. :)

Nice story Nicola. We youngins think of the 1920s as such a long time ago. My uncle was born in 1919 and he just passed away!

I really appreciate the history lessons on this channel. Although this was a departure from the typical format, it's still all about digging up long lost artifacts and telling their story. Thanks Nicola!

Wasn't that a bit of Time Team and Antiques Road Trip rolled together. together. Enjoyed that!

I really enjoyed Adrian Beare’s story, and seeing his amazing collection! He was a hero who deserves to be honored and remembered like this! My husband’s uncle (a US military member) left us a piece of the Berlin Wall that he surreptitiously took long before the wall came down.

Great story. Had he lived, I wonder if he would have become an expert on Thames Treasures. Wonderful to share his collection so many years later. Thanks Beare family.

Adrian left a great legacy to his family with his finds -- but like so many, he was taken in the prime of his life defending his homeland and those that he loved. Thank you for sharing his legacy (his finds *AND* his family) with us!!!

Όμορφή ιστορία. Υπέροχο βίντεο και απίστευτα αντικείμενα. Σε ευχαριστώ. 👌🇬🇷

Thank you Nicola and the Beare family for sharing this history and story. Beautifully filmed and having the experts present to give such insight to the finds. This was a very special video.

Nicola and the Beare family , I 😂thank you for sharing this story. ❤ Nicola, I don't know what your day job is , but I can see you doing documentarys , then I thought, you already do ! However, I'm suggesting , full time !

This was beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing his finds in such a sensitive and informative Film. I too felt it was an honor.

Thank you Nicola for showing us this and a big thank you to the Beare family for sharing with us their precious collection. Living in Lincolnshire ('Bomber County') 3 of our hangar cats are named after aircraft Lanky (Lancaster) Manky (Manchester) and Boots (Wellington). In remembrance of all those that lost their lives from whatever side - lest we forget

Fantastic video, one of my favorites. Nice to see Adrians family sharing his finds. Very well done Nicola

What a TOTALY special program you’ve made!!! And a wonderful Commemorative Of Adrian Beare! A man I never knew before today! God Bless him and his wonderful family! Bless you Nichola! You are one of the most thoughtful and caring person I can proudly say I know(thru) UTube that is 👍🏻 With love from Kathy Washington State🇺🇸👋🏻🥰❤️

A shout out to ADRIAN and family. And a grand Salute to Nicola ❤ Lovely video 📹, as if I am watching NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY channel. With love from SAM Guwahati, Assam, India 🇮🇳 ♥️

This is rather wonderful. I am so glad you gave the family a chance to find about their grandfather’s collection. The airplane museum was great, too. 🥰💕❤️👍👍

There was so much history in Adrian Beares treasure box. To me those absolutely amazing remnants from thousands of years ago is just mind blowing! Thank you Nicola and everyone involved. Especially his grand-daughter and great grand-daughters! 💚🌺

Wonderful history of this young man's finds! Thank you for showing us this, Nicola!❤

A wonderful unboxing! Thank you for sharing Mr Adrian Beare’s story and Thames foreshore finds. 🦢

Thank you for such a FANTASTIC episode Nicola!!! Such a great story! My great-great-great grandfather wrote his memoirs about being around during the Alamo in San Antonio Texas. It’s a fantastic story and he left our family a rare signed copy. The book can be found in the Library of Congress! It’s an important historical reference. Pretty cool!

Flying Officer Beare 72334 Sgt J I Middleton Sgt G D Barker Sgt J E Ratcliffe Sgt V C Cummins RCAF 2Lt T E Fenwick RA Flying Wellington X HE238 of 30 Operational Training Unit on the night of the accident. Take off was at 23:40hrs, at Hixon the aircraft emerged from cloud in a steep dive and failed to pull out before hitting the ground at around 03:40 Very very poignant film, thank you for bringing these very brave individuals back to life. Rest easy lads, you are not forgotten.

Thank you to the family for saving and sharing this absolute treasure!! So nice to know these finds will have a life long after they were created and found!!!🥰🥰🥰

Wow how cool to have things that were found even before there were things that you are finding now and saved. He may have looked at some of your bottles,pipes and buttons and thought nothing of them. I hope the family does take them to the museum to help preserve their Grandfathers history.

A million likes is what i would give this video. Thank you for sharing this with us.👍

If you get a chance to another similar story - Don't hesitate - immensely enjoyable on many levels. My thanks to the Beare family

Thank you so much for bringing us such a fantastic story. People of that generation went thru so much. Very special that we get a glimpse into the findings and treasures of young Adrian.

Great history both of the finds and the man who collected them ...I think he would be very pleased that his descendants are sharing his treasures with like minded people who appreciate their significance! thank you for sharing this with us...Karl from eastern Canada

Wonderful Nicola. Amazing bit of history. The Thames is a monumental asset. Everything at your fingertips. Thanks.

Thank you, Nicola! What a wonderful video about a past mudlarkers, interesting and a bit tragic. To bad Adrian only lived 30 some odd years, but what a full life he had. Thank you to his family for sharing his treasures and for you sharing his story. My family mostly handed down stories but a close friend of the family left my mother some very interesting things. A collection of crochet hooks (some have Alaskan animals on the handles), made out of walrus tusks and a painting on caribou (reindeer) hide by George Ahgupuk. We actually took them to the Antiques Roadshow several years ago in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are slightly valuable in money terms, but much more valuable in memories.

Thankyou Nicola for sharing this nice piece of history from the Beare family. Special thanks to the Beare family.

Absolutely brilliant to watch. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Thank you & to the Beare family.

You never cease to amaze me. Well done

This was so interesting to watch Nicola and expertly put together. It was especially good that the unboxing was a relaxed and natural conversation. Very well done to everyone who helped you make this poignant film.

That was absolutely fantastic Nicola. Well done to all concerned, especially the Beare family for sharing Adrian's story with us. Apart from anything else, he was a war hero. Just wonderful. Thank you. btw Grace, as box babysitter, did a sterling job too.