That car has to be in France
to take part in the D-Day celebrations
Welcome to the Smallest Cog.
First impressions?
There's so many inefficiencies.
This would drive me insane.
Behold!
An estate Oliver.
This is making my life difficult to be honest,
you can always come in a bit less.
Right.
If I'm making things worse by being here,
what am I actually for around here?
It's nearly three years
since the Smallest Cog opened its doors.
The business still owes me a fortune.
I've been hiding bank statements.
I'm basically running a social club!
So, it's time for a big shake-up.
Clock in in the morning, clock onto a job.
The dawn of a new era.
But not everyone likes change.
I'm very nervous about all of it.
This isn't going to tell me what to do!
I'll tell you that for nothing.
We make history with our most important restoration yet.
Did Montgomery or Churchill ever imagine you sitting in it?
Probably not.
The work must be completed on time.
Oh, she's eager!
Can we race into a bright new future?
With me at the wheel?
Oh, oh, oh!
I am, as ordered,
spending some time out of the way, away from the workshop.
I'm spending it instead with this,
which is the most important vehicle in my life.
It's the first bike I ever had.
I absolutely loved it,
I had to learn how to ride it from a library book.
And I saved up to buy it
with the money from my job picking up chickens' eggs.
It actually cost less than the gloves
I'm going to wear to ride it today,
but it was the most precious thing in my world.
Play time!
And I need this headspace,
we're off to France in a week to deliver Monty's Rolls Royce
to the 80th D-Day commemorations.
The MOD is relying on us to get it there safely.
So, lots to think about.
Hello? Hey, Richard.
Brigadier Mike.
I haven't caught you in the middle of a critical task, have I?
No, no, just in between jobs. How's it going?
Well, Monty's Rolls Royce looks absolutely beautiful.
Thank you. And thanks for having faith in us.
But now we've got to, er, get the car to Normandy itself.
And that is an absolutely epic event.
Yes.
What I just wanted to chat through with you
is that we're all ready for that.
So, who have you in mind to go from your team?
I'm inclined to bring Neil because he oversaw the project,
Anthony, because he understands the mechanics of that one.
And Isaac, actually, because he's really, really useful.
And it is, as you rightly say, the real mission.
This is why we did the car,
for it to be seen over there at that time
by members of the public and by veterans themselves.
So, no messing about.
It is quite nerve wracking,
but we absolutely got to get it right.
OK, Brigadier, we will be there
bright of eyed and bushy of tailed. Bye.
That is really exciting.
I mean, truth be told,
taking three guys out of the workshop
is not gonna sit all that well with Jamie,
I suspect, but this afternoon I'm off for a meeting,
almost an audition, I suspect,
with Europe's biggest car collector.
Him and his wife together.
If I can land them, they could be the dream long term client.
Isaac. Yep.
Look, look at my latest purchase, I reckon.
This looks serious.
Look at that, we could use this for France for the old Rolls.
Got a big kitchen there.
Only downside is...
It's a bit metric. Yeah. ..it's a bit metric. OK.
So, it will fit but it won't fit. Yeah, it won't do the job.
So, we also need some old tools.
I've got a few bits I think.
We just need to make a nice little tool kit up just in case.
Oh, look at that. That's the older one.
That's what I'm talking about.
And we've got another one.
You have got the kit boy.
This has been resting in someone's garage for quite a while I think.
See this is what I am talking about, old stuff.
I know it doesn't look the best, but this is what we need.
What have we got, we've got spanners in this one as well.
1924?
It could be. That's perfect.
British made which is what we want.
It'll get us out of trouble, won't it?
And the thing is Richard's going to be looking at me and you
if this thing breaks down, OK?
And he's got a Brigadier in the car,
he doesn't want to look silly.
No, we gotta get... And neither do we.
Wow. Absolutely dazzling.
I could lose myself in here.
Just the range, it's incredible.
It's hard to believe
this is one man's private collection.
An inventor and entrepreneur,
Rodger Dudding has been collecting cars for over 50 years.
Time now to make a good impression on him and his wife Emma.
Hello Richard.
Emma. Hello?
I'm wandering around your garage.
Nice to see you, how are you?
Lovely to see you.
Your garage is bonkers.
It's phenomenal.
This is an insight into Rodger's head.
Yeah. And what's in Rodger's head...
Mmm. ..is cars.
Do these go out and work?
They actually do. They go out for weddings.
They go out for film shoots.
How many in the collection in total?
At the last count, probably about 450.
Right!
Can I go meet your bonkers husband?
Indeed, you may.
So, he's waiting for you on the top floor
with his favourite cars.
Favourite cars? She's fine.
Aha! Good grief.
Aston Martin Lagondas. Wow.
Rodger, lovely to see you again.
How are you? And yourself, nice to see you.
I don't know where else in the world
I could see this many of these in one place.
I've been very fortunate in what I've done.
I can afford to indulge myself
in buying these beautiful
looking machines.
But your story of this collection, now 450 cars.
The first car is over there, the Morris Minor.
Fathers' Morris, yes.
Is that the genesis of this entire operation?
It is. It is the genesis of that.
I just love the car so much.
It is a feeling you have.
And they like affection
and they will reward you handsomely.
There is the business element to this.
I'm guessing you must have access to so many marque specialists,
but bodywork, do you have a bodywork specialist?
Not specifically.
If a car did come up that needs a bit of work,
we'll show you a quality job,
good price and see where it goes.
Could that happen?
We'd be delighted to give you the next vehicle,
which needs a little bit of Hammond TLC.
Let's make it happen.
I really enjoyed coming here, 'cause who wouldn't.
But also from a work point of view.
There's 450 cars here,
that occasionally get damaged
and they need somebody to put them right.
If these guys become clients, that's a lot of work.
Right, who would like a cup of tea then?
Yes, please. I'll have one.
Most important one of the day this is.
If we were going to do this properly,
we need some enamel mugs really.
Get us in the wartime spirit for taking the Rolls to France.
Do you want that one?
Oh, look at that, good for you rust is, I've heard.
Pretty little car. It's very brown.
But it's actually quite an important car,
it's a test case from Rodger Dudding.
Typical Lancia Beta.
Quite a subtly good-looking car and looks brilliant today.
They were cheap. They were.
They were 600 quid, they wouldn't be now,
because most of them rotted away 20 years ago.
They don't want a full restoration this.
No, the idea is,
if there's a few blemishes on the body,
give him a sensible price, done to time, on budget.
Make it look nice. Yeah.
If we get this right,
he's got a lot of other cars.
He would be an awesome client.
Let me know how you get on.
Well, look at that, Rodger Dudding's Lancia Beta, low mileage,
very rare, definitely a man we've got to impress.
So, what do you reckon then,
it's really windscreen out to do it nice.
That's the main bit of nastiness in your eyesight.
Yeah. There's a piece here, repair that.
And there's a big dent in the bonnet.
Sounds like a plan.
Seats out.
Now, we need our magic tool.
I've got to be careful, because if we break that glass,
we're not gonna get another one.
This is a sort thing we need, this Lancia.
Little bit of profit, quick turnaround,
and this customer is absolutely perfect for us.
Right. Now, it's out. We can see the big rot hole.
You couldn't see it before 'cause the chrome was there.
That's nasty that is.
That's what this car will turn into very quickly
if we don't sort it out.
At least we know what we got now.
So, we could cut that piece out
and then a little piece welded in there.
It's quite important we get this right.
Oh, where are ya.
Then we would have a constant stream of cars,
and he's got an example of just about everything
ever made to work on, but we'll see.
Aha, there we have it.
You see, this just looks like a rough bit of metal,
but if you look at that shape there.
That's exactly the same profile
as the lip on the back of Rodger Dudding's Lancia roof.
And it saves me having to make it
as somebody has already made it for me.
So, there you are, never chuck anything away.
For the first time in ages,
I had a really good sleep last night, really good.
Things are looking positive now.
Uh, with the Lancia, that should be finished tomorrow,
that's the sort of job we need,
jobs that we can actually turn the car around in a couple of days.
If Richard can keep pulling them in, that'd be absolutely perfect.
Unlike big restoration jobs
'cause now there is so much more risk,
we end up finding stuff that ends up pushing
the job further down the line.
So, it's really, really hard to manage.
That's the last thing we need at the moment.
Right, today it's my turn to take you to see a car.
Have you told Jamie about this job and will he approve of it?
No, no, I'm sure he'd be on board to get this done.
There are only two of these in the country.
Sometimes things are rare because nobody wants them.
Paul. Hi, Richard.
Good to see you. Nice to meet you.
You're interested to see what's in there?
Yes. I'm intrigued.
Come on then.
Oh, look at that.
What is it? It's bonkers.
That is almost a unicorn in the VW world.
Right, it's a Brubaker box, 1972, designed by Curtis Brubaker.
He set up a company in California to create a sports van
for the surfer dudes.
So, he was gonna make this as a production car...
but it never happened. Never happened.
There's so many questions,
not the least of which is why have you go to it.
This comes back to my childhood, being obsessed with hot rod cars,
buying hot rod magazines.
And then eventually we get to the point
where I managed to get one.
How many of these are there?
25 apparently were made.
There's two in the UK. I've got the other one.
So, you are the owners club.
Yes, in the UK.
I love it.
I...I...I want to get I want to get me flares out...
Oh, no.
No, I don't like that, that worries me.
Neil, you can't just take these in because you love them.
I think it would look absolutely beautiful.
Oh, I have absolutely no doubt it'd look amazing.
But I'm gonna be the one talking to Jamie about this.
Yeah, but it's a fantastic opportunity.
You need to think realistically.
I wouldn't want to start it unless we knew
you were gonna say it through with us
and you knew we were gonna see...
it through with you. Yeah.
Out of curiosity, why did you think of us?
It dawned on me that actually, you Neil are probably the person...
Mmm. ..who would care enough about this.
Yeah.
To give it the attention to detail that it deserves.
Oh, no don't be nice to him.
He's already loves your car.
Now, you've been nice to him, he's purring.
I didn't know what to make of it at first,
but it would be very cool.
That would be the star of any show, wouldn't it?
Oh, god yeah.
I wouldn't like to see it featured in a magazine
and someone else has done it.
The thing that's gonna make us unpopular is that would gum up
the shop for a bit, that ain't gonna be popular.
We'll have to think of a way.
One step forwards, two steps back,
that's what it feels like here at the moment.
For example, Richard's Kadett,
Isaac took it home last night for a test drive
and he's just phoned me, he's broken down this morning,
so I'm gonna have to send another guy out now with a trailer
to go and pick him up.
Which I can't charge for.
Hello mate, I've just come off the roundabout
by the Beefeater so,
..um... Er, just keep coming up.
You'll see...
Oh, mate.
I can only assume this is you.
Oh, there you are. I know him.
Poor Isaac looks like a little lost puppy.
We're definitely in the local news now.
Hereford Times will have a field day with this one.
Yeah.
I thought I'd put a few more miles on it just as the last run in.
And, um, basically, the car says no.
There's got to be better ways of earning money than this.
Got Rodger Dudding's Lancia ready for paint now.
Problem is classic car, old, old colour,
and brown is particularly tricky.
It's like getting a rainbow
and sticking a big mixer in and mixing it up.
You've got all sorts of colours in there.
So, the first colour in, black.
Blood orange.
Bright red.
There is a bit of alchemy.
And if you get any one of those colours wrong,
it spoils everything.
This is where it gets scary because it all hinges
on how good this colour is.
This is a bit like George's Marvellous Medicine
and you gonna get what you get.
But you know what?
When I stir that now and that is that nice
deep chocolatey brown, absolutely as it should be.
So, a bit of experience,
a bit of technology and a bit of hard work.
And we'll keep ourselves in a job.
You alright.
Alright, so Rodger Dudding's Lancia, ready to go back.
Good to go. Yeah...
this is important this car, because he has hundreds of cars.
Yeah. He's gonna know...
what he's looking at. He is definitely.
Yeah. He's definitely gonna be that.
But tell me where I've painted.
I can't. Exactly.
You'll have to remind him.
I'm really pleased with this job, mate.
I think you've absolutely knocked at the park.
But when we bill him. Yeah.
And I'd like you to be honest with me.
Mmm. I'm not out of pocket.
No, no, we're making money.
Because given that he's got hundreds of cars to do,
there's no point of doing 20 grands worth of work and charging him five,
'cause he'll expect that every time, and then we'll be ruined.
Exactly. This is our sprat to catch a mackerel.
Yeah. Well, stick the sprat on the trailer
and I'll take it to London. OK.
Neil might not be the most easily managed,
but he's bloody good at his job.
Yes, we need to get bigger, but ultimately I mustn't forget
it's based on people being really good at what they do.
Hello.
Good morning both, how are you?
We are well. How are you?
Both beautifully turned out as always.
Aw, thank you. You're looking...
exceptionally dapper, but to more important matters.
We've dressed the car for you.
That is beautiful. Is it ours?
Typical.
Yes. This is one of yours.
And I just wanted to show you what we have done.
If you remember, there's a nasty piece of rot around here, right?
So, we cut it all out, took it back to bare metal,
cut in that new piece
there to cover it and finished it and painted it.
So, that all happened there.
Well, you wouldn't recognise that...
would you! That looks beautiful.
And the other area that we addressed was the bonnet.
There was a dent
and there was some damage to the paint on here.
Beautiful work, you can't see it at all.
That's lovely.
Has Emma mentioned to you, we have another 450 cars?
I'm not saying it was on my mind constantly
while we were doing it,
but what I wanted us to do was deliver a job that said,
that's what we do for the money. That's the level we work to.
I think you've done a superb job on it.
So, yes, please you have others to do.
Thank you that's all I want to hear.
Steady stream of quick-turnaround jobs? Tick.
That should keep Jamie happy.
But I'm conflicted.
I don't want to completely turn our backs
on the longer-term prestigious restorations.
Seeing that Brubaker van
with Neil sort of where I started in wanting to set the business up.
It's a reason to go and see interesting cars
and sometimes bring them back and we work on them.
But I think play time has got to be over now.
So, I've had a word with Patrick Blakeney Edwards,
who has become quite a mentor.
That guy set up a big successful business
doing kind of exactly what I wanna do.
So, while we're in France at the D-Day memorials,
I've arranged for Patrick to visit the workshop
to look at it from the point of view of a business,
what are we doing right, what are we doing wrong.
Am I, as the owner of the business, getting too caught up
in the rose-tinted romantic vision of,
oh, let's restore all these beautiful old cars?
Yes, but if I ruin myself in the process
and everybody loses their job,
the romance very quickly goes out of it.
Oh, that's gone wrong. Oh, dear.
We're about to be reunited
with Field Marshal Montgomery's Rolls Royce,
our most important restoration yet.
The car is due to take pride of place
at the 80th D-Day Anniversary.
The MOD has tasked us with getting the car
to a series of high profile events in France.
Watching our every step is a serving Brigadier
and the curator of the Royal Logistics Corp Museum.
Morning Brigadier, Sam.
Good morning, Richard.
We're more or less on time It is morning
Yes, very much so.
Welcome to Southwick House. Yeah. Spectacular.
Where it all began.
This is so significant.
It's already good to go and looks appropriately spectacular.
Absolutely.
But you cannot visit Southwick house
without seeing the map room.
What, like the map room?
The actual D-Day map.
I'm up for that. Come on, let's go.
Let's have a look. Let's do it.
No we'll do. We'll do stuff.
This I wanna see.
Oh, my word is that...
Yes. This is the actual D-Day map.
This is the map that changed the world.
As it was left when Eisenhower, Monty and Churchill left this room.
And so beaches are down here.
This is where all the ships gather in, 6,000?
Yep.
And you can see all the avenues of approach.
Well, our mission is altogether more modest than that,
but we have to get our Rolls-Royce from Portsmouth to there.
And we're going to be travelling with living Normandy veterans.
Yeah. Mmm.
Living history.
Has everybody got their passports?
Yes, Dad.
Are we all in? Yes, we are in.
Right, let's go to France.
Let's go and do our side of the duty.
You wouldn't want to be in that Rolls Royce anyway.
No. In the comfort.
No.
I've never been in a car with a flag on the bonnet.
I've never felt so important in my life.
Neil, you knew this day was coming. You always knew.
At some point, you'll be riding to France in Monty's Rolls-Royce,
driven by a Brigadier.
You're finally being treated like the Prince...
you deserve to be. Yeah, well, you know...
when something just feels right.
Hmm.
Is the handbrake on?
As far on as it'll go.
Is anybody else anxious about leaving it?
Yeah.
Right, that's a sign.
It's still not as loud as the horn on the Rolls, though.
Right. Let's go up.
We've got a good vantage point for the departure.
I think emotions will start to run high at this point.
Everybody on the quayside waving,
you've got a flotilla of boats in the harbour,
it's an amazing experience.
The crew of the aircraft carrier
the Prince of Wales saluted the veterans as we passed.
Very emotional.
That is the way to set off.
The fact of the matter is we're going to commemorate
a really significant event,
but it's an event at which thousands of young men gave their lives
and they set off in very different circumstances to ours.
OK, troops.
The next steps have to run like clockwork.
Every route has been specified, every timing has been specified.
Because the security is absolutely immense in this area.
This is effectively a military operation
for the next two days.
Right, so a degree of clarity and focus.
Just like the workshop really, innit?
We've done the easy bit,
because super early tomorrow morning,
we're back on the road, to Monty's chateau.
We then go across to Gold Beach,
at Arromanches that's a must do pilgrimage.
From there, we've got only about an hour
to get across to Ver-sur-Mer,
for the D-Day 80 events on Thursday.
If we don't make that target, we're locked out.
And this is a massively popular area this week,
it not just going to be us on the roads.
So, we need to, er, play by the book
and be at the right place at the right time.
And this whole programme of events has global reach.
Most of our museum objects being really,
really old don't really move or go anywhere.
So, even just the fact that this car still is running
is just a hugely important thing.
We've got a job to do, it needs to be seen by people,
that's the point of it.
It's not a job, it's a duty.
It is. Now, we're going to do it.
I'm thrilled to be doing
this is extremely exciting and an honour.
As I say, military operation run like clockwork.
You must be inspired by your men.
I'm so honoured just to be here.
We've done our small part to help this whole thing.
They did all of that for us.
We've got to do it for them and we will,
we'll get that car there.
Oh!
Morning chaps. Morning.
Right, um, busy day ahead.
First stop, 8:30 Monty's Chateau.
Which is an important place. So, we've got a bit of time.
It's not far away, but let's get the car ready.
Get it ready, get it there.
The rest of the day...
more pilgrimage. More.
Yeah, it's going to be busy over here.
She looks good over here doesn't she?
I better check my backseat still in good order.
We're in the diplomatic service now.
It's going to your head, isn't it? No.
You can't just be wafted around normally
in the back of Monty's Rolls-Royce.
When in Rome.
We're definitely not in Rome.
Oh, is it narrow?
I'm going to assume there's nothing coming in if there is it'll stop,
because a building is just...
about to emerge. See the flag and they'll realise.
Drive to the right, drive on the right.
Do you know anything at about this Chateau then?
Once they got their foothold in Europe here,
thanks to D-Day, this was Monty's HQ.
Oh, I say.
That's a magnificent place.
That is.
Is that the Brigadier stood there?
It is, in his dress uniform.
Oh, that. Oh, yeah.
You're very late.
Yeah, sorry about that.
That is not the first time this car has done that sweep down
the drive up to this chateau.
But it hasn't done for a long time.
Anyway, isn't it beautiful?
Absolutely breathtaking. Yeah.
Oh, look at that view.
So, this is it.
That is spectacular.
So, they would have sat here
and discussed the push into Europe then.
Yeah, but actually Monty
used to have, er, some trailers,
and they put them right
in the middle of the lawn.
So, they lived in trailers here?
Yeah, absolutely.
And did the family stay in the house throughout?
Yeah, shutters closed.
And the great uncle wrote every day in a diary,
things like, oh, there's a lot of noise out there,
and he didn't know the King,
George VI was on the ground.
And De Gaulle returning to France, it was two different worlds.
So, family life carried on inside the house.
Exactly. Whilst on the lawn.
The most significant plans the world had ever known were being drawn up.
Absolutely.
So, while we've been chatting,
we have organised a little surprise for you.
Let's pop outside and have a look at Monty's Rolls Royce.
Wait a minute. Let's have a look.
Oh, hello. Oh, oh, I say oh, wow.
Look at that. Look at that.
Yeah. That's brilliant.
Are these coming with us? Yes.
These good people have all agreed to escort Monty's Rolls-Royce.
Oh, I say.
Just as they would have done 80 years ago.
There's hundreds of them, outriders and everything.
Bonjour!
Right.
All aboard! We better not mess about.
They're starting.
How far are they coming with us?
All the way to Arromanches.
Well, I've driven in a lot of convoys,
but that is something else, isn't it?
This is quite something. Yeah.
We've got our own army.
I can't see the end of us.
I wish I'd bought my sea cadets uniform now.
We're like Men in Black, aren't we?
Yeah. Security has arrived.
Ooh, he's doing the proper convoy thing.
That's not their first rodeo. Very good.
It is rather nice following that flag, isn't it?
It is.
I want a flag on my bonnet always.
It's weird to think that this is exactly
the sort of thing this car was doing.
Yep.
On this route with a proper military escort.
Going left, thank you.
Ooh, we're in Arromanches.
Well, we are being allowed through, which is fabulous.
It's quite nice driving along just knowing
you are just a rolling treat for anybody who sees you.
Well, this was always going to create a bit of a scene.
We are going to get mobbed.
Arromanches was one of the first Normandy towns to be liberated...
Bonjour.
..something that's celebrated every anniversary.
The Royal Marines, morning Royals.
I think that's what you call making an entrance.
Good driving.
That's wonderful to bring it here.
And also for people to see it.
And the response again.
I know. After 80 years, she's back.
We're just humble mechanics from Hereford.
But that car is famous in its own right.
People are clapping and waving
and they didn't know Richard was driving it.
And it's surreal for me
because when I first met him we had this dream
and he said, wow, we're going to work on some special cars, but
I don't think you could beat this.
So, here I am, in sunny Hereford,
on my way to go back to the Cog.
It'll be really interesting to see whether,
uh, those changes that have been,
you know, driven by the boys and driven by the new manager,
have they made much of a difference.
Here we go.
Let's go and have a look.
Ah, Patrick.
Are you Jamie? Yes. How are you doing?
Yeah. Good to meet you.
Yes. How are you getting on?
Yeah, not too bad, it's quiet today
'cause everyone's in France for D-Day.
It's just trying to get it organised,
in that booth we've got the Maserati,
which you've seen before, Neil's working on.
That's not still here, is it?
It's still here.
So, where do you see the business going forward
from a financially productive point of view,
which is really gonna be Richard's
biggest concern about the Cog I think?
Um, what I've noticed and taken on board so far is,
you know, the restoration work takes so long.
We just don't seem to be able to make no money on them.
I'm thinking more going towards...
stuff that we know. Yeah.
Whether it's like a say '60, '70s car or even 2000s cars,
as long as we can make money, quick turnover,
we'll bring them in as well.
I think you're right.
I think you should go with your gut feel
and the way to make it profitable
is to really focus on the jobs
that you know you're making a three grand profit
before you even start...
work on the car. Yeah.
There is a part of Richard that wants and slightly celebrates
those beautiful projects.
But if that conflicts with your modus operandi
of making this company profitable,
I think you've got to say how it is.
Well, I'm really glad you're on the same page.
Yeah, I am on the same page genuinely.
The way to make that company profitable
is not necessarily how Richard envisaged it was gonna be.
Jamie has an ambition to have those paint shops working
until they're melting at the seams.
But that is a long way from the spunky,
classic car projects that Richard set the company up for.
And he might just have to brace himself, um, for some hard truths.
The next part of our mission is the most critical,
we've got to get it to the British Normandy Memorial.
Thank you.
Where it will take pride of place
in tomorrow's D-Day anniversary event.
The site goes into an ultra-tight security lockdown
in just an hour's time.
Getting stuck in traffic with a nervous Brigadier
is the last thing we need.
In all seriousness,
we really do need to get through this traffic or we're locked out.
Where's our dispatch riders now?
Yeah, we could do with them to get out as well as in.
Right, we are breaking out of the traffic
and we really do need to get a shimmy on.
So, how long have we got to get there
and how long does it take?
I think it's meant to be about a 25-minute drive.
Have we got 25 minutes?
No, we've got 22 minutes
which means you're gonna have to give the old girl some beans.
Or as the French say appliquee les haricots.
Come on old girl.
We are flying, we are flying.
Very good.
And actually on time.
Well done, everyone.
How does it look? Oh, yeah.
It looks right, it's in the right place,
everybody has done their bit.
Shall we go and have a look at the memorial?
I would love to,
I would really love to go and pay my respects.
The newly built memorial
honours over 22,000 British servicemen and women
who fell on D-Day
and the following Battle of Normandy in 1944.
There's a profound silence.
80 years ago, all of these people were young men
and were put into a position
where they were fighting for freedom and fighting for their own lives.
To sit in that Rolls Royce, just felt absolutely tremendous.
But it pales into insignificance to the pride
I feel that I have done something
to give something back to these lads.
It is very real, the sheer amount of names.
There's so far just on this where I am looking at here.
Highest age I can see is just mid-30s.
It's terrible. I am seeing a lot of 19s.
They didn't get to grown up with their Dads.
But I did.
And me and Dad have got to do this together.
So, I can't moan really in life.
Come on. They wouldn't want us to be sad.
That's what they did it for.
That is quite a moment, isn't it?
It was very different 80 years ago.
Yeah.
On this very beach,
at this time now would have been hell on earth.
Mad, isn't it?
It would have been a long way up that beach,
that's for sure, isn't it?
Yeah.
This is the big memorial today. Yeah.
I am going to make sure the car is OK there.
A little bit worried about that because
we haven't seen it yesterday.
You've got two minutes to give it a tidy up.
I will do.
The whole point of this exercise
was to get the car ready for its big day.
It'll be there, looking smart. Don't worry.
Right. See you later on. Go steady.
King Charles and President Macron are at the event,
so security is ultra-tight,
allowing only one Cog in to look after the car.
And as the only one who's suited and booted, that's me.
Ey up, Richard Hammond, what does he want?
Neil. Hello.
I'm in the car,
there has been some discussion with different security agencies
about where it can go and I can't start it!
Oh, no.
There's the normal isolator down by the driver's seat,
and is that it? No, no.
Can you point your phone at the dashboard?
Ignition there? Yeah, yeah.
The one below it. Yeah.
Put that to on, that's it, you should have ignition now.
A little bit of throttle maybe.
It is a Rolls Royce.
Yeah, I've done it. Yeah.
Thank you.
Well done, bye-bye.
If it's going to go wrong, it's going to go wrong today, innit?
Whilst the official ceremony takes place
at the British Normandy Memorial,
on the landing beaches up and down the coast,
people from all over the world
gather to commemorate and celebrate.
Here they come.
Quite impressive that.
They're coming in kayaks over there
Long way from Britain that is, innit?
Tell you what,
if you were in trouble you'd be glad to see them.
Yeah, you would.
Hello. Afternoon. Gentlemen.
How are you? You've got a problem?
Yeah, a little challenge here on the cooling system.
It's leaking.
So, we want to change out the Jubilee clip.
But it wouldn't be the first one to be repaired on this beach.
Is this your own jeep? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Correct.
What year is this one? 1942, July 1942.
1942? Yeah.
It must be amazing to drive these on the road.
We drove from the northeast part of Holland, 23 hours.
We have a bunk bed in the truck. Yeah.
Is that a Chevrolet? Yeah.
Who drives what? That's yours? That's your old girl.
I'll bet you get a bit of respect. Yeah, yeah.
Because these are mechanical veterans.
They are, yeah.
And without these and the real veterans,
none of us to be here. Yeah.
I hadn't really thought about it.
You know, we talk about veteran vehicles with cars,
but they are vets as well. They've seen a lot, done a lot.
And I think that could be something in that for us at the Cog.
It is possible to keep these things going in them.
You're investing in your history and your past,
and you might get a uniform as well.
It's busy here.
Um...
somewhere in there, there's a small Herefordian
and his son and a lanky bloke.
Oh, where are they?
Hang on.
What?
Is that Neil?
Richard! Richard!
Oh, my god!
What are they doing in that?
We're coming. To pick you up.
Neil's driving it.
What has happened here?
I feel inappropriately attired for this now.
I'm not in beachwear.
You alright? Hello!
What are you doing?
Hello. Hello.
Whose is the jeep? Er, just borrowed.
Yeah, you borrowed it?
You had a good day?
Ah, mate, the service was utterly beautiful.
I met so many vets. People loved it.
Well, these are mechanical veterans.
Mechanical veterans? Mechanical veterans.
I like that.
And this Jeep was a 1942 so it could well have been here.
Can I have a go? Yeah, course you can.
Really? Come on round.
Alright. Brace for this.
Have you been on the Jack Daniels? No, no, no.
We're away.
Oh, yes.
Look at that. Whoa.
We need to get us one of these for the workshop.
This would be good on a trial stage.
Let's do some military stuff.
This could be a new thing.
You can have the Jeep and I'll have the uniform.
Yes, I'll have one.
Perhaps we should have two.
It's been a week since our French adventure
and it's time for a reality check
from our no-nonsense mentor, Patrick.
The golf-course seemed like a good idea.
Eugh!
We've brought Frank Spencer with us.
So, I think we kick off from here.
Where's the hole? I don't know.
I presume we just tonk it down there.
I've got my starting stick.
Excellent. Hit the ball into the nettles.
You're joking.
Shall I have a go? Yeah, you have to go.
And I'll watch you.
Well, some of the dirt went quite a way. There you go.
Oh, he's focussed, he's focussed.
He's done this before. Look at him.
Can't argue with that.
But he went further than either of us.
Are we as bad at running a workshop as we are at playing golf?
No, no, no. We are far worse at playing golf.
What did you learn?
I guess what I learned is that the potential is huge.
But you've got to do more of the things
that you know can make you money,
because if you're not making money, it's not gonna work.
What worries me is to make the workshop function.
We need those quick jobs that I can't organise,
and he's gonna die of boredom doing.
So, we don't have a place in it.
I think that's an extraordinary thing to say and completely wrong.
Neil, you're a very effective tool in the workshop in all respects.
A tool? Definitely.
Um, you have an endless list of people
want to send the company work.
I can get work. So, from that point of view.
You're not a problem.
But you're in the wrong place.
You guys need to do the bits that you're good at,
but not in that particular environment.
So, what your saying is leave the workshop
to play to its strengths and build
and become a grown up business. Yeah.
We concentrate on playing to our strengths.
See what my contacts can get us.
Neil can do the specialist intricate really craft laden jobs
that I know don't make the money,
but they are important as we need those skills in the business.
Yeah. Of course.
It's not over though, is it?
Oh, 100% it's not over.
And you shouldn't be thinking that it's over.
This whole business was started out of pure passion.
But Patrick's right,
I need to focus on jobs
that are guaranteed to make us money.
Turning the workshop into a machine
doesn't squash the passion out of it at all.
It gives us the perfect setting for it.
Neil can do work at a level that nobody else around us can.
I can go and get jobs that nobody else can go and get.
We started this business, we can build and grow it.
That's where our strengths lie.
It's like we've just been fired from our own workshop!
They'll probably take our off keys off us.
We've got to ring up and make an appointment.
Oh, when are you coming in? Oh, no.
We can't see you today, Mr Hammond.
What do you mean, I own the place!