‘These artefacts hold incredible stories’: Jason Fox and Bruce Crompton on Battle Treasures
Join Jason Fox and Bruce Crompton in Sky HISTORY’s Battle Treasures as they explore rare military artefacts and the history they hold.
Image: Battle Treasures
When former Special Forces soldier Jason Fox and military antiques expert Bruce Crompton step into the studio for Battle Treasures, they’re not just handling rare objects – they’re unlocking forgotten stories of courage, conflict and survival.
The new Sky HISTORY six-part series explores three extraordinary artefacts in each episode, from Viking swords and medieval daggers to Cold War assassination devices and Saddam Hussein’s gold-plated gun. Together, Jason and Bruce bring different but complementary perspectives: Jason draws on his years of front-line experience, and Bruce adds encyclopaedic knowledge of the military world and its collectables.
Ahead of the series’ premiere on Tuesday, 28 October, the pair sat down with us to discuss their discoveries and personal highlights.
A unique format
Each episode takes a theme – iconic assault rifles, incredible swords, battlefield relics, amazing escapes, air combat honours and special ops – and explores three artefacts that shaped history. The format gives Bruce the chance to share his encyclopaedic knowledge while Jason draws on his soldiering background to imagine how these items were used in the field.
'It’s amazing to be able to see real objects that have had some part to play in the forging of military forces across the globe that have, in turn, created the world we are now in,' Jason explains. 'Also, it's fun to be able to pick up these items, talk about what it must have been like to use them and the impact they must have had. I think that's the best way to really inspire people to want to know more.'
'These artefacts all hold incredible stories. If you could pick up an object and make it talk, the tales it could tell you would just be unbelievable,' Bruce enthuses. 'What all these artefacts have seen and been involved in is the history of this country, and it’s vital that we don’t forget that.'
Highlights from the series
From the very first episode, the series sets out its ambition. Viewers are introduced to the German STG 44, the world’s first true assault rifle, followed by a rare AK-47 signed by its inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov, and an M16 grenade launcher that appeared in Black Hawk Down. Later episodes cover a dazzling variety of objects – among them a Viking sword found on the Essex coast, Sir John Moore’s presentation sword of honour, a cornet salvaged from the battlefield of Isandlwana and the infamous KGB umbrella.
Jason was particularly struck by the Viking weapon: 'It's an astonishing artefact. We're going back a long way in time. I'm hoping that it inspires youngsters to understand that history wasn't just when their parents or grandparents were born. It goes way back. There are so many periods and layers of history. To have something as old as the Viking sword can really help viewers to visualise that. Who used it? What was it like to use? What was it like to go into battle carrying it?'
For Bruce, the emotional weight of certain artefacts is unforgettable. He points to a battered cornet with a tragic story attached: 'The history behind that item is incredible. It’s from the Battle of Isandlwana in South Africa in 1879… The cornet belonged to a member of the military band. I've got a picture of him holding it when he was in Cape Town, just before they went up to Isandlwana. When the Lancers went to observe the destruction there after the battle, they picked the cornet up. The cornet player’s brother happened to be serving at Rorke's Drift, and so the instrument was given back to him. Can you imagine how emotional it must have been when he was handed his brother’s cornet?'
The vital role of collectors
Not every object featured on the show comes from a museum. Many are drawn from private collections – and as Bruce explains, that’s a vital part of keeping history alive.
'Private collectors are absolutely central to keeping history alive. Many of the most important artefacts in museums today actually started out in private hands, not the other way round, and collectors put enormous effort into preserving, researching and protecting them,' he says.
Private collectors also play an important role in supporting museums. 'Private collectors play a vital role in helping museums, often providing preserve, research and often loan those artefacts back to museums for public display,' Bruce adds.
But he is clear that collecting comes with responsibilities: 'It is essential to buy items legally and responsibly. Never accept anything, no matter how tempting, if you suspect it has not come into someone’s hands legitimately. Provenance is everything.'
Beyond hardware
What Battle Treasures makes clear is that artefacts aren’t just about design or engineering – they’re about people. Jason describes why objects resonate so deeply with soldiers:
'As a soldier, you get issued equipment, you rely on it, you survive through it, you love it, you hate it, you sometimes sweat, cry and bleed onto it. And so, whether it was a good piece of kit or a bad piece of kit doesn't matter. It's important because you've got memories around it.'
Bruce agrees, and the pairing of soldier and collector is part of the series’ appeal. 'I've got to know Jason very well, and he’s a really nice guy. Obviously, he's got a far bigger military background than I have; he's been there, seen it, done it. We've got items that he's physically used. He’s been to places where he saw them in action, like the stuff from the era of Saddam Hussein. You've got somebody who has a direct tie to some of the items we're talking about. He can give a better insight because he was there on the ground using some of these objects.'
Similarly, for Jason, Bruce’s knowledge proved invaluable. 'I could walk around his collection and listen to him all day long,' he laughs. 'I learn so much from him each time and never remember as much as I wanted to!'
Why history matters
Jason’s passion for history is evident throughout the series, but as he explains, it was a subject that only came alive after he joined the Royal Marines at the age of 16. 'I wasn't into history at school, which mortified my dad because he loved it! During your time as a recruit, you are taught about the Corp’s history, what it means to be a Marine, and what the people did before you. That’s when I first became fascinated about how we get to be who we are now.'
'There’s a lot to be learned from it, although we never will learn from it because we're humans!' he adds with a wry smile. 'There's a lot to glean from the sacrifice that's gone before. The memories of so many things that have happened in the past deserve to be remembered.'
Inspiring the next generation
Both presenters hope that Battle Treasures will spark new interest in military history – particularly among younger audiences. 'I'm looking forward to the impact that this has and to seeing how it's received,' Jason says. 'It will be interesting to see if we can reach out to a younger audience. We’re really, really keen to do that and inspire them to study a bit more about history and find out about what made us the country we are today.'
Bruce is equally optimistic about the series’ potential: 'This series will raise the profile of these collections and allow people to understand how crucial these objects are to our history.'
So, what’s next? As Bruce explains, Battle Treasures has near-limitless scope for future series. “If Sky HISTORY wanted 100 episodes, we could do it. We could get so many unbelievable items.”
Beyond the battlefield
At its heart, Battle Treasures is about making the past tangible. Whether it’s a cornet carried into battle, a sword given in honour or a rifle that changed the way wars were fought, each object is a thread connecting us to those who came before.
'History is only ever as strong as the stories we keep alive,' Jason reflects. And through the treasures they uncover, he and Bruce are making sure those stories do not get forgotten.
Battle Treasures airs on Sky HISTORY and HISTORY Play from Tuesday, 28 October, showcasing world-first reveals, extraordinary artefacts and unforgettable stories from the front line of history.
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