0:00:02 > 0:00:04Across the country heir hunters are searching
0:00:04 > 0:00:05- for long-lost families.- Hello.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08It's Wednesday in London
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and just one case has landed on the heir-hunters' desk.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It's going to be hugely competitive,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17so it's really important that we get going quickly.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20They might be about to change someone's life.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24This is probably one of the weirdest days I've ever had in my life.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26I think, if I told someone about it,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29they'd probably take me back to the loony asylum.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32In Shropshire, emotions run high
0:00:32 > 0:00:36after an unexpected knock at the door.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I don't want his money. I want him.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43And that leads to a touching reunion.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Here's to George. Ta-ra, George.
0:00:45 > 0:00:46- Cheers. - You'll be missed by all of us.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- All the best, George. - Cheers, George.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07In London, case manager Amy Moyes has the Bona Vacantia list
0:01:07 > 0:01:09issued by the Treasury.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Every day, probate genealogists, like those at Finders,
0:01:12 > 0:01:17search for families of those who have died without any next of kin.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22We've just had this morning's ads through.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25There's one ad today on the list
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and it turns out to be a property owner.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It's the estate of the late Robert Sidney Radmall.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I'm just working with Ryan on this.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39As soon as the lists are available, it's a race against the clock
0:01:39 > 0:01:44for any heir-hunting firm to beat their rivals to secure any heirs.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48With only one new case today, the pressure is on.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It's going to be hugely competitive,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53so it's really important that we get going quickly,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57so we're just trying, at the moment, to clear off any close kin
0:01:57 > 0:01:59and then look as quickly as we can
0:01:59 > 0:02:01into the maternal and paternal families.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Mark Forrest was a close friend and work colleague of Robert Radmall,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09who died, unexpectedly, aged 59.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I knew Robert for just under four years.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Robert and I became very good friends.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20We used to speak quite often, two or three times a week.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Robert lived in Hemel Hempstead, and Mark got to know him
0:02:24 > 0:02:27when he worked on an independent film he was shooting.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31He came on board. He was assistant director.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Um, he assisted with the lighting,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36he would assist the director of photography,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40he would help with the location. We had a different level of skill sets.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44There were some guys that were established and others not so,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and Robert would be the lynchpin between the two.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Robert's promising career was tragically cut short
0:02:50 > 0:02:56when, on the 18 August 2015, aged 59, he suddenly passed away.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59It was a complete shock to me, complete shock to all of us,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03all of his close friends. When I first heard, I thought,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06"No, it's a mistake, obviously it's a mistake."
0:03:06 > 0:03:11I spoke to him a few days before and we were due to meet soon,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13within the next few days.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Yeah, complete shock. He had so much to give.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23In the offices of the heir-hunters,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26case manager Ryan Gregory has already established
0:03:26 > 0:03:29key information about Robert.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33We were able to use the address and see that Robert lived on his own
0:03:33 > 0:03:36since around 1992, when he moved into the property.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39We could back that up with a marriage search
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and the initial indications suggest that Robert was a bachelor.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45So, we're not looking at a spouse.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48It's hard for us to find any children,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51given that he evidently didn't marry,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54so we're ruling out issue and a spouse for now.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Looking at the electoral rolls for Robert Radmall,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01we can see he's probably been living in the family home
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and he's probably inherited that.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05When we look, historically, through the electoral rolls,
0:04:05 > 0:04:11he's actually living with, it seems to be, his mother and father,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Emmeline and Sidney Radmall.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17This means that Robert's estate is likely to contain
0:04:17 > 0:04:20the family home in Hertfordshire,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24making it a valuable asset for any potential heirs.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Robert's parents were Sidney Alfred G Radmall and Emmeline Annie Coles.
0:04:29 > 0:04:36They married in 1940 and had Robert, an only child, in 1956.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41So, what we found out is that the paternal grandparents were called
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Sidney Bertram George Radmall and Ada Elizabeth Radmall, nee Pratt.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50They married on 18th April 1915. They were living in Islington.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53This was during the First World War.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Sidney was a soldier at the time of marriage.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02Um, so, beyond that, they had Gladys in the same year and Sidney,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06who's the deceased's father, they had a few later in 1918.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10I'm looking at the maternal family, which is surname Coles,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13so already, that's a much more common surname
0:05:13 > 0:05:16than Radmall to be dealing with. From the records,
0:05:16 > 0:05:22it looks as though the deceased's mother was one of three siblings,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25her brother and sister being called John and Margaret.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28So, again, they're not the greatest names to be working with.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I was really hopeful that, as the mother was called Emmeline Annie,
0:05:31 > 0:05:36that her siblings would have equally interesting names, but they don't.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38The deceased's father was one of three as well.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43We found Gladys A Marion Radmall, born in 1915.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45She married Thomas H State
0:05:45 > 0:05:47but she didn't have any children with him.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51I found out that the deceased's paternal uncle,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Ronald John H Radmall, born in 1932,
0:05:54 > 0:05:59so relatively recently in the scheme of things, he passed away in 2000.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01He was married in 1962,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03so I just need to find out whether he had any children.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Ryan discovers that Robert's aunt Gladys passed away in 1977.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Without Robert's parents alive,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15his uncle Ronald's children will be the only heirs
0:06:15 > 0:06:18on Robert's father's side of the family.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The search is quickly narrowing down to only a few heirs.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Amy is now looking at Robert's mother's side of the family.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Her maiden name was Coles.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33Uncle John Coles - looks as though he's passed away in the '80s,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37but with a name like John Coles, I can't really tell if he's married
0:06:37 > 0:06:40or had children until, hopefully, his death certificate gives me
0:06:40 > 0:06:43some more info. So, I'm waiting on that.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I then moved over to maternal aunt, Margaret.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Now, there's a really strong possibility, I think,
0:06:49 > 0:06:54that she's alive and has moved to the Sussex area.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57She may now be known as Peggy, rather than Margaret,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00which isn't uncommon, especially for her generation.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03She was born in the '30s. I tried a phone number for her.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06She's not answering. It's ringing out, without a machine,
0:07:06 > 0:07:07so I can't leave a message.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Amy, could I get you to make some calls for me to help?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16I think she might be a beneficiary but she's not answering.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Could you call a few neighbours and just see
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- if she is home or not?- No problem.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Amy's team manage to track down a neighbour.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31Yes, the gentleman next door said that she's in a mobility scooter.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35- Oh, OK.- Someone should be in.- So she's just not answering the phone.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38She's just not answering the phone. But he doesn't know
0:07:38 > 0:07:40if she has any children or not that we could contact.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42I don't think she does.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44But he said to keep trying the phone number,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47but he was in bed, cos he's on night shifts,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50so I woke him up but he was kind enough to let us know.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- That's nice of him. OK.- Yeah.- Good. Thank you. Good news.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Do you mind just seeing if you can find a Steven, with a V, R Radmall,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59born in 1962?
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Ryan has found that Robert's uncle Ronald
0:08:02 > 0:08:05did have a son, Steven, who lives in London.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09OK, he might be the only paternal heir. Shall I give him a call?
0:08:09 > 0:08:14- Yes, please.- OK.- The only one? - Looks like it, yeah.- OK.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- There's only a mobile.- OK.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21He might be engaged.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Ryan eventually gets through
0:08:23 > 0:08:26to what must be a very surprised Steven Radmall.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Hello, is that Steven Radmall? Hello, there.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33With pressure mounting and the company's travelling researchers
0:08:33 > 0:08:37already despatched in other areas, company MD Daniel
0:08:37 > 0:08:40volunteers to go and see Steven himself.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Case manager Amy is still trying to establish information
0:08:44 > 0:08:46about Robert's mother's side of the family,
0:08:46 > 0:08:51his Aunt Margaret and Uncle John, to see what heirs exist there.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54If there are none, Steven Radmall could be the only heir
0:08:54 > 0:08:56with a claim to Robert's estate,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00and Daniel is on his way to meet him.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02DOOR ENTRY BEEPS
0:09:02 > 0:09:04It's a frustrating wait,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08when other heir-hunting firms will be close on Daniel's tail.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11No answer at the moment, so I'm going to ring the office
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and see if they've got any updates or information.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Meanwhile, Amy is on the phone to travelling rep Stuart...
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- Amy speaking.- ..who is at the home of Margaret Coles,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26which Amy is hoping is Robert Radmall's aunt.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31Oh, no! OK, OK. I'll go back to the drawing board, then.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33SHE LAUGHS
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Oh, I thought that was finished. I'll go and see who I can find.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Speak to you later. Bye.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Unfortunately, she's not the Margaret J Coles I'm looking for.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Her parents were different to the ones that we're looking for.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52She also didn't have a brother John or a sister Emmeline.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56OK, it's going to be tricky without her birth, I think.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Ryan and Amy are hoping to find a Margaret Coles
0:09:59 > 0:10:01without a middle name.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06- How about this one? Plain Margaret Coles.- Oh, yeah. Camden, OK.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Got taken into a care home. Died in the hospital, from a care home.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- That could be her, couldn't it? - Yeah.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Shall I give Daniel a call?
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Yeah, see what he's actually doing and let him know
0:10:17 > 0:10:21that he may well be the sole heir now, if he answers.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24This could be an interesting meeting,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27given that the estate has been valued
0:10:27 > 0:10:29at a quarter of a million pounds.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34Daniel's been invited into Steven's flat, but other people are arriving.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Are they other heir-hunting firms?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- You're Steven Radmall, that's correct?- Yeah.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Can you just confirm your parents' names for me?
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Nora Radmall and Ronald Radmall.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49So, the beneficiaries will be
0:10:49 > 0:10:51any surviving members of the Coles family
0:10:51 > 0:10:54and any surviving members of the Radmall family.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Now, you're an only child, I understand. Is that correct?
0:10:56 > 0:10:59- Well, I... - HE COUGHS
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Excuse me. I have a brother,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04but he's from my mother's first marriage so...
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- So, a half-brother on your mother's side.- Yeah.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09So he wouldn't be entitled. He's not on the Radmall bloodline.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11So, there is a house.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14There's a property involved in Hemel Hempstead.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- Have you ever been to Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire?- I have.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21So it could be that you now have a share in this property
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and it could be, from the research we've done,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27you might even be the only heir to the estate,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29so it could be quite a decent windfall.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33This is probably one of the weirdest days I've ever had in my life
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and I think, if I told someone about it,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38they'd probably take me back to the loony asylum.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40It's a very interesting day.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Steven hasn't seen his father for 20 years
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and, as he didn't play a large part in his life, he's keen to know
0:11:48 > 0:11:51if the heir-hunters can tell him anything more about him.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55I grew up with my mum and my brother, yeah, so that was just it.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58My dad might still be alive. I don't know.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03No, your dad passed away in 2000, in the year 2000, in Barnet.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- He did?- He did, yeah.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08We can get a copy of his certificate and send you that, if you'd like it.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- We can get copies of... - What did he die of, do you know?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13We can get a copy of the certificate and send it on to you.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16- Can you do that for me? I'd like to see that.- Absolutely.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19We'll get a copy ordered from Barnet and send that on to you.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21He died in 2000? I didn't know that.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26I try not to pre-empt or guess how the person may react
0:12:26 > 0:12:31and just deal with it in a sensitive but professional manner.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Steven then begins to tell Daniel about his daughter.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37She's got this thing called craniosynostosis,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40which is quite a rare disease. Not being a medical sort of guy,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43but for the first two years of your life,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45your brain and your skull grows together and there's a gap
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and one side wasn't growing so, eventually,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51the side that wasn't growing was going to die.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Basically, they got her into hospital very, very quickly
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and did the operation they had to do to save her life.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01They basically took her skull out and made a new skull.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Steven is so passionate about the hospital's good work,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08he then makes a staggering admission.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I'll sign anything to say I don't want any money.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13I don't want to gain anything out of this.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18Apart from Great Ormond Street seeing the benefits because...
0:13:20 > 0:13:24- ..22, 23 years, I've seen... - What they did for your daughter.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26..what they've done for my daughter
0:13:26 > 0:13:29and they do it every day for so many young children, it's...
0:13:31 > 0:13:33I don't want to start crying but it's really important.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- Yeah, definitely.- You know.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39It's been an emotional discussion for Steven,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43so Daniel leaves him to contemplate all he has found out.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Do you a nice family tree and, fingers crossed, God willing,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49there'll be an inheritance for you at the end of the day.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- But it's lovely to meet you. - Very nice.- Good to see you, sir.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- Very nice to meet you.- Best of luck. - Been an experience.- Yeah.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Back in the office
0:13:57 > 0:14:02and Amy is having success ruling out any heirs on Robert's mother's side.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Although it's not conclusive today,
0:14:04 > 0:14:09it's looking more and more likely that this is the correct death
0:14:09 > 0:14:13for Margaret Coles, that she's a spinster without children.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Amy's suspicions were confirmed.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Margaret had no children and neither did John Coles, her brother.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25Steven Radmall is about to receive a very interesting update.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29I really hope he gets the money. It would be really lovely for him
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and he wants to do some good with it, so that's even better to hear.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34And for those who knew Robert,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38his memory leaves another lasting legacy.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42I'll miss him, yeah, of course. I miss him every day.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Across the country, our next case is in Shropshire,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56where the search is on for unknown heirs
0:14:56 > 0:14:58of 68-year-old George Hawkesworth.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01He had a close circle of friends and neighbours
0:15:01 > 0:15:04in his home town of Telford.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08George had a hell of a personality. He either got on with you
0:15:08 > 0:15:09or he didn't.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14If George thought you were a fool, he'd soon let you know.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Luckily, I used to get on very well with him.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Yeah, we had some good times, me and George.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23On 13th January 2015,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27ex-Army man George passed away, after battling a serious illness.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31None of his friends knew of any family or will,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33so the search was taken up
0:15:33 > 0:15:36by London-based heir-hunting firm Fraser and Fraser.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40The unusual bit about this case was the name.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42I've never come across Hawkesworth
0:15:42 > 0:15:44and usually that's a good sign, when you haven't seen a name before,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47cos it probably means it's not particularly common.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52George's death certificate revealed that he was born in Scotland,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56so Mike began to look for any relatives north of the border.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00The first thing that we needed to do was to establish
0:16:00 > 0:16:04whether or not George was married or had any children
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and, after a couple of searches, it looked like he was never married
0:16:07 > 0:16:10in England or Scotland or had any children.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12OK, cool. I will. Bye.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15George's family was the Army.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20He was a career soldier and rose to the rank of staff sergeant.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24He completed tours in Northern Ireland, Germany and Borneo
0:16:24 > 0:16:27and made lifelong friends throughout his 22-year service.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33I first met George in Northern Ireland. I was posted there
0:16:33 > 0:16:36and George and I were in a room together.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40We spent all our time in the Queen's Dragoon Guards there
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and it was a great place to be, especially for young boys,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46cos there was lots of beer and lots of girls,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48so we really enjoyed ourselves.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53George joined the Army when he was 18 and spent the next 22 years
0:16:53 > 0:16:56in the illustrious 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58retiring when he was 40.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03In 1965, the regiment was posted to Borneo,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06the largest island in Asia,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09close to Singapore and famous for its dense rainforests.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14George and I, all of us young lads, loved it
0:17:14 > 0:17:17because we were in such an alien environment,
0:17:17 > 0:17:22at such a young age - first time I and George had travelled outside
0:17:22 > 0:17:25the United Kingdom - and to go halfway round the world,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29nearly on the equator, weather conditions that we'd never heard of.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33I know it rains a lot in Northern Ireland but not as much as Borneo.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37UK troops were sent to Borneo to defend it from Indonesia,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40after a new Federation of Malaysia was set up,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43which was partly under control by the British.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51One of the patrols I did with George was 16 days away from the camp.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56That means we had to carry all our food. And we had to, um...
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Well, we took everything with us
0:17:59 > 0:18:03and because we couldn't smoke, because we couldn't clean our teeth,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07we couldn't wash, and we had to be quiet,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11we didn't speak to each other, except late at night.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14It was all done by sign language and clicks.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Dave remembers he and George befriending the locals
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and developing a soft spot for some of the animals.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24When George and I were on patrol,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28we came across a orang-utan female that had been shot,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30and clinging to her breast,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34was a small baby orang-utan which we tried to rescue.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37We realised that we couldn't feed it properly,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41so we radioed for baby formula milk, baby bottles and teats
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and we were able, then, to feed this baby orang-utan
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and carry it back to civilisation
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and hand it over to the authorities.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54Cheers.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57At the heir-hunters' office, for case manager Mike Pow,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00the unusual surname of Hawkesworth
0:19:00 > 0:19:03made finding George's parents relatively easy,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05through birth and death records.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Mike established that George also didn't have any brothers or sisters.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14The parents of the deceased, we learnt,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18were a Rose Docherty and a George English Hawkesworth.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23The mother of the deceased was an aircraft fitter in Paisley,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25which was in 1945.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27In the Second World War,
0:19:27 > 0:19:32Rose Guthrie worked making parts to kit out the interior of planes.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Living in Paisley, Scotland, which had a strong textile industry,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40she transferred her skills from fabric-making
0:19:40 > 0:19:42to industrial factory work.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46One of the new, innovative things that came in
0:19:46 > 0:19:49in the Second World War was conscription for women.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Women between the ages of 20 and 40 who hadn't got children under 14,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56were called up to work either in factories, like Rose did,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59in the locality, if they were married,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01or maybe they would go into the forces.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04As part of conscription, women had to choose
0:20:04 > 0:20:09whether to enter the armed forces or work in farming or industry.
0:20:09 > 0:20:16By December 1943, one in three factory workers was female.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19They were building planes, tanks, guns
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and making ammunition needed for the war.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25She's looking at light industrial work,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27in what was probably a very big factory.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29It would have been a small part of the job.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32What they did was to use very specialised bits of labour
0:20:32 > 0:20:35so, instead of learning and going through a lengthy apprenticeship,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38you would learn just one tiny bit of the task.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Unfortunately, that made it particularly tedious
0:20:40 > 0:20:42cos it was very repetitive.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44But it would have been a very important job
0:20:44 > 0:20:46and numerous women, like her,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49by being moved into this different part of industry,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53not in what you would call garment trades or luxury production,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55but into really important war work,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58contributed enormously to the war effort.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02After the war, Rose worked as a civil servant for the MOD
0:21:02 > 0:21:04until she retired.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05For the heir-hunters
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and their search for potential heirs to George's estate,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10it was Rose's side of the family
0:21:10 > 0:21:14that case worker Mike Pow delved into next.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17The grandmother of the deceased, Rose Ann Docherty,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19married John Guthrie in 1915.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23George's parents were Rose Docherty and George Hawkesworth.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Rose's mother, Rose Ann Docherty, married John Guthrie.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33They had an incredible 12 children over a 21-year period.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Interestingly, John's name is not actually
0:21:36 > 0:21:38on Rose's birth certificate,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42making her brothers and sisters half-blood siblings by law.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46This meant that if full-blood aunts and uncles could be established,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49her siblings would not be entitled.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53So we knew that there were 11 aunts and uncles of the deceased
0:21:53 > 0:21:57who were issue from the marriage of Rose Docherty and John Guthrie.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00We had a quick look to see if any of them died when they were young
0:22:00 > 0:22:03and only one died, so we knew there were going to be
0:22:03 > 0:22:06at least ten aunts and uncles who possibly survived and had children,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09or were still alive and would be beneficiaries.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- I spoke to her.- Right. - She phoned in.
0:22:11 > 0:22:17One of those was Mary McNally, Rose's youngest sister by 21 years.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19The heir-hunters traced her
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and gave her the news about her nephew George.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24At first I was shocked.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29I said, "No, I don't think so. He's younger than me, you know."
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Mary was close to her sister Rose, but because of the wide age gap,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38as George's aunty, she was only six years older than him.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I remember George well, you know.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43I was in Scotland at the time he was born.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48I remember him coming home from the hospital with his mum
0:22:48 > 0:22:49and I took him out.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54At that time, he was only a little tiny thing, you know,
0:22:54 > 0:22:59so my mum put him here, she put a blanket round me
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and I took him outside
0:23:01 > 0:23:05and I was walking round the streets with him in this little shawl.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06It was so funny.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12Mary remembers George as a typical boisterous young boy.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17When he was a kid, he was a funny wee thing at times.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20He was always, maybe, hiding.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24He'd be hiding and saying, "Where am I?", things like that.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28And he'd jump out at you, frighten the life out of you.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30He was a wee rascal.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Mary and her daughter Carol didn't know George as an adult.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35She lost touch with him
0:23:35 > 0:23:38when he moved away from Scotland with his mother.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43I did see him quite a lot when we went on holiday
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and, I mean, that was it.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51And then, the last time I seen him was at his mum's funeral.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And then we lost contact, which was a shame.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Mary is one of 16 heirs to George's estate.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Whatever we're getting, I think it should...
0:24:04 > 0:24:08It would be nice for it to go to something to do with the Army,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11instead of...I mean...
0:24:11 > 0:24:14I don't want his money. I want him.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19But...
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I don't know.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Sad, sad, sad.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31For case manager Mike Pow,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35having searched George's mother's family history for potential heirs,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38he now needed to complete the whole family picture.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40We'll keep our fingers crossed
0:24:40 > 0:24:42that there's not too many stems on that side.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46The next stage was trying to work out the paternal side of the family,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49so the deceased's father, George English Hawkesworth,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51to see if he had any brothers and sisters
0:24:51 > 0:24:54who may have had children, in turn, who would be beneficiaries.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Do you want to try him first?
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Mike struggled to locate the birth certificate of George's father,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03but after an exhaustive search through records,
0:25:03 > 0:25:08Mike eventually found one, but it posed more problems than it solved.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Once we had the name of the father, George English Hawkesworth,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16we thought it would be a relatively easy name to research,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18as the combination is not particularly common.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22However, we immediately hit a bit of a stumbling block
0:25:22 > 0:25:25when it appeared that George was born illegitimately.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27He wasn't born with the surname Hawkesworth,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30he was born as George English McKinnon,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33and the birth certificate states he was born illegitimately
0:25:33 > 0:25:36to Sarah McKinnon, who would have been his mother.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40With both George's parents unusually being born illegitimately,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42all relatives are equally entitled.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Now they would have to change tack
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and search for George Senior's original birth name of McKinnon.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53This could mean a longer and more difficult search.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Yes, perfect. Thank you. Take care now. Bye-bye. Bye.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Eventually, they did manage to piece this complicated jigsaw together.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05George's grandmother, Sarah McKinnon,
0:26:05 > 0:26:10married Herbert Hawkesworth on New Year's Eve in 1917,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12in Paisley, Scotland.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15George English McKinnon was just four years old
0:26:15 > 0:26:17when his name was changed.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19The marriage produced further children,
0:26:19 > 0:26:24meaning the possibility of more aunts and uncles for George Junior.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29Mike's research finds that on George's father's side,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31only one of George's aunts and uncles is still alive
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and one cousin.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37In total we've located around 18 beneficiaries.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41We worked out that there were 16 on the maternal side of the family
0:26:41 > 0:26:43and only two on the paternal side of the family.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Now the case is closed,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49George's effects have been sent to his aunt, Mary,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52who is one of his closest living relatives.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Look at the size of him! What is he like?
0:26:57 > 0:26:59This must have been one of the official...
0:26:59 > 0:27:03He shouldn't have been in that photo, look, he's so tiny.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05..official dinners or something.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09- He's funny, isn't he? - Ah, that's nice.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- That is a nice one. - That is lovely, actually.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Many of the photos and records Mary received
0:27:15 > 0:27:19show the 15 years George spent as a tank instructor.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Since George's relatives have all been found,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26his friends are getting together to remember him.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28George got a commendation.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32I believe he was guard commander and a recruit stole a tank
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and the guy didn't open the doors of the hangar.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37He just drove straight through the hangar doors.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40George jumped in the Land Rover with the duty driver
0:27:40 > 0:27:42and hightailed it over the tank park.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47But George climbed from the Land Rover onto the moving tank -
0:27:47 > 0:27:50no mean feat for HIS physique - pressed the switch,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54cut the engine and he dragged him out.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55I think he spent the night in jail.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58That's quite an honour, a general officer's commendation.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01First I've heard of it. I didn't know anything about it.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Pretty brave man to do that, I think.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06- Here's to George. Ta-ra, George.- Cheers.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10- You'll be missed by all of us.- All the best, George.- Cheers George.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13- Cheers.- Gone but not forgotten. - Yeah, definitely not forgotten.