0:00:01 > 0:00:05Today, the heir hunters unlock a family mystery involving
0:00:05 > 0:00:09- multiple surnames...- You mention the illegitimate daughter. OK.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13He refused to marry her because he wasn't in love with her.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16..and connect an estranged family for the very first time.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Excellent! We're going to get on well.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26In Liverpool, the memorial service of a local MP is emotional...
0:00:26 > 0:00:28I don't think there's any tribute that could fit
0:00:28 > 0:00:30the enormity of what Bob was.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34..and the heir hunters bring to light new family members.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Finding out the vast family tree on my father's side
0:00:38 > 0:00:39certainly is gobsmacking.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Some heir hunter cases have so many twists
0:00:53 > 0:00:56and turns, they can take years to crack.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Today, the end is in sight on one of those cases.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01This is the case of Elizabeth Claire Gagneux.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05It's a case we started about two years ago,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08but we're just about to finish off some of the research on it.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13Claire Gagneux died on 10th April 2013 aged 62
0:01:13 > 0:01:15and lived in Chelsea, London.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Case managers Ryan Gregory and Amy Moyes took the case on that year
0:01:21 > 0:01:26after it appeared on the Treasury Solicitor's Bona Vacantia list...
0:01:26 > 0:01:28That's the details. So text her the name, address.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30It will be a cold call cos he's not on a phone.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34..for people who have died without leaving a will.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39Currently working on a case of Elizabeth or Claire,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42or Elizabeth Claire Gagneux. Obviously sounds French.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Could be Belgian. We picked up on it
0:01:44 > 0:01:48because I don't think anybody's come forward yet to make a claim.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The case is hot off the press and, so far,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54researchers haven't received Claire's death records.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58So at the moment, the only death certificate we really have is
0:01:58 > 0:02:01what's believed to be her mother, a Lilian Maud Gagneux.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04She died in Chelsea in 1975.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Although the team know nothing about Claire,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10she is missed by friends and colleagues.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Claire worked in the Houses of Parliament as a private secretary
0:02:13 > 0:02:15to the MP of Shipley for eight years.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Claire was great at her job.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21She was fantastically reliable, she never took a day off,
0:02:21 > 0:02:22she would come in at weekends
0:02:22 > 0:02:25if she needed to catch up with something, she was really dedicated,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28everything was done on time, she was an absolute perfectionist.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30I think she loved doing the job and she was brilliant at it.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It was sort of a perfect job for her.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Everybody in Parliament knew who Claire was,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38partly because she'd been here for so long, but partly because she was
0:02:38 > 0:02:42a bit of a social animal as well in the sense of frequenting the bars.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Mary Hodge was also a secretary in the Houses of Parliament
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and knew Claire for over ten years.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54She was a very determined, happy person, great sense of humour,
0:02:54 > 0:02:55loved dogs.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58She talked about her mother, who sadly died
0:02:58 > 0:03:01when Claire was a young woman.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05She did mention her father but not much about him, just his name,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08but not about the sort of life they had.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11We didn't hear anything of that side.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Claire's social side was something that all her friends
0:03:14 > 0:03:16strongly associate with her.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20That's the thing that I really miss now is, you know, on a Sunday
0:03:20 > 0:03:23when you sort of have got nothing to do, you know,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25you could go out and have a laugh with her
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and put the world to rights, which was always good fun,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32and somebody that you just actually quite enjoyed being around.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35People would want her at a party. She was quite a special person.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Back in the heir hunters' office
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and Ryan learns from Claire's mother's death certificate
0:03:41 > 0:03:45that her original surname may help them in their search.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47The mother's maiden name is good. It's Pavey.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49We should hopefully manage to speak to somebody today,
0:03:49 > 0:03:54but it depends on finding someone who's not on their summer holidays!
0:03:54 > 0:03:55Pavey's a good name for us to work
0:03:55 > 0:03:58because it's not very prevalent, it's not going to throw us
0:03:58 > 0:04:01many difficulties when we go through the indexes
0:04:01 > 0:04:05and when we're cross-referencing the possible marriage searches
0:04:05 > 0:04:07and we're going through the birth searches.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10It just would not be as time-consuming
0:04:10 > 0:04:15or expensive as if the surname was Smith or Roberts or Jones.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Claire's mother's death certificate also lists her husband
0:04:18 > 0:04:19as Andre Gagneux,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22but they've reached an obstacle in their research.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27It seems as if her father may have been a physics lecturer
0:04:27 > 0:04:28and a quite well-known author.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32We can't immediately find a marriage between the parents as well,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35which indicates that they probably married overseas, possibly
0:04:35 > 0:04:39in France or something, so there's a lot to unravel over this side.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Can I ask you a question on this, please? Thank you.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45I'm kind of stuck, to be honest,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47because from what I understand,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50the only cert we have is her mum's, death cert,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55and it's got daughter, the deceased, basically, her maiden name,
0:04:55 > 0:04:56and what she died as is Gagneux.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01He's on her death as the husband, so obviously they were married in 1975.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05- Yeah.- Can't find a marriage at all for them in this country.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08- It looks overseas.- It was probably French or Belgian or something.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12For him, there's a marriage to this lady called Sahadai...Samaia...
0:05:12 > 0:05:18- something...Ramjit... in 1965.- So they divorced?
0:05:18 > 0:05:19Yeah, I mean,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22they must have got divorced then he must have married her.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24What's perplexing them
0:05:24 > 0:05:27is that Lilian's death certificate shows Claire as her daughter
0:05:27 > 0:05:32and Andre Gagneux as her husband in 1975, when she died.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35They know Claire was born in 1951 but they have uncovered
0:05:35 > 0:05:39a marriage by Andre in 1965 to another woman.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48- Unless he married her first.- It says husband on her death.- Oh. Oh, I see.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Do you know what I mean? So it's really confusing.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54I mean, he must have maybe married...
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Maybe they weren't married.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Maybe they weren't married and they had her in '51.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Putting aside the details about Claire's father for now,
0:06:01 > 0:06:06they concentrate on her mother, Lilian. She was born in 1919.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10They discover Lilian's parents are John Thomas Pavey
0:06:10 > 0:06:11and Sarah Fanny Edgar.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16If John and Sarah had other children, Claire's aunts,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19uncles or cousins could be beneficiaries,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21and if Andre is Claire's father,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24so could any of his siblings or children.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Already, Ryan has found details of a potential cousin for Claire
0:06:30 > 0:06:31on the Pavey side of the family.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36One of the most important parts of the job of an heir hunter is
0:06:36 > 0:06:40to talk to relatives as and when we find them.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44That's for obvious reasons, such as asking people about family
0:06:44 > 0:06:47members that we maybe would have missed through our research,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50collecting addresses for people who would be entitled, and really,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55just getting a better idea of the family tree that we're researching.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Hello, good afternoon. Right, OK.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01That's interesting because we're actually coming through that
0:07:01 > 0:07:05stem of the family, if you like, so we're kind of working
0:07:05 > 0:07:09back from Lilian, who you say kind of disappeared off the radar.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12We're trying to really find somebody who has some
0:07:12 > 0:07:14information on Lilian. Right, OK.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17You mention the illegitimate daughter. OK.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19So, I mean, with the information that you have
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and the hearsay from the family, we can probably piece together
0:07:22 > 0:07:25with some of the information that we have.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I have just been on the phone to, actually,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29the husband of one of the cousins.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Luckily, he's one of the people you were lucky
0:07:31 > 0:07:34enough to come across, who's done some genealogy himself.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38So, I mean, the interesting part of it is that everybody on this
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Pavey side of the family have been trying to find some
0:07:41 > 0:07:42information on Lilian for years.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45There's lots of rumours, there's lots of hearsay that she may have
0:07:45 > 0:07:48gone to South Africa and she may have had an illegitimate daughter.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52The Gagneux case was a good example of why speaking to family members
0:07:52 > 0:07:54is always an important part of the job now.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57We were speaking to cousins on the maternal side,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01but as soon as they told us that the deceased had a half-sister,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04it suddenly meant we may be able to find the sole heir to the estate.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08But all this digging on Lilian's mother's side of the family,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12using the name Pavey, could be an enormous red herring.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Amy and Ryan notice a discrepancy in the surnames of Claire's mother.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19Bye-bye.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Searching on the internet,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25they find Lilian Maud's maiden name listed as Tresidder,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29whilst on her death certificate, her maiden name is listed as Pavey.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33- OK.- It would be good to visit her on Friday.- All right, then.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35- I'll try and arrange something, then.- Thank you.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38With this revealing news, Ryan's team are worried
0:08:38 > 0:08:42they've been barking up the wrong family tree.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45We don't really know. We're kind of clutching at straws at the minute,
0:08:45 > 0:08:46but there is a slim chance that,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50when we get the certificate back, the mum could be Lilian Maud and
0:08:50 > 0:08:54she's changed her name to Tresidder, you know, to maybe, you know...
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Maybe it has something to do with being in wartime France...
0:08:58 > 0:09:02To hide from the family or during the wartime or...
0:09:02 > 0:09:06she may have been in a relationship with another man at some point
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- and she's informally changed her name.- So there's options.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11- Looks as though it's a bit mysterious.- There's options.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14The heir hunters are worried there are two Lilian Mauds
0:09:14 > 0:09:19at the right age - one called Pavey and one called Tresidder.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Yeah, I mean, I just did the UK and overseas, yeah.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23Nothing jumped out.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26If Claire's mother was a Tresidder from birth, then the entire
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Pavey family they've already found are completely the wrong family.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Just it will be a cold call but it's play it by ear, see how you get on.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37But without more information,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40the heir hunters are stuck on the maternal side of the tree.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45We're not going to discount the Pavey side of the family for now,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49but we've kind of gone as far as we can go without any facts, basically.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53After several hours' work, the heir hunters are completely stumped
0:09:53 > 0:09:57and decide to call it a day on searching for Claire's heir.
0:09:58 > 0:09:59I don't know.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I mean, bar a kind of stroke of luck that the deceased mother changed
0:10:02 > 0:10:08her name from Pavey to Tresidder, I'm probably assuming that...
0:10:08 > 0:10:11We contacted the Pavey family, just for a bit of information.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Unfortunately, we didn't get it, but I'd be surprised
0:10:13 > 0:10:16if there were any beneficiaries on that side, really.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19At the end of the day one into the Gagneux investigation, we weren't
0:10:19 > 0:10:23quite sure whether we were going to really continue with the case.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26The difficulty we faced with the deceased's mother was
0:10:26 > 0:10:29the fact that we had these three different surnames that we
0:10:29 > 0:10:32had become aware of - Tresidder, Pavey and Gagneux.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Now, there was no paper trail linking these surnames together
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and that, for us, poses a massive problem with tying together
0:10:39 > 0:10:42exactly who's entitled and what the link is.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45At the end of the day, we need to prove everything factually,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and that was something we were struggling with at that time.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51As a last-ditch attempt to revive the case,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Ryan orders up a Pavey cousins birth certificate
0:10:54 > 0:10:57and moves on to the French side of the family, discovering that
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Claire's father, Andre Gagneux,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02had a stepdaughter from a marriage later in his life.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07He stayed with me for three years.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09I looked after him until he actually died.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12But during that time, I got in contact with Claire
0:11:12 > 0:11:16and we got on quite well, actually, at the time.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20But she was telling me that there was resentment
0:11:20 > 0:11:24because he'd left Claire's mother for my mother, that he
0:11:24 > 0:11:27wasn't married to Claire's mother.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30The team find that Shonni isn't a beneficiary as she isn't
0:11:30 > 0:11:33a blood relative, but she has recollections about how Andre
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and Lilian got together and how Claire was born.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41So he did go on a date with her. Hey, presto, Claire!
0:11:41 > 0:11:43SHE LAUGHS
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Um... She got pregnant, but he refused to marry her
0:11:46 > 0:11:49because he wasn't in love with her, he said.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51But he did the decent thing.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54But he did best he did for Claire, educationally.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Coming up, Ryan's persistence and patience pays off.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04So we really couldn't find out why she changed her surname
0:12:04 > 0:12:09from Pavey to Tresidder until we had this key bit of information.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Today, a special memorial service is being
0:12:20 > 0:12:24held at St Mary's Church in West Derby, Liverpool, commemorating the
0:12:24 > 0:12:30life of Robert Wareing and organised by family friend Emma Rowlands.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32He was just always there.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38Him and my dad, they were like two peas in a pod, always together.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Even though Bob, as he was known, wasn't a relative,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42he was part of Emma's family.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Bob's strength was being an uncle, first and foremost,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50just being that caring family man.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53He never had his own children and he classed us as like...
0:12:53 > 0:12:55He used to say, you was like my kids.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00And when we had our kids, he was just besotted. He loved them.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03He never forgot birthdays, never forgot Christmases,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05he was just always there.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Bob was well known in the community,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10having been the local MP for 27 years,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12and was passionate about football.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Bob was a very, very keen Evertonian.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19He was telling me that, in the '50s,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23he would go to places like Bolton and Burnley.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25In those days, the stadiums, they'd sell out,
0:13:25 > 0:13:30and Bob would climb walls to try to get in without paying!
0:13:31 > 0:13:34He'd actually try to see the match cos he travelled
0:13:34 > 0:13:37all the way from Liverpool to these places and the ground was sold out.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Bob and I went back a very long way.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43We were both elected to Parliament in 1983 for the first time,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46so Bob and I got to know each other extremely well.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I often used to take lunch with him
0:13:49 > 0:13:51and we'd sort of talk over lots of things.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54And every time I met Bob, I learnt a different side to his character,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58always a good side, cos he had this phenomenal knowledge
0:13:58 > 0:13:59of so many things.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02A conversation with Bob was always something you would enjoy
0:14:02 > 0:14:03and benefit from.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Bob had been married in 1962 to Betty.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11But she had sadly passed away just 27 years later
0:14:11 > 0:14:13and they had no children.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14He loved her.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18She was the love of his life and he didn't move on from losing Betty.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20He always talked about her.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Every Christmas he went up to her
0:14:22 > 0:14:25grave in the Lake District with a wreath.
0:14:25 > 0:14:26Every year he was always there
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and when he could get there, he was there.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32He never moved on from losing her.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36In May 2015, Bob passed away in a nursing home.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43No will was found and his friends knew of no family, so the case
0:14:43 > 0:14:48was picked up by London-based heir hunting firm Fraser and Fraser.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49All right, then.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Cheers.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56The first step was to try and locate Bob's birth certificate.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57We thought the surname was really good.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Wareing is quite a good surname.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01It does turn out Wareing
0:15:01 > 0:15:03is a common surname up north and in the
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Liverpool area, so that could have caused some issues for us.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12We did a search for Robert Wareing born in 1930
0:15:12 > 0:15:17and it turns out there is only one Robert Wareing born in 1930.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20And it gives us a maiden name of Mallon.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Bob's birth certificate showed he was born in Liverpool.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25His mother was Florence Patricia Mallon
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and his father was Robert Wareing Senior.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36They discover they got married in Liverpool in 1923
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and that Bob was an only child.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41That meant they would need to find his uncles
0:15:41 > 0:15:44and aunts in the hope of finding living relatives.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48And the starting point was to search for his grandparents.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51So, let's recap there. Just grab me that list.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Looking at the marriage certificate, you can get good clues onto
0:15:55 > 0:16:00the backgrounds of families and, in particular, on the maternal
0:16:00 > 0:16:03side of the family, so Robert Wareing's mother.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Her dad is Patrick Mallon and he's a farmer.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09And with a name like Patrick, him being a farmer at the same time
0:16:09 > 0:16:12is quite common for people with Irish ancestry.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16A good place to begin the search was the 1901 Census.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22This shows Bob's grandfather Patrick living in Liverpool.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25The couple are listed as having three daughters at the time.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26The census records are invaluable
0:16:26 > 0:16:30because they have an enormous amount of information on them.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32We've got the entire family
0:16:32 > 0:16:34in one place and that, obviously
0:16:34 > 0:16:37for a genealogist, is like gold dust.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41On the 1901 Census, the deceased's maternal grandfather,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Patrick Mallon, was listed as a blacksmith from Ireland.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Obviously, there was some sort of movement from Ireland to Liverpool,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50which was quite common.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Liverpool is Ireland's closest port and workers with
0:16:57 > 0:17:01an agricultural background flocked there for new opportunities.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03The Irish arrived in Liverpool
0:17:03 > 0:17:06mainly in the 1840s, following the famine.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08These were poor, half-starved workers,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12many hoping to go to America, but many stayed in Liverpool
0:17:12 > 0:17:18and Liverpool now has the largest Irish population in the UK.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23To find any beneficiaries, they need to identify Bob's aunts
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and discover if they had children,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and then find their birth details.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- Only one way to find out. - Give it a call.- Yeah.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34But the lack of records means finding solid details is
0:17:34 > 0:17:37tricky and they end up not being able to locate Patrick
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and Adelaide's wedding certificate.
0:17:43 > 0:17:49The 1911 census helps them, but also reveals some surprising news.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52This would be Adelaide Mallon.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56She's the head of the household because she is widowed.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01In 1906, Patrick died aged just 37 of pneumonia.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It left Adelaide to bring up her four children,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07aged between one and 11, alone.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10This meant she needed to find work.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15And by 1911, daughters Adelaide and Elizabeth were 16 and 14
0:18:15 > 0:18:19and were listed on the census as both working as message girls,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22indicating the family were in financial crisis.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27A message girl would be a young girl who wasn't strong enough to
0:18:27 > 0:18:32do heavy work, so she'd often sweep up in the factory or
0:18:32 > 0:18:36the domestic workshop, be sent for errands for the workers,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39or maybe just run errands for neighbours for a few pennies.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Young people were expected to do a 12-hour day, work very hard
0:18:43 > 0:18:47and it was expected that children did add to the family income from an
0:18:47 > 0:18:51early age because of poverty amongst the working class in Liverpool.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57In the hunt to find heirs of Bob Wareing's estate,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00the heir hunters are tracking down the birth,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03death and marriage certificates of Adelaide, Elizabeth
0:19:03 > 0:19:07and Margaret to see if their children could be beneficiaries.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10So when we looked further into the deceased's maternal aunts,
0:19:10 > 0:19:15we found out the youngest aunt, Margaret, born in 1905,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19she died in 1957, a spinster aged 52.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20Adelaide, she married,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23and then it was just wondering what happened to Elizabeth.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25We subsequently found a marriage
0:19:25 > 0:19:27to William Jones in 1918 in Liverpool.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30And on the certificate, the occupations are listed as,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Elizabeth's being a press hand at a factory in Grafton Street
0:19:34 > 0:19:38near the docks, and William's as a marine fireman.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42At the time of Elizabeth's marriage,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46the family were still very much based around the Liverpool docks.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Elizabeth had married at the end of World War I,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52but throughout the war had been working as a press hand
0:19:52 > 0:19:54from the age of 17.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59As a press hand, she probably was a laundry worker who
0:19:59 > 0:20:04worked at the docks and would launder work for ships coming in.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07This was a quite heavy, steamy, very dangerous,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10lots of industrial accidents and very pressured,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13because the laundry would have to be made ready for the ship to
0:20:13 > 0:20:17turn around and go back on its destination.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22With Elizabeth's family history unfolding, back at the office,
0:20:22 > 0:20:23the hunt for her children
0:20:23 > 0:20:26and any potential heirs was proving a nightmare.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Elizabeth took up a lot of our time.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33It was...
0:20:33 > 0:20:37A challenge when it became a Jones, definitely, as well.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40So, it threw definitely a massive curveball out at us.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42We had no idea at that point in the job
0:20:42 > 0:20:44that it was going to explode the way it did.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I will. All right, bye.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49It becomes pretty difficult to research if you haven't got family
0:20:49 > 0:20:51information to help you locate records,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53especially if people move out of the area.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56It was just one of those cases where we have to wait
0:20:56 > 0:21:00and take our time because Jones is a very difficult name to research.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Obviously, the harder names are the Smiths, the Jones, the Evans.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05They are obviously extremely tricky to work.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09But then, having said that, you get quite a good name,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12that's easier for the competitors, as well.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14If anyone's free to trace any of those people?
0:21:16 > 0:21:20- That would be great. - The search was now huge.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Finding heirs from this side of the family was going to prove
0:21:23 > 0:21:24a mammoth task.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28It was quite manic in the research room.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I think there was quite a few of us working on it.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I think there was a point in which where in a quiet
0:21:34 > 0:21:36part of the day, everybody in the research room was working on it.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39So, we had quite a lot of hands on deck.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Every year in Britain, thousands of people get a surprise knock
0:21:47 > 0:21:50on the door from the heir hunters.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I'm not expecting a million.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55It's just going to be exciting to receive it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Today, we've got details of two estates
0:21:57 > 0:21:59on the Treasury Solicitors Bona Vacantia list
0:21:59 > 0:22:01that are yet to be claimed.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05The first case is that of Phyllis Baker
0:22:05 > 0:22:09who died on 26 November, 1999
0:22:09 > 0:22:12in Billericay, Essex, aged 91.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16She was of Scottish descent,
0:22:16 > 0:22:22born 540 miles away in Aberdeen on 8 November, 1908.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27It's not known whether she was married or had any children.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Do you know anyone of that name who used to live in Billericay?
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Could there still be family links to Phyllis in either Scotland or Essex?
0:22:40 > 0:22:42The next case is that of Stanley Balch,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45who had the middle name of Francis.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47He was born just after the turn of the century,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51on 25 October, 1902 in Lambeth, London.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59He died in Kensington on 30 August, 1987, aged 84.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Do you know anything that could be the key to solving this case?
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Perhaps you could be the next of kin.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Heir hunting firm Finders are trying to track down beneficiaries
0:23:20 > 0:23:25of Claire Gagneux, a House of Commons secretary who died in 2013.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28- Thank you very much. - E-mail it across today.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29I will. OK, cool. Thank you.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31The tricky thing with the information
0:23:31 > 0:23:33we were left with at the end of day one was that we had some
0:23:33 > 0:23:36information, but not enough information.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39But lack of certificates and confusion over Claire's mother's
0:23:39 > 0:23:42multiple surnames means they've reached a brick wall.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I'll start with this, I think,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47and then if you could just figure out who he was.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48- OK.- Thanks.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52We had a lot of questions as to who the deceased's mother was.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Why she changed her surname.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Was it due to a marriage, maybe, in another country?
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Had she changed her name by deed poll?
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Her she had another relationship with somebody else?
0:24:01 > 0:24:04We really weren't sure and it's very key for us
0:24:04 > 0:24:08to figure out exactly what is happening to the immediate family
0:24:08 > 0:24:09when someone passes away.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14But, I mean, we were kind of two steps forward, two steps back.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17But a conversation with another family member reveals Claire's
0:24:17 > 0:24:20mother may have had another daughter.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24Your children might be entitled to inherit from the estate.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Ryan ordered what he hoped was her birth certificate.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31It was only once we had that certificate back in the office
0:24:31 > 0:24:33that we could see the link between
0:24:33 > 0:24:35the Pavey surname and the Tresidder surname.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40This information unlocks the whole case.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43So the key bit of information on this certificate, which is
0:24:43 > 0:24:46the birth certificate of Pamela Jean Tresidder,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48is the fact that it says Lilian Maud Tresidder,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50formerly Pavey.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Now, Lilian didn't marry Gordon who's the father listed on the birth
0:24:54 > 0:24:58certificate, so we really couldn't find out why she changed her
0:24:58 > 0:25:00surname from Pavey to Tresidder
0:25:00 > 0:25:04until we had this key bit of information.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06It reveals why Claire's mother
0:25:06 > 0:25:08seemed to use three different surnames.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12It shows that half sister Pamela Tresidder was born to Lilian
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and Tolmie Tresidder in 1948,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17three years before Claire was born.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23On registering the birth, Lilian changed her surname to Tresidder
0:25:23 > 0:25:25despite not marrying Tolmie Tresidder.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34So could Claire's half sister be in line to inherit?
0:25:34 > 0:25:38She was brought up by another family and changed her name to Belinda.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Ryan and the team tracked her down.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47I discovered that I was adopted on a trip to the States
0:25:47 > 0:25:53with my parents when I was about six or seven.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55I didn't really know what they were talking about
0:25:55 > 0:25:57and I took very little notice
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and carried on doing what I was doing.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Belinda didn't know anything about her mother for over 20 years.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09My mother had a secretary and...
0:26:11 > 0:26:15..one day when I was, I think, in my 20s,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17and she gave me my birth certificate
0:26:17 > 0:26:20and that was a sort of hint, you know,
0:26:20 > 0:26:21I think, from her, saying,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24"Do you want to do something about this now?"
0:26:24 > 0:26:27So it started from there, really.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Belinda got in touch with the Pavey family who were
0:26:29 > 0:26:33able to fill in some gaps regarding her parents.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38There was 20 years' difference between my mother and father.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40They made it sound that they didn't get married, you know,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43because of the age difference.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Then I was shown my real name
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and that was actually my father's name.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Because my mother had started to call herself by his name.
0:26:55 > 0:27:01I found details of him very, very easily.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04But my mother, who had...
0:27:04 > 0:27:11Well, had a habit of changing her name when she felt like it, really,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14was extremely difficult to find.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19And I think it has actually taken me over 30 years of
0:27:19 > 0:27:22research before I had a breakthrough
0:27:22 > 0:27:26and, you know, things suddenly became clearer.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29She never knew her half sister Claire
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and only found out about her just after she died.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37I was a bit disappointed that I had missed her by only two months.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42But I missed everybody, really.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46I missed my mother. Obviously, I missed my mother
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and I also missed my father.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Back in the office, the heir hunters' checks confirm
0:27:51 > 0:27:54that as she has been adopted out of the family,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56she isn't entitled to inherit.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01If Pamela Jean Tresidder hadn't been adopted out of the family, then she
0:28:01 > 0:28:05would have been the sole beneficiary of the deceased's estate.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08With Belinda now not in line to inherit,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11the team had to go back to the drawing board.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13He may have been overseas.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Discovering that after taking on the surname Tresidder,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Lilian also took on the surname Gagneux,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21despite not marrying Andre Gagneux,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23they carry on searching the Pavey line.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I can't think of any other way that we're going to get hold of them.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30After a few months, our research into the deceased's maternal
0:28:30 > 0:28:32family was complete,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34but what we had to do was go back
0:28:34 > 0:28:37to the paternal side of the family, which is Gagneux.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39In order to do that, we sent everything over
0:28:39 > 0:28:41to one of our researchers in France
0:28:41 > 0:28:44who were able to carry on with that side of the family.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45Could you just ask the rep to go to
0:28:45 > 0:28:48this address and then just make some door-to-door enquiries?
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Along the way, the heir hunters discovered that more
0:28:50 > 0:28:53secrets lurked in the Pavey family tree
0:28:53 > 0:28:58involving Claire's grandparents, John Pavey and Sarah Edgar.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Having spoken to some of the maternal beneficiaries in this
0:29:01 > 0:29:04case, they told us that, actually, their parents had all been
0:29:04 > 0:29:06raised separately in children's homes
0:29:06 > 0:29:10because the maternal grandparents had passed away quite young.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13That was something that was made easier in the '70s.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15I believe the family had a reunion together.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17They found out some information about one another
0:29:17 > 0:29:20that they probably wouldn't have known from their parents
0:29:20 > 0:29:23given the disconnection between them growing up.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28One of Lilian's brothers was Dennis Pavey, born in 1923.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31His daughter, Annette Pavey, who lives in Fareham is an heir
0:29:31 > 0:29:35and was shocked to learn about Claire's death.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38I knew nothing whatsoever about Claire Gagneux
0:29:38 > 0:29:42and I actually thought that Finders had got it wrong.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46When I was younger, I remember my dad searching for his family
0:29:46 > 0:29:49and when you suddenly find on the records in Somerset House
0:29:49 > 0:29:53that you've got these brothers and sisters that you know nothing of.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56But being reunited with long lost family
0:29:56 > 0:29:58wasn't the first time for Annette.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00My dad finally discovered his family
0:30:00 > 0:30:05because my mum used to do a lot of charity work and stuff like that
0:30:05 > 0:30:10and she...knew this reporter from the local Stevenage Gazette
0:30:10 > 0:30:13and this reporter said to her one day,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15"I haven't got much news at the moment."
0:30:15 > 0:30:18So, my mum jokily said, "Well, Dennis", my dad,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21"is trying to find his long lost family."
0:30:21 > 0:30:24"Perhaps you can put an article about that in the newspaper?"
0:30:24 > 0:30:28My uncle Jim, James Pavey, and one of his sisters read the article.
0:30:28 > 0:30:33The phone rang and my dad grumpily said, "It's for you, Annette."
0:30:33 > 0:30:36So I got up and answered it and this guy on the phone was saying,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38"I think I might be your Uncle Jim."
0:30:38 > 0:30:41"Yeah. OK. I'll put you onto my dad, then!"
0:30:41 > 0:30:45My dad was very happy and he changed completely once he found them.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50It was amazing. They were all really pleased to see each other.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53In the end, the heir hunters found seven paternal heirs in France
0:30:53 > 0:30:56and 11 maternal heirs.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01We were able to then add in another missing person from the family.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05This half sister of the deceased who we came across in our research,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08being able to put her in contact with a family she never knew she had
0:31:08 > 0:31:11is a really rewarding part of the job.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15For Ryan, an 18-month heir hunt has come to a close.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17When we started researching this case,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20we weren't quite sure how much the estate would be worth,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23but we found some assets which we weren't aware of previously
0:31:23 > 0:31:27and this estate's probably going to be in the region of around £35,000.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30But for some members, it's not about the money,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34it's about a chance to reconnect with long lost family members.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Today, heir Annette is travelling to meet Belinda,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41the half sister of Claire, who was adopted out of the family
0:31:41 > 0:31:46to help her learn more about the family Belinda never knew she had.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51It will be very nice to actually meet a real, kind of, relation.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55I think she will actually be the very first...
0:31:57 > 0:31:59..Pavey relation that I have ever met.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02It's quite muddling being adopted.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07It might make me feel a bit, sort of, calmer, maybe,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and more... Better informed.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13I'm excited, but it's also, sort of, nerve-racking,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15cos I don't know what she's like.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Um... I'm kind of hoping she's...a bit like me,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22that she's quite open and friendly.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25- Hello.- Hello.
0:32:27 > 0:32:28Nice to meet you.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31- At last.- Very nice to meet you.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37- Do you want to see any of these pictures?- Yes.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39- That's what I'm here for.- Yes.
0:32:39 > 0:32:40This is, apparently, Claire.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42Although, I've never, obviously, seen her.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46I think she is quite like me, actually. In a way. Do you think?
0:32:46 > 0:32:48I don't want to scrutinise but, yes.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50I think she is, actually.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53The first thing I knew about Claire was when somebody came round
0:32:53 > 0:32:56and knocked on my door and said she'd died.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58What do you know about her? As she's your half-sister?
0:32:58 > 0:33:03I knew absolutely nothing about Claire. It was a complete surprise.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06I was quite pleased, actually, in a way.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09You know, that my mother had had,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13you know, another...child. Yeah.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16That is stunning, isn't it? That picture.
0:33:16 > 0:33:17And this is another one.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21Of Lilian, which is obviously a different side to Lilian.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Very like me, she's sort of scoffing an ice cream.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28That's definitely Paveys, scoffing ice cream!
0:33:28 > 0:33:30And...that's me, as well.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Oh, right. Good. Excellent! We're going to get on well.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37I've got some pictures of my dad, actually. Here we are.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40That was him in the Air Force.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43That was him when he got married.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45That's them on their honeymoon, I think.
0:33:45 > 0:33:46It was very interesting...
0:33:46 > 0:33:48to meet Annette.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52It hasn't quite sunk in yet.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55I really enjoyed meeting her and seeing all the photographs
0:33:55 > 0:33:59and I'd like to stay in touch with Annette. I like Annette, yes.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02I hope it has helped Belinda in some way, this process.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05I imagine it's brought up quite a lot of, um,...
0:34:05 > 0:34:08feelings and emotions for her.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10I think it's been...
0:34:10 > 0:34:11interesting.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26As heir hunters Fraser and Fraser were discovering,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30life in working class Liverpool in the '20s and '30s was tough
0:34:30 > 0:34:32in Bob Wareing's family.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Who's free? Anybody?
0:34:34 > 0:34:37The search was now on to try and track down
0:34:37 > 0:34:39the children of his Aunt Elizabeth,
0:34:39 > 0:34:41with the very common surname of Jones,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44to see how many beneficiaries there may be.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Just to work on that side. Don't do anything on the paternal.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51When we conducted the birth search from the marriage,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53we discovered that all births were in the Liverpool area.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57We couldn't find another marriage which corresponded to the births.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59So we knew they all belonged to the same family.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01When we discovered that Elizabeth had 12 children,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03it was more work for us to do.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05So, we had our work cut out, really.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08But in the end, the search surprised them
0:35:08 > 0:35:11by being easier than they thought.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13Mallon being quite an Irish name in Liverpool
0:35:13 > 0:35:16and Jones being very popular in England and Wales,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18we thought that there'd be lots of records
0:35:18 > 0:35:20but, when we searched for birth records,
0:35:20 > 0:35:2312 came up and they were all based in Liverpool
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and they were all part of our family.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Birth records show that Elizabeth and William
0:35:28 > 0:35:31had their children over 23 years, until Elizabeth was 44.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39This meant that throughout the '20s and '30s, William's job
0:35:39 > 0:35:43as a Marine Fireman kept him away from the family for long periods.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48That idea of the breadwinner
0:35:48 > 0:35:50going away to sea
0:35:50 > 0:35:51was a very real one.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Men could be away for years at a time.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57It could be a dangerous life, as well. That idea of separation.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00The seamen's orphanage was a very busy place in Liverpool.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Men were lost at sea. Women often died in childbirth.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05It was easy to be left
0:36:05 > 0:36:08without a parent for a period of time, as well.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Elizabeth, with 12 children, was left to manage on her own
0:36:11 > 0:36:15running a family, a home, and holding down a job.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19It was difficult for families when the breadwinner was away.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22They'd fall back on friends and family, as well.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25There was very kind of strong communal links within the city
0:36:25 > 0:36:27and within the seafaring community.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29So, you might be on your own in terms of the family,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32but the family had people they could call on as well, often.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35People did tend to look after each other on the docks.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38It was a very close-knit community.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41But Elizabeth and William survived these hardships
0:36:41 > 0:36:44and so did 10 of their children.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Back at the office and the heir hunters
0:36:46 > 0:36:49are now working down the family tree looking for their children
0:36:49 > 0:36:53and children's children, who would have been cousins to Bob Wareing.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56In general, people stayed in the Liverpool area,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58or in the North of England.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01There were a couple of heirs from the maternal side
0:37:01 > 0:37:04that went to Australia and some to Austria.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07They found that William and Elizabeth's first-born,
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Thomas was born in 1918, and married Winifred Murphy in 1944.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19They went on to also have, also, quite a lot of children, as well.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Nine children, they had in total.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24That was quite a large one.
0:37:24 > 0:37:30Interestingly, a lot of the people from Elizabeth Mallon's stem
0:37:30 > 0:37:34ended up having over three children, or four children, at each point.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37So, I think, congratulations in order.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40I think they're very good people.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43And one of them has remained in Liverpool - Daniel Jones,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46who was Bob's first cousin once removed.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49I don't know how I really feel about it
0:37:49 > 0:37:53cos, you know, to be truthful, I didn't know him.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56So it's not as if it was someone that was close to me.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Erm, but in the same thing, it's like a...
0:37:59 > 0:38:02It's weird. A little bit of excitement, really, because...
0:38:02 > 0:38:04you, like, start looking into who they were
0:38:04 > 0:38:07and what they got up to.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10The revelation that he has many relatives he doesn't know,
0:38:10 > 0:38:12has left Daniel curious.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16I'm interested in the family tree more so now.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18I think, my mum's done her side.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22So I'm more intrigued to do stuff about my dad's side of the family.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Especially because my grandad was on the naval ships.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31So it's a bit more interesting.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33The heir hunters discovered 20 beneficiaries
0:38:33 > 0:38:36from Bob's Aunt Elizabeth's stem alone.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39I'll give her a call and see if she knows exactly where he lives.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41All right. Cheers. Bye.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46I had no idea that this family tree would go on to have
0:38:46 > 0:38:49so many beneficiaries on it.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52You know, I thought there was only going to be
0:38:52 > 0:38:54three sisters at the top.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57They're going to have, maybe, two or three children each.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Those kids are going to have one or two children.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01But no - she has 12,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03I think the others had quite a few children each
0:39:03 > 0:39:06and the next generation went on and had even more.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09I'm very competitive, so I find this quite exhilarating.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13I relish the challenge, really, to get cracking on it.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16With Margaret dying a spinster, the heir hunter's next task
0:39:16 > 0:39:19was to track down Bob's Aunt Adelaide's children.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Right. Let me take some notes of these.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Adelaide married John and their son William,
0:39:25 > 0:39:27unlike the rest of the family, moved to Birmingham,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30where he later went on to work for a car manufacturer
0:39:30 > 0:39:33which made Spitfires during WW2.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Adelaide. She married in 1919,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40just after the end of the First World War.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45She went on to have four children, in total.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47From their children, the heir hunters
0:39:47 > 0:39:51managed to trace ten heirs - all first cousins once removed.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53One of those was Peter O'Hare.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Shocked, really.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Erm, I didn't know anything about Robert beforehand.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Or, you know...
0:40:02 > 0:40:04we was never told anything about him.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08My father and his brother found out he'd had another brother
0:40:08 > 0:40:13and a sister - they was all separated when they was young.
0:40:13 > 0:40:14It was probably
0:40:14 > 0:40:17because of that that my father didn't talk about it whatsoever.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21Yeah. Me dad made the Spitfires during the Second World War.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22And, erm...
0:40:23 > 0:40:25..he worked nights.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28He worked hard.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30Oh! I got a lump in my throat then!
0:40:33 > 0:40:38Where the actual family tree's concerned, I'm seriously gobsmacked.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42Erm, because we only knew my mother's side.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46Finding out the vast family tree on my father's side,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49it certainly is gobsmacking.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52I'll certainly raise a glass to Bob's memory.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55The heir hunting team are pleased
0:40:55 > 0:40:58they managed to find so many beneficiaries for the case -
0:40:58 > 0:41:0053 in total.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03I enjoyed the challenging nature of this case. Definitely.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06It surprised me a lot,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10from such a small number of people to have such a massive tree.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15This is the largest job that I've personally worked on.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18So, it was quite fun for me.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20There's always a first
0:41:20 > 0:41:23and it's going to be a job that I'm not going to forget easily.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27Unfortunately, after all their work on the case, the Heir Hunters
0:41:27 > 0:41:30were unable to confirm any value in Bob's estate
0:41:30 > 0:41:32to pass on to the heirs.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34Some of the cases that we look into,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36we find at the end that they have little or no value.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39It's not very good for us, obviously, but for the family,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42at least they have a full copy of the family tree
0:41:42 > 0:41:44and they found a little bit about their family
0:41:44 > 0:41:46that they weren't previously aware of.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Peter's come to Bob's Memorial service in West Derby, Liverpool,
0:41:51 > 0:41:52to learn more about his cousin.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58I don't think there was any doubt that Bob was a lovely man,
0:41:59 > 0:42:01..but he was also a mine of knowledge.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Peter has been pleased to learn so much
0:42:04 > 0:42:08about his cousin's life as an MP from his family and friends.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11It was unbelievable. It was fantastic.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15The service for Bob was absolutely brilliant.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20I learned quite a few little bits of stories,
0:42:20 > 0:42:24not just from the service itself, actually talking to other people.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26I don't think there's any tribute that could fit
0:42:26 > 0:42:28to the enormity of what Bob was,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32but I'll live every day to make sure I try and make him proud
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and I'll make sure my kids know what an amazing uncle they had.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40In the end, Bob may not have left anything material to his 53 heirs,
0:42:40 > 0:42:44but his legacy is far more important.
0:42:44 > 0:42:50Bob was somebody who was very committed to many, many causes
0:42:50 > 0:42:54but he was very committed, firstly, to the people of Liverpool
0:42:54 > 0:42:56and supporting the people of Liverpool
0:42:56 > 0:42:59and that was his number one priority,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01supporting the people of this area.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03I'm pleased with how it went.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06That I can go back and say I did it.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10I just hope he's up there looking down at me and proud.