0:00:03 > 0:00:06Today, the Heir Hunters endeavour to crack
0:00:06 > 0:00:08a case before the competition gets there first.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10PHONE RINGS
0:00:10 > 0:00:13We're a firm of heir hunters and we're actually looking into the
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Butler family tree...
0:00:15 > 0:00:19..has picked yourself up as a possible beneficiary.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22If you recognise those as your parents, please do give me a
0:00:22 > 0:00:24call back and we can go into some further detail.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31While another team discover a family secret hidden for centuries.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Our Baltic agent came up with a police report.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Tracing the past can lead to an incredible future.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44When I found that out, it's a case of, wow!
0:00:59 > 0:01:02In London, heir hunting firm Finders are working on a new case
0:01:02 > 0:01:06this morning from the government's Bona Vacantia list.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10It's the estate of the late Hedley Henry Arnold.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13According to the Treasury's listed details,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17he's also known as Eddie. Although Hedley was married to a lady
0:01:17 > 0:01:20named Gladys, they didn't have any children.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Hedley himself appears to have been an only child.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28His mother was fairly old when she married, so it was unlikely,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32anyway, that he was going to have very many siblings, if any.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42We were very close, as great friends.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And I used to speak to him every Sunday,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47on the telephone,
0:01:47 > 0:01:48every week.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Hedley Arnold was born in Dorchester, Dorset, on 5th April,
0:01:54 > 0:01:561925, and worked in a factory
0:01:56 > 0:01:58where he met his future wife, Gladys.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02She was keen on gardening.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08I think...Hedley kind of grew into that himself.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Their living room was a garden and
0:02:12 > 0:02:15they just loved it in the garden.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18He later worked as a caretaker at the local school.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24In the community, Eddie was well-liked
0:02:24 > 0:02:27because people used to come up and talk to him.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32He wouldn't talk to them, they would come up to him to talk to him
0:02:32 > 0:02:34because he's that sort of person.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35He'd do anything for anyone.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40As a caring and compassionate member of the local community,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Hedley is remembered with affection.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45A very warm-hearted man.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49No-one had a bad word to say against him at all.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55I've never heard anyone talk of Hedley in a bad way.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Everyone thought he was a lovely person.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Once you got to know him...
0:03:01 > 0:03:03..you would have a friend for life.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11Hedley Arnold passed away on 20th July 2015, aged 90.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I sit there sometimes,
0:03:15 > 0:03:16on a Sunday,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18and suddenly thought,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20"The phone's not rung."
0:03:20 > 0:03:23And I said, "Stupid, it's not going to ring any more."
0:03:28 > 0:03:31But the team need to find Hedley's family fast,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34because today, they've got competition.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36It's actually the only advertised estate this morning,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39so we are expecting it to be incredibly competitive.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41There's a few key skills you need as an heir hunter.
0:03:41 > 0:03:47It's all very fast-paced, I think leads to the necessity of being
0:03:47 > 0:03:50able to think laterally and do a few different things at the same time.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54I think without that skill you could easily get swamped in the research
0:03:54 > 0:03:58that you do, particularly when you're up against other companies.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Travelling researcher, Stuart, is on standby,
0:04:00 > 0:04:05ready to gather information on the ground that may lead to heirs.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10You just must never give up because you'll always find them in the end.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14And the team have already made quick progress,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17establishing who Hedley's family are.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19What does it look like, Coxy?
0:04:19 > 0:04:21It doesn't look like, I think it's
0:04:21 > 0:04:23- probably going to die out. - Ah. Oh, no.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27So, Amy Cox has been looking at the Arnold side, the paternal side.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31She thinks there are probably four stems, three of those four
0:04:31 > 0:04:34have completely died out without any living descendants.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39So, we're not looking at many, if any, beneficiaries on that side.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42So, Amy and Ryan have moved on to
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Hedley's mother's side
0:04:44 > 0:04:45and found his grandparents,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Henry Meech and Esther Billet.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49They had nine children,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51four of whom died as infants.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Again, there are four stems to be looking into,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00four maternal aunts and uncles.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Two of those have already died out without any living descendants.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Ryan is looking at a further stem
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and I have one to look at as well.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Mine's not looking that great either.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Half of the stem has already died out without any issue,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19and I'm just looking for one stem that's a little bit of a mystery,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21perhaps they've gone overseas.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I can't find any good marriage or death records for them.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28So, I'm going to get stuck in and see if I can find anybody.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31With all but two of Hedley's aunts' and uncles' lines having no
0:05:31 > 0:05:35living offspring, Amy is tracing Fanny Meech, Hedley's aunt.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Fanny married Edward Woolfries,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and had two children, Hilda and Ethel.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45But as the team look into Hedley's cousin Hilda,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47they hit a problem.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Hilda, it's looking as though she's married a couple of times,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53had children with her first husband
0:05:53 > 0:05:56who is looking as though he's probably a colonel
0:05:56 > 0:05:59in the British Army. And they travelled
0:05:59 > 0:06:03back and forth between Bombay, having children as they went.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06One country that some people don't always think to look in is India.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Now, there was a large period of British history,
0:06:10 > 0:06:11obviously with the empires.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14We weren't particularly surprised to find events happening in India
0:06:14 > 0:06:18given that there was a military serving personnel in the family.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31During the 1930s, Hilda travelled to India with her husband, Emile,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34where he was serving in the British Indian Army.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40At this time, India was still a colony of the United Kingdom,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42known historically as the British Raj.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45The British had established
0:06:45 > 0:06:47themselves in India through
0:06:47 > 0:06:49the East India Company several
0:06:49 > 0:06:50centuries before,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53but India had become very important to the British,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56both as a strategic bastion,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59located where it is in south-east Asia.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01But also in terms of trade and the spices
0:07:01 > 0:07:05and the foods and the textiles which came from that country.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09To many people, India was the jewel of the British Empire.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The British Indian Army was a locally enlisted force,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18with British commanding officers and Indian soldiers.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Emile served with the Royal Tank Corps in India during the 1930s.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27The British Indian Army did not have any armoured car
0:07:27 > 0:07:29or very few artillery regiments.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34These armoured cars were unusual at this time and, therefore,
0:07:34 > 0:07:39Emile was no doubt a very valuable asset working in India at the time.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Of course, for those who joined the British Indian Army,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46then it became much more likely that their wives
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and dependents would follow them out there.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51There were married quarters provided.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Life in India was incredibly different to life back home
0:07:55 > 0:07:57for the British families.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00For Hilda, you know, coming from rural Dorchester,
0:08:00 > 0:08:05going out to India, as I said, with the vibrancy of Indian society,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08they should be able to go out to the local markets,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10where there'll be a range of vegetables
0:08:10 > 0:08:15and fruits which she would never have experienced in England.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18You know, it was a very comfortable and privileged
0:08:18 > 0:08:22existence for most people in India, most British people in India.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Certainly way above the standards that they could expect
0:08:25 > 0:08:26back home in England.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31However, following the Second World War,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34there was a growing momentum for Indian independence.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39For the British personnel serving in India,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42most seem to have become aware of the fact that Indian
0:08:42 > 0:08:46independence was going to become a question of when, not if.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49That meant that their lifestyles were being challenged
0:08:49 > 0:08:53and threatened and that they faced a very uncertain future
0:08:53 > 0:08:55because they would have to return to the United Kingdom.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Emile would have found that his promotional prospects would
0:08:58 > 0:09:03have ceased. Certainly, his career was effectively over
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and we know that he definitely came back to the United Kingdom,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10whether on leave or permanently in 1946.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22While Amy can trace the family's return to England,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27she can't work out if Hilda and Emile's children are still alive.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29When people are born abroad,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33it makes searching for their records particularly difficult.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36So, I'm just having a play around with the English records and,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41also, we have access to some overseas records.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And some of those are Armed Forces records
0:09:44 > 0:09:48and some of them Bombay baptism and marriage records,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52which it looks as though it's probably where they were based.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56But it's not looking too positive at the moment
0:09:56 > 0:09:58because I just can't tell what happened to them.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Can the team persevere
0:10:00 > 0:10:03or will the competition solve this case instead?
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Maternal cousin once removed.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11There is always a limit to the amount of investigating we can do
0:10:11 > 0:10:16and, you know, once we've used all of our tenacity to try
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and find the people that we're looking for,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21we have to be realistic sometimes and say,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23"Look, it just can't be done."
0:10:23 > 0:10:24Hi, Stuart, it's Amy.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Oh, no. Yes.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Oh, no. Oh, wow!
0:10:33 > 0:10:37It seems the team are not ready to give up the search yet.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Across the UK, heir hunters are looking back into the past,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52searching for relatives of people who have passed away.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Could they be looking for you?
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Hello.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Sometimes, through the course of their research, heir hunters
0:11:01 > 0:11:05can stumble across untold stories, covered up by the tracks of time.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16Basil Goldston, a computer operator, was born on January 8th, 1926,
0:11:16 > 0:11:17in South Shields, Durham,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21but lived most of his life in Edmonton, north London.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26With no photographs or close family remaining,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28it's tricky to get a sense of his life.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33But Henry Jacobs, a member of the local Jewish community,
0:11:33 > 0:11:34is able to paint a picture.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Basil's father was
0:11:37 > 0:11:39the Reverend Goldstein in the
0:11:39 > 0:11:42South Shields Jewish community.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I think it's true to say that it would've had a significant
0:11:46 > 0:11:49bearing on his upbringing.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55He certainly would have been very familiar with all the rituals
0:11:55 > 0:11:59and all the ways of Jewish life.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Records show Basil married Rosina Shine in 1962.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10The normal thing in those days
0:12:10 > 0:12:13for a Jewish couple would be to be
0:12:13 > 0:12:15married within a synagogue.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20And if he was living in Dalston,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23the local synagogue would have been United Synagogue.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26But it seems this marriage did not last
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and Basil remained in Edmonton alone until the end of his life.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39When Basil passed away on April 5th, 1993,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42the case went up on the Government Legal Department's
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Bona Vacantia list but no heirs were found.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49..and maybe order up a check on the father's name.
0:12:49 > 0:12:55The case remained unsolved for over 14 years until, in 2007,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57the team from Celtic Research decided to see
0:12:57 > 0:13:02if they could crack it and finally find the heirs to Basil's estate.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04The company is run by father and son,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Peter and Hector Birchwood,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and their team is based all around the UK.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12We do have a niche within very hard to solve cases,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16cases that require a lot of work and a lot of thinking.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20And the value of the estate made the case even more exciting.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24We estimated that the value would be around £60,000.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28At that point, we thought it would be compelling enough for any heirs,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30if we could find any, to be able to receive this amount.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35An only child himself, Basil had died a bachelor without any
0:13:35 > 0:13:39children, so the team moved back a generation to look for his parents.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Basil's birth certificate shows the Goldston spelling,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47but his parents had originally been known as Goldstein.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49His mother was Minnie Saltzberg
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and his father was Isaac Joseph Goldston.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Isaac appeared to be a Jewish minister.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Their marriage certificate showed their wedding had
0:13:58 > 0:14:00taken place in Spitalfields, East London,
0:14:00 > 0:14:01where they may have lived.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05It also revealed the name of Minnie's father.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08His name was Benjamin, otherwise, Barnett Saltzberg.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11It didn't give us a profession but we were able to find him and
0:14:11 > 0:14:13through subsequent research, through the census.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16And through his death record in 1922,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18we found out that he was a rabbinical doctor
0:14:18 > 0:14:19and a schoolmaster.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Any living relatives would be found through his aunts and uncles
0:14:23 > 0:14:24and their children,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27so the team also needed to find his maternal grandmother.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But the trail now went cold.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31The next step, really,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33is trying to locate the marriage of the mother's parents
0:14:33 > 0:14:36to identify what kind of siblings she had.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38We weren't able to find any marriage.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40We weren't really able to find any birth for the mother either,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42or for any of her siblings.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45The censuses indicated to us that she had other family and,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49through further research, we found that they came from Russia.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The lack of records coupled with proof that Barnett's family were
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Russian Jews living in London's East End,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01led to a dawning realisation.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Given the events that have occurred through Central
0:15:05 > 0:15:09and Eastern Europe since the better part of the 19th century,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12it was very unlikely that we would find
0:15:12 > 0:15:13both any records or
0:15:13 > 0:15:15perhaps any surviving relatives.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25During the 19th and 20th century, approximately 3,000,000 Jews
0:15:25 > 0:15:28fled Russia during the pogroms -
0:15:28 > 0:15:31violent riots aimed at massacring their community.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33A pogrom is a
0:15:33 > 0:15:36sustained attack on a
0:15:36 > 0:15:38community of Jewish people.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42The trigger for this was the assassination of Tsar Alexander II,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45for which some blame the Jews.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I think, in general, there was some anti-Jewish feeling anyway.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53Competition for land, competition for jobs within the economy,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and perhaps, just that inherent subliminal feeling that we
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Jews were strange and different from the indigenous population.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Persecution took all sorts of forms.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09I mean, at its worst, they were violent and resulted in fatalities.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Property was destroyed, Jews were expelled from their villages,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17they were reduced to poverty on many occasions.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21It was just a violent assault on their way of life.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25In one particular pogrom, 2,000 Jews were killed.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Many went to the United States, but up to 100,000 came to the UK.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35They were very much an integrated community. They needed each other.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40The majority of Jews that came to the UK would have been quite poor.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Some, literally, arrived with their clothes on their back,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45you know, a few coins in their pocket.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Those were the kind of conditions that immigrants, or
0:16:49 > 0:16:52people that had been immigrants at the turn of the century but
0:16:52 > 0:16:55were still establishing themselves, could well have been living in.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05It's likely Basil's grandfather would have played a central role
0:17:05 > 0:17:06within this community.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12As a religious man, as a rabbi, as a Hebrew teacher, he would have
0:17:12 > 0:17:15been very much a central point, a pivotal point for the community.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18As an educated man and obviously, clearly,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21a highly intelligent man, he may have been more receptive
0:17:21 > 0:17:23and more capable of learning English quickly,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26which literally was a foreign language.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Very, very different from the language that immigrants spoke.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33So he would have understood any kind of bureaucracy that they faced,
0:17:33 > 0:17:34he would have, perhaps,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36been able to write letters on behalf of the community.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41And perhaps it was this which led to the meeting of Basil's parents.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45It's possible that Minnie, as the daughter of a rabbi,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49daughter of a very religious man, it would have been anathema
0:17:49 > 0:17:52for her to marry anybody other than a fellow religious Jew.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57Therefore, it's quite likely that she met Isaac, her intended,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59maybe through her father,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01through the fact that he was a Hebrew teacher.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Intrigued by what he had discovered,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11and determined not to give up, Hector passed the case to north west
0:18:11 > 0:18:17regional case manager, Saul Marks, who specialises in Jewish genealogy.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20The next thing I did was look in The Jewish Chronicle
0:18:20 > 0:18:23for death notices for Basil's parents.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27The Jewish Chronicle has been documenting Jewish life
0:18:27 > 0:18:29for nearly 175 years.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32We are the oldest continually
0:18:32 > 0:18:33published Jewish newspaper
0:18:33 > 0:18:34in the world.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40You have in the pages of the JC an almost complete and total record
0:18:40 > 0:18:44of every Jew born, marrying
0:18:44 > 0:18:46and dying since the JC was founded.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50With Basil's father being a prominent member of the community,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Saul was hopeful this would kick-start the research.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58We have in our pages what we call the HMD pages, the hatches,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02matches, and dispatches, which is where Jews advertise births,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04engagements, marriages and deaths.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08And that's a fantastic resource to genealogists cos
0:19:08 > 0:19:09not only do they have that,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13but they can also put it in the context of wider events, because all
0:19:13 > 0:19:19of the JC's editions are available online as part of our archive.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24I was really pleased to find that Basil had placed death notices
0:19:24 > 0:19:28for both his parents and the one for Minnie actually referred
0:19:28 > 0:19:33to her as a daughter of the late Dr Barnett Saltzberg.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37So the fact it had used the words "a daughter" said that,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39clearly, there was more than one.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43So I knew I was looking for at least one sister that Minnie may have had.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Spurred on by new information, Saul dug deeper.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49One of my final options,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53in trying to find anything about the Saltzberg family, was to post
0:19:53 > 0:19:57notice on an online discussion group for Jewish genealogy,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01just to see if anybody out there had ever heard of Dr Barnett Saltzberg.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07But with no response, Saul moved on to the paternal side of the family.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Records proved that Basil's
0:20:09 > 0:20:11paternal grandparents were
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Morris Goldstein and Katie Powak.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16They had six children, including
0:20:16 > 0:20:17Isaac, Basil's father.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Sadly, three children died in infancy,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23leaving two potential heirs.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26The 1911 census returned for the Goldstein family
0:20:26 > 0:20:29showed that Isaac, Basil's father,
0:20:29 > 0:20:31had two brothers who were still alive.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33They were Barnett and Sam.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36But further searching threw up death certificates for both men,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39which established they had died as bachelors too.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41It really was very frustrating to feel that this was one we were just
0:20:41 > 0:20:43going to have to resign ourselves
0:20:43 > 0:20:45to the fact that we were not going to solve.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48The case gathered dust for a further four years.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Until, out of nowhere, Saul received a message from California.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59One day in the summer of 2013, I got an e-mail in my inbox,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03out of the blue, from a gentleman who actually said
0:21:03 > 0:21:06he was the great-grandson of Dr Barnett Saltzberg.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10He had seen my post, my shot in the dark,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14online, and he thought he might be able to help me.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16And I was just thrilled.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19After all these years, could they
0:21:19 > 0:21:22have finally solved the mystery of Basil Goldston?
0:21:22 > 0:21:25This is the e-mail that I got from the gentleman in California.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28And he says, "Barnett Saltzberg
0:21:28 > 0:21:29"was my great-grandfather.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31"I do know about his wife and other children.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34"Perhaps you would like to discuss this further? Best regards."
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I mean, after four years of nothing,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41and having closed the case, just to
0:21:41 > 0:21:44pick this out of the blue, it makes your hair stand up, to be honest.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Could this e-mail give Saul the missing links needed to
0:21:47 > 0:21:49pick up the case once more?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53The gentleman in California was able to actually give us
0:21:53 > 0:21:58names of his cousins who were descended from Janie Saltzberg,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01who was the Leeds branch of the family.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04And that enabled us, then, to start contacting the heirs.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08From the descendants of Basil's four aunts and uncles, the hunt
0:22:08 > 0:22:12had now revealed seven heirs, including Colin Stone, in Leeds.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18I knew of Basil Goldston, but I didn't know much about him
0:22:18 > 0:22:19and I'd never met him.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Knowing about the Jewish side of the family,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24I believe is very, very important.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27It's a very interesting family story
0:22:27 > 0:22:30that is clouded in shadows.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33So, to actually understand what happened in the past,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and understanding that will help to understand where we are now.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40And being contacted by Saul was just
0:22:40 > 0:22:42the beginning of Colin's discoveries.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Every year in Britain, thousands of people get a surprise
0:22:52 > 0:22:54knock on the door from the heir hunters...
0:22:54 > 0:22:56You tend to sort of think to yourself,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58"Well, I'm not sure if this is real or not."
0:22:58 > 0:23:00So it was quite a surprise.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03..but there are still thousands of unsolved cases
0:23:03 > 0:23:05where heirs need to be found.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Could you be one of them?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Today, we've got details of two estates on the Treasury Solicitors'
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Bona Vacantia list that are yet to be claimed.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19The first is Leaford George Barrett,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23who died a widower on 24th February 2013,
0:23:23 > 0:23:24in Hackney, London.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Leaford was born in Pedro Saint Ann, Jamaica,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31on 18th June 1924.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33His mother was called Josephine.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41Barrett is a common surname in Jamaica, but also in south-east
0:23:41 > 0:23:46and south-west England. So where does George's name stem from?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Do you have any clues which might help solve this mystery?
0:23:57 > 0:23:59The second case is of Frederich Beck,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03who died, aged 90, on 3rd December 2009,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06in Lockwood, Huddersfield.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Frederich was born in Germany but may have been Russian.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Records suggest that Frederich's father was a farmer called Peter.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20The surname Beck is incredibly common in Germany.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22What was Frederich doing in Huddersfield?
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Did he come to England via Germany after World War II?
0:24:28 > 0:24:31If you think you may be related to either of these people,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33you would need to make a claim on their estate
0:24:33 > 0:24:35via the Government Legal Department.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38Someone wishing to submit
0:24:38 > 0:24:40a claim to us will need to supply us
0:24:40 > 0:24:41with documentary evidence to support
0:24:41 > 0:24:43that claim.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47That would usually be birth, marriage and death certificates.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Do you know anything that could help solve the cases of
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Leaford George Barrett and Frederich Beck?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Perhaps you could be the next of kin?
0:24:56 > 0:25:00If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12In London, time is running out for heir hunters Finders,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14who are still trying to find any heirs
0:25:14 > 0:25:17to the estate of Hedley Henry Arnold.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19I can't find anything for either of them.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Loved and respected by his local community,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Hedley Arnold passed away on 20th July 2015.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27I think I would summarise
0:25:27 > 0:25:30him in three words -
0:25:30 > 0:25:32a perfect gentleman.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35PHONE RINGS
0:25:35 > 0:25:36Without a will,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39the team are looking for relatives to pass his estate onto.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41But competition is fierce,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44as this was the only estate on the Bona Vacantia list today.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Amy cannot find any living descendants of Hilda Woolfries,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53a cousin of Hedley's, who married an army officer in the 1930s.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Military families are quite common
0:25:55 > 0:25:56and back and forth between India,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59especially the timeframe that we are looking at, yeah.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02So it's not unusual. It just makes the research more difficult,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04and a little bit more time-consuming.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09While Amy digs deeper, Ryan is tracing another
0:26:09 > 0:26:12aunt of Hedley's to see if she had any children.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15The line of Rose Meech is
0:26:15 > 0:26:18on the maternal side of the family,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21so she would have been a maternal aunt of the deceased.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24She married Charles George Butler in 1905.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27By 1911, she'd had two children.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Beyond 1911, she had two more.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Initial research is hopeful.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I've just found a marriage for one of Rose's daughters,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Margaret Louise, or Louisa, Butler. She married William Blandamer,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44so I'm hoping there may be some children to that marriage
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and, fingers crossed, the beneficiary.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49But Ryan's hunt leads nowhere.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Ryan has finished his outstanding maternal stem.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57The stem of Rose Meech.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02It turned into surname Butler, which is quite common.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04It's more difficult to work with
0:27:04 > 0:27:07but he found four possible children.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11It's looking as though they've all passed away without having
0:27:11 > 0:27:13children, even if they've married.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16But what he's going to do is, he's going to order up
0:27:16 > 0:27:20a couple of the death records for them, just to make sure.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25It appears as though the case may die out.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28There may be no living beneficiaries but
0:27:28 > 0:27:31you kind of always hope that you might be able to unravel it
0:27:31 > 0:27:33and maybe stay ahead of the competition and find the one,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35or two, or three heirs that there may be.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41While they wait for the certificates,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Ryan and Amy join forces to try and crack the only remaining clue,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48the elusive children of Hilda and Emile.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50When we're researching a family tree,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53in particular, when it's a competitive case,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57we may come to a point where we're stuck on a particular section.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59We maybe can't marry bits of information together, or we can't
0:27:59 > 0:28:01locate someone that we're looking for,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04it's often worthwhile to then move on to another
0:28:04 > 0:28:08part of the family which we can make inroads into,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11than focus too much time and energy on to a bit where we're stuck.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15And finally, Amy has a breakthrough with one of
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Hilda and Emile's daughters.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I think I may have found Jean.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24She would be a maternal cousin once removed.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27So I'm going to try a number that's coming up for her.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Hello, I wonder if you can help me.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43We trace family trees in connection with inheritance matters
0:28:43 > 0:28:46and I'm currently working on an Arnold family tree.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Although Amy has found Jean, it's not over yet
0:28:50 > 0:28:53because the team need to find all of the living heirs
0:28:53 > 0:28:57and it's bad news regarding Jean's sisters.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Thank you, bye-bye.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02She's not in touch with either of her sisters.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Last she knew of them, they were alive, but she's not sure.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15And when Amy does manage to find one of Jean's sisters through
0:29:15 > 0:29:16the electoral roll...
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Hello, could I speak to Mrs June Shinn, please?
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Hello, Mrs Shinn. I wonder if you can help me.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26..it's a disappointing conversation.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Do you remember their names?
0:29:30 > 0:29:31No? OK.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35I just found June, the youngest sister. I called her.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38It seems as though she has been contacted by another company.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41So, it's as competitive as we thought.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45And to up the stakes even more, Ryan has discovered there
0:29:45 > 0:29:48may now be living heirs on Rose Meech's line after all.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50We're a firm of heir hunters and
0:29:50 > 0:29:54we're actually looking into the Butler family tree.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58You've come up as a possible member of the family we're looking into
0:29:58 > 0:30:01and I wondered whether you could kindly give me a call back.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05And the research we're currently doing into an Arnold family tree
0:30:05 > 0:30:08has picked yourself up as a possible beneficiary.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11If you recognise those as your parents, please do give me a
0:30:11 > 0:30:14call back and we can go into some further detail.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19It's up to the team on the road now to pull in the victory.
0:30:19 > 0:30:24If the heirs don't sign up, all the hard work has been for nothing.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Hi, Stuart. It's Amy.
0:30:28 > 0:30:29Oh, wow! Oh, OK.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34I thought you meant that they signed first. Which one is this?
0:30:34 > 0:30:36OK.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38This was Jean, was it?
0:30:38 > 0:30:41And now we're going to sister June.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Oh, perfect.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47That is, that's great.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Thanks, Stuart. OK, bye.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54We signed Jean
0:30:54 > 0:30:57and she has signed our paperwork.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59When he got there,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03there were reps from two other competitors there.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07But they chose us and sent the others away.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08Yeah, that's a great result.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12For something that was so competitive,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14right up until the end there,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18with all three of us having reps there, it's great.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21It shows that Stuart came across really well.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24And me, obviously, when I spoke to her earlier.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29A few days later, Stuart revisits Jean Cook
0:31:29 > 0:31:31to make sure they've found all potential heirs.
0:31:31 > 0:31:36It ascertains that we've actually got all the siblings
0:31:36 > 0:31:38and we've got all the relations.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43There are actually beneficiaries, sometimes we might miss one.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47- Hello, Richard. Nice to see you again. Lovely to see you.- All right?
0:31:47 > 0:31:49- Very fine, yeah, how are you? - Pretty well, thank you.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53How's Jean? So, you recognise the names on the family tree, Jean?
0:31:54 > 0:31:58- There's you, there. - And my sister and middle sister.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03- Middle sister.- And June, yes.- And June that I've met. That's Hedley.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Deceased, you knew.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06Yes, I knew him.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Then we all used to come over when my dad was away.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11- My dad was in the army.- Yes.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14- And he was living in India most of the time.- What, your dad?
0:32:14 > 0:32:18- Well, yes, because he was in the army.- Oh.- And he used to come back,
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and he only got six months' leave every couple of years.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24And we'd come over then to see.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26That's why I don't know much about these people.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30- You might see them, then, when you came home.- I might see them but...
0:32:30 > 0:32:36- Were you born in India then? - No, I wasn't, but one sister was.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38- June was, wasn't she? - June was born in India.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42And when did you come back to here then, do you think?
0:32:42 > 0:32:43- 1947...- 1947...- ..wasn't it?
0:32:43 > 0:32:46- ..when India got their independence. - Oh, yeah.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Bye, Jean. Bye, Richard.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Bye, bye, bye.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Everything's sort of dovetailed into place
0:32:57 > 0:33:01and the office will be more than pleased that we've got
0:33:01 > 0:33:04everything sorted out on the beneficiary side.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13But as the heir hunters do one last check,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16it seems the battle is not totally won.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22The good news for us is that we managed to trace the three
0:33:22 > 0:33:24daughters of Hilda Elizabeth Woolfries.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27They all signed paperwork with the same terms of that
0:33:27 > 0:33:30section of the family tree, a really good result.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33But the team didn't make it to the other beneficiaries
0:33:33 > 0:33:36on both the maternal and paternal side in time.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It is the nature of the business that numerous companies
0:33:39 > 0:33:42work on these type of cases, and that's the way it goes.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Heir hunting firm Celtic spent over six years
0:33:56 > 0:33:59searching for heirs to the estate of Basil Goldston,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02a computer programmer, whose Jewish parents had fled Russia to
0:34:02 > 0:34:05escape persecution at the turn of the century.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08I've been advised to speak to you.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12Unbelievably, when an online message was answered four years after
0:34:12 > 0:34:17it had been posted, a door was finally opened to seven heirs,
0:34:17 > 0:34:18including Colin Stone.
0:34:18 > 0:34:19It's my heritage,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and something I would love to know more about and find out about.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Colin knew little about his family history
0:34:26 > 0:34:30but he had been close to his grandmother, Basil's aunt Janie.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34My grandmother spoke English with a very interesting accent.
0:34:34 > 0:34:35She was also...
0:34:35 > 0:34:37My grandmother was a Yiddish speaker
0:34:37 > 0:34:41and so my grandparents and my parents spoke Yiddish
0:34:41 > 0:34:42when they were together.
0:34:42 > 0:34:48So I've still got and I still use her chopper for chopping herring
0:34:48 > 0:34:49and chopping liver.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53And I still make the chopped liver how my grandmother used to make it.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56And I have her jam pan that comes out every year
0:34:56 > 0:34:58when the weather's good. And I've got a crop,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01and use it to make jam just like my grandmother did.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04And it's a great connection to the past.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07And solving this case has already shed some interesting
0:35:07 > 0:35:10light onto Colin's own background.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14I think there could be some further research that could be done.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Surprisingly, looking at the family tree,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20we have a lot of doctors and health professionals
0:35:20 > 0:35:24and although I am not actively working in that role,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27I work - via the charity we run -
0:35:27 > 0:35:30helping families through health
0:35:30 > 0:35:33conditions, rare genetic disorder.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36It's as if I was destined to do that.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Which, when I found that out, it's a case of, wow!
0:35:40 > 0:35:43So today, Colin is meeting Saul to find out
0:35:43 > 0:35:47more about what the team have uncovered.
0:35:47 > 0:35:52You are down here, and your brother, of course.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55So this is your late mother, Dorothy,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58and your grandmother, Janie.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00And you can see, these are Janie's brothers and sisters,
0:36:00 > 0:36:06the Saltzbergs, and this is Minnie, who was Basil's mother.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09I know that it was actually after my great-grandmother
0:36:09 > 0:36:12passed away in childbirth, that's what promoted
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Benzion to up and leave sticks
0:36:14 > 0:36:16because he always wanted to be a doctor.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21- Ah.- So, it was his wife's death that inspired him to leave...
0:36:21 > 0:36:25at the time. And he wanted to study medicine
0:36:25 > 0:36:28and help people that were in the same situation that he was.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Oh, I see. I didn't realise that was all connected.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Fantastic. Well, that's a very noble thing to do.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38- I'm looking for my grandma. - Up here. She went to Wolseley
0:36:38 > 0:36:40in South Africa in 1919, for two years.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Well, she was sent to South Africa by the English family that she
0:36:44 > 0:36:48came to stay with because they didn't approve of the man
0:36:48 > 0:36:50- she fell in love with...- Abraham.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53..which was my grandfather, yeah. And she got,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56while she was in South Africa, she got enteric fever.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59She recovered from that and decided to come back and
0:36:59 > 0:37:03- they met and had a very long and happy marriage.- Aw, wonderful.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05A proper love story then.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07She wasn't going to be parted from her love.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09No. I've inherited tailoring from my grandfather
0:37:09 > 0:37:12- because I used to be a tailor. - Ah, right, OK.
0:37:12 > 0:37:13OK, my ancestors were also tailors.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Cos my grandfather taught me tailoring as a wee, small boy.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Oh, fantastic.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23It's fascinating to see how all the family links together and
0:37:23 > 0:37:26sort of names that you've heard and family that you've never met...
0:37:26 > 0:37:28- Yeah.- ..but know about.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31And Saul also has some letters written by Colin's
0:37:31 > 0:37:33great-grandfather, Barnett,
0:37:33 > 0:37:37which provide an amazing insight into Colin's family.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40- Very fine writing.- Yes.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44It's amazing to think that English wasn't his first language.
0:37:44 > 0:37:45Was he a Yiddish speaker?
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Yeah. He sounds like an incredible guy. I'd have loved to have met him.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52But these letters aren't just a nostalgic relic from the past.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Part of our work is tracing the families but it's a whole
0:37:55 > 0:37:57different ballgame to actually try and prove the claim.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59In this case, obviously,
0:37:59 > 0:38:01we didn't have any marriage certificates
0:38:01 > 0:38:02to prove the connection.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Thankfully, what we were able to do is,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08we used some of Barnett Saltzberg's letters.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10They were wonderfully atmospherical letters
0:38:10 > 0:38:14and he's written this on January 1st, 1914,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17but he actually talks about, "My dear son, Abraham."
0:38:17 > 0:38:19So that obviously shows that...
0:38:19 > 0:38:21It's proof there that Abraham is his son.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23He signs it, "Your father, Barnett."
0:38:23 > 0:38:27He talks about, "Your sister, Minnie," you know, so...
0:38:27 > 0:38:29"My dear son, Nathan,"
0:38:29 > 0:38:33so he's really, he's providing the proof for us,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37essentially later, that we can then use.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40And in the course of their research to prove the case to the
0:38:40 > 0:38:42Government Legal Department,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46the Celtic team uncovered a family secret about Basil's uncle Nathan.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53- Our Baltic agent came up with a police report...- Wow!
0:38:53 > 0:38:57..in Russian, which showed that Nathan had got into some trouble
0:38:57 > 0:38:58with the law, politically.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00It's fascinating to, actually,
0:39:00 > 0:39:01to look at this
0:39:01 > 0:39:04and see what was going on in that
0:39:04 > 0:39:07time in the politics of that region.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10And obviously, your ancestors were
0:39:10 > 0:39:11caught up in that.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Stunned by the dramatic revelation that his great-uncle had been
0:39:16 > 0:39:19arrested over 100 years ago,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Colin is keen to find out more
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and is on his way to Lancaster University
0:39:24 > 0:39:27to meet Russian expert, Professor Michael Hughes.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Very pleased to meet you. Please sit down.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36What we have here, Colin, is a copy in Russian of a police file
0:39:36 > 0:39:41and it's about the arrest of, I think, your great-uncle Nathan
0:39:41 > 0:39:45for attending a revolutionary meeting in a wood on the outskirts
0:39:45 > 0:39:48of Vilnius, in modern-day Lithuania.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51And what the file tells us is that
0:39:51 > 0:39:54he was attending a meeting in what is called the Bund.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59The Bund was a radical Jewish Socialist organisation
0:39:59 > 0:40:01which was formed in 1897.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04And for a few years, was probably the most important
0:40:04 > 0:40:07socialist organisation in Russia.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Of course, with the pogroms that took place
0:40:10 > 0:40:12after the 1905 revolution,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16that actually triggered a big response among a lot
0:40:16 > 0:40:19of the Jewish communities and the Bund in particular became
0:40:19 > 0:40:21interested in what it called self-defence.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24So, originally, when it was set up,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28the Bund was really a kind of Marxist workers' party.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32But after 1905, the Bund became much more concerned
0:40:32 > 0:40:35with protecting Russian Jews who continued to be persecuted.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39It is actually quite interesting that we are saying with these...
0:40:39 > 0:40:41with the socialist party,
0:40:41 > 0:40:46and it sort of explains how my grandmother, Janie,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49was attracted to my grandfather who, in England,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51was a communist, socialist.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55What I think is very striking is that your great-uncle was clearly
0:40:55 > 0:40:59involved in an organisation and interested in ideas.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01That was seen as subversive.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05What we do know, and we don't know a huge amount from the files,
0:41:05 > 0:41:10is that he's taken away after that meeting, he's interviewed, and he's
0:41:10 > 0:41:15then put under something that the Russians call preventative measures.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19I think he was probably seen as someone you had to keep an eye on.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20It is fascinating.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23I never met Abe and Nathan
0:41:23 > 0:41:27but it is a fascinating story to think that all those years ago,
0:41:27 > 0:41:31they were so active in changing, trying to change people's lives.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34- But it must initially have been terrifying for him.- I bet it was.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37And among the various revolutionary groups, their kind of nightmare
0:41:37 > 0:41:40was being arrested by the secret police.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44What actually comes out of it that is quite fascinating
0:41:44 > 0:41:48is how our family all believe in social justice and socialism.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53So we've inherited that without even knowing him, so that seems to
0:41:53 > 0:41:57have been the story of the family down the lines, caring for others.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02The Russian police file played a crucial role in proving this
0:42:02 > 0:42:04case to the Government Legal Department
0:42:04 > 0:42:08and finally distributing Basil's estate to his relatives.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12But for Colin, it's been an unbelievable journey into his
0:42:12 > 0:42:17own past and the triumphant rescue of a story nearly lost for ever.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Money's not been important at all
0:42:19 > 0:42:22and for that reason when we inherited the money,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25we donated it to the charity that my wife and I founded
0:42:25 > 0:42:27because that's more important to us.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31What has been important is finding out who our family have been.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37Heir hunting, or people who are genealogists,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40are often people who like enigmas,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43who like to resolve unsolved puzzles.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45So our job is really to crack safe open.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50We have a very small family anyway, so to know something
0:42:50 > 0:42:52about the history is...
0:42:52 > 0:42:56brings a lot of things together.