0:00:02 > 0:00:06Today, the heir hunters struggle to pin down a tricky family tree...
0:00:06 > 0:00:08It'll be a cold call.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09We'll just play it by ear, see how you get on.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11I can't call a 94-year-old, can I?
0:00:15 > 0:00:19..while another team tackle one of their biggest cases yet...
0:00:20 > 0:00:22All right. Cheers. Bye.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24She's a beast, this case.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29OK, I seem to have only half a tree. Is that the other half?
0:00:29 > 0:00:33..and the research uncovers some incredible family connections.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36This gives us a snapshot in time...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38- Right.- ..of where he is and what he's doing.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56In London, heir-hunting firm Finders are busy working on a case
0:00:56 > 0:00:58referred by a member of the public.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02It's the estate of Gladys Peggy Parker.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Now, the information we've been provided is quite useful.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09It tells us when she was born, it tells us when she passed away,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12it gives us her last known address and also her maiden name.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Gladys passed away on 10 September 2015
0:01:20 > 0:01:22in Yeovil, Somerset.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27She'd been born in the town in 1929 and had lived there her whole life.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31However, Gladys died with no known relatives.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36The team begin their research by looking at her parents' families.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Her parents were Robert Fred Chainey and Hilda Bessie Louisa Cook.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45They married in 1926 in Yeovil.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49So now we're looking at the paternal and the maternal families.
0:01:49 > 0:01:541911 census shows that Lindell, who's the maternal grandfather,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and Louisa, the maternal grandmother,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00had ten children, which is not unusual for the time.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04So there's going to be nine maternal lines
0:02:04 > 0:02:05that we'll need to look into.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Ryan goes on to discover Gladys's paternal grandparents
0:02:09 > 0:02:12were called John Chainey and Maria Hellier.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16They also had ten children, but two died as infants.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22The paternal grandfather is a leather dresser for a glove company.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26But, yeah, both sides of the family, in 1911 at least,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30numerous people are employed in the making of gloves.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35It's absolutely no surprise that the Chainey and Cook family
0:02:35 > 0:02:37were actually all involved
0:02:37 > 0:02:38in the gloving industry.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41This was very, very common in those days.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44During the 19th and early 20th century,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Yeovil was at the centre of the glove-making industry
0:02:47 > 0:02:51with up to 200 factories within a 20-mile radius.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Three main reasons why there were so many factories around Yeovil
0:02:55 > 0:02:56was one, it was cheap labour,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00two, there was raw material and there was plenty of sheep, farming,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03and three, the water.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The River Yeo runs just outside Yeovil,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10and the tanning industry needs good, soft water,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12so there was plenty of water.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15I think gloving gets in people's blood
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and many people would have stayed in the gloving industry
0:03:19 > 0:03:20most of their lives.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Almost done.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36With both sides of the family deeply ingrained in Yeovil life,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38the team start tracing each stem.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44I am looking into the maternal family of Cook for Ryan.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47There are nine stems in addition to the deceased's mother,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51so I'm just going to split up the nine that are remaining
0:03:51 > 0:03:55between myself and a couple of the other staff.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57So, I've been given
0:03:57 > 0:04:01the eldest three of the Cook family.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03The surname is not the ideal one
0:04:03 > 0:04:06that I would want to be looking into,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09but hopefully, they stay local to the Yeovil area
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and that will make it a little bit easier.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Meanwhile, Suzanne has been given the Chainey name to investigate -
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Gladys's father's side of the family.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- Do you want me to look at her?- Yeah, please, and I'll check the others.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I'm looking into the son of Mary Ethel Chainey.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28She is an aunt of the deceased.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33So far, I've found that she married a Mr Emery
0:04:33 > 0:04:35and had three children.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37They all stayed in the Yeovil area.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43I've gone on to look at Clara. She was an aunt of the deceased.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49I found that she married a Mr Abbott and she had three children by 1911.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53There was also an Annie Elizabeth Chainey
0:04:53 > 0:04:55marrying another Mr Abbott,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59so it could be that the two sisters married
0:04:59 > 0:05:02two brothers of the Abbott family and had children.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04So that makes it a little bit difficult
0:05:04 > 0:05:06to work out whose children are who.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Suzanne's hunch was correct.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Both sisters married brothers from an Abbott family.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18She manages to get hold of a cousin of Gladys's,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20the first potential heir.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Hi. I was wondering if you could help me.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26We're looking at the Chainey family tree
0:05:26 > 0:05:28and we believe that was your grandmother's maiden name.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33There seems to be quite a few siblings of your grandmother,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36but you're the first person we've spoken to.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38All right, thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Amy has also struck gold on the maternal side.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48I've been looking at a couple of the other Cook stems.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52There's a Stanley Cook and there's also a Gladys Cook.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57The stems of Stanley and Gladys appear to have living beneficiaries
0:05:57 > 0:06:00who would actually be cousins of Gladys's,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02so it would be really useful to speak to them.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05But it's not as simple as that.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07So far, though, every number I'm trying
0:06:07 > 0:06:10is just ringing without answer,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13without an answer machine, so I can't even leave a message.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Amy is frustratingly close, but needs to be patient.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Usually, I would be sending a rep straight over to these addresses
0:06:22 > 0:06:24because I can't get hold of them.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27It doesn't sound as though they're home. It's just ringing.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31They're also quite elderly. They're in their 80s.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It's a little bit more sensitive when they're on the elderly side.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38But it's really important to speak to them, at the same time.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Finally, there's a breakthrough.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47We're a company of heir hunters. I trace missing beneficiaries.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52The Cook family were sort of from Yeovil, that sort of area.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Gordon Cook? But a cousin Gordon?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I'll make a note of him. Bye-bye.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02And the research is all starting to add up.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I can't call a 94-year-old, can I?
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- What's his name?- Gordon.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15Well, I just spoke to Eric and he is going to call Gordon,
0:07:15 > 0:07:16so that means that Gordon is quite with it
0:07:16 > 0:07:19and Gordon knows everything about the family, apparently.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22But instead of waiting,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25the team decide to send travelling researcher Steven
0:07:25 > 0:07:27out to the heirs' homes.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30We've got another five visits in the area,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32so I'm just trying to work out the quickest way for him
0:07:32 > 0:07:34to get to each person.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39He's about an hour and a half away from the first beneficiary,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and then each person after that is about ten minutes away,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45so he'll just go from beneficiary to beneficiary, I imagine.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48He's two hours away from Wells,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and then from Wells, there's another one in Taunton,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54which is 20 minutes, half an hour away.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06The following day, Steven is still on the road visiting heirs.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08He's on his way to meet Graham Patton,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11a maternal cousin once removed from the Cook family.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15This is the fifth visit I've been to on this case.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Bit of a problem with this job - that it's mid-morning.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22The chap is of working age and he's probably going to be at work.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25But Steven's got to find him first.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31So, the triangle is just this little bit here.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35- Hopefully.- Hopefully. If not, I'll ask in the Post Office. Thanks.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Hello there.- Hello there. I'm looking for a Graham Patton.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48- Speaking.- Hello there.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Success. Steven manages to find Graham and sign him up.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54I've got a couple of forms to fill out.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Firstly, could I ask you just to sign on that one there?
0:09:01 > 0:09:02And there is further success
0:09:02 > 0:09:05with another maternal cousin once removed.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09- Hello there.- Hello.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Avril is able to confirm the family connection to glove making.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Well, I worked in the glove factory for years.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Well, it was quite good. It was quite a well-run factory.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20You know, people were friendly.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23There were dozens of glove factories in Yeovil.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27And it's not over for Steven yet, as he puts in a call to the office.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Oh, hello, Camilla. It's Steve here.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32I have actually got four agreement forms with me,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34- so I could do another... - PHONE:- 'OK.'
0:09:34 > 0:09:37I could do, actually, another full two if you need me to.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42'A Gordon Cook, who's in Yeovil, who Ryan spoke to yesterday.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47'If you go and visit Gordon, then hopefully, he'll sign.'
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- Yeah.- 'And then... Cos we've spoken to him.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- 'And then we've got four other beneficiaries.'- OK.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54'So just take your pick.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56'If you can find them, that's brilliant.'
0:09:56 > 0:09:58With the heirs all very local to one another,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01it doesn't take long to reach Gordon Cook,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04a cousin of Gladys's on her mother's side.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08- Hello. Mr Cook? - Hello.- Gladys Parker.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- Ah, she died.- Yeah.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12She's died without leaving a will and she's...
0:10:12 > 0:10:15You are a beneficiary of her estate.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19And it seems Gordon was part of the gloving industry too.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Well, I know she was...quiet. Very quiet girl.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I used to pass her when I was going to work.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I used to just wave to her on the bike. That's all.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35My father was a glove cutter all of his life.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39And I was a glove cutter as well
0:10:39 > 0:10:41until the factories closed in Yeovil.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Back at the office, the team have uncovered even more heirs.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50I've got three possibles lined up for tomorrow,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53which I'll be doing, and that's it for the day.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56And if I was drinking man, I'd be going for a drink.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59- But I'm not, so I won't. - HE CHUCKLES
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Done.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Over the following days,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08the heir hunters consolidate their research.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Still got a few people left to find,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13but essentially, it's looking as though there's going to be
0:11:13 > 0:11:15about 40 beneficiaries in this case.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18It's really useful that we sent Steven out on the case
0:11:18 > 0:11:20to go and visit the family,
0:11:20 > 0:11:21and particularly in a family such as this
0:11:21 > 0:11:23where a lot of people stayed local.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28And for Gordon and the other heirs, it's still a lot to take in.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31It's the first time it's ever happened to me, but...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Nobody's ever left me anything before.
0:11:47 > 0:11:54Margery Carr was born on October 25, 1926 in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and remained in Sunderland for the rest of her life.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01I knew Margery for... Well, I'm 57. For 57 years.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06I was born in this house, so Margery and the family lived next door.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09She was always full of fun and that, and you used to hear her
0:12:09 > 0:12:11singing and that, in the house and that,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13and, no, she was a lovely lady.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Margery worked as a master bakeress at the local bakery in the dockyard.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Margery loved to cook. She were a lovely, lovely cook.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24She often used to bake cakes and send them over to us.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And she loved her garden, she loved flowers,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and she loved to be in the garden.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33Before moving into a nursing home, she lived with her brother John.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35There was only Margery and her brother.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36It was just the two of them left.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They always used to bring us flowers out of the garden
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and things like that, and just a very kind family.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Margery passed away on 26 October, 2014.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49The case was advertised
0:12:49 > 0:12:52on the Government Legal Department's Bona Vacantia list
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and was picked up by London heir-hunting company
0:12:55 > 0:12:56Fraser & Fraser.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58OK, cool. I will. All right, bye.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Case manager Ben Cornish was in charge,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04and hit a problem immediately.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09So, when the estate was advertised by the Bona Vacantia Division,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11the spelling of Margery was with a J.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14When we subsequently looked for a birth record
0:13:14 > 0:13:17of a Margery Carr in 1926 using that spelling,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19we couldn't locate one.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21We soon found out that she was actually registered
0:13:21 > 0:13:23under Margery with a G.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26The team also wanted to check for any value in the estate
0:13:26 > 0:13:28to pass on to any heirs.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31So, when Margery died, she was living in a nursing home,
0:13:31 > 0:13:32but two years prior to that,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34she was living at a residential address
0:13:34 > 0:13:36with her brother John Hall Carr.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38When we looked into the Land Registry document,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40we discovered that she owned it with her brother.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Conversations with the neighbours
0:13:42 > 0:13:44discovered that it'd been a family home
0:13:44 > 0:13:48and that John Hall Carr and Margery were the last of their siblings.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50With value confirmed
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and neighbours suggesting Margery may have had more siblings,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Ben got his team to dig deeper.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Who's free? Anybody?
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Off her birth certificate, we found out her parents' names,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04so we did a search and we discovered that...
0:14:05 > 0:14:08..there was a very good-looking marriage
0:14:08 > 0:14:12between a William Carr and a Margaret Fox
0:14:12 > 0:14:14in Sunderland in 1918.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20And Ben discovered Margery's close family was quite large.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23All right. Cheers. Bye.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26When we undertook the search,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29we found out that she had a number of brothers and sisters.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33We have one, two, three, four, five in total.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35William and Margaret had six children,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37including Margery,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40but the initial research then hit a dead end.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42When we discovered that Margery was one of six,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44we were thinking that it was going to be a case
0:14:44 > 0:14:46where there'd be near kin,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49but when we started looking into the brothers and sisters,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53we discovered that none of them had left descendants.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55When we looked into the mother's side of the family,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58we discovered that she was born as Margaret Fox.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01We soon discovered that Charles Fox, her father,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04had died pretty soon after she was born.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Margaret was the only child born to her parent's marriage.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10We then found out that Sarah had remarried
0:15:10 > 0:15:12and had further children,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14but these would be half-blood relations
0:15:14 > 0:15:16and therefore, full blood have a prior claim
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and they would not be entitled.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20The team now needed to see
0:15:20 > 0:15:24if Margery's father's side of the family might prove more fruitful.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27When we were looking into the paternal side of the family,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31we knew that the deceased father was William Carr.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33We then located his birth record.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35He was the son of Robert Carr
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and Alice Parkin.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39They married in March 1871
0:15:39 > 0:15:41in Sunderland
0:15:41 > 0:15:43and had 11 kids in total.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Robert Carr was a shipwright, which is the grandfather of Margery,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49but also a lot of his other kids
0:15:49 > 0:15:51also had been working on the shipyards as well.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03It seemed that Margery was not the only family member
0:16:03 > 0:16:05who had worked at the docks.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09With shipbuilding being such a major industry in Sunderland
0:16:09 > 0:16:14during the 19th and 20th century, this came as no surprise.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18In 1840, when 251 ships were built,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20this was the record number of ships
0:16:20 > 0:16:21ever built on the Wear.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23And, of course, these were quite small ships,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25and as ships got bigger
0:16:25 > 0:16:30and developed into steamships and motor ships,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32there was a lot of changes in the yards
0:16:32 > 0:16:36to accommodate the building of these different types of vessels.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41Shipbuilding was probably the biggest employer at one time.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Possibly 20,000 men worked in the yards.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48It was very common for whole families to work at the port,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and working at the shipyard as war approached
0:16:51 > 0:16:53had significant dispensations.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58Because the shipbuilding industry was so vital to the war effort,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02both in the First World War and the Second World War,
0:17:02 > 0:17:08many of the trades were regarded and designated as reserved occupations,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10and therefore, they remained in the yard
0:17:10 > 0:17:14and that was their contribution towards the war effort.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19This was certainly the case for some of Margery's uncles.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24For the team at Frasers, the size of the task was becoming clear.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27She's a beast, this case.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32OK, I seem to have only half a tree. Is that the other half?
0:17:35 > 0:17:37But as the family tree kept on unravelling,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40the team hit another stumbling block.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44One of Margery's uncles, James Weatherall Carr,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46married a Margaret Dalzell
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and had a son named James Weatherall Carr Junior.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53If James had any children, they could be heirs,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55but his life appeared to be a mystery.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00We couldn't identify any deaths for him or any marriages for him.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03He was a good age to have fought in the Second World War,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06so we thought that was an avenue to look at.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Eventually, more service records revealed that Margery's cousin,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13James Weatherall Carr,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17was a gunner in the 35th light infantry regiment sent to Asia.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28In 1941, the Japanese invaded Burma,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31which was part of the British Empire at this time.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35The Japanese assault
0:18:35 > 0:18:37on the British Empire in the Far East
0:18:37 > 0:18:39causes us lots of problems.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43The war's been fought since 1939 and we've had some major reverses.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46This is causing huge strain on equipment supplies and men.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48When the Japanese finally attack,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51there's not a lot left for the field army,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53especially around Singapore.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56They start sending all of the regiments
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and equipment that they can spare from other fronts.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02The British campaign to push the Japanese out of Burma
0:19:02 > 0:19:06was one of the longest and most violent campaigns of World War II.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10When the Japanese attack, it's a surprise.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14We've never fought in the Far East before against such an enemy.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17The Japanese have total air superiority.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23This is firing in jungle warfare.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Most of these guys have never been to a jungle before.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Not only are they fighting a battle for the first time,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31but they're fighting in a place they've never been,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33unfamiliar surroundings. It's a proper ordeal for them.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40As a gunner, James Weatherall Carr
0:19:40 > 0:19:42would have been right at the heart of the action.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47These roles are 24 hours a day. It's on your nerves all the time.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50You are waiting for the enemy to attack you all the time.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52You're looking at someone
0:19:52 > 0:19:54who's going to have to have very steady nerves.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04On 15 February, 1942, the British formally surrendered.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07The Japanese close in
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and they push us back onto Singapore Island,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12so they're on the mainland, we're on the island.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14The Japanese are constantly bombing us,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16constantly under artillery and shellfire,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19so we're taking losses and there is no way forward
0:20:19 > 0:20:22for the general officer commanding, so he surrenders.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27It was a hard fight, but the Japanese were better.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32It was a major knock to our prestige in that area of the world
0:20:32 > 0:20:34where, up till then, we are the invincible British Empire
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and now we have surrendered to the Japanese.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46But the story didn't end there for James Weatherall Carr.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51I did a search on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and I managed to identify a death
0:20:55 > 0:20:59of a James W Carr in Thailand in 1943.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Since being sent out to Burma,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03how had James Carr come to be buried
0:21:03 > 0:21:05in a Thai grave?
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Following the surrender in Burma,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12the remaining British troops were now prisoners of war.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16The Japanese take time to work out how to deal with their prisoners,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and what they do is they decide to use them as a slave labour force.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23To defend their new conquered lands, their new Japanese empire,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25they need to improve the transport links.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29They've taken Burma for a reason, and that's the rubber, it's the oil,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31it's all of those rich, raw materials
0:21:31 > 0:21:32that is what they want,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and they need to get that out there quickly.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39The prisoners of war were forced to build the Thailand-Burma Railway,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42the principal route to support Japanese forces in Burma
0:21:42 > 0:21:45and to move raw materials into India.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49The conditions in the camps on the railway
0:21:49 > 0:21:51are the worst you could possibly imagine.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55They are dying every day of malnutrition, beriberi, cholera.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57They're catching every single disease.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01They get no rest, no break. They are being worked to death.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03It's the most miserable existence you can think of.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06And you're in the jungle. You've got no medical supplies.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09You've got no food. You've got no water.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14It's the worst place you could possibly be.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Over 12,500 prisoners of war died
0:22:18 > 0:22:20during the construction of the railway.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25When you die, the Japanese actually allow them to bury them.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28They have more respect for the dead than they do for the living.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30James Weatherall Carr
0:22:30 > 0:22:33was buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39With that stem ending, the team had no choice
0:22:39 > 0:22:42but to continue searching through Margery's other cousins
0:22:42 > 0:22:44and their children,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48and after an epic hunt, their efforts were rewarded.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53We also found another uncle by the name of Thomas Liddle Carr.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59He married a lady by the name of Margaret Florence Grimes.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02So, Margaret and Thomas had four kids.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Those four children went on to produce 11 heirs on the tree.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08One of them was Vaughan Williams,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10great-grandson of Thomas Liddle Carr,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13alive and well and living in Wales.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20It came as a complete surprise. I mean...
0:23:20 > 0:23:23And when he started talking about him, I thought, "Oh, yeah.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24"I would be interested to know more."
0:23:24 > 0:23:26I'd heard the name Carr.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29I hadn't heard the name Margery before.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Vaughan didn't know much about his extended family.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37I only knew of a few people in Sunderland,
0:23:37 > 0:23:38and the Coventry families.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42But he has fond memories of his father,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45who had also served in Burma.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47His medals used to be in a box.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50I mean, they were only the standard military medals you got.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53I think they call them campaign medals.
0:23:53 > 0:23:54But, I mean, I used to look at those.
0:23:54 > 0:24:00But unlike James Weatherall Carr, Vaughan's father had a lucky escape.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02My father was shot in Burma in the leg.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Him and another chap were trying to rescue somebody who had been shot,
0:24:06 > 0:24:08so he was shipped home.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10As I say, I don't know where he went,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12you know, what he did, really, apart from what he told me.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17It was just interesting to find out. This family tree, I'd like to see.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20For Vaughan, this was an opportunity to delve into his family's past
0:24:20 > 0:24:24and find out more about his father's war days.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Hello, Vaughan. Nice to see you. Come with me. Come on through.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31What I'm looking for is details of my father's time in the army.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33We need to start with, "What's his name?"
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- Reginald Vaughan Williams.- OK.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38What we have is we have the ATA station registers,
0:24:38 > 0:24:43so that's every soldier who joined the artillery 1921 to 1946.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46So, here, we have Reginald Vaughan Williams.
0:24:46 > 0:24:501817252. OK?
0:24:50 > 0:24:54- Heard him say it. - Every old soldier can rattle it off.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Do you want to pass me that little card off there?
0:24:56 > 0:24:58This is a tracer card.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- This gives us a snapshot in time...- Right.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03..of where he is and what he's doing.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06So, we've got, "Enlisted 26th of June 1941.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10- "Coast Branch." That's Coast Defence and Anti-Aircraft Branch.- Mm-hm.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14That regiment writes a daily war diary.
0:25:14 > 0:25:161943.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23So, it's the day, sometimes it's the time,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27sometimes it's a minute-by-minute whatever's going on.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33All of this, which tells you people going in and out of the regiment.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38- I knew he went to Ceylon, Burma, Sumatra.- Yeah.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Those were the things that he said about.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44But, you know, again, I wish I'd listened then more than I did.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49But Vaughan's memories have confirmed the family connection.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54I'm intrigued about your mentioning of Sumatra.
0:25:54 > 0:26:00That intrigues me - Sumatra, Java - because whilst doing all of this,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04- we came across somebody else. - Oh, right.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09- And he's also in the Far East. - Yes.- They are second cousins.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12He's a Carr.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Right.- James Weatherall Carr.- Mm-hm.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21- And he died July 1943.- Mm-hm.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23He was from Sunderland, so it's that side of the family.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- That's right, yeah. - But we do also have his attestation.
0:26:28 > 0:26:321827. Your father was 18...
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- It was almost at the same time. - Yeah, yeah.- Almost at the same time.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- So, 1827295. - It's a small world, isn't it?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43- Now, we don't hold a lot else.- No.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46We don't hold a lot else on that regiment
0:26:46 > 0:26:49because they were so utterly destroyed.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51- Yeah.- The war diaries didn't come back.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Not a lot of them came back either.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58We've considered that my father was lucky.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00I mean, all right, he was shot, but he got over that.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04I mean, he didn't lose his leg, he didn't die, he could walk after.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08- And he went on to have a good life. - Well, yeah, yeah.- And even had you.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11- Well, yeah.- There you go. - Win-win.- Yeah.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13The revelation that Vaughan's father Reginald
0:27:13 > 0:27:17was fighting at the same time as James Weatherall Carr
0:27:17 > 0:27:19left Vaughan reflecting on what could have been.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21I knew nothing about James Carr.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25The outcome was a lot worse there. He didn't come back.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28So, you know, it's a lot sadder story.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31My father's story was, you know, a happy story.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I'm really surprised how well-documented it is
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and I really want to find out more now.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39It's whetted my appetite.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43And for Ben and the team at Frasers, the story wasn't over either.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45This is the largest case that I've ever worked on
0:27:45 > 0:27:49and we ended up having, in total, 85 heirs,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52so this really was quite a beast of a job.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53For Vaughan Williams,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57the experience has been far more valuable than the inheritance.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00It's not the money that is paramount.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02It's what I've learnt now.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05The chance that I can find out information
0:28:05 > 0:28:08of my father's things and, like, my family.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10It'd be nice to be able to look further back.