0:00:02 > 0:00:04Across, the country heir hunters are searching
0:00:04 > 0:00:05- for long-lost families.- Hello.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08It's Wednesday in London
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and just one case has landed on the heir hunters' desk.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It's going to be hugely competitive,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17so it's really important that we get going quickly.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20They might be about to change someone's life.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24This is probably one of the weirdest days I've ever had in my life.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26I think, if I told someone about it,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29they'd probably take me back to the loony asylum.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32In Shropshire, emotions run high
0:00:32 > 0:00:35after an unexpected knock at the door.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I don't want his money. I want him.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43And that leads to a touching reunion.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Here's to George. Ta-ra, George.
0:00:45 > 0:00:46- Cheers. - You'll be missed by all of us.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- All the best, George. - Cheers, George.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07In London, case manager Amy Moyes has the bona vacantia list
0:01:07 > 0:01:09issued by the Treasury.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Every day, probate genealogists, like those at Finders,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16search for families of those who have died without any next of kin.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22We've just had this morning's ads through.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25There's one ad today on the list
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and it turns out to be a property owner.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32It's the estate of the late Robert Sidney Radmall.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35I'm just working with Ryan on this.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39As soon as the lists are available, it's a race against the clock
0:01:39 > 0:01:43for any heir-hunting firm to beat their rivals to secure any heirs.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46With only one new case today, the pressure is on.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It's going to be hugely competitive,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53so it's really important that we get going quickly,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57so we're just trying, at the moment, to clear off any close kin
0:01:57 > 0:01:59and then look as quickly as we can
0:01:59 > 0:02:01into the maternal and paternal families.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Mark Forrest was a close friend and work colleague of Robert Radmall,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09who died, unexpectedly, aged 59.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I knew Robert for just under four years.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Robert and I became very good friends.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20We used to speak quite often, two or three times a week.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Robert lived in Hemel Hempstead and Mark got to know him
0:02:24 > 0:02:27when he worked on an independent film he was shooting.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30He came on board. He was assistant director.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Um, he assisted with the lighting,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36he was the assistant director of photography,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40he would help with the location. We had a different level of skill sets.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44There were some guys that were established and others not so,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and Robert would be the lynchpin between the two.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Robert's promising career was tragically cut short
0:02:50 > 0:02:56when, on the 18 August, 2015, aged 59, he suddenly passed away.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59It was a complete shock to me, complete shock to all of us,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03all of his close friends. When I first heard, I thought,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06"No, it's a mistake, obviously it's a mistake."
0:03:06 > 0:03:11I spoke to him a few days before and we were due to meet soon,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13within the next few days.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Yeah, complete shock. He had so much to give.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23In the offices of the heir hunters,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26case manager Ryan Gregory has already established
0:03:26 > 0:03:29key information about Robert.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33We were able to use the address and see that Robert lived on his own
0:03:33 > 0:03:36since around 1992, when he moved into the property.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39We could back that up with a marriage search
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and the initial indications suggest that Robert was a bachelor.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45So, we're not looking at a spouse.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48It's hard for us to find any children,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51given that he evidently didn't marry,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54so we're ruling out issue and a spouse for now.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Looking at the electoral rolls for Robert Radmall,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01we can see he's probably been living in the family home
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and he's probably inherited that.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05When we look, historically, through the electoral rolls,
0:04:05 > 0:04:11he's actually living with, seem to be, his mother and father,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Emmeline and Sidney Radmall.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17This means that Robert's estate is likely to contain
0:04:17 > 0:04:20the family home in Hertfordshire,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23making it a valuable asset for any potential heirs.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29Robert's parents were Sidney Alfred G Radmall and Emmeline Annie Coles.
0:04:29 > 0:04:36They married in 1940 and had Robert, an only child, in 1956.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Sidney Radmall passed away in 2002.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Emmeline Radmall, nee Coles, passed away in 2004,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45so there's no parents that would claim the estate either.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Mark Forrest didn't know Robert's parents, but heard of them often.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Robert...
0:04:53 > 0:04:57..would speak about his parents. He had fond memories of his parents.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59I think his dad boxed at amateur level
0:04:59 > 0:05:02but, yeah, he spoke highly of his parents, very much.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03Loved them dearly.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07- Is he there?- Right, OK, fair enough.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Between them, Amy and Ryan have to tackle
0:05:10 > 0:05:13both Robert's father's side of the family, Radmall,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and his mother's side, Coles.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Knowing that other companies will be working this case,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21they'll have to work fast to trace living heirs
0:05:21 > 0:05:23before another firm beats them to it.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- I have one for you, me and Suzanne. - OK.- Which side do you fancy?
0:05:28 > 0:05:33You've got Coles-McDermott or you've got Radmall-Pratt.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35You choose.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Um...I'll take the Coles. I prefer Emmeline.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44I'm hopeful that they've all got interesting names.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46An interesting or unusual name involved in the research
0:05:46 > 0:05:50can often help speed things along. In the Radmall case,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53there were some very interesting and unusual names to work with.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56The Radmall name itself was quite an unusual one.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59So, what we found out is that the paternal grandparents were called
0:05:59 > 0:06:05Sidney Bertram George Radmall and Ada Elizabeth Radmall, nee Pratt.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09They married on 18th April, 1915. They were living in Islington.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This was during the First World War.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Sidney was a soldier at the time of marriage.
0:06:15 > 0:06:21Um, so, beyond that, they had Gladys in the same year and Sidney,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25who's the deceased's father, they had a few later in 1918.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29I'm looking at the maternal family, which is surname Coles,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32so already, that's a much more common surname
0:06:32 > 0:06:34than Radmall to be dealing with.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35From the records,
0:06:35 > 0:06:41it looks as though the deceased's mother was one of three siblings,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44her brother and sister being called John and Margaret.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47So, again, they're not the greatest names to be working with.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50I was really hopeful that, as the mother was called Emmeline Annie,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55that her siblings would have equally interesting names, but they don't.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57The deceased's father was one of three as well.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02We found Gladys A Marion Radmall, born in 1915.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04She married Thomas H State
0:07:04 > 0:07:06but she didn't have any children with him.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10I found out that the deceased's paternal uncle,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Ronald John H Radmall, born in 1932,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18so relatively recently in the scheme of things, he passed away in 2000.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20He was married in 1962,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22so I just need to find out whether he had any children.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Ryan discovers that Robert's aunt Gladys passed away in 1977.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Without Robert's parents alive,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34his uncle Ronald's children will be the only heirs
0:07:34 > 0:07:37on Robert's father's side of the family.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40The search is quickly narrowing down to only a few heirs.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Other companies may have already discovered this
0:07:44 > 0:07:46and could be on the trail.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Camilla, could we have a text for reps
0:07:50 > 0:07:54- to be on standby for London, Hertfordshire?- OK.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Amy is now looking at Robert's mother's side of the family.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Her maiden name was Coles.
0:08:01 > 0:08:07Uncle John Coles - looks as though he's passed away in the '80s,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10but with a name like John Coles, I can't really tell if he's married
0:08:10 > 0:08:14or had children until, hopefully, his death certificate gives me
0:08:14 > 0:08:16some more info. So, I'm waiting on that.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20I then moved over to maternal aunt, Margaret.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Now, there's a really strong possibility, I think,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27that she's alive and has moved to the Sussex area.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30She may now be known as Peggy, rather than Margaret,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33which isn't uncommon, especially for her generation.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36She was born in the '30s. I tried a phone number for her.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39She's not answering. It's ringing out, without a machine,
0:08:39 > 0:08:40so I can't leave a message.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Amy, could I get you to make some calls for me to help?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49I think she might be a beneficiary but she's not answering.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54- Could you call a few neighbours and just see if she is home or not?- OK.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56So, I'm going to send one of our travelling reps
0:08:56 > 0:08:59to see if we can't catch her at home.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01And if that fails, hopefully they can find out, from neighbours,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04whether she's, perhaps, away on holiday
0:09:04 > 0:09:07or where she is or whether she's moved on.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09But there's a breakthrough.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Amy's team manage to track down a neighbour.
0:09:12 > 0:09:18Yes, the gentleman next door said that she's in a mobility scooter.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22- Oh, OK.- Someone should be in.- So she's just not answering the phone.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25She's just not answering the phone. But he doesn't know
0:09:25 > 0:09:27if she has any children or not that we could contact.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I don't think she does.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31But he said to keep trying the phone number,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34but he was in bed, cos he's on night shifts,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37so I woke him up but he was kind enough to let us know.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- That's nice of him. OK.- Yeah.- Good. Thank you. Good news.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44While the team work on finding living relatives,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Robert's grandparents' marriage certificate reveals
0:09:46 > 0:09:50more about them, listing his grandfather as a coach builder.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58In the 1920s and '30s, Charles could have worked at a firm
0:09:58 > 0:10:01like the Morgan Motor Company, where cars were custom-built.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Martyn Webb is the company's archivist today.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Charles would have developed great skills in this.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12It's not an easy job at all.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14You needed great woodworking skills
0:10:14 > 0:10:17to create the structural frame of the car,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20not only accurate from an aesthetic point of view
0:10:20 > 0:10:24but, of course, it had to be structurally sound as well.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Charles would have started as an apprentice
0:10:27 > 0:10:30and been trained by skilled craftsmen.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34By the mid-1930s, his skills would have been in great demand,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38as it was a boom time for the manufacture of cars.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45They would have been building bodies for Rolls-Royce and Bentley
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and other prestigious motor manufacturers.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50It would have been fairly long hours.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53He would have been a reasonably respected craftsman
0:10:53 > 0:10:54cos this wasn't easy work at all.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59Only the very wealthy could afford to buy a car until the 1930s,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01when the costs of motoring came down
0:11:01 > 0:11:05and an averagely well-off family could then afford to buy a car.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11A simple wooden frame, constructed out of a number of pieces of ash.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16These were hand-crafted and then sent into the workshops above
0:11:16 > 0:11:22to be panelled in either steel or aluminium or some other method.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Today, Morgan is the only company in the UK
0:11:25 > 0:11:27still using traditional methods.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31In the late 1940s, the arrival of mass manufacturing
0:11:31 > 0:11:35signalled the end of this era and many companies went bankrupt.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Coach maker Charles was good with his hands
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and passed his creative genes down to film-maker Robert.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Do you mind just seeing if you can find a Steven, with a V, R Radmall,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55born in 1962? He should still be alive.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Back in the office, and Ryan has found that Robert's uncle Ronald
0:12:00 > 0:12:03did have a son, Steven, who lives in London.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08OK, he might be the only paternal heir. Shall I give him a call?
0:12:08 > 0:12:12- Yes, please.- OK.- The only one? - Looks like it, yeah.- OK.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- There's only a mobile.- OK.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19He might be engaged.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Ryan eventually gets through
0:12:21 > 0:12:24to what must be a very surprised Steven Radmall.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Hello, is that Steven Radmall? Hello, there.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31It's Ryan Gregory at Finders in London.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33We're a firm of heir hunters.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I'm guessing, by the engaged tone on your mobile,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40that someone's been in contact with you about a deceased's estate?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Right.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48OK, so, we trace missing beneficiaries to estates.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52We're looking for Steven Radmall, who was born in 1962?
0:12:54 > 0:12:57With pressure mounting and the company's travelling researchers
0:12:57 > 0:13:01already despatched in other areas, company MD, Daniel,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03volunteers to go and see Steven himself.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06But will he get there before any competitors?
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Across the country, our next case is in Shropshire,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23where the search is on for unknown heirs
0:13:23 > 0:13:25of 68-year-old George Hawkesworth.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27He had a close circle of friends and neighbours
0:13:27 > 0:13:30in his home town of Telford.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35George had a hell of a personality. He either got on with you
0:13:35 > 0:13:36or he didn't.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41If George thought you were a fool, he'd soon let you know.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Luckily, I used to get on very well with him.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Yeah, we had some good times, me and George.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49On 13th January, 2015,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54ex-army man George passed away, after battling a serious illness.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57None of his friends knew of any family or will,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59so the search was taken up
0:13:59 > 0:14:02by London-based heir-hunting firm Fraser and Fraser.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07The unusual bit about this case was the name.
0:14:07 > 0:14:08I've never come across Hawkesworth
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and usually that's a good sign, when you haven't seen a name before,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14cos it probably means it's not particularly common.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17The advantage of George's surname meant that,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20unlike Smith or Jones, it could be an easy family name
0:14:20 > 0:14:23for the heir hunters to trace and establish heirs.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The first thing we usually do in a case like this
0:14:27 > 0:14:30is to contact the neighbours of the deceased to see if they knew
0:14:30 > 0:14:33anything about him, regarding his family or his background.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Heather Smith was one of those neighbours.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42George used to love going fishing. He'd like a teatime drink.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45I miss George cos he was such a good neighbour
0:14:45 > 0:14:47and I'd known him for 15 years
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and he was the ideal neighbour that you'd want to have.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55George lived alone and Heather didn't ever meet any of his family.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58When I first moved in, I saw a nephew.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01A nephew came once and I never saw him again
0:15:01 > 0:15:05but I don't think he had visitors at all, to be honest.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08He just, you know, kept himself to himself at home.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Unfortunately, neither Heather nor any of George's other neighbours
0:15:14 > 0:15:17could provide the heir hunters with further information.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23George's death certificate revealed that he was born in Scotland,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27so Mike began to look for any relatives north of the border.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The first thing that we needed to do was to establish
0:15:31 > 0:15:35whether or not George was married or had any children
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and, after a couple of searches, it looked like he was never married
0:15:38 > 0:15:41in England or Scotland or had any children.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43OK, cool. I will. Bye.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47George's family was the army.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51He was a career soldier and rose to the rank of staff sergeant.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55He completed tours in Northern Ireland, Germany and Borneo
0:15:55 > 0:15:59and made lifelong friends throughout his 22-year service.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05I first met George in Northern Ireland. I was posted there
0:16:05 > 0:16:07and George and I were in a room together.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12We spent all our time in the Queen's Dragoon Guards there
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and it was a great place to be, especially for young boys,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18cos there was lots of beer and lots of girls,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20so we really enjoyed ourselves.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25George joined the army when he was 18 and spent the next 22 years
0:16:25 > 0:16:28in the illustrious 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30retiring when he was 40.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Close colleague Dave remembers
0:16:33 > 0:16:36George was fascinated in mechanics from an early age.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41He really enjoyed driving and fixing things,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44whereas we'd just break them.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46George would constantly say,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50"You're driving too fast, you're too high up the gears,"
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and things like that, so he took more care
0:16:53 > 0:16:55of the vehicles than we did, I think.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59In 1965, the regiment was posted to Borneo,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01the largest island in Asia,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05close to Singapore and famous for its dense rainforests.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11George and I, all of us young lads, loved it
0:17:11 > 0:17:14because we were in such an alien environment,
0:17:14 > 0:17:19at such a young age - first time I and George had travelled outside
0:17:19 > 0:17:22the United Kingdom - and to go halfway round the world,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26nearly on the equator, weather conditions that we'd never heard of.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30I know it rains a lot in Northern Ireland but not as much as Borneo.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34UK troops were sent to Borneo to defend it from Indonesia,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37after a new Federation of Malaysia was set up,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40which was partly under control by the British.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44The mission of the British forces
0:17:44 > 0:17:49in Borneo was to defend Borneo from incursions by Indonesian forces,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51coming across the border.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It's worth pointing out that this was an undeclared war
0:17:54 > 0:17:57between Indonesia and Malaysia but the main purpose, really,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59was to defend this very long border
0:17:59 > 0:18:01between the Malaysian portion of Borneo
0:18:01 > 0:18:03and the Indonesian portion, called Kalimantan.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09One of the patrols I did with George was 16 days away from the camp.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14That means we had to carry all our food. And we had to, um...
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Well, we took everything with us
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and because we couldn't smoke, because we couldn't clean our teeth,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25we couldn't wash, and we had to be quiet,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29we didn't speak to each other, except late at night.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32It was all done by sign language and clicks.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Dave remembers he and George befriending the locals
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and developing a soft spot for some of the animals.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42When George and I were on patrol,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46we came across a orang-utan female that had been shot,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48and clinging to her breast,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51was a small baby orang-utan which we tried to rescue.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55We realised that we couldn't feed it properly,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58so we radioed for baby formula milk, baby bottles and teats
0:18:58 > 0:19:03and we were able, then, to feed this baby orang-utan
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and carry it back to civilisation
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and hand it over to the authorities.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Cheers.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15At the heir hunters' office, for case manager Mike Pow,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17the unusual surname of Hawkesworth
0:19:17 > 0:19:20made finding George's parents relatively easy,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23through birth and death records.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Mike established that George also didn't have any brothers or sisters.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32The parents of the deceased, we learnt,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36were a Rose Docherty and a George English Hawkesworth.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Now, the marriage certificate stated that Rose was married beforehand
0:19:40 > 0:19:42to a gentleman called Robert Aldridge.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46We then had to make sure that the mother of the deceased
0:19:46 > 0:19:49didn't have any children from her first marriage to Mr Aldridge,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52so we had to set about checking the birth indexes of Scotland
0:19:52 > 0:19:55and England to make sure there wasn't any further issue
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and we discovered that there was none.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00For Mike, the hunt is on to find an heir
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and he finds out that George wasn't the only one
0:20:03 > 0:20:06with a long and interesting military career.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10She's working, clearly, on fitting out the inside of a plane.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Every year, in Britain,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21there are thousands of unsolved inheritance cases,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25where heirs need to be found. Could YOU be one of them?
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Today, we've got details of two estates
0:20:29 > 0:20:31on the Treasury solicitor's bona vacantia list
0:20:31 > 0:20:33that are yet to be claimed.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38The first case is that of Elizabeth Agnew.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44She died on 15 April, 2013, in Ashford, Kent, and was 91 years old.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48It's believed she may have been known by the surname Dobin.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51She was born in France,
0:20:51 > 0:20:57three years after the end of World War I, on 28th September, 1921.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01The name Agnew is of Norman origin,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04but may originate from the French name, Agneau.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Could there still be family links to Elizabeth
0:21:06 > 0:21:09in either Normandy or France?
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Does the name strike a chord with you?
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Do you have any ideas that could hold the key
0:21:14 > 0:21:16to unlocking this estate?
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Next, the case of Jack Adams,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25who was 68 when he died on 26th January, 2003.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30He was a bachelor and lived in Leytonstone, East London.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34It's believed that Jack might have a brother living in Canada.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Does his name mean anything to you?
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Could you be the beneficiary they're looking for?
0:21:42 > 0:21:45If you think you might be related to either of these people,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48you would need to make a claim on their estate
0:21:48 > 0:21:50through the government legal department.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I feel I am very, very lucky
0:21:55 > 0:22:00to be a beneficiary of somebody who I didn't know.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Could it be you?
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Do you know anything that could help solve
0:22:04 > 0:22:07the cases of Elizabeth Agnew or Jack Adams?
0:22:07 > 0:22:11If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22In London, heir hunting firm Fraser and Fraser have taken on the case
0:22:22 > 0:22:27of 68-year-old George Hawkesworth, who spent 22 years in the army.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Case manager Mike Pow has been looking into George's family history
0:22:32 > 0:22:36for potential heirs and discovered that his mother, Rose Guthrie,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39may have provided the inspiration for George's military career.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43On the mother of the deceased's second marriage,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45we noticed that the mother of the deceased
0:22:45 > 0:22:50was an aircraft fitter in Paisley, which was in 1945.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52In the Second World War,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Rose Guthrie worked making parts to kit out the interior of planes.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Living in Paisley, Scotland, which had a strong textile industry,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04she transferred her skills from fabric-making
0:23:04 > 0:23:06to industrial factory work.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11One of the new innovative things that came in
0:23:11 > 0:23:14in the Second World War was conscription for women.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Women between the ages of 20 and 40 who hadn't got children under 14,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21were called up to work either in factories, like Rose did,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24in the locality, if they were married,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26or maybe they would go into the forces.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29As part of conscription, women had to choose
0:23:29 > 0:23:33whether to enter the armed forces or work in farming or industry.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40By December, 1943, one in three factory workers was female.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43They were building planes, tanks, guns
0:23:43 > 0:23:45and making ammunition needed for the war.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50She's looking at light industrial work,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52in what was probably a very big factory.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54It would have been a small part of the job.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57What they did was to use very specialised bits of labour
0:23:57 > 0:24:00so, instead of learning and going through a lengthy apprenticeship,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02you would learn just one tiny bit of the task.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Unfortunately, that made it particularly tedious
0:24:05 > 0:24:07cos it was very repetitive.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08But it would have been a very important job
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and numerous women, like her,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14by being moved into this different part of industry,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18not in what you would call garment trades or luxury production,
0:24:18 > 0:24:19but into really important war work,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22contributed enormously to the war effort.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Working long hours, but for the first time,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28earning a good wage of up to 40 shillings a week,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31the war effort would help shift attitudes
0:24:31 > 0:24:34to women's role in society forever.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36One of the things that war is about
0:24:36 > 0:24:38is not just about the men who are fighting
0:24:38 > 0:24:41but about the machinery which enables them to fight
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and, particularly, in 20th century warfare.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48So, the production of armaments, of planes, of tanks,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51is absolutely crucial to the war effort,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54so you really need to pull in that female workforce -
0:24:54 > 0:24:57voluntary, if you can but, if not, compulsory.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Because their work is going to enable you to fight the war.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04George's mother was a strong woman
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and, as the heir hunters dug deeper into her past,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09they found that her wartime conscription
0:25:09 > 0:25:11developed into a lifelong military career.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16INAUDIBLE
0:25:16 > 0:25:21After the war, Rose worked as a civil servant for the MOD
0:25:21 > 0:25:23until she retired.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24For the heir hunters
0:25:24 > 0:25:27and their search for potential heirs to George's estate,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29it was Rose's side of the family
0:25:29 > 0:25:32that case worker Mike Pow delved into next.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35The grandmother of the deceased, Rose Ann Docherty,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37married John Guthrie in 1915.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42George's parents were Rose Docherty and George Hawkesworth.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Rose's mother, Rose Ann Docherty, married John Guthrie.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51They had an incredible 12 children over a 21-year period.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Interestingly, John's name is not actually
0:25:54 > 0:25:56on Rose's birth certificate,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00making her brothers and sisters half-blood siblings by law.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04This meant that if full-blood aunts and uncles could be established,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07her siblings would not be entitled.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12So we knew that there were 11 aunts and uncles of the deceased
0:26:12 > 0:26:15who were issue from the marriage of Rose Docherty and John Guthrie.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19We had a quick look to see if any of them died when they were young
0:26:19 > 0:26:22and only one died, so we knew there were going to be
0:26:22 > 0:26:25at least ten aunts and uncles who possibly survived and had children.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28All were still alive and would be beneficiaries.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30- I spoke to her.- Right. - She phoned in.
0:26:30 > 0:26:36One of those was Mary McNally, Rose's youngest sister by 21 years.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38The heir hunters traced her
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and gave her the news about her nephew George.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43At first I was shocked.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47I said, "No, I don't think so. He's younger than me, you know."
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Mary was close to her sister, Rose, but because of the wide age gap,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56as George's aunty, she was only six years older than him.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I remember George well, you know.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02I was in Scotland at the time he was born.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06I remember him coming home from the hospital with his mum
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and I took him out.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12At that time, he was only a little tiny thing, you know,
0:27:12 > 0:27:17so my mum put him here, she put a blanket round me
0:27:17 > 0:27:20and I took him outside
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and I was walking round the streets with him in this little shawl.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25It was so funny.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Mary remembers George as a typical boisterous young boy.
0:27:30 > 0:27:36When he was a kid, he was a funny wee thing, at times.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39He was always, maybe, hiding.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43He'd be hiding and saying, "Where am I?", things like that.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And he'd jump out at you, frighten the life out of you.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49He was a wee rascal.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Mary and her daughter, Carol, didn't know George as an adult.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54She lost touch with him
0:27:54 > 0:27:56when he moved away from Scotland with his mother.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02I did see him quite a lot when we went on holiday
0:28:02 > 0:28:05and, I mean, that was it.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09And then, the last time I seen him was at his mum's funeral.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14And then we lost contact, which was a shame.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Mary is one of 16 heirs to George's estate.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Whatever we're getting, I think it should...
0:28:22 > 0:28:26It would be nice for it to go to something to do with the army,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30instead of...money.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33I don't want his money. I want him.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38But...
0:28:39 > 0:28:41I don't know.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Sad, sad, sad.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49For case manager Mike Pow,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53having searched George's mother's family history for potential heirs,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57he now needed to complete the whole family picture.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58We'll keep our fingers crossed
0:28:58 > 0:29:01that there's not too many stems on their side.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04The next stage was trying to work out the paternal side of the family,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08so the deceased's father, George English Hawkesworth,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10to see if he had any brothers and sisters
0:29:10 > 0:29:13who may have had children, in turn, who would be beneficiaries.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Do you want to try him first?
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Mike struggled to locate the birth certificate of George's father,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22but after an exhaustive search through records,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26Mike eventually found one, but it posed more problems than it solved.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31Once we had the name of the father, George English Hawkesworth,
0:29:31 > 0:29:34we thought it would be a relatively easy name to research,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37as the combination is not particularly common.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40However, we immediately hit a bit of a stumbling block
0:29:40 > 0:29:44when it appeared that George was born illegitimately.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46He wasn't born with the surname Hawkesworth,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48he was born as George English McKinnon,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51and the birth certificate states he was born illegitimately
0:29:51 > 0:29:54to Sarah McKinnon, who would have been his mother.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58With both George's parents unusually being born illegitimately,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01all relatives are equally entitled.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Now they would have to change tack
0:30:03 > 0:30:08and search for George Senior's original birth name of McKinnon.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11This could mean a longer and more difficult search.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Yes, perfect. Thank you. Take care now. Bye-bye. Bye.
0:30:17 > 0:30:22Eventually, they did manage to piece this complicated jigsaw together.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24To be born illegitimate in the 1900s
0:30:24 > 0:30:27was usually frowned upon by the majority of people.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30It would have been a bit of a stigma attached to it,
0:30:30 > 0:30:35which is possibly why, when she married Herbert Hawkesworth in 1917,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37the mother of the deceased, Sarah McKinnon,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41made George take on the name Hawkesworth as well.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44George's grandmother, Sarah McKinnon,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47married Herbert Hawkesworth on New Year's Eve in 1917,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50in Paisley, Scotland.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53George English McKinnon was just four years old
0:30:53 > 0:30:55when his name was changed.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57The marriage produced further children,
0:30:57 > 0:31:02meaning the possibility of more aunts and uncles for George Junior.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06From the marriage of Herbert Hawkesworth and Sarah McKinnon,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09we established that there were at least eight half-blood siblings
0:31:09 > 0:31:12to the father of the deceased, George.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14We also quickly established that the majority of them
0:31:14 > 0:31:18passed away as children. Five died relatively quickly
0:31:18 > 0:31:22which, obviously, limited the potential for relatives to be found.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Mike's research finds that on George's father's side,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29only one of George's aunts and uncles is still alive
0:31:29 > 0:31:31and one cousin.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34In total we've located around 18 beneficiaries.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38We worked out that there were 16 on the maternal side of the family
0:31:38 > 0:31:41and only two on the paternal side of the family.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43It's quite rewarding to know we've managed to find
0:31:43 > 0:31:45the rightful beneficiaries,
0:31:45 > 0:31:47who will now benefit from George's estate.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49Now the case is closed,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51George's effects have been sent to his aunt, Mary,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54who is one of his closest living relatives.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Look at the size of him! What is he like?
0:32:00 > 0:32:02This must have been one of the official...
0:32:02 > 0:32:05He shouldn't have been in that photo, look, he's so tiny.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07..official dinners or something.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- He's funny, isn't he? - Ah, that's nice.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15- It is a nice one. - That is lovely, actually.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Many of the photos and records Mary received
0:32:18 > 0:32:22show the 15 years George spent as a tank instructor.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27Maurice Ashley, a colleague from 1969, remembers his love of the job.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30He made a very good instructor.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35I did a course, once, when he was one of the instructors on it,
0:32:35 > 0:32:41on a amphibious vehicle, and he was a very confident instructor,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44which is probably why he did a lot of instructing,
0:32:44 > 0:32:45back here in England.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Er, he was good at his job, yeah, very good at his job.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53George's aunt, Mary, and her daughter, Carol,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56have the medals from George's career -
0:32:56 > 0:32:58a valuable record of the high esteem
0:32:58 > 0:33:01with which he was regarded in his regiment.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06"Corporal George Hawkesworth, for courage and decisive action
0:33:06 > 0:33:09"in halting a stolen Chieftain tank."
0:33:09 > 0:33:13So he got a commendation for stopping someone stealing a tank.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Yeah, yeah. Wow.
0:33:16 > 0:33:23It's fascinating to see all the different photographs of George,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26all his army friends, really nice.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Since George's relatives have all been found,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32his friends are getting together to remember him.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35George got a commendation.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39I believe he was guard commander and a recruit stole a tank
0:33:39 > 0:33:42and the guy didn't open the doors of the hangar.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44He just drove straight through the hangar doors.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47George jumped in the Land Rover with the duty driver
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and hightailed it over the tank park.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54But George climbed from the Land Rover onto the moving tank -
0:33:54 > 0:33:58no mean feat for HIS physique - pressed the switch,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01cut the engine and he dragged him out.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I think he spent the night in jail.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05That's quite an honour, a general officer's commendation.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08First I've heard of it. I didn't know anything about it.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Pretty brave man to do that, I think.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14For his friends, George's memory lives on
0:34:14 > 0:34:16through the times they spent together.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- Here's to George. Ta-ra, George.- Cheers.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22- You'll be missed by all of us.- All the best, George.- Cheers George.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25- Cheers.- Gone but not forgotten. - Yeah, definitely not forgotten.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38In London, the heir hunters have been on the trail
0:34:38 > 0:34:41of heirs to the estate of Robert Radmall,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43who died suddenly, with no known family.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Case manager Ryan Gregory already discovered one heir
0:34:47 > 0:34:49on Robert's father's side of the family
0:34:49 > 0:34:53and Managing Director, Daniel Curran, is on his way to meet him.
0:34:54 > 0:35:00Daniel is going to go and visit the paternal cousin, Mr Radmall,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03and we'll see what happens there.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07We'll verify the information that he gave Ryan over the phone as well,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09about the rest of the family tree.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Case manager Amy is still trying to establish information
0:35:13 > 0:35:16about Robert's mother's side of the family,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20his Aunt Margaret and Uncle John, to see what heirs exist there.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24If there are none, Steven Radmall could be the only heir
0:35:24 > 0:35:26with a claim to Robert's estate.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31One of our travelling reps is on the way to see
0:35:31 > 0:35:36whether the potential address I had for the maternal aunt is correct
0:35:36 > 0:35:38and, if so, to try and find out
0:35:38 > 0:35:43the missing pieces about the uncle, John Coles, as well.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47Daniel has arrived outside the home of Steven Radmall,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49who lives in West London.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52The guy concerned is only one of a quite small family,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55so he should know most people in the family
0:35:55 > 0:35:59but it sounds like it's a bit disconnected and, with any luck,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03he'll give me a bit of time to talk him through the case.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Several firms may have a look at it
0:36:06 > 0:36:09and speculatively see if there's any heirs to be found,
0:36:09 > 0:36:11so there's an element of competition.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14At the end of the day, it's for the heir to decide
0:36:14 > 0:36:17whether or not he wants to work with someone and, if he does,
0:36:17 > 0:36:18hopefully he'll choose us to work with him.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21It's a frustrating wait,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24when other heir-hunting firms will be close on Daniel's tail.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27No answer at the moment, so I'm going to ring the office
0:36:27 > 0:36:31and see if they've got any updates or information.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Often, when the reps are going to see beneficiaries in person,
0:36:34 > 0:36:35it can be quite frustrating.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38People might not want to open the door to everyone that knocks.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Meanwhile, Amy is on the phone to travelling rep Stuart...
0:36:43 > 0:36:47- Amy speaking.- ..who is at the home of Margaret Coles,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50which Amy is hoping is Robert Radmall's aunt.
0:36:50 > 0:36:55Oh, no! OK, OK. I'll go back to the drawing board then.
0:36:56 > 0:36:57AMY LAUGHS
0:36:57 > 0:37:01Oh, I thought that was finished. I'll go and see who I can find.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Speak to you later. Bye.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09Unfortunately, she's not the Margaret J Coles I'm looking for.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13Her parents were different to the ones that we're looking for.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16She also didn't have a brother John or a sister Emmeline.
0:37:16 > 0:37:22Now the hunt continues to find the birth certificate of Margaret Coles.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Amy needs to search records from the right period of time
0:37:25 > 0:37:27with the right name and the right parents.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31OK, it's going to be tricky without her birth, I think.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35Ryan and Amy are hoping to find a Margaret Coles
0:37:35 > 0:37:37without a middle name.
0:37:37 > 0:37:42- How about this one? Plain Margaret Coles.- Oh, yeah. Camden, OK.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Got taken into a care home. Died in the hospital, from a care home.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- That could be her, couldn't it? - Yeah.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52We could be dealing with a sole heir, if that's the case.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55So, if the heir is still friendly with us,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57like he was when I spoke to him, then we should be good.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Shall I give Daniel a call?
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Yeah, see what he's actually doing and let him know
0:38:02 > 0:38:05that he may well be the sole heir now, if he answers.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10If this round of research turns out to be correct,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14and Margaret has passed away and John has passed away,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17both without marrying or having children,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20it means that we now have a situation
0:38:20 > 0:38:23where the sole paternal heir that we've found to date
0:38:23 > 0:38:27will actually be the sole heir to the entire estate.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30This could be an interesting meeting,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33given that the estate has been valued
0:38:33 > 0:38:35at a quarter of a million pounds.
0:38:35 > 0:38:40Daniel's been invited into Steven's flat, but other people are arriving.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Are they other heir-hunting firms?
0:38:43 > 0:38:46When you break the news of the death of a relative of someone,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48there could be a whole range of reactions.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52I've seen everything, from people being devastated by the news
0:38:52 > 0:38:55but, equally, you could have a fairly close relative,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58in terms of someone's mother or father,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01but they don't have any feelings towards it one way or another.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04- You're Steven Radmall, that's correct?- Yeah.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Can you just confirm your parents' names for me?
0:39:07 > 0:39:11Nora Radmall and Ronald Radmall.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13So, the beneficiaries will be
0:39:13 > 0:39:15any surviving members of the Coles family
0:39:15 > 0:39:18and any surviving members of the Radmall family.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Now, you're an only child, I understand. Is that correct?
0:39:21 > 0:39:23- Well, I... - HE COUGHS
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Excuse me. I have a brother,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28but he's from my mother's first marriage so...
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- So, a half-brother on your mother's side.- Yeah.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33So he wouldn't be entitled. He's not on the Radmall bloodline.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35So, there is a house.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38There's a property involved in Hemel Hempstead.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42- Have you ever been to Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire?- I have.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46So it could be that you now have a share in this property
0:39:46 > 0:39:48and it could be, from the research we've done,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51you might even be the only heir to the estate,
0:39:51 > 0:39:53so it could be quite a decent windfall.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57This is probably one of the weirdest days I've ever had in my life
0:39:57 > 0:39:59and I think, if I told someone about it,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02they'd probably take me back to the loony asylum.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04It's a very interesting day.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Steven hasn't seen his father for 20 years
0:40:09 > 0:40:12and, as he didn't play a large part in his life, he's keen to know
0:40:12 > 0:40:16if the heir hunters can tell him anything more about him.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20I grew up with my mum and my brother, yeah, so that was just it.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22My dad might still be alive. I don't know.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27No, your dad passed away in 2000, in the year 2000, in Barnet.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29- He did?- He did, yeah.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32We can get a copy of his certificate and send you that, if you'd like it.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35- We can get copies of... - What did he die of, do you know?
0:40:35 > 0:40:37We can get a copy of the certificate and send it on to you.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40- Can you do that for me? I'd like to see that.- Absolutely.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43We'll get a copy ordered from Barnet and send that on to you.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45He died in 2000? I didn't know that.
0:40:45 > 0:40:51I try not to pre-empt or guess how the person may react
0:40:51 > 0:40:55and just deal with it in a sensitive but professional manner.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Steven then begins to tell Daniel about his daughter.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01She's got this thing called craniosynostosis,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05which is quite a rare disease. Not being a medical sort of guy,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07but for the first two years of your life,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10your brain and your skull grows together and there's a gap
0:41:10 > 0:41:12and one side wasn't growing so, eventually,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15the side that wasn't growing was going to die.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Basically, they got her into hospital very, very quickly
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and did the operation they had to do to save her life.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25They basically took her skull out and made a new skull.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Steven is so passionate about the hospital's good work,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32he then makes a staggering admission.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35I'll sign anything to say I don't want any money.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37I don't want to gain anything out of this.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42Apart from Great Ormond Street seeing the benefits because...
0:41:44 > 0:41:48- ..22, 23 years, I've seen... - What they did for your daughter.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50..what they've done for my daughter
0:41:50 > 0:41:54and they do it every day for so many young children, it's...
0:41:55 > 0:41:58I don't want to start crying but it's really important.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59- Yeah, definitely.- You know.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03It's been an emotional discussion for Steven,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06so Daniel leaves him to contemplate all he has found out.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Do you a nice family tree and, fingers crossed, God willing,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13there'll be an inheritance for you at the end of the day.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16- But it's lovely to meet you. - Very nice.- Good to see you, sir.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- Very nice to meet you.- Best of luck. - Been an experience.- Yeah.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Back in the office
0:42:21 > 0:42:26and Amy is having success ruling out any heirs on Robert's mother's side.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Although it's not conclusive today,
0:42:29 > 0:42:34it's looking more and more likely that this is the correct death
0:42:34 > 0:42:37for Margaret Coles, that she's a spinster without children.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Amy's suspicions were confirmed.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Margaret had no children and neither did John Coles, her brother.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49Steven Radmall is about to receive a very interesting update.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53I really hope he gets the money. It would be really lovely for him
0:42:53 > 0:42:57and he wants to do some good with it, so that's even better to hear.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59And for those who knew Robert,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02his memory leaves another lasting legacy.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06I'll miss him, yeah, of course. I miss him every day.