0:00:02 > 0:00:06Today, the race is on to find heirs to a six-figure fortune.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09So we literally need to find every single one?
0:00:09 > 0:00:13A family's history reveals a tragic international love story.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18They didn't have very much in common at all, apart from the child.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Different races, different classes.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Which has the power to surprise a new generation.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30We had so many secrets in our families, and this was obviously,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I would imagine, one of the secrets.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Across the country, the hunt is on.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:48 > 0:00:50We're going to have a look into this.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Hi there, I was just wondering whether you were free to do a visit for me this morning?
0:00:54 > 0:00:56It's 2pm, and in London,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00heir hunters Finders International have a fresh estate to work.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04So, I've just had a new case in.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08The information we've got is that it's the estate of
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Eveline Ward Southall.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14The team must find out as much as possible about Eveline
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and her estate to establish if it's worth taking on.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22We know that she's left approximately £100,000.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26And the team always have to be aware of any competition
0:01:26 > 0:01:28in the race to find heirs.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It's been referred to us by a firm of solicitors.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35As Eveline's estate has been handed to them directly rather than being
0:01:35 > 0:01:38advertised publicly, the team could be ahead of the game.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42We would hope that they're not competitive,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45but one of our competitors might get it from another source and so...
0:01:47 > 0:01:50..as we progress, we might find that we've got some competition.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53So case manager Suzanne gets to work
0:01:53 > 0:01:56finding out as much as she can about Eveline.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01We know that she was born on the 19th of October 1920,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05and she passed away on the 15th of December 2015.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- Do you want any biscuits? - Yes, please.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Eveline Southall lived the last years of her life
0:02:14 > 0:02:16in a Birmingham care home.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Eveline was here for about two years.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21She used to be very independent when she was here,...
0:02:23 > 0:02:26- ..trying to do everything for herself...- And her hair, wasn't it?
0:02:26 > 0:02:27Very much so, yeah.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30She was very proud of her hair and liked to do her own hair.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34And she was quite private,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38she didn't really speak to us a lot about her family.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Or her past life. She only mentioned her husband a few times.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47Eveline's husband, Sidney, had passed away in 2007.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49But she said she missed her husband, Sidney, very much.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Take some biscuits, too.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55But Eveline still enjoyed her time at the care home.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58She was a very bubbly lady, always smiling.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02She was just a generally nice person to talk to, wasn't she?
0:03:02 > 0:03:04I'll leave it on the side there for you.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10When Eveline passed away, it was discovered she'd left no will,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and didn't have any known close family.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15So the hunt was on to find her heirs.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Could you look for this lady?
0:03:17 > 0:03:20In the office, Suzanne has established
0:03:20 > 0:03:22that Eveline and her husband never had children,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and she was an only child.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27So this means we now have to look into
0:03:27 > 0:03:31both the maternal and paternal side, to see if we can find some heirs.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Maybe get in contact with some cousins?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Suzanne needs help to work both sides of the family as quickly as
0:03:37 > 0:03:42possible, and recruits researcher Ellie to get the hunt underway.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45So, just got the certificates in,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47which would help us out with this case, to get it going.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53Suzanne knows Eveline's parents were Arthur Shaw and Marion Manning,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55who married in Birmingham in 1919.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57We've got a bit more information now,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- we can look at the census and start doing some research.- OK.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03The team find Arthur Shaw's parents,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Eveline's paternal grandparents,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09George and Mary Shaw, on the 1911 census.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Living in Birmingham with Arthur and his siblings.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16But there's a surprising twist when they study the census closer.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23Now, it says that they ended up having 15 children in total.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26It's a huge family.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Arthur Shaw had 14 brothers and sisters,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Eveline's paternal aunts and uncles.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35So Suzanne will have her work cut out tracing every one of them.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Now, that's a huge, huge number,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40so in terms of work, you think, you know,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43it's going to be a really, really big case.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Suzanne will need all the help she can get
0:04:45 > 0:04:47it if she is to find all the heirs,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and fellow case manager Ryan sees if he can lend a hand.
0:04:51 > 0:04:52What are you up to with this one?
0:04:52 > 0:04:55So, we've looked back at all the censuses.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57So there's quite a few, there's 11 on this one,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59so we sort of don't really know who's alive.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04After early census records showed Eveline's father, Arthur,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08having 14 siblings, Suzanne's now discovered that on the 1911 census,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11the majority of them have vanished.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16It's all happening in Birmingham, so basically you guys
0:05:16 > 0:05:18- are looking into these lines? - Yeah, at the moment.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22With such a huge family and so many relatives missing,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25the team are up against a difficult heir hunt,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and need to use every resource at their disposal.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30OK, once we're into the top lines,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32so in this case, the dad's brothers and sisters,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35it should be relatively easy to figure out with the census.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37The 1911 census is good
0:05:37 > 0:05:39because it tells us how many children are in the family
0:05:39 > 0:05:41and how many have passed away.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47The 1911 census says seven out of Arthur's 14 siblings have died.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50But, crucially, the census doesn't tell the team
0:05:50 > 0:05:53which seven out of the 14 have passed away.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55It's really, really tricky.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57How are we going to figure out exactly who's who?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- I thought it would be quite an easy one.- Hmm...
0:06:00 > 0:06:04They'll now have to try and cross reference every available record
0:06:04 > 0:06:07to see if they can work out which siblings have survived,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10moved to a different household, or passed away.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15There could be more living somewhere else.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17In 1901. That's going to be the thing.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Do we ever have them all together?
0:06:19 > 0:06:21That says 1891.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- Is this the most complete one? - Yeah.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25It's a numbers game, though, isn't it?
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Everybody that's passed away is going to be as important as...
0:06:28 > 0:06:29To figure it out.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Suzanne gets to work.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39So, it is quite complicated, first of all, to get your head around it.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41With all these names on each census.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Obviously, you have to sit down and go through and number them
0:06:44 > 0:06:46to work out exactly what lines we need to work.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Suzanne does a detailed crosscheck of records.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52So, we literally need to find every single one.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55What I'm going to have to do for you is find possible deaths,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and then we'll have to order the deaths and just see who the informant is,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59to find out if the parents are on there.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08Ryan and Suzanne discover five of Arthur's siblings died as children,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11and two died as adults without having children.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14But it still leaves seven paternal aunts and uncles to trace -
0:07:14 > 0:07:16a mammoth task.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19So Suzanne gets the whole team involved
0:07:19 > 0:07:21to track them and their families down.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27- So, are you able to take a look for me at George?- OK.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Ryan has a plan of attack.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34So, Camilla, Suzanne and Holly, they're looking into the lines of the family
0:07:34 > 0:07:38where we know the children survived to a time where they may or may not
0:07:38 > 0:07:41have had kids, so they're going to be the easiest lines to work with.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47It appears most of the family stay in one area,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50which can help the team track the family down quicker.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- Well, as long as they all stay local, that's going to help.- Yeah.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56So what registration district is it?
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Do you know? Is it all Birmingham M, Birmingham S?
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- Or just Birmingham?- He was born in Birmingham.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03OK.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07- They married in Birmingham. She was born in Birmingham.- OK.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12But as they look at each sibling of Eveline's father, Arthur Shaw,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16they realise it's more difficult than they anticipated.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19You just can't do a blanket birth search for Shaws.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22There's just so many. The only problem is now,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- is just the number of Shaws there is, it's holding us back.- Yeah.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30The fact all the Shaws stayed in Birmingham turns out to be
0:08:30 > 0:08:31a double-edged sword.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35So, we're just having a look at the Shaw surname.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38It's a lot more prevalent than I thought, personally,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40so it's going to be tough, I think.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Suzanne's got her work cut out with the Shaw family.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48It's turned out to be a lot harder than expected.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I didn't realise that Shaw was such a common name in Birmingham.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54It's really a case of ordering certificates,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56waiting for them to come in,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58and then we can pick it back up.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00To have to wait for those certificates,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02we may have to wait 24 hours.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04That can be incredibly frustrating.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Once you're involved in the research,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09you really just got want to keep going and finalise it.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11You want to reach the end result,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13contact any heirs that might be there.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16With the paternal family looking like a major headache,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Suzanne's only hope of finding heirs today
0:09:19 > 0:09:22rests with the maternal Manning side of the family.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28We're now just starting to look into the maternal side of the tree.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31The paternal side has turned out to be
0:09:31 > 0:09:33a lot more trickier than we first thought.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Eveline's mother was Ada Marion Manning,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and Suzanne has traced some of her siblings -
0:09:39 > 0:09:41aunts and uncles of Eveline.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And we've managed to find them on the 1901 Census.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Um, however,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50it looks like all the children are born across the country,
0:09:50 > 0:09:55so there's some in Wales, some in Staffordshire,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- and...- Some in Derby. - Derbyshire.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03So, again, I think it's going to be a lot trickier than
0:10:03 > 0:10:07when we first sort of looked at the case initially.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10The team have invested an entire day trying to find heirs
0:10:10 > 0:10:12to Eveline Southall's estate
0:10:12 > 0:10:16and they've struggle to make any meaningful progress.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19But when they finally do contact a family member,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22will it turn out their hard work has been for nothing?
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- She's found wills?- Yeah, I don't understand what she was saying.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36In the course of their investigations,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40heir hunters can come across cases which are completely unique.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Every day, it's different, and that's one of the things
0:10:43 > 0:10:47which I think everyone involved in this industry love.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Their detective work into families' histories can uncover stories
0:10:51 > 0:10:54which span decades and cross continents.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Any one estate could take you anywhere in the world,
0:10:58 > 0:10:59and it often does.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05Case manager Gareth Langford came across one such estate -
0:11:05 > 0:11:09that of Edwin Howard from the government's Bona Vacantia list.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14So the original information that we had
0:11:14 > 0:11:16from the government legal department was pretty sparse.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20We had date of death, date of birth and a place of birth,
0:11:20 > 0:11:21being Fulham on this occasion.
0:11:21 > 0:11:28Edwin died in June 2012 in west London, aged 97,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31but sadly, no photos of him seem to survive.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35With competition very likely on this case,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Gareth and the team quickly got to work
0:11:37 > 0:11:41to see if Edwin had close relatives he'd lost touch with.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45So we needed to see if the deceased was married, if he had any children.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48It turned out, looking at the research, that we don't think
0:11:48 > 0:11:51the deceased was married and certainly didn't have any children.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53The next step was to look for wider family,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57but first the team needed to make sure there would be some value
0:11:57 > 0:12:00in the case and checked to see if Edwin had owned any property.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Records show that throughout the '80s and '90s,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Edwin lived at Sullivan Court in Fulham,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11a major housing estate built shortly after the war.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14There's plenty over there where the houses are, look.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Edward has lived there since the 1970s, and although he doesn't
0:12:18 > 0:12:22remember Edwin, he's seen huge change in the area.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Fortunately, we've got a flat on the sixth floor,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27which means that I look over all the other flats on the estate.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Everybody thought they were very lucky to come in Sullivan Court.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34In the 1980s, residents like Edwin and Edward were given the chance
0:12:34 > 0:12:36to purchase their properties
0:12:36 > 0:12:38under Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Edward bought his and it's proved a wise investment.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47In 1990, it was valued at £71,000.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50But now it's about £200,000, £300,000.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Some of them are still going now
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and they're selling for £500,000, by the way.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56HE LAUGHS
0:12:56 > 0:12:59But the key question for the heir hunters was whether
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Edward's neighbour Edwin had made an equally shrewd investment.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06I just wanted to check with you two things.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09They weren't sure, but they decided to take a punt anyway.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12But it's enough for the competition
0:13:12 > 0:13:14to be looking at it and there's always that thought
0:13:14 > 0:13:17in the back of your mind when you're looking at any case,
0:13:17 > 0:13:18is there going to be competition?
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Gareth's next step was to find Edwin's parents and see if he had
0:13:24 > 0:13:25any brothers or sisters.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30With an estate that could be worth several hundred thousand pounds,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32the team couldn't hang around.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37But when they looked for a key piece of information, they were stumped.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41So the first thing we need to do on any case that we look at
0:13:41 > 0:13:44is find the birth certificate of the deceased.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46It's the vital information that we need.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51And in this particular case, that was our stumbling point.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56We literally could not find the birth certificate of Edwin Howard.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59It was a frustrating setback.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Without that, it's extremely difficult to even start the case.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08Gareth needed more help, so called in experienced researcher Alan,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11who looked at new ways of discovering the record of Edwin's birth.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I backtracked the address that the deceased had been living at
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and those in the area through various sources that we have.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26If you're looking at an estate with no birth certificate,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30we have to trawl through the other records that are available for us.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Alan traced back through the addresses they had for Edwin
0:14:33 > 0:14:37until they found him in 1939 living at Rumbold Road in Fulham
0:14:37 > 0:14:39when he was 24 years old.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44So I came across a number of addresses.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49On one of the addresses where there was an Edwin Howard living,
0:14:49 > 0:14:50there was another lady that showed,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53so I made the assumption it was his wife.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00At Rumbold Road in 1939, Edwin was living with a Grace Howard.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02All right, then.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05It was the first potential family member they had found for Edwin,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10and could be a vital way of solving the mystery of Edwin's wider kin.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13But Alan was in for a surprise
0:15:13 > 0:15:17when he looked further into Grace's own history.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21And I found a death for her and I applied for a copy of that death
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and when it came back, it actually turned out to be his mother
0:15:23 > 0:15:24that he was living with.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29This was even better news for Alan.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Having Edwin's mother's name of Grace Howard led him closer to
0:15:32 > 0:15:37finding both parents, the key to starting the heir hunt properly.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40But as Alan dug deeper into the records for Grace and Edwin Howard,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42he was in for another shock.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I was considering going back on the previous addresses for the deceased
0:15:48 > 0:15:51and the house that they were living at,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54on one year, they showed up with a completely different surname.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55The name of Qutab.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58This case was getting strange.
0:15:58 > 0:16:04Between 1938 and 1939, Edwin and his mother, Grace, decided to change
0:16:04 > 0:16:07their name from Qutab to Howard.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10But why Edwin and Grace changed their surname remained a mystery.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15So as a result of that, I then looked for the birth of the deceased
0:16:15 > 0:16:17under this name of Qutab, and I found it.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21The team was delighted.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24The birth certificate matched with the details they already had
0:16:24 > 0:16:26for Edwin Howard.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28So this is the crucial document for our case.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32The most important part of this, really, is the date of birth.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37The date of birth shown on this record is the 7th of May 1915,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39and that's the same date that's given on the death certificate.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47The birth certificate also had more details on Edwin's birth family,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49most importantly, his father's name.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57His father is Aziz Qutab, and then the mother, Alice Grace Qutab.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02The father is stated as a law student and he registered the birth.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Knowing Edwin's mother and father's names meant they could confirm
0:17:07 > 0:17:08he was an only child.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12There would be no brothers and sisters to inherit Edwin's estate.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14OK, thank you. Bye.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18So the hunt was now on to find his aunts and uncles on both sides of
0:17:18 > 0:17:22the family. With this flood of new information on Edwin's parents,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Alan got stuck into looking at his father.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I then found him coming into England in about 1909,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and it also said he was from the Punjab, which is in India.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Edwin's father Aziz's journey to Britain wasn't that unusual,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40as at the time, India was still the jewel in the crown
0:17:40 > 0:17:43of Britain's empire.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Britain was the ruling power,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and had been, through the East India Company,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52for about 300 years.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Aziz had a ready-made Indian expat community in London.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02He certainly wouldn't have been a rarity, particularly in London.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05There were a fair number of Indians coming over,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08certainly before World War I, to study law.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Aziz would have come from a very distinct part of Indian society.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16He would be from a wealthy background,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and I should imagine a westernised background, too.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24Aziz himself would've been welcomed by English high society.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Indians at that time were generally fairly well accepted,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31and there are several reasons for this.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Obviously if you've come here to study law,
0:18:33 > 0:18:39you're going to come from a wealthy family, and it's a question of class
0:18:39 > 0:18:40rather than race.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45So if you're upper-class, as Aziz obviously was,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48then he's going to be accepted.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Race really played no part in it.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57And his liaison with Edwin's mother Grace, a working-class English girl,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59wouldn't have been out of the ordinary.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Many Englishmen of this period,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03particularly working-class Englishman,
0:19:03 > 0:19:08were the kind of people Grace probably imagined she would marry.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13By comparison, a tall, young upper-class Indian is going to be
0:19:13 > 0:19:15very, very attractive indeed.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19But if we assume that Grace was a pretty young woman
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and Qutab Aziz was a handsome young man,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23I think you can see how it happened.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27But it's unlikely Aziz considered the relationship with Grace
0:19:27 > 0:19:29would be one which would last.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33It wouldn't have been a mix of social equals.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Very, very opposite to that.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39It certainly wouldn't have been frowned upon by upper-class society.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42They would've just winked because, let's face it,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45English upper-class society were doing
0:19:45 > 0:19:47exactly the same kind of thing all the time.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52I should imagine that Grace's father wasn't at all pleased, actually.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58So, frowns from Grace's family and winks from Qutab Aziz's friends.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Hello?
0:20:04 > 0:20:06But Aziz's relationship with Grace appeared to have been
0:20:06 > 0:20:08more than just a brief liaison.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11The way the birth was registered, it implied that the parents
0:20:11 > 0:20:13were married, although I couldn't find one.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16As both Grace and Edwin had the second name Qutab,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19it seemed Aziz may have married Grace,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21but they needed a marriage certificate.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25The marriage record is crucial for any estate that we look into.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28The reason being is it has so much information about the family on,
0:20:28 > 0:20:29particularly the deceased parents.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31So if we're looking at a marriage certificate,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34we've got the full names, the ages, and their parents' names,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and that's crucial for finding the family.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38They searched high and low,
0:20:38 > 0:20:43but there was no record in the UK of any marriage between Grace and Aziz.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Whether or not she's filled it in herself
0:20:45 > 0:20:46and just stated that she was married,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48but I thought it was a bit strange.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Gareth's started to lose hope.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54One of the potential reasons that we can't find a marriage is
0:20:54 > 0:20:57obviously maybe they never actually did get married.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59But as the team looked deeper into the family,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03shock revelations will lead the heir hunters further than ever before
0:21:03 > 0:21:05in the hunt for Edwin's heirs.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09He does then show up in the 1950s in Africa.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11I tied it down for Nairobi, which is Kenya.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Were they going to be able to track down heirs to Edwin's estate?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Every year in Britain, thousands of people get
0:21:23 > 0:21:26a surprise knock on the door from the heir hunters.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Inheriting it, well, it's surreal.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33I don't expect anybody to sort of leave me anything.
0:21:33 > 0:21:39But there are over 11,000 unsolved cases worth at least £5.5 million
0:21:39 > 0:21:41where heirs need to be found.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Today, we've got details
0:21:43 > 0:21:46of two estates on the government legal department's
0:21:46 > 0:21:49bona vacantia list that are yet to be cracked.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Could you be the heirs they are looking for?
0:21:54 > 0:21:57The first case on the list is Alison Myrtle Dare,
0:21:57 > 0:22:03who died in Shepway, Kent, on the 27th of March 1988 at the age of 88.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Alison had been married to Alfred Julius Dare, and her maiden name
0:22:07 > 0:22:12was Wheeler. Do you remember Alison and Alfred Dare in Kent?
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Perhaps you're part of Alison's birth family of Wheeler.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20The next case is William Richard Meacock,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25who died on the 18th of September 1994 in Luton, Bedfordshire.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29His date of birth, or age at death, aren't known.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Do you know where or when William was born,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34or where his family was from?
0:22:35 > 0:22:39Do you know anything that could help solve the cases of Alison Dare
0:22:39 > 0:22:43and William Meacock? Perhaps you could be the next of kin.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47If so, you might have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58In London, heir hunters Fraser and Fraser were tussling with
0:22:58 > 0:23:01the complicated riddle of Edwin Howard's family.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06He'd been born in 1915 to an English mother, Grace, and an Indian father,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Aziz, in Fulham, west London,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12but the heir hunters couldn't find a marriage record for Aziz and Grace.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16If we believe an individual was married, but we can't find
0:23:16 > 0:23:18an official record, there can be lots of reasons.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21First and foremost, that the marriage has taken place somewhere
0:23:21 > 0:23:23where we're not looking or we're not aware of.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Alternatively, there's potential that the marriage
0:23:25 > 0:23:27never actually took place.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31It was turning out to be a very intriguing case.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36Some of the only information they had was that Edwin lived in a flat
0:23:36 > 0:23:41in the Sullivan Court estate in Fulham from the 1980s until 2008.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44You can see Charing Cross Hospital in the mist.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48He would've lived near to current resident Edward.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51It's too misty today to see much.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Edwin would've witnessed great social change while living
0:23:54 > 0:23:56in the flats, and being half Indian,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00he may have felt at home in the cosmopolitan environment.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Me, I've got people from Congo up above.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05We've got people from Serbia below.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06I've got a Polish chap next door.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08At the other end we've got French people,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12and below them we've got Portuguese. It's cosmopolitan!
0:24:12 > 0:24:14That's just in this little bit.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I just want to clarify with you if we're on the right track or not.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20But beyond knowing he lived in Fulham for over 40 years,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24the heir hunters had scant information about Edwin's life.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Hang on, let me get this stuff up.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30The team had focused on his Indian father, Aziz Qutab,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and they now believed Aziz hadn't married Edwin's mother, Grace,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and had abandoned both of them at some point.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38They certainly weren't living together,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40according to the electoral rolls.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45But if the team could track down Aziz through other methods,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49they might stand a chance of finding paternal heirs to Edwin's estate.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Researcher, Alan, kept up the hunt for Aziz.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59The deceased's father, Aziz, he actually didn't show up after 1915.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Basically, he just drops straight off the radar,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03and he doesn't show again on the 1939 register.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06That might have been because he wasn't in England.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09But Alan had one final throw of the dice,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13and widened his search to cover an entirely new continent.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17He does then show up in the 1950s, in Africa.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20I tied it down to Nairobi, which is Kenya,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24which does have a very large Indian population.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Alan had a good reason to suspect that,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29as an Indian lawyer trying to work in London,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Aziz may have left the UK and gone to Africa.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37I would have suspected that, given the obstacles that would have
0:25:37 > 0:25:40stood in his way, being an Indian guy
0:25:40 > 0:25:44trying to work in a very British establishment environment,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47he probably wasn't going to go very far, so, ultimately,
0:25:47 > 0:25:51he went off and got an opportunity to work in the colonies.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54He went to East Africa, I believe, Kenya.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59It would have been rare for Aziz to stay in England and practise law.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04There really weren't any Indian barristers practising in England.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Or perhaps only a handful.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09We don't know what might have taken him to Africa.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11It might have been the promise of an even better job.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15It's a fairly unusual pattern, but it's not unprecedented.
0:26:15 > 0:26:21He would have owed a debt, both financial and moral, to his parents,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23who had invested so much in him.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26With Aziz under pressure to earn money,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and giving the different social circles Aziz and Grace came from,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32it seemed their relationship was doomed.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34There's no reason why it should have lasted.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37It seems to mean they didn't have very much in common at all,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39apart from the child.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Different races, different classes.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45I can't see it lasting at all.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47In fact, I can't think of any examples
0:26:47 > 0:26:49where this kind of relationship did last.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54Despite never marrying Aziz, Grace had clung to his name of Qutab
0:26:54 > 0:26:57for over 20 years after Edwin's birth in 1915.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59It's interesting.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Why did she take his surname?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Perhaps she wanted to give the child, Edwin, some status.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07It gives the boy a father.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12But, as the heir hunters had already discovered,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Grace and Edwin did change their surname, from Qutab to Howard.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Think they might have changed their name in 1939,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23because it was a time of great uncertainty.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Foreigners were suspect and you don't really want to go around
0:27:26 > 0:27:31with a foreign name when Britain itself is under threat.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Edwin may have changed his name to Howard,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41but the search for his father, Aziz Qutab, was still ongoing.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45The problem we have here is simply a lack of records.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47There are no records that we can research,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49there are no records that we can look into,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51certainly in his case.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53So, what have we got?
0:27:53 > 0:27:55So, we are looking at the maternal side.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59While research into Aziz's family was a work in progress,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02on the maternal side, the team felt far more confident.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05especially when they studied the information
0:28:05 > 0:28:07on Edwin's birth certificate.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11From the birth of the deceased, we know the mother's name - Grace Fell.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13What we needed to do next, really,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15is link the Fell family with our deceased.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23They quickly traced Edwin's mother's parents.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28In this case, her parents were William and Rebecca Fell.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Rebecca and William married in 1870 in London.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35They lived in Fulham, and William was a builder and decorator,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39and Rebecca was a housewife. Gareth and the team finally had a family
0:28:39 > 0:28:41to get their teeth into.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43So, once we'd identified the Fell family,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46we were able to locate the census records, the birth records
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and we were really operating on quite safe ground now,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52and the initial problems that we had with this case,
0:28:52 > 0:28:53it was quite a relief, really,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56in that it became normal research.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01But his relief would be short lived, when he noticed Edwin's mother,
0:29:01 > 0:29:06Grace Fell, had been born 22 years after her parents got married.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09There was a good chance they had children in those two decades.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Gareth checked the birth records with bated breath.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16We were able to locate quite a large number.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19In fact, a very large number. So, from the research,
0:29:19 > 0:29:23we discovered that William and Rebecca had ten further issue.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25It was a mountain for Gareth to climb,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29and he'd also discovered how much money Edwin had left.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34So, this case, it's not got any huge value - £27,000. But it's enough.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38It turned out Edwin hadn't owned his property in Fulham,
0:29:38 > 0:29:40but there was no giving up now.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Gareth and the team were close to finding heirs.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44All cases have potential competition,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and we have to work it as though other companies are looking at it.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54So he set about tracing William and Rebecca's children.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57So these are the maternal uncles and aunts of the deceased.
0:29:57 > 0:30:02- Sinead, that's the tree with what we've got so far.- OK.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Research showed one of Edwin's maternal aunts, Jessie,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09had a daughter, Nora, who, in turn had a daughter called Jacqueline.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15After weeks of research, the team had finally found an heir
0:30:15 > 0:30:18to Edwin's estate, and they set about contacting her.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20No problem at all.
0:30:20 > 0:30:21Thanks. Bye-bye.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25And for Jacqueline, the news was a bolt out of the blue.
0:30:25 > 0:30:26It was unbelievable.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29It came as a complete and utter shock.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31So I thought, "Oh, lovely, wonderful, whoopee!
0:30:31 > 0:30:33"£1 million, here we come!"
0:30:34 > 0:30:35It wasn't quite that!
0:30:37 > 0:30:40With Gareth and the team likely to find many heirs,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43Jacqueline's share of Edwin's estate would be low, but hearing about
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Edwin Howard's life has been more than enough for her.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52It's definitely made me want to find out more about him.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57We have so many secrets in our families, and this was obviously,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00I would imagine, one of the secrets.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03And with Edwin and his mother having lived only 20 minutes
0:31:03 > 0:31:05from Jacqueline's current home,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09regret had seeped in alongside her initial surprise.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14I think one of the saddest things, for me,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17is the fact that he was around.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19He died in London.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25- Keep that just in case. - Just in case.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Back in the office, Gareth has rounded off the case.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32So we were able to locate a very large number of heirs,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36and we eventually ended up with 20 beneficiaries on this case.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Heir Jacqueline is fascinated by Edwin's life and upbringing.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44In a way, I think I would rather have met him than receive money,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47just to know a little bit more about him, and...
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Because it's just...
0:31:54 > 0:31:55It's different.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58And she's keen to explore her family history further,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01and see what surprises it may have in store for her.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And, yes, I'd like to do some research on the family.
0:32:04 > 0:32:10Even possibly get in contact with the Qutab family.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Of course, they might be as shocked as I am!
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Back in London, heir hunters Finders International are looking into
0:32:27 > 0:32:30the £100,000 estate of Eveline Southall.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33We managed to find three girls to this marriage.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35OK.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39But the team have discovered both sides of Eveline's family were huge,
0:32:39 > 0:32:41and had difficult surnames to trace.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47We had to order a lot of certificates to even get started
0:32:47 > 0:32:50into descending each line, so we had to wait for those
0:32:50 > 0:32:53to come back into the office before we could really begin
0:32:53 > 0:32:55getting stuck into our research.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Suzanne and the team are hoping the certificate will set them
0:32:58 > 0:33:00on the fast track to Eveline's heirs.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04And, since the first day of research,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08more information has come to light about Eveline's life and family.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Her neighbour, Sue, remembers Eveline talking about her family.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15She used to tell me a lot about her mum and dad
0:33:15 > 0:33:18who were brought up in Kingstanding,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20and she idolised her mum and dad.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23And from what I can believe, she had a good relationship
0:33:23 > 0:33:26and they did a lot together as a family.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28Despite being close to her parents,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31it seems Eveline wasn't in touch with any extended family,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33so it was down to the heir hunters
0:33:33 > 0:33:35to try and trace any living relatives.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39- So, do you want me to...? - George needs to be crossed off.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Actually, who's the dad, as well? Is he one of these?
0:33:41 > 0:33:45But the team had discovered Eveline had 23 aunts and uncles.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Sorry, one, two, three, four, five.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52So there's two missing, so there should be two of these.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56In terms of research, it could be a mountain to climb.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00When you see there's so many lines to work, you often...
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Your heart sinks and you think this is going to be, like,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06months of work.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09Suzanne has had to order many records in order to trace
0:34:09 > 0:34:12potential heirs to Eveline's estate.
0:34:12 > 0:34:18Now, these are all certificates for the lines that have children on.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20These really helped us to, you know,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24start research and descend each line down.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26But the certificates have revealed
0:34:26 > 0:34:29some surprising information about the family.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Now we've got the certificates in,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34we've actually worked out that although there were 15 lines
0:34:34 > 0:34:41to start with on the paternal side, in fact only three of them actually
0:34:41 > 0:34:44went on to marry and have children.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Although the case was referred to them by a solicitor, there is still
0:34:48 > 0:34:51the chance one of their competitors may also be searching
0:34:51 > 0:34:52for Eveline's heirs.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55I wondered if you could look to see if you could find them.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57So Suzanne needs to work fast,
0:34:57 > 0:35:02and three of the team are helping track down Eveline's family.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05So, you know, just to go through it a bit more. Cool, thank you.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07It's all hands on deck.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Holly is calling a potential cousin of Eveline's on her mother's side.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Hi there, I'd like to speak to you about an inheritance matter.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19But Holly thinks she hears something
0:35:19 > 0:35:22which could throw the whole case into doubt.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24So, you found a will listing...
0:35:25 > 0:35:27If you let me just pop you on hold one moment,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I'm just going to ask my colleague. Is that OK?
0:35:32 > 0:35:36She said that she's found wills and things, and doesn't want to sell.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39- What? - Basically, they're not interested.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42- She's found wills?- Yeah, I didn't understand what she was saying.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Any mention of a will is alarming for the team,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49as it could mean all their work tracing family was for nothing.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52- Whose will? - Someone called Arthur.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55- Shall I just speak to her? - Probably best, yes.
0:35:55 > 0:35:56Oh, OK.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00But Holly confirms with the potential heirs
0:36:00 > 0:36:03it's not Eveline's will. It's a huge relief for the team.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07However, Holly discovers a new problem.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13She said they looked into the tree,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16and I think they want to do it themselves.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19This potential heir wants to try and prove their claim
0:36:19 > 0:36:23to Eveline's estate without Suzanne and the team's help.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24- It's a lot of work. - Yeah.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28- Because they're not that closely related, are they?- No.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31For Suzanne, it's yet another complication.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Holly's just spoken to a beneficiary.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38They're thinking that they might be able to do the research themselves.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42That's something that is absolutely fine for them to do,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44there's no reason why they shouldn't,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48but we do honestly point out to them the cost involved,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51with coming into some inheritance, and you may well eat up
0:36:51 > 0:36:53any inheritance due in doing so.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Hi, it's Suzanne, I'm calling in relation to the inheritance matter.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02But the team continue to make progress with other heirs,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05and start having more positive results.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07That's been very helpful, what you've told me.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12Suzanne is still looking for heirs on the maternal Manning side.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16She's found Eveline's mother had six siblings, one of whom was Alice.
0:37:17 > 0:37:23On the line of Alice Manning, a maternal aunt of the deceased,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26she marries an Arthur Austins.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31Now, I find it quite interesting to see that he was actually a gunmaker.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Now, that was in 1915.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37Looking at the occupations of family is a key element of any heir hunt,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39and is helping Suzanne trace potential heirs.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Alice and Arthur were living in Birmingham when it was a centre
0:37:44 > 0:37:47for the production of guns for the entire British Empire.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53The gun making in Britain has always been a proud part of our history,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56and it dates back to the mid-17th century.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59The military side of things, it really was only Birmingham
0:37:59 > 0:38:03and London that were producing guns in any sort of numbers.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08At one of the oldest gunmakers in Birmingham,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10they make guns as they would have done in Arthur's time.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15The process of the gun making, the actual filing, the fitting,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18how the lock work goes together and the tools they make
0:38:18 > 0:38:21actually haven't changed at all in over 100 years.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Gunmakers were highly skilled, and would handcraft guns
0:38:25 > 0:38:29to exceptionally high engineering standards.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Every gun is totally unique to its own component parts.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37But when Arthur was working as a gunmaker in 1915,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41it was during World War I, and the British Army needed more guns,
0:38:41 > 0:38:43and fast.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47In Birmingham, the Lee-Enfield 303, the infantryman's rifle,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49and also the submachine gun,
0:38:49 > 0:38:51was actually both made just down the road from here.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Over the course of the war,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57four million rifles were made and sent to the front line,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01but once the war ended, fewer men were needed as gunmakers.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Their skills were also very transferable -
0:39:03 > 0:39:05they were very skilled engineers -
0:39:05 > 0:39:09and also Birmingham paved the way for industrialisation in Birmingham,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and other factories soon set up after they sort of copied
0:39:12 > 0:39:16styles of manufacturing from gun making, like sewing machines,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19car manufacturing, and even bicycle manufacturing.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25Arthur Austins followed this path and became a toolmaker in Birmingham
0:39:25 > 0:39:26after World War I...
0:39:28 > 0:39:30I've found him!
0:39:30 > 0:39:32..which Suzanne has discovered,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35as she's traced the three children he had with Eveline's aunt, Alice.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Three cousins of Eveline all passed away,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41but two did marry and had children themselves.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46On Alice's stem, there's actually three living heirs in total.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48After a very difficult start,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52the case of Eveline Southall is finally starting to come good,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55and Suzanne is able to contact these three heirs.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Two of them are brothers, Peter and John,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59who were shocked to hear from Suzanne.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03You think, "God, what's this?"
0:40:03 > 0:40:07"You're in line for somebody leaving you something.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11- "Who can that be from?" - MIMICS RIPPING ENVELOPE
0:40:11 > 0:40:13"Ah, this is a bit of a scam," like, you know?
0:40:15 > 0:40:18But Suzanne convinced them it was real.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20- Is that all right? - Yeah.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26And today, travelling researcher Dave is visiting Peter and John,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29to explain the research in more detail.
0:40:29 > 0:40:34Bit of a murky day, so I'm hoping the traffic's going to be good.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Peter and John knew their cousin Eveline,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39but lost contact for most of their life,
0:40:39 > 0:40:43so they're now keen to know more about their family tree,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46as parts of it are still a mystery to them.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49We'll take the opportunity then of trying to find out the history
0:40:49 > 0:40:52of the family. We know very, very little.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59- Hi, is it John? - Yeah, hello.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Hi. I believe you're expecting me.
0:41:01 > 0:41:02Yes, I am, come in.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- Thank you. - Follow me.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07This is my brother, Peter.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10I think I've got a bit of an interesting story to tell you.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11Oh, good.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16The first thing I think you might find interesting is the stages
0:41:16 > 0:41:18where we're up to at the moment with the family tree.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21So, as you can see, it spreads across...
0:41:23 > 0:41:25..quite a bit of pages.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- It's quite a big family. - It is, isn't it?
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Peter and John are most interested in their grandfather,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Arthur Austins, who they knew very little about.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40Frankly, I didn't know that me grandfather's name was Arthur.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Oh, right. That's a new one.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45We never met him. They died before we were born.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46Right.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50And Arthur's various jobs strike a chord with the brothers.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53So, there we go. And he's down as a toolmaker.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55He was a toolmaker.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- You were a tool...? - I was a toolmaker, yeah.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00- What did you do?- Until we moved to Blackpool. In the motor industry.
0:42:00 > 0:42:01In the motor industry?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Yeah, we made the dyes for making the cast skins, you know.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Back in the office, the team have finally tracked down
0:42:12 > 0:42:14almost all the heirs.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16The good news is that we've had all of the certificates in
0:42:16 > 0:42:19that we need now, and we've spoken to family members,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22and it turns out that both sides of the family is correct, and we have
0:42:22 > 0:42:26received some signatures back from the majority of beneficiaries.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29They found 34 heirs in total,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33a huge amount from a family who had ended up being so small.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Heirs Peter and John are happy to have been reconnected
0:42:41 > 0:42:43with their family history.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47It's actually solved a couple of minor mysteries,
0:42:47 > 0:42:52as to who my grandfather was, and it's very, very interesting
0:42:52 > 0:42:53to find out.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57And it's brought happy memories of Eveline flooding back.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02It was very, very nice to put a face to a name, and it was nice to say,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04"I knew Eveline quite well."