0:00:02 > 0:00:03- Today...- How confusing.
0:00:03 > 0:00:07..Heir Hunters struggle to find family on an estate worth thousands.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09There was a sense of panic.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12We have to have at least one heir on a case.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13This is frustrating.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18While on another case, there's a risk the estate could worth nothing at all.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It's a bit of a risk, but it's a risk we kind of have to take.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25But their investigation leads to something that money can't buy.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I could get £5 out of this,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32but if I've got family, that's priceless.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Across the country the hunt is on.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Some of them have passed away and we've had to find their children as well.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52It's 11am, and at Finders International,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54a brand-new case has just come in.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57It's for the estate of Stuart Christopher Harrison.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01So you can do that after, once you've confirmed that.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04While many unclaimed estates are advertised by the government,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08cases can also come in from a variety of sources.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11This was picked up from an advertisement
0:01:11 > 0:01:13from Wolverhampton Council.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Stuart passed away in Wolverhampton.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19But for case manager, Ryan, the estate is risky.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22At the minute we don't know any other information as to what
0:01:22 > 0:01:25the estate comprises of, if indeed there is an estate.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28There's a high risk that there may be a will as well.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31At this stage we don't know.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36Wolverhampton Council have released limited details about Stuart.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39They've said that Stuart Christopher Harrison lived in a particular
0:01:39 > 0:01:43area of the city. He was 69 when he passed away.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Stuart worked as a builder,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and during the latter years of his life he lived in Merry Hill
0:01:49 > 0:01:53in Wolverhampton, an area well loved by local residents.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I live on the estate just down the road there.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00And what I like about the area is that everyone's very friendly.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01We all know each other.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03We look out for each other.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06But, despite the close-knit community,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09it seems Stuart kept himself to himself.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13He passed away in August, 2016.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17And with no known next of kin, the hunt for his heirs is on.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Once you've confirmed that,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22if you want to look at the 1911...
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Heir hunters work on commission,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26taking a pre-agreed percentage of an estate
0:02:26 > 0:02:31in return for finding heirs and helping them collect their inheritance.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34But it's not clear whether Stuart left any money, at all.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37In terms of value,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40there's no entry on the Land Registry for the property so we are
0:02:40 > 0:02:46not really 100% sure whether Stuart owns the property or not.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Ownership of a property is usually a sign that an estate is worth working.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Without this crucial information, taking on the case is a huge gamble.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58We are kind of working blind in terms of value,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00so it is a bit of a risk.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02We're never really 100% sure, when we start a case,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04how much an estate may be worth.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06The estate could be anywhere
0:03:06 > 0:03:10between £500 or £500,000.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13But, after weighing up the risk, Ryan decides to roll the dice.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16It's a bit of a risk, but it's a risk we kind of have to take.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19There could be other companies out there taking the same risks.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Ryan and the team quickly find that Stuart's parents and only
0:03:22 > 0:03:24brother have passed away.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27So they turn their attention to his wider family.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30We are looking into his closest next of kin,
0:03:30 > 0:03:31which would be his cousins.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35We found out his dad was a Cuthbert Tom Harrison.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38His mum was Doris Harrison
0:03:38 > 0:03:40and her maiden name was Coyles.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43So we've got the Harrison and Coyles surnames to be working with.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46While Coyles should be a fairly easy name to research,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Harrison will be anything but.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52The Harrison surname is up there with one of the surnames that would pose us more problems.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Luckily, Coyles is quite an unusual surname.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Ryan decides to prioritise the less common Coyles surname.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05It's pretty much always sense to do research into an easier surname as
0:04:05 > 0:04:07opposed to some of the harder surnames.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11It does make sense in terms of finding people in the quickest time.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13It's the path of least resistance.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And Ryan's decision soon pays off.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19He is able to establish that Stuart's maternal grandparents
0:04:19 > 0:04:21were James and Hannah Coyles.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And that they had nine children including his mother, Doris.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29He recruits colleague Camilla Price to help look for their descendants.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31How are we going with Coyles?
0:04:31 > 0:04:32I've only done three at the moment.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34We've got quite a few.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Coyles is quite a good name.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37- OK.- So... Yeah.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39It's OK.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- I think I might move on to another stem in the meantime.- Yes.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Ryan and Camilla have divided up the Coyles family
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and Ryan focuses on Stuart's aunt, Martha Coyles.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55It was relatively easy to find her first marriage,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57given that there's not many Martha J Coyles.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59That was to Robert Corney in 1930.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05But, worryingly, he soon finds three more potential marriages for a Martha Coyles.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10I still couldn't find a death for Martha under any of those surnames
0:05:10 > 0:05:13so I don't know whether I'm still following the same Martha,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15or whether it's a different Martha.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- This is frustrating.- It's written clearly, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It's a problem for the team.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Until they're certain who Martha married,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24they won't be able to search for her children,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27who are potential heirs to Stuart's estate.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30I've got about four or five marriages on one of my lines.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34I don't know if that's correct. I want one where they get married once and stick to Yorkshire, or...
0:05:34 > 0:05:39But, while Ryan is struggling, colleague Camilla is making quick progress.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- I'm down to cousins twice removed at the moment.- OK.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45- So it seems quite big with a large number of beneficiaries.- Yeah.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Camilla has worked so fast she already has a phone number
0:05:48 > 0:05:51for a possible cousin.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55This is Camilla Price, calling from a firm of heir hunters.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00Ryan's hoping the cousin may be able to help him crack the mystery of Martha's marriages.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03We've got a couple of inquiries as to what happened to a couple of your
0:06:03 > 0:06:06mum's brothers and sisters. Do you know much about them, at all?
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Do you know what's happened to her? Because we are struggling with her line.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Martha.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Oh, five times, OK. Oh, really?
0:06:17 > 0:06:19The call has been very enlightening.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20What's up with this one?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So, Martha did marry five times.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25- She did?- She did.- OK.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's good to confirm that I'm stuck for a reason, I guess?
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Yes! Yeah.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32With Camilla storming ahead,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Ryan's starting to wonder if today just isn't his day.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39It makes me feel bad with how well your lines are going.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43And, after just a few hours of research,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Camilla thinks she's broken the back of the Coyles side.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49But things are about to get much harder.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- So, you know what we've got to look forward to now?- Harrison.- Harrison.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Ryan's decided it's time to tackle the paternal side of the family,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00with the tricky Harrison surname.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03And he's hoping that his luck will start to change.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I personally want a line were I can have a bit of success with,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11just to make me feel that I've done something up to Camilla's level
0:07:11 > 0:07:14of work on the case so far.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But I think we should use Camilla's good luck and hope it will rub off
0:07:17 > 0:07:19on the Harrison side of the family.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Ryan discovers Stuart has seven aunts and uncles on his father's side.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33It soon looks like the Harrison side is going to be every bit as difficult as they'd feared.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36How are the names on the Harrison side?
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Are they all fab, I imagine?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Of course, these guys might have middle names.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Mary, John, Gladys.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47- Gladys has a middle name.- OK.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Iris. James has a middle name.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Faced with a common surname, a distinctive middle name can help
0:07:55 > 0:07:57the team narrow down their search.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Unfortunately, the two most common forenames, Mary and John,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01don't appear to have middle names.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05But without them, research into the Harrison surname
0:08:05 > 0:08:07will be an uphill struggle.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- Harrison is not a fun name.- No.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Is it particularly a north-east name, or north, or...
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- ..everywhere?- It's just everywhere. - Everywhere?- Yeah.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20And, as Camilla starts looking into the stem of Stuart's Aunt Gladys,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23it seems her luck may have run out.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- Um, what's...- And that's even with Gladys M?
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- Yeah, that's Gladys M.- Right.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Gladys Marjorie, Gladys Martha, Gladys Mary...
0:08:32 > 0:08:34How many Gladys Mays are there?
0:08:34 > 0:08:38There are 13, 14 born, like, just a year either side of her birth.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42The sheer volume of results makes it extremely hard to identify
0:08:42 > 0:08:44the right family.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47For example, when looking for a marriage for a Gladys M Harrison,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51it's saying here I have got 558 possibilities.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56So that's a lot to play with and to consider.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00I think it could be quite a long morning.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Ryan is starting to wonder if they have bitten off more than they can chew.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09It's beginning to dawn on us how hard the Harrison side of the family's going to be.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14I just hope it doesn't take too long and I hope it doesn't cost
0:09:14 > 0:09:16too much money on a case where we really don't know whether
0:09:16 > 0:09:20there will be a will, or we don't know how much money's in the estate.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Will Camilla and Ryan crack the Harrison family tree
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and find heirs to Stuart's estate?
0:09:37 > 0:09:41The search for heirs is often thwarted by a lack of proper records
0:09:41 > 0:09:43or a missing piece of crucial information.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46It doesn't look like Alice had any children.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49And estates can lie unsolved for years.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54It's really difficult to sort of have an idea how many cases there are out there that are dead.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55There are quite a few.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Bearing in mind this industry has been around for a long, long time.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Each year, we come across dead cases, so they build up over a period of decades.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Gareth Langford is a case manager at Fraser & Fraser and
0:10:08 > 0:10:14in 2016 he took on an estate that had sat unclaimed for seven years.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18So this is the estate of John Beauclerc Robinson.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Gareth and the team discovered John had lived in a flat in
0:10:22 > 0:10:24London's Chelsea Green.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Although just two miles from the centre of the capital,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30the area has a friendly village feel.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Oh, it's lovely.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33It's a very charming little patch.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It feels villagey, really. Right in the heart of Chelsea.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Everyone seems very friendly round here and it's a good mix, as well,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41it's not just the super wealthy types.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44There are a lot of people that have lived in Chelsea a long time.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Everyone mingles very well together around here
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and seems to get on very well.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52John's neighbour, who didn't want to be identified,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55remembers him fondly.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- WOMAN'S VOICE:- John was very charming.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02If he could help you, he would help you.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04He was a really nice person.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07John had one passion she remembers well.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09He was an art collector.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12He did like his pictures.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16There were some really valuable pictures in there.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20But, while charming and helpful to his close neighbours,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23John didn't give much away.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Never, ever spoke about his personal life.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Family ties or anything like that.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32He was just John.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37John passed away in 2009 aged 82.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40But it took several years for his estate to surface
0:11:40 > 0:11:43on the bona vacantia list of unclaimed estates.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47The reason for this unusual delay soon became clear.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Unlike the vast majority of estates the team work, in this case,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53John had actually left a will.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56It's very, very unusual that we get involved in an estate
0:11:56 > 0:11:58where there is a will.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01In this case, the only wish that the deceased had made
0:12:01 > 0:12:04was for his estate to go to his friend.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Unfortunately, his friend predeceased him.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08He died before.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11And there was no other conditions in the will,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14so that part of his estate became intestate.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17OK, thank you, bye.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22From looking at the will, the team established the estate was worth
0:12:22 > 0:12:25over £30,000. And they got straight to work.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Gareth started with the basics and quickly found
0:12:30 > 0:12:32records for John's parents.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35John's parents are Walter and Grace Robinson.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Research indicated he was an only child.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40That means that we have to go back to cousins.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43We then have to start researching both the maternal and
0:12:43 > 0:12:44paternal family trees.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Get the births and the marriages and have a look at that.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48- And we'll work on it.- OK.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50With the common surname Robinson,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52the paternal side looked like it would be tricky.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55But a key detail gave them hope.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58John had the unusual middle name of Beauclerc.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Looking at the paternal side, we've got Walter Beauclerc Robinson,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05the deceased's father, again, that middle name cropping up,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08so it's looking like that's a family name, a traditional name,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11that's going to be used quite often.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14It was a very useful piece of information.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17So, although the Robinson name isn't brilliant,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20we've got an exceptionally good middle name to use on this case.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24A case with a specific, unusual middle name is
0:13:24 > 0:13:28extremely useful, and it does help immensely with the research.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Because we can identify the family so much more easily.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36The Beauclerc middle name meant they could pick the trace up from John's father, Walter.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Walter Beauclerc Robinson was born in 1882.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42He was the son of William Beauclerc Robinson
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and Harriet Kathleen Robinson, and they married in 1873.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50From that we started to look to see if they had any brothers and sisters,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52so, uncles and aunts of the deceased.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54From the 1911 census,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57they discovered that John's paternal grandfather,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01William Beauclerc Robinson, married Harriet and lived in North London.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04In addition to Walter, the couple had five further children,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07John's aunts and uncles.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09OK, bye-bye.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14Gareth was hoping Walter's siblings had descendants who were still alive.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19So, we had William Beauclerc Robinson who was
0:14:19 > 0:14:22born in 1876 but died a minor.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25It wasn't a promising start.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29It soon transpired that both Grace and Winifred had also died without
0:14:29 > 0:14:32having had children.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Ah, really?
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Well, that don't sound good. I don't like that.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Gareth moved on to John's next uncle,
0:14:39 > 0:14:44Charles Robinson and scoured the records, hoping he may have had children.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Charles Archibald Robinson, born in 1883.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Once again, no marriage so no heirs there, either.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Gareth was starting to feel the pressure.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56What became evident, though,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and rather worrying is that a lot of the paternal uncles and aunts
0:15:00 > 0:15:01were not leading to any heirs.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Once you're looking at an estate and you keep on repeatedly coming along
0:15:05 > 0:15:08dead stems, or stems where there are just no issue,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10or it's just not going anywhere.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12No issue means no children.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14And it was bad news.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16There is a sense of panic.
0:15:16 > 0:15:17You do need an heir.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21We have to have at least one heir on a case.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24There was one final chance for a breakthrough on the paternal side
0:15:24 > 0:15:26of John's family.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Finally, Harriet Kathleen Robinson, who did marry, to Frank Richards,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32but they didn't have any issue
0:15:32 > 0:15:35so the whole paternal side of the family there were no heirs.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41It was a blow to the team's hopes of solving the mystery of
0:15:41 > 0:15:42John's family.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47If the case is dead then the money eventually goes to the government
0:15:47 > 0:15:49and we don't get paid for all the work that we've done,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52no matter how long it's taken, we won't see a penny of that.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Gareth's hopes of cracking this case now rested with the maternal side.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02We are obviously reliant that there's going to be some heirs here.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04So, what have we got?
0:16:04 > 0:16:08He looked at the records with a new sense of urgency.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10So Grace Adkins, the deceased's mother, her father,
0:16:10 > 0:16:16so that's the maternal grandfather Frank, and the mother was Jemima.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19They had nine issue, including Grace.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23We're looking at children born in the 1870s.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26It was quite normal then to have very large families.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30In fact, nine kids was probably an average number at that time.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Gareth and the team started looking to John's maternal uncles,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Frank and Percy.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44Frank Adkins, born 1868, he died a minor, 1878.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Percy Atkins, again, did marry,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Eliza Lawrence, and they had an issue,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Stanley Lawrence Adkins but, again,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56no issue from that stem so another dead stem.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Gareth started to get an awful sense of deja vu.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Every stem that we look at, the research is the same.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04We've got to establish exactly what happened to it.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08If it's not leading to an heir it's going to be wasted time.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Would Gareth and the team find heirs to John's estate?
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Here we are.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Every year in Britain, thousands of people
0:17:21 > 0:17:23get a surprise knock on the door from the heir hunters.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25It was unbelievable.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28It came as a complete and utter shock.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I thought, "Oh, lovely, wonderful, whoopee!
0:17:30 > 0:17:32"A million pounds here we come."
0:17:32 > 0:17:35But there are over 11,000 unsolved cases,
0:17:35 > 0:17:40worth at least £5.5 million, where heirs need to be found.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Today we've got details of two estates on the government's
0:17:43 > 0:17:46bona vacantia list that are yet to be cracked.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Could you be the heirs they are looking for?
0:17:48 > 0:17:52The first case is Mary Jane Aljovin.
0:17:52 > 0:17:58Mary died on 10th January 1993, in Chelsea, London.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Mary had married William Joseph Aljovin
0:18:00 > 0:18:03and her maiden name was Caffery.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07She was born in the Republic of Ireland in 1917.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Perhaps you are part of the Caffery family.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Could you be the person the heir hunters are looking for?
0:18:13 > 0:18:16The next case is Arthur Ernest Bailey Leivers
0:18:16 > 0:18:19who died on the 15th March 1988
0:18:19 > 0:18:22in Mansfield, aged 72.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Arthur was born on the 24th June 1915
0:18:24 > 0:18:27in Stanton Hill in Nottinghamshire.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31For over a century, people with the surname Leivers
0:18:31 > 0:18:33have been concentrated in the Nottinghamshire area.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Do you have a connection to the Leivers family?
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Could you be a relative of Arthur's?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Do you know anything that could help solve the cases
0:18:43 > 0:18:46of Arthur Leivers and Mary Jane Aljovin?
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Perhaps you could be the next of kin.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Hello?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00In London, the team at Fraser & Fraser
0:19:00 > 0:19:04were up against it in the search for John Robinson's heirs.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Update, have we got an update?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09But with no living relatives on John's father's side of the family,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12the pressure was on for case manager Gareth Langford.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Occasionally when you're looking at an estate and each stem is
0:19:16 > 0:19:20dying out, we are getting no heirs from no matter how much research we do, the pressure increases.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24It becomes a bit more stressful because without any heirs, we're not going to get paid,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26no matter how much work we undertake.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32John had lived in the West London district of Chelsea Green.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35He rented a flat in an Edwardian apartment block that is used for
0:19:35 > 0:19:40social housing and sits in the heart of a very exclusive area.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43It's a very smart area, and so a very expensive area.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47But I think you need to balance it with people that are just normal.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48It can't all be posh in an area.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53There's got to be a balance, and it's nice to have characters around.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59And according to his neighbours, John was certainly a colourful character.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01- WOMAN'S VOICE:- He liked dancing.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04But not the boogie-boogie stuff,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08you know, a nice waltz or ballroom dancing.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11He could be a laugh sometimes.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15He was kind, helpful, pleasant.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19I never, ever heard him having a cross word with anybody.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27John had passed away in 2009, aged 82.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31He had left a will, but it hadn't accounted for his entire estate,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35which meant the heir hunters needed to find relatives who could inherit
0:20:35 > 0:20:37the £30,000 John had left behind.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40A big case, the money's going to go to the Government.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44There's nothing anybody can do, it doesn't matter whether you're a more distant relative,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46you're not going to get it back from them and it goes
0:20:46 > 0:20:47to the government coffers.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53So the race was on for Gareth and the team to find John's heirs.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57But their research into John's father's side had been in vain.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59So, the paternal side had died out, there were no heirs.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Which meant we were relying completely on the maternal side of the family.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06They were now pinning their hopes on his mother,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Grace's size of the family.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11We're obviously reliant that there's going to be some heirs here.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Grace's parents, Frank and Jemima Adkins,
0:21:14 > 0:21:19had been found on the Census records to have nine children.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22But research had shown that six of them had died without any
0:21:22 > 0:21:24living descendants.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25Gareth began to worry.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28At this stage, we're starting to get worried.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31We've got lines of enquiries leading to absolutely no heirs.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35See if any come up...
0:21:35 > 0:21:37With only two stems left to research,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Gareth turned his attention to John's Uncle Arthur.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44So we're now looking at Arthur Joseph Adkins
0:21:44 > 0:21:48and we're running out of options at this point.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51So, Arthur married Bessie Wortley.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Arthur's marriage certificate from 1896
0:21:54 > 0:21:56showed that he was a glass embosser,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59which was a booming industry in Victorian London.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04This is an example of Old English country embossing,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07or emboss and ground, as is its descriptive name.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12Glass embossing is the process of decorating glass with chemicals,
0:22:12 > 0:22:13hydrochloric acid.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16115 years ago, in Arthur's time, it would have been a very common trade.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19There would have been virtually one on every corner.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21There were no plastics in those days.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25- Whereas today, no, there's not many of us left around.- So, she's off the bench.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28She's off the bench
0:22:28 > 0:22:30to give it a wash over,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32just to make sure there's no fingerprints,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34anything like that.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36It was a dirty, industrial job,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39but one which produced delicate works of art.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44The materials Arthur used would pose a great risk to him.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48He's using dangerous chemicals, he's using hydrochloric acid.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Enough that if you got some on your toenail,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53you wouldn't sleep for a few weeks.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55The acid takes no prisoners.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57It's clear glass at the moment, in a couple of hours' time,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00it'll be deep sunk and it will be matte.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03The other danger would have been the glass itself.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Nice and smooth, nice and flat, if it was made properly,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09but a vicious cut from it if you walked into it.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12After two hours, you will see it starting to turn white,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16where it's actually corroding away the top layer of the glass
0:23:16 > 0:23:17that's been exposed.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24But, historically, frosted glass' appeal was more than just decorative.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30Certainly, in London, it was to obscure windows of public houses to stop the police coming in.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33If a policeman saw something going on inside the pub,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35he had a right to enter the building.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37If the windows were obscured he couldn't see in,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40therefore he couldn't come in.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43So the pubs and pub goers could get on with their everyday activities
0:23:43 > 0:23:46of gambling, or whatever they chose to do.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49It's been through the acid just this morning.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54I'm just taking off some of the foil so you can see the pattern.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59The grinding process is to obscure the glass that hasn't been etched.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Etched glass is still popular today,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07and is frequently used during the renovation of historic pubs.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Everything's been ground away now.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Certainly, if Arthur walked in here now, he'd take over and carry right on where I've left off.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19It's exactly the same process.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24In the office, Arthur's unusual profession was listed on several records,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27which help Gareth and the team track down his children.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31So, Arthur married Bessie Wortley and had four issue.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36So our hopes were rising at this point that we were definitely going to get a nail on this case.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Arthur and Bessie's four children
0:24:38 > 0:24:40were Sybil, Ella,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Muriel and Kathleen.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Gareth set to work to see if any of these four children
0:24:45 > 0:24:47had any living descendants.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Of the four issue of Arthur Joseph Adkins, they all married.
0:24:53 > 0:24:59Research into these maternal cousins revealed an astonishing coincidence.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01So, what was very unusual with this case,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Sybil Adkins and Ella Adkins, the two sisters,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05married what appeared to be brothers.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07In the same year, probably at the same time.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10I imagine it was a double wedding.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12So, Sybil married Henry Burley,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14and Ella marries George Burley.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Now, that's brilliant, because we've sorted out two stems in one go.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20So we're really pleased.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24But when Gareth and the team try to find Sybil and Ella's children,
0:25:24 > 0:25:25they hit a stumbling block.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Because they both married in 1924,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32we're looking at the issue, so we're
0:25:32 > 0:25:36looking at marriages with Burley and the maiden name Adkins,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40But we have no idea which children belong to which marriage.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44So we've got a list of names and no idea who the parents are.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49The ages of Sybil and Ella's children meant there was a good chance they'd still be alive.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52So that's where it stands at the moment.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Which meant Gareth had a way of finding out who was who.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58There's two ways to resolve that problem.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Firstly is to get the certificates and see who the parents are on it.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04That's a long-winded way of doing it.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06The second option, which is the option we went for,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09is to phone them up and ask them.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13The two sisters had five children between them.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Gareth and the team were closing in on heirs,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18and focused on Ella's children first.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22So, Ella Frances married George Arthur Burley,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24and she had three issue.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26So things were looking promising at this point.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29And one of those issue was Pauline Frances Burley.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32And she was married to John Norman Pinder.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36But Pauline passed away in 1992.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Gareth was on tenterhooks as he checked the birth records
0:26:39 > 0:26:42to see a Pauline and John had any children.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46That's quite crucial, actually, because we need to counter that.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Pauline had issue as well - Madeline Frances Pinder.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Gareth and the team were tantalisingly close
0:26:52 > 0:26:55to finally finding an heir to John's estate.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Bye-bye.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58We contacted Madeline.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Obviously, it came out of the blue, quite a surprise.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05She's quite distantly related to the deceased.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Madeline is John's cousin twice removed.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12And it was a shock to hear from the heir hunters.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14It was very exciting.
0:27:14 > 0:27:20It's one of those things that don't normally happen to ordinary people like myself.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22It gave me something to think about.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24I thought about it all afternoon.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30I was quite surprised that it was mother's side of the family.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I thought I knew everything about them to be honest.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35And, obviously, I didn't.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38To Gareth's relief
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Madeleine confirmed she was part of the correct family.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45If you've been working at a case for a number of weeks without any
0:27:45 > 0:27:48beneficiaries, eventually you speak to someone,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and they're actually entitled, there is a sense of relief.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Because the amount of work that we sometimes put into these cases is huge.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57- Up to date tree with what we've got so far.- OK.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59To think there weren't going to be any beneficiaries,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01it's a lot of pressure on everybody.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03So, speaking to that first heir is always a huge relief.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06With Madeline's help,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Gareth and the team were able to wrap up the research.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Eventually, we got two stems.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14So there's two branches of the family that led to beneficiaries.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18So, in total, we've got seven beneficiaries in this case.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And that's brilliant, because all we need is one beneficiary.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24The heir hunters were very satisfied with a case which, at one point,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26had looked impossible to solve.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30But research can sometimes throw up more questions than answers for the
0:28:30 > 0:28:32relatives who inherit.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33So today, company partner
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Neil Fraser is on his way to see heir Madeline,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40to show her the family tree for the very first time.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44The bit which is most interesting to Madeleine is the family tree.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47And the family history, which we were able to uncover,
0:28:47 > 0:28:52is far more important to them, personally, then any money.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55And I think Madeline was very interested in some of her family.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58So it'd be nice to show it to her.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Madeleine. I've come to talk to you about the family tree.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- OK. Come in.- Thank you.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Firstly, when we're dealing with any case,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17where we go back and research cousins, we have two family trees,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19the maternal and paternal.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22We'll start looking at the side which you're not on.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26So we can see from John, his father, is Walter.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Walter has several brothers and sisters.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32And as you can see, without us having any other family over here,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35they all pass away without having any children.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38- Oh...- So, on the paternal side of the family,
0:29:38 > 0:29:40John is the only grandchild.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42That's really unusual.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44Without anyone to speak on this side of the family,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48we don't know what went on in the side of the family at all.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51But the fact there are no heirs on the Robinson side of the family
0:29:51 > 0:29:55is good news for Madeline and her relatives.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57From your point of view, it's better.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- Yes.- Because the more beneficiaries we would have on this
0:30:00 > 0:30:03side, the less money would be coming your way.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06So that leads us nicely to the maternal side of the family.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09This is the side of the family you are on.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13The paternal was two pieces of paper.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15The maternal is six.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18It looks much bigger.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21From the grandparents of the deceased, John's grandparents,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24which are your great-great-grandparents,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27they had their nine children.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31I was surprised at how many brothers and sisters
0:30:31 > 0:30:33my great-grandfather had.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36And also that, out of all that family,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38there weren't that many children.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42But Madeline has learned about many relations she never knew she had.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Yes, very, very interesting.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49- Thank you very much. - Thank you.- Take care.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50And you.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53For Madeline, becoming an heir to John's estate
0:30:53 > 0:30:54has been an eye-opener.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Well, obviously, the money was interesting to begin with.
0:30:58 > 0:31:04But, actually, it was more the family history I was interested in.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08I've got a picture of Ella, that's my nanny,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11who was cousin of John Robinson.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15Finding out about John and her wider family will open a new chapter for
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Madeline in her family history.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20I would like to find out a bit more detail now.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24I've always been quite interested, I haven't really had the time,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26but now I've got the bare bones of everything,
0:31:26 > 0:31:31maybe I'll be able to find out a bit more about occupations and more
0:31:31 > 0:31:34interesting things like that.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41They're our best hope at the moment.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46In London, the team at Finders International are struggling with the case of Stuart Harrison.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Brick wall after brick wall after brick wall.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51We've just had bad luck with finding anything.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55They have no idea of its value, which makes it a big gamble.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00But despite this, Ryan is still worried about the threat from rival firms.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03There is a strong chance this could be competitive, yeah.
0:32:03 > 0:32:04I mean, if we've picked up on it,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07there's a strong chance someone else has picked up on it.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10The team have found some information about Stuart's life.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13He was a builder and lived for at least ten years
0:32:13 > 0:32:15in the Merry Hill suburb of Wolverhampton.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17We have a lot of options.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22Stuart died aged 69 without appearing to have left a will,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25so the hunt is on to find his heirs.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28But Ryan and Camilla are struggling to locate any descendants
0:32:28 > 0:32:31of Stuart's seven paternal aunts and uncles.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37There is, at the minute, a lot of outstanding research we're going to have to go back over.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Ideally, we would have had more people looking over it,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42but we're quite busy in the office today. So we're doing what we can.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44How many marriages was there?
0:32:44 > 0:32:46- A lot.- We have to assume that we're ahead,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49but we can't be too confident that we'll stay ahead, really.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51I'll let you know if we can both...
0:32:51 > 0:32:53- If we get a breakthrough. - If you find anything.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55So far, it's been assistant case manager Camilla who
0:32:55 > 0:32:59has had the most success, and Ryan's playing catch-up.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03I haven't really had any luck, to be honest.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Um...
0:33:07 > 0:33:08It's not good.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Once again, it's Camilla who makes the first breakthrough
0:33:15 > 0:33:17on the Harrison side.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20So, I think I've got the right family. Thanks, bye.
0:33:21 > 0:33:27I wasn't having much luck with the female Harrisons.
0:33:27 > 0:33:33So I decided to move on to one of the male Harrisons.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37And found one of them born in 1939, with most of his family.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41One of Stuart's uncles, called John William Harrison,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43married a woman called Laura Drane,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47and they had five children together prior to her passing away quite young.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Using the 1939 register,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52taken at the beginning of World War II,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Camilla has found that Stuart's paternal uncle, John Harrison,
0:33:56 > 0:33:58lived in Seaham in County Durham.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00He worked as a builder,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03but was also a volunteer member of the Air Raid Precaution
0:34:03 > 0:34:05rescue and demolition squad,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08a unit that played a vital and often unsung role
0:34:08 > 0:34:14as German bombs rained down on Britain in the Second World War.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Typically, a party of the rescue and demolition service
0:34:16 > 0:34:17comprised of six to eight men
0:34:17 > 0:34:20from a number of different trades, including bricklayers,
0:34:20 > 0:34:22electricians and plumbers.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25While London saw some of Britain's heaviest air raids,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29the shipbuilding towns of the northeast were another major target.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Many civilian homes were caught up in the bombing,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36meaning regular call-outs for John and his team.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38In order to extricate civilians,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40the rescue party often had to shore up walls
0:34:40 > 0:34:43or tunnel through in order to reach those civilians
0:34:43 > 0:34:45that had been trapped by bombing.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48John would risk his own life in order to save others.
0:34:48 > 0:34:49It was a dangerous endeavour,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53with members of rescue parties often having to work in difficult
0:34:53 > 0:34:56conditions, where they might be close to a wall on the verge of collapse,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00or around broken pipes where water might be causing flooding,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03or, of course, gas leaks.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Over 7,000 civilians were killed or injured by bombing
0:35:06 > 0:35:07in the northeast alone.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10While John survived the war,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13his work might have taken a heavy psychological toll on him.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Members of the rescue service also had to deal with issues such as
0:35:17 > 0:35:19tiredness, and the stress that came about with trying
0:35:19 > 0:35:22to rescue civilians from bombed-out buildings.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27As well as revealing John's heroism during World War II,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30the 1939 register has given Camilla the names of his children.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34It's vital progress in the search for Stuart's relatives,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and Camilla's hopeful they're closing in on heirs.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41I've got some names and dates of birth for cousins now.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45So there's a possibility that we could potentially find a cousin today.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50It's another breakthrough for Camilla.
0:35:51 > 0:35:56Can you sprinkle some good luck over the rest of the family?
0:35:56 > 0:35:59And Camilla soon thinks she's cracked another stem.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02So I think I've found someone, but I don't know how she's related.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04Explain?
0:36:04 > 0:36:09I can't find a death for him, but he's living here until '98.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13And then there's this woman called Deborah Claire Harrison
0:36:13 > 0:36:15living there.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21- 1963, right.- But I don't know if she's maybe a daughter?
0:36:21 > 0:36:24She could be daughter-in-law, because she's Mrs.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27The Deborah Camilla has found lives in a house where one of
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Stuart's cousins used to live,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33and the team are trying to work out if she's related.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36It would be a weird coincidence, wouldn't it, if it was just some Harrisons?
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Yeah, really weird.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41What have you looked at them on...?
0:36:41 > 0:36:44When were they resident there, these younger Harrisons?
0:36:44 > 0:36:46So, she's a resident now.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50So, they were living with him at some point?
0:36:50 > 0:36:53- Yeah.- Give them a call and find out how they're linked.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57But it's always nice to try and pad out the family tree a bit
0:36:57 > 0:37:00before we call someone, so that we know where they fit in.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Can you just check and see if there's any other kids that are missing on this?
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Camilla looks into Deborah Harrison,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10to see if she can prove a link to Stuart.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13I don't know how to approach it though, because...
0:37:13 > 0:37:14Well, we know she must...
0:37:14 > 0:37:18Unless there's massive coincidence, she has a link to him, doesn't she?
0:37:18 > 0:37:21She has a link to both of them.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Ryan thinks Camilla is on to a good thing.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27I would just give them a call. I'd just go for it, yeah. I mean, look,
0:37:27 > 0:37:29we know we're coming down from John William Harrison.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32If we just mention some names, they'll go, "Yeah, that's my uncle,
0:37:32 > 0:37:33"that's my aunt..."
0:37:33 > 0:37:35Yeah. See what she says.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42It's an important first call to a potential heir on the Harrison family.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46It could be the one which finally helps them crack
0:37:46 > 0:37:48this difficult-to-trace family.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54But their hopes of a quick resolution are dashed,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56as no-one is picking up.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58Unfortunately, the woman who I was hoping
0:37:58 > 0:38:00would be related to this family wasn't in.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03I've left her a telephone message.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06It's unusual for the team to have spent so long looking at a family
0:38:06 > 0:38:09without having managed to speak to a potential heir.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10It's just getting to the point
0:38:10 > 0:38:12where I really want to find someone, really.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15For myself and for the fact that there is some beneficiaries
0:38:15 > 0:38:18out there to be found.
0:38:18 > 0:38:19And as the day draws to a close,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Ryan and Camilla are no closer to speaking to heirs
0:38:22 > 0:38:25on the Harrison side of the family.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27Kind of done what we can do today, I think.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30We've exhausted everything we can.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33I'm going to go back over it before I leave today.
0:38:33 > 0:38:38I was hoping we would find some more Harrison beneficiaries, really.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40But just as the team are packing up for the day...
0:38:40 > 0:38:43PHONE RINGS
0:38:43 > 0:38:46..the Deborah Harrison Camilla phoned earlier has called the office back.
0:38:48 > 0:38:49Yeah, yeah, hope so.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Deborah has been able to confirm that she's part of the Harrison family,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57and a potential heir to Stuart's estate.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Cheers, bye-bye.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Yes.
0:39:02 > 0:39:03I managed to speak to someone,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07and she's happy to receive a visit from one of our reps.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10It was really nice to talk to the potential beneficiary and just confirm
0:39:10 > 0:39:12the information on this line of the family.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15After a frustrating day, with little going his way,
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Ryan can go home happy.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24And, a few days later,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28heir Deborah is reflecting on receiving the surprise call
0:39:28 > 0:39:30from the Heir Hunters.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32He told us the name of the person,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35it was Stuart Christopher Harrison, who I'd never heard of.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39We're quite a close-knit family...
0:39:41 > 0:39:44..so it was a shock to know there was other Harrisons out there
0:39:44 > 0:39:49that I didn't know about, that my family had never told us about.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51I thought there was just myself and my brother left.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53I knew I had a couple of cousins,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57but it was just another branch of the family I didn't know about.
0:40:01 > 0:40:02In the office, the team think
0:40:02 > 0:40:04they've broken the back of the research,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07and are now in the process of speaking to all of the heirs.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Hi there, I was just wondering if you were free to do a visit for me this morning?
0:40:11 > 0:40:14One of them is another possible cousin called Valerie,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17and the team have sent one of their travelling researchers, Dave,
0:40:17 > 0:40:18to see her.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21I'm on my way to meet Valerie,
0:40:21 > 0:40:26who is a potential beneficiary to an estate of Stuart Harrison.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29And we think that she is a cousin
0:40:29 > 0:40:32once removed from Stuart.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36With some of Stuart's relatives still left to trace,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40Dave hopes Valerie can help confirm her branch of the family.
0:40:40 > 0:40:41So, I've got a bit of a family tree.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44I've got some documents.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48And I'm going to go through those with Valerie and see if she recognises
0:40:48 > 0:40:50any of the names.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56- Hello, is it Valerie?- It is.
0:40:56 > 0:40:57Hi, Valerie, my name's Dave.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00I believe you had a phone call from the office?
0:41:00 > 0:41:02- Oh, yes, I have. Please come in. - Thank you.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Bit of a shock, getting the call from the office?
0:41:06 > 0:41:08It was, very surprised, yeah.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10So, do you know much about this matter at the moment?
0:41:10 > 0:41:15Not really. I'd never actually heard of Stuart at all.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17- Stuart.- Yes.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21I really didn't know very much about my father's family at all.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Not even their names or what they'd done for a living,
0:41:25 > 0:41:26where they'd come from.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29Well, we've got a bit of a tree here, and it's...
0:41:30 > 0:41:37Perhaps we can... you hold one end and I'll hold another.
0:41:37 > 0:41:43So, the family tree, even just going two generations back,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46which I didn't know any of the people who were on it.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49That's really interesting.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51It's amazing to see all these people.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Once we've finished all the research, we'll send you the full tree.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58- Excellent.- And if money's coming your way...
0:41:58 > 0:42:00All the better!
0:42:00 > 0:42:02- A better surprise, isn't it? - It is.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07So, are you able to take a look for me?
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Back in the office,
0:42:09 > 0:42:10Ryan has managed to piece together
0:42:10 > 0:42:13the final parts of Stuart's family tree.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16We've progressed the research to a place those where we're very happy
0:42:16 > 0:42:19with the number of beneficiaries we've found.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24We've located at least 31 beneficiaries to date, which, you know,
0:42:24 > 0:42:28is kind of on the large side of things.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30There's still no word on the value,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33but Ryan feels he's done his best on the case.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36At the very least, we've done a nice family tree for everyone,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38so there'll be a positive to it.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Although the team don't yet know how much heirs will inherit,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47their research is already paying dividends for the family.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Just to know and think, all these years,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53I could have had knowing it wasn't just me and me brother.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57I thought that was my family that I had left.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59And just knowing there's others.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02The most important thing is family.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06I could get £5 out of this,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09but family, that's priceless.