0:00:02 > 0:00:07Heir hunters spend their lives tracking down families of people who have died without leaving a will.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives
0:00:10 > 0:00:13who have no idea they were in line for a windfall.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:33 > 0:00:35On today's programme...
0:00:35 > 0:00:40The heir hunters travel to India looking for key clues to unlock the hidden past
0:00:40 > 0:00:43of a woman who died alone in the UK.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I've found a strange grave.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50It could have been the father, I'm not sure, but it's possible.
0:00:50 > 0:00:57And heir hunter Cat Whiteaway is in for some surprises when she tackles the case of Queenie Cobb.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02I put the kin claim in in August 2008 and everything was fine.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Then in January 2009, the Treasury dropped a bombshell, really.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Plus, the unclaimed estate sitting dormant in the Government's coffers -
0:01:12 > 0:01:14are you about to inherit a fortune?
0:01:19 > 0:01:22More than two-thirds of people die without leaving a will.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27If they have no obvious relatives, their money goes to the Government,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32who last year made a staggering £18 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35That's where the heir hunters step in.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39There are more than 30 heir hunting companies, who, for a share of the estate,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42make it their business to track down the rightful kin.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Last year, they claimed back £6.5 million for unsuspecting heirs
0:01:45 > 0:01:48who would otherwise have gone empty-handed.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Hello, Sheila Kingslane? Hello there.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56One UK family-run company, Fraser and Fraser,
0:01:56 > 0:02:02have helped over 50,000 unsuspecting heirs inherit over £100 million.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08As partner Neil Fraser is keen to point out, their work often takes them beyond British shores.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Of all the cases we actually do research in,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17probably about 75% to 80% have some form of overseas element.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26It's 7:30am in Fraser's central London office.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32It's Thursday, the day the Treasury published its list of unclaimed estates.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Could she be a legit and her mother was married in '36?
0:02:35 > 0:02:38See if you can find...him.
0:02:38 > 0:02:44The team have been frantically scouring the list, looking for potentially valuable cases.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- Is that correct?- We've got nothing else to go on at the moment.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Partner Neil Fraser thinks he's on to something.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54What we've just found here is a case of...
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Fernandez - Lily Amala Fernandez.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00It sounds a little foreign to me.
0:03:00 > 0:03:07It looks like she owned the property, and the property will be 200, maybe £300,000,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11so there's certainly money in the estate, which is our first hurdle over.
0:03:11 > 0:03:17She died in 2006 so we need to do the inquiries and hopefully we will find somebody who knew her.
0:03:18 > 0:03:24There was no-one close enough to spinster Lily Fernandez in her local community of Sidcup in Kent
0:03:24 > 0:03:27to have known that she died alone.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34Tragically, she had lain dead in her home for several weeks before she was found by the police.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Neighbours remember her as a slightly solitary lady,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41but she hadn't always cut such a lonely figure.
0:03:41 > 0:03:48Before she retired, Lily had worked as a midwife and ward sister at many London hospitals.
0:03:49 > 0:03:57Midwife Logan Van Lessing worked with her at the Whittington in the early 1980s.
0:03:57 > 0:04:04I think Lily was one of those people that came into midwifery as a vocation.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07When I was a student, I worked with her
0:04:07 > 0:04:09and did my first delivery with her,
0:04:09 > 0:04:14and it was a very funny occasion because I was absolutely petrified.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16There was this woman in strong labour
0:04:16 > 0:04:22and this baby was about to be born, and I remember her saying to me,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25"Quick, quick, get a pair of gloves on!"
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Then just literally catching this baby.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31We had a good giggle about it afterwards.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33My heart was pounding.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36But she was ever so calm and cool about it.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Those are my really fond memories of her -
0:04:38 > 0:04:40just having a giggle and a laugh.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44She wasn't one of those sisters who you were absolutely terrified of.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48She always had a ready smile and she liked doing what she did.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52She was a midwife and she was one of these old-fashioned midwives.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Lily never spoke of her personal background to Logan.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Her last name, Fernandez, could be Spanish or Portuguese.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07Case manager David Pacifico has tracked down the number of an ex-neighbour.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08Hello?
0:05:08 > 0:05:11I'm sorry to trouble you so early in the morning, sir.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13It's about the late Miss Fernandez.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18He's hoping Lily may have mentioned where she came from originally.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Once the heir hunters find this information,
0:05:23 > 0:05:28they will be able to trace a birth certificate and build a family tree,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31taking a step back generation by generation to find blood relatives
0:05:31 > 0:05:33who could inherit Lily's estate.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Any idea, I don't know how well you knew her...
0:05:40 > 0:05:42She was from India? Right.
0:05:43 > 0:05:49So she still owned an apartment there as well as her house in England?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51He reckons she came from India,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56but had an apartment somewhere in India where she used to travel back on a regular basis.
0:05:56 > 0:06:03I just wondered whether she kept in contact with any family over there, if that's the case.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07But it's a real so-and-so if that's the case.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09We need a lot more information.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16If Lily had two properties, it's likely her estate is of high value.
0:06:16 > 0:06:22But finding out all the information the heir hunters need could be tricky.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Because India is a former British colony, there are detailed records
0:06:26 > 0:06:32which are searchable from the UK, but it's still a huge task.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34If the team can pinpoint Lily's place of birth
0:06:34 > 0:06:38within the Indian subcontinent, it will really speed things up.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Usually, the town of birth is listed on the death certificate,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46which they will have to get from the local register office,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49so David phones senior researcher Dave Hadley.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Can you go over to Sidcup?
0:06:52 > 0:06:55We want the death, obviously,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and do a more in-depth inquiry.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Dave is one of a dedicated team of experienced travelling heir hunters
0:07:05 > 0:07:10that spend their Thursdays poised to follow leads across the UK.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13They've got to be ready to collect certificates,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18knock on neighbours' doors, and generally sniff out information in a bid to solve the case.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Initially, I'm going to do some home address inquiries,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34and then I'll make my way to the register office, and see if I can get the death certificate.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39It obviously makes a big difference whether she's Spanish or Indian.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Particularly if we have to start making inquiries in her birthplace.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Whilst Dave heads to Sidcup,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54in London, David Pacifico has been double-checking the case's value.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58A spot of research on property prices has confirmed their hopes
0:07:58 > 0:08:00that this estate might have considerable worth.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02That is the deceased's address.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08She must have bought it for that - £152,000, so what could it be worth now?
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Plus possibly a property in India.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Let's see what he's got on it - we need more information.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18PHONE RINGS
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Property constitutes the majority of someone's wealth.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28The heir hunters work out that Lily's house in Kent is worth between £200,000 and £300,000.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34If there is another property in India, that means hard-working Lily had built quite a fortune.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37But although she spent her life caring for others,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42there was no one at the end to care for her and inherit her nest egg.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Dave's hoping the information on the death certificate might lead to family.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51The main things is whether we can find any of her family still in India
0:08:51 > 0:08:56and the inquiries suggest there could still be family over there.
0:08:57 > 0:09:03It's 8:30am, and travelling heir hunter Dave Hadley has arrived in Sidcup.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06With half an hour until the register office opens,
0:09:06 > 0:09:11he is canvassing the neighbours, hoping to build a clearer picture of Lily's origins.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Hello, sir, I'm sorry to trouble you at this early hour of the morning.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16My name is David Hadley.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- It's about number three. - I've had four phone-calls.
0:09:19 > 0:09:20Have you really?
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Where did she come from, any ideas?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25From India. She owned a place in India.
0:09:25 > 0:09:31She said to me, if you want to go out there on holiday, you're welcome to it.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34So she must have relatives out there?
0:09:34 > 0:09:38She used to go back to India quite regularly.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42She would say, "I'm going home to get some more money."
0:09:42 > 0:09:44So she must have people out there.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48- She said she had a nice apartment or house out there.- Really?
0:09:48 > 0:09:53But they need that information off the death certificate to confirm her place of birth,
0:09:53 > 0:09:58and there's a possibility the informant might know something about Lily's family.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05In the meantime, the team have another way of searching for Lily's birth.
0:10:05 > 0:10:11Case manager Marcus Herbert is sending researcher Alan Jackson over to the British Library,
0:10:11 > 0:10:18where the colonial archives from the 1600s up to independence in September 1947 are housed.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Alan's used these records before.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- There are three districts - Madras, Bombay, Bengal.- OK.
0:10:24 > 0:10:31If I find the birth, I can look it up on microfilm and get the parents' name.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34But Marcus is still not convinced that there will be results.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Personally, I don't see what we can find anyway.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- What, the birth? - Yeah. Just to be keen.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44- Why?- Fernandez...- Portuguese?
0:10:44 > 0:10:45It could be.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50That's the thing, she could even be adopted over here, nobody knows.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54If anybody can do it, you can. Thanks, Al.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00While he's at the British Library, Alan will do a general search across the whole of India
0:11:00 > 0:11:03for Lily's birth record.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07As she was born pre-independence, there's a good chance there will be something on file.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13In Sidcup, Dave Hadley has been at the register office
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and he's got the news they've been waiting for.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20I've just picked up the death certificate for Miss Fernandez.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23It was seen from the death certificate
0:11:23 > 0:11:24that she was born in India
0:11:24 > 0:11:28and we've got a date of birth and a place of birth
0:11:28 > 0:11:30which is of great help to us.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35A competitor of ours has also requested the same certificate,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38so obviously, we've got competition on this case.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40It's a mixed blessing.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46The competition is breathing down their necks, but they have the all-important place of birth.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49According to the death certificate, Lily was born in Quilon.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It's an old seaport town in the region of Kerala
0:11:52 > 0:11:54in the south west of India.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59It's also been on the trading route with Portugal for the last four centuries.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Marcus thinks, knowing what little they do about Lily, it's a good fit.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09There's a history on the internet which basically says the Portuguese
0:12:09 > 0:12:13were among the first settlers there at the beginning of the 16th century,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16so Portuguese name, Fernandez sounds Portuguese or Spanish.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20So, I think it looks pretty good.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22We've got to work it, anyway.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25But there's one small problem.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30The informant on the death certificate is the coroner, who wouldn't have known Lily personally,
0:12:30 > 0:12:36so there's a nagging doubt that the birthplace and date he's recorded still might be wrong.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40David phones the news through to Alan at the British Library.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I've just got the death certificate through.
0:12:42 > 0:12:48She was supposed to have been born in a place called Quilon in India.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52But Alan has found something that turns everything on its head.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55But the one you've got was actually born in '32?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58A coincidence or...
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Although Alan hasn't had any luck finding a birth record for Lily
0:13:02 > 0:13:05that matches the dates on the death certificate,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08surprisingly, he has come across a baptism record
0:13:08 > 0:13:11that matches some details on the death certificate.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17He actually found a Lily Fernandes, but Fernandes with an S,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20born in 1932, not '34, on the 8th of May,
0:13:20 > 0:13:27but the interesting thing about it... Baptised on 25th June 1932,
0:13:27 > 0:13:33where our person was supposed to be born on 25th June 1934.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Interesting.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It's not uncommon for heir hunters to find out
0:13:38 > 0:13:41that an international birth record is out by a year or two.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Marcus, what do you think about this?
0:13:44 > 0:13:47- I think it looks good. - Baptised 25th June?
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Yeah. I mean, I know it's two years out, but...
0:13:50 > 0:13:53That birth took place in Bengal.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55The one you found?
0:13:55 > 0:13:59We don't know how close it is to Quilon, do we?
0:14:00 > 0:14:04In fact, the baptism record is from Jamalpur,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08four hours' train journey from Patna in the north of India.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13That's more than 1,700 miles to the north of Quilon.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17The record also shows that this Lily Fernandes,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20spelt here the Portuguese way with an S,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23had a sister, Grace, a mother Hortensia
0:14:23 > 0:14:24and her father was called Anthony.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29At the British Library, Alan double-checks,
0:14:29 > 0:14:35and finds neither a birth nor baptism record for Lily Fernandes in Quilon, southern India.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38The pressure is really on.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41With the commission on £200,000 to £300,000 at stake,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and other heir hunters hot on their heels,
0:14:44 > 0:14:49David Pacifico decides to place a call to international manager Georges Delarue,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52who's in the Far East on another case.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Hello, Georges, we have a job in India.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Are you very busy, are you free to go?
0:14:58 > 0:15:03David is putting his faith in the accuracy of the record-keeping of the British Raj,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05but it's a risk he's willing to take.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11But will the baptism they have lead them to the family of midwife Lily Fernandez?
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Or are they heading on a wild goose chase?
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Where is the cemetery of the parish?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19- Nearby?- Oh, it is very far.- Very far?
0:15:28 > 0:15:33It's not just large companies who work Treasury cases.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35All over the country are probate researchers,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40helping people retrace lost inheritances and missing family members.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45Probate researcher Cat Whiteaway has been working cases for more than 12 years,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and has solved over 100 of them.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53You're actually piecing together part of a jigsaw.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56It's a jigsaw puzzle and I want to complete it.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Cat's a true Renaissance woman.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Her early career as a full-time academic gave way to probate research in 1997.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Since then, she has also worked as a broadcaster,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09specialising in family history.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Her dedication and energy means that she never gives up on a search.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16She has a strong belief that every case can be solved.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19It's always quite nice to just keep going
0:16:19 > 0:16:24and keep attacking a case until you find somebody. Most times, I do.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34To keep things manageable, Cat often works on cases with a smaller value.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35Cases like Queenie Cobb's.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43A born and bred East-Ender, Queenie loved children, but sadly, never had any of her own.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46So when she died in 2001 without leaving a will,
0:16:46 > 0:16:52her £5,000 fortune made its way onto the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57Maureen Mosley, the local shopkeeper and long-term friend, remembers her fondly.
0:16:59 > 0:17:05Queenie was a friendly lady and she was always interested in your family,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07what they were up to, where they were going.
0:17:07 > 0:17:13We just got on. She enjoyed a laugh.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16I don't think she had much of a life when she was young,
0:17:16 > 0:17:22so she was more interested in how other people lived their lives.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Which was great, really.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28She was just a good friend.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33She used to meet me from work. We used to have a coffee a couple of times a week.
0:17:33 > 0:17:40In later years, I used to take her shopping on a Friday to get all her bits.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Her husband had died and then her sister-in-law died.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Really and truly, she had nobody after that.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52So I more or less looked after her as best I could.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55In 2001, Queenie moved into a care home,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57but sadly, after just six weeks,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01she suffered a heart attack, which she didn't survive.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Maureen arranged the funeral.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06When Queenie passed away, we went back to the home
0:18:06 > 0:18:09to pick up her bits and pieces.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12All they really was as a handbag, a couple of vases,
0:18:12 > 0:18:20a biscuit barrel and nothing really of her past life.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22She didn't really have many possessions at all.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29So, with no will, and no known blood relatives,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Queenie's estate was passed over to the Treasury solicitors.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36That's when Cat happened upon her story.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40This advert was placed in The Times in 2003.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46It says, "Queenie Francis Cobb, nee Bishop, otherwise Passfield, widow."
0:18:46 > 0:18:48That gives me three surnames to work with.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52As it is, Queenie Cobb is an unusual name,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and three surnames is even more curious.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59That meant Queenie would be easy to trace in the records.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Cat immediately set to work.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04As always, I started with the death certificate.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10I ordered the death certificate, and once that arrived, it actually gave some quite interesting information.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14It confirmed that her maiden name was Passfield,
0:19:14 > 0:19:19her date of birth was April 1911, so she was 90 years old when she died.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24She was a retired waitress and she was the widow of John Henry Cobb,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26who was a general labourer,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and they lived in Canning Town in London.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Because John and Queenie had no children,
0:19:33 > 0:19:38Cat needed to find siblings or cousins in order to build a family tree.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46These documents are built from information gleaned off birth, death and marriage certificates.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Heir hunters use them like maps,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51to lead them to blood relatives entitled to inherit.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56To start the tree, Cat needed to find Queenie's parents.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58This is Queenie's birth certificate.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03Father William Bishop and mother Ada Frances Lynch.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08But there was something about the dates that stood out.
0:20:08 > 0:20:14We know that Queenie was born in 1911, but her parents didn't get married until 1922.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20So when Ada, Queenie's mother, became pregnant in 1911,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23having a baby outside of wedlock was not acceptable.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Giving the baby away was often the only option.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Local newspapers would carry advertisements for babies that were up for adoption.
0:20:33 > 0:20:39And there were also adoption societies that would find new families for the children.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43The shame of illegitimacy meant the birth of a baby like Queenie
0:20:43 > 0:20:48would be kept a secret and often never talked about again.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51That goes some way to explaining, perhaps,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54why she had these different surnames.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Because she was a Bishop when she was born,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00but her parents weren't married and they were Roman Catholics.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02This was 1911. This was a long time ago.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Very different times.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And it looks like she was brought up by the Passfields.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12William and Ada wouldn't have had much choice about giving up Queenie.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14It wouldn't have been a formal adoption.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18It looks like the Passfields just decided to bring her up.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Or maybe they offered because they didn't have any children of their own.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26In fact, adoption wasn't formalised until 1926,
0:21:26 > 0:21:31and so there would be no official paperwork for the arrangement with the Passfield family.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34But even though Queenie was adopted out,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39there was still a chance that her mother would have gone on to have other children.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Now, I knew that Queenie was born in 1911,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46so I searched for brothers and sisters for her either side of that date for several years.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51And after three years, in 1914, I found a brother for Queenie.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53A full blood brother, the same birth parents.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58William Frances Bishop, born 1914,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02and although he died in 1988, he married and he had two sons,
0:22:02 > 0:22:09one of whom, David, was born in 1944, and he would be entitled to this estate.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13It was a real breakthrough.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Cat could now draw up the family tree.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Queenie's parents were William and Ada.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Her brother was William.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22He went on to have two children,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Queenie's nephews, Michael and David.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Michael died in infancy, so David is the only living relative,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31and heir to Queenie's estate.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Queenie's friend Maureen was amazed when she heard that she had a nephew.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39When I found out that they'd found some relatives of Queenie's,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41it was a great shock.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Because she had never, ever mentioned anybody on her side of the family.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Only John's side of the family.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51But would David know that he had an auntie?
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Having to tell David that he had an aunt that he'd never heard of,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59that his father had never talked about his sister,
0:22:59 > 0:23:04I can't imagine what it's like for David, but it makes me have butterflies.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08Both William and Queenie were born before their parents got married,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and David always believed that his father was an orphan.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Tragically, the siblings never knew of each other's existence.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22Cutting through 80 years of hidden history, Cat believed she had solved the case.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26I put the kin claim in in August 2008 and everything was fine.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31And in January 2009, the Treasury dropped a bombshell, really,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35and said that Queenie had actually left a will.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Queenie's family history had been full of secrets.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43And now her estate was proving to have its own set of unexpected developments.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56For every case that is solved, there are still thousands that stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:23:56 > 0:24:03Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years, in the hope that eventually someone will remember
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17With estates valued at anything from £5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25Today, we've got two cases heir hunters have so far failed to solve.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Could you be the key? Could you be in line for a pay-out?
0:24:29 > 0:24:36Anna Margaretta Sernstrom died in Stockton-on-Tees on 4th May, 2006.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Was Anna a friend or neighbour of yours?
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Could you even be related to her and entitled to her legacy?
0:24:43 > 0:24:51Rosemarie Ann White passed away on 1st September 2004 in Reigate, Surrey.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56So far, every attempt to find her rightful heir has failed.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00If no relatives can be found, her money will go to the Government.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02But could it be meant for you?
0:25:08 > 0:25:13And one name that stood out on the Treasury's list
0:25:13 > 0:25:18for the heir-hunting team at Fraser and Fraser was that of Lily Fernandez.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It's now the second week on the investigation.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25Lily was a 72-year-old spinster from Sidcup in Kent.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30Tragically, Lily had been dead for nearly three weeks before she was found.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33But her solitary end belied her busy working life
0:25:33 > 0:25:38as a sister on maternity wards at the Portland and Whittington hospitals.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44Case manager David Pacifico has found letters from former patients praising her work.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48"It's been lovely to return to some familiar faces.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51"I was fortunate to have Lily Fernandez check me on arrival.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54"She's a credit to your staff."
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Lily was obviously well loved in her working life.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04And her years of dedication had meant that she built quite a nest egg.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06That's the deceased's address.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09She must have bought it for £152,000.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10So what could it be worth now?
0:26:11 > 0:26:16Lily's death certificate says she was born in Quilon, southern India.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21Despite searching the British Library archives, the team can't find a record of her birth.
0:26:21 > 0:26:27But they have found a baptism for a Lily Fernandes in northern India, with a similar day and month.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30They are hoping it is the same person.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34With rival heir-hunting firms also pursuing this case,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36David has decided to follow up on the baptism record.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39We're now talking about sending somebody to India,
0:26:39 > 0:26:45based on this case, where we think there's relatives there.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50The question is, of course, the birth that we possibly come up with, is it correct? I don't know.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06It's 8am in the former Bengal region of northern India,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11and senior international manager Georges Delarue is on his way to Jamalpur.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15He's hoping to find Lily's place of birth.
0:27:15 > 0:27:22Georges' background as a television journalist means that he's tenacious in his hunt for clues.
0:27:22 > 0:27:28He's hoping he'll find the written record of Lily's baptism today, and that he'll be able to confirm
0:27:28 > 0:27:32that it's the same Lily that died in Kent in 2006.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37Well, Lily was baptised in Jamalpur.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41She might have been born in either Jamalpur or Quilon.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47We believe that she had a sister, Grace. And we hope we find either the sister or maybe a nephew,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52or maybe there was more than one sister.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54The search will say so, maybe.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00From a record the heir hunters found at the British Library,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04they think that Lily Fernandes may have had a sister, Grace,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08and that her mother was called Hortensia and her father Anthony.
0:28:11 > 0:28:18But the Lily who died in Kent had her birthplace as Quilon, 1,700 miles to the south of here.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23By choosing to follow the British Library record, the heir hunters have taken a big gamble.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37Georges' destination is St Joseph's Catholic Church.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Northern India isn't known for its Catholic population,
0:28:40 > 0:28:46but in the second half of the 19th century, there was a large influx of Catholics into this region,
0:28:46 > 0:28:50where members of the Portuguese community immigrated from Goa.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Georges hopes he'll find Lily's family amongst them.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59When he arrives, it's not good news.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The priest isn't here, so he can't access the birth records.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05But Georges has an idea.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Where is the cemetery of the parish?
0:29:07 > 0:29:09- Oh, it's very far.- It's very far?
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Yes. How will you go?
0:29:12 > 0:29:13Otherwise we have to...arrange...
0:29:13 > 0:29:16No, we have a car.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18So you have a vehicle.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20- Yes.- OK.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22We have a vehicle.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25You can show us the place?
0:29:25 > 0:29:28- Oh, yes. Then you will go and come back again?- Yes, yes.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30We're coming back, of course.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32- Yes.- Thank you very much.- Yes.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39Heir hunters often find graveyards are a good way to search for family names.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43But St Joseph's graveyard is a number of miles from the church itself.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52It seems the cemetery has been relocated some time ago.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56But at four o'clock, I'm supposed to call upon the sister,
0:29:56 > 0:30:00who might have found information for us.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10The graves here go back to the 1800s
0:30:10 > 0:30:15and Georges will read all the tombstones, searching for the Fernandes family name.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20There are literally hundreds of graves here.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22It could take some time.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27There was an earthquake in Jamalpur, in '34.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Suddenly, something catches Georges' eye.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35He's found a Fernandes on this tombstone.
0:30:37 > 0:30:44If that's his grave, that means in 1965, there was at least two children.
0:30:47 > 0:30:48Interesting.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55It's the grave of an Anthony Fernandes and the dates match.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Could this be Lily's father?
0:30:57 > 0:30:59It's a major breakthrough.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01It confirms that he's in the right place.
0:31:01 > 0:31:07Now he really needs to access the church records to see if Lily Fernandes was born here.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10He's hoping the priest will have returned.
0:31:10 > 0:31:11Seven o'clock? OK...
0:31:13 > 0:31:18I went to the cemetery to find something
0:31:18 > 0:31:24and I found the grave of Anthony Fernandes in 1965.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27It could have been the father of this woman.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30I'm not sure, but it's possible.
0:31:31 > 0:31:37After a long day of travelling, Georges arranges to meet with the priest the next morning.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Thank you very much, it's very kind of you. Bye-bye.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
0:31:50 > 0:31:57Georges has returned to St Joseph's Church and he's meeting Father Oscar Beck, who keeps the records.
0:31:57 > 0:31:591932, 1932...
0:32:03 > 0:32:09This is 1891 to 18...1936.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13So that is the birth certificate.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15He's found the entry for Lily Fernandes.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18- Lily.- Ah.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Fernandes. I think we have it.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23- Lily, yes?- Yeah.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- What about the parents' name, matching?- Fernandes.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Anthony Fernandes, the father.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32And she was Lily Fernandes.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36- I would like to make a picture of it, if you don't mind. - Certainly, certainly. Please.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44Do you have the death certificates from 1965?
0:32:44 > 0:32:47I believe the father died in 1965.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52And I will check on the record to see
0:32:52 > 0:32:54if there were other brothers and sisters.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Before he leaves the register,
0:32:56 > 0:33:02he needs to double-check there are no other entries for the Fernandes family.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04This is the funeral...
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Yes, I know.
0:33:06 > 0:33:13But I want to be sure this one has been alive and hasn't died very young, which has happened sometimes.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19Suddenly, Georges finds something that makes his heart sink.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22That is very strange. She died when she was three months old.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26The Lily Fernandes on the baptism record died as a baby.
0:33:26 > 0:33:33She may have the same name but she's not the person they're trying to trace.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36And that means none of the family they have been chasing -
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Grace, Hortensia, or Anthony -
0:33:38 > 0:33:44are related to the Lily Fernandez who died in Sidcup in Kent in 2006.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47It's a colossal blow to the investigation.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51The team has spent a lot of money on the lead in northern India.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03Over the next few weeks, they scour the Indian archives and phone a number of churches in Quilon
0:34:03 > 0:34:06but find nothing for a birth of Lily Fernandes.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12No answer, unfortunately.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14So there's nothing more I can do.
0:34:15 > 0:34:21Case manager David Pacifico decides he doesn't want to risk sending a researcher to India again,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25until he knows exactly which parish Lily Fernandes was born in.
0:34:25 > 0:34:31What is the stumbling block about this is her actual place of birth.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38So far, we've not been able to identify her birth.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40Although we believe it to be in India,
0:34:40 > 0:34:44but where we thought we may have identified it, it proved wrong.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48So we're back, shall we say, to square one in that respect.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52So the case of Lily Fernandez remains unsolved.
0:34:52 > 0:34:58Midwife Logan Van Lessing believes it's unlikely her relatives will ever be traced.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00She wasn't married.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02And midwifery was her vocation.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06When she came in, that's what she spent doing.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10She spent her time being with her family, if you like.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I think her work was her family base.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18She occasionally used to speak about people she knew.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23But that was her vocation and that's how she was, really.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27If no family are found and with no will,
0:35:27 > 0:35:31all of Lily's hard-built fortune will go to the Government.
0:35:31 > 0:35:37If anyone out there knew Lily or where she was born, now is the time to come forward with information.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Your help could crack the case.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45But the greatest tragedy of this story is that this warm, loving lady,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49who helped guide so many newborns into the world, died alone.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52However, she will always be remembered by those that knew her.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55We would have a giggle and a laugh.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00When you're on duty, you come in and take the report, and she'd be giggling about something.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04And we'd just have a laugh, really. I think that sums it up, really.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07This photo, in a way, it's kind of a social occasion
0:36:07 > 0:36:10but it's also the camaraderie, and teamwork,
0:36:10 > 0:36:15and I think that was very apparent when you worked with Lily.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Probate researcher Cat Whiteaway strongly believes that by following the paper trail,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32every mystery can be solved.
0:36:32 > 0:36:38And, certainly, that was the case when she investigated the £5,000 estate
0:36:38 > 0:36:41of retired East-End waitress, Queenie Cobb.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45She found that Queenie had a hidden history.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50Her parents weren't married and they were Roman Catholics. This was 1911.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54It looks like she was brought up by the Passfields.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59Queenie had been born out of wedlock and given up for adoption.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01By searching the records,
0:37:01 > 0:37:07Cat found that Queenie's birth parents had gone on to have another illegitimate child.
0:37:07 > 0:37:13William was born three years after Queenie, and although he had passed away, he has a living son, David,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17who would be the sole heir to Queenie's £5,000 estate.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22When I contacted David to tell him about Queenie's estate,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26he was truly amazed to learn about this aunt that he'd never, ever heard of,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28and that he was going to inherent some money from her.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Cat had put in all the work and found an heir.
0:37:33 > 0:37:38But when she went to submit the claim, something happened she couldn't have anticipated.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45I put the kin claim in, in August 2008, and everything was fine.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49And in January 2009, the Treasury dropped a bombshell, really,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52and said that Queenie had actually left a will.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56- It was a complete shock. - It's quite unusual.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01This has only happened to me two or three times, all the time I've been doing this line of work.
0:38:01 > 0:38:07Finding out that Queenie had in fact left a will affected everything to do with David's kin claim.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12This meant that David was no longer entitled to receive his aunt's estate.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18The will was several years old and there were three beneficiaries listed.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Unfortunately, Maureen wasn't mentioned.
0:38:20 > 0:38:25But one of them, Trudy Buckle, now lives in Suffolk.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28She'd been a good friend to Queenie in the 1970s,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32but they had lost touch when Trudy moved away from the area.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35When I was contacted by Cat Whiteaway,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39it was just out of the blue.
0:38:39 > 0:38:45I just didn't know how she'd got in touch with me, where she'd got my details from or anything.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49I felt really moved by it, as well,
0:38:49 > 0:38:56to think that Queenie had remembered me and left me in her will, even though we'd lost contact.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04It's a long time since Trudy has been in Stratford, East London, where the two were neighbours.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08I'm going back to the street where Queenie and I lived.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13And I haven't been back there since 1982. I think that's 27 years ago.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19I'm really, really excited. I'm a bit nervous, but really excited.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Can't wait to see both the houses.
0:39:22 > 0:39:2630 years ago, Stratford was a traditional East-End community.
0:39:26 > 0:39:32But new transport links and the lead up to the Olympics have transformed everything.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35It's changed out of all recognition, this part of it.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40Because when I lived here, that was scrubland.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42That was really untidy, like.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45It was nothing like this. It's incredible.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57Despite all the changes, Trudy's memories of that time are vivid and clear.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01I can remember Queenie when she used to be out here, cleaning the front.
0:40:01 > 0:40:08She used to have a cross-over apron on, that elderly ladies did wear then.
0:40:08 > 0:40:14And her slip, I think, she used to be out in, and her thick stockings and that.
0:40:14 > 0:40:21And she'd be out here cleaning her front, sweeping, scrubbing the step, washing the front door down.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24I can remember going in and having a cup of tea with Queenie.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Queenie must have remembered Trudy fondly to have left her an inheritance.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37Cat was able to track down all the beneficiaries on Queenie's will
0:40:37 > 0:40:41and today she's meeting with Trudy to pass on the photos from Maureen.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44What was she like? What was Queenie like?
0:40:44 > 0:40:46She was a really warm lady.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Really friendly. And...
0:40:49 > 0:40:54interested in what was going on with our family.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59And loved the children. I can't really remember how I met her.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04I believe that was probably while I was going up to the shopping centre,
0:41:04 > 0:41:09that Queenie was outside and I just got chatting to her, you know how you do.
0:41:09 > 0:41:15And she was that sort of person that you would say hello to and "nice morning"
0:41:15 > 0:41:19and getting a bit of chat in and that.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21I have some photographs to show you.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Wow!
0:41:23 > 0:41:27This is Queenie as a young girl.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Oh, she's beautiful, isn't she?
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Goodness, I can see that's Queenie.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Wow.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38She's gorgeous.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42She's, apparently, she's about 15 years old there.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45And this is a portrait done by the Passfield family.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48It must have been while she was leaving school or something.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- And her first pearl necklace. - Wow, yeah.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54- Lovely earrings.- Mmm.
0:41:54 > 0:41:55Goodness!
0:41:55 > 0:41:59And then, I can see the likeness.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04- Is that the Queenie you knew?- That is exactly as I remember Queenie.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06I like the way she looks straight at the camera.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Yes. Yeah. And her hair.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Her hair always stays in my mind.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Because it was that colour when I knew her. Oh...
0:42:15 > 0:42:19Bless her heart, that is so nice.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23Goodness. She didn't change at all.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27In many ways, Queenie was a grandmother figure to Trudy and her children
0:42:27 > 0:42:33and it's clear that Queenie's legacy has been more than just money for Trudy.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36To think what she's done,
0:42:36 > 0:42:41to keep me in her mind all that time, although we'd lost contact...
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Wonderful, really wonderful.
0:42:44 > 0:42:45Thank you.
0:42:51 > 0:42:58If you would like to find out more about how to build a family tree or write a will, go to bbc.co.uk
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk