0:00:02 > 0:00:05Every year, thousands of people die
0:00:05 > 0:00:07with no will and with no apparent relatives.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Tracking down their long-lost families
0:00:10 > 0:00:12is a job for the Heir Hunters.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Coming up...
0:00:34 > 0:00:38...the Heir Hunters uncover an unexpected fortune of a council worker
0:00:38 > 0:00:42hidden in the strangest of places.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I was very surprised when I found out he'd got money in suitcases,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49but it did fit in with his reluctance to spend money.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53And the intriguing case of two Victorian philanthropists,
0:00:53 > 0:00:58an £800,000 school and some difficult dying wishes.
0:00:58 > 0:01:04There's no clue at all to what was meant and any expert, will expert,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08would have to deem this impossible to implement.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Plus, how you may be entitled to inherit
0:01:12 > 0:01:15some of the unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Could thousands of pounds be headed your way?
0:01:21 > 0:01:25More than two thirds of people die without leaving a will.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28If they have no obvious relatives, their money goes to the Government,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33who last year made a staggering £18 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36That's where the Heir Hunters step in.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42More than 30 heir-hunting companies make it their business to track down
0:01:42 > 0:01:46the rightful kin to these unclaimed estates.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Fraser & Fraser is one of the largest firms of heir hunters in Britain.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54It's run by Andrew, Charles and Neil Fraser.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56You can see the smile on their face
0:01:56 > 0:01:58as they know they're going to receive
0:01:58 > 0:02:02sometimes tens, possibly even hundreds, of thousands of pounds.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03A real life-changing event.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07In its 30-year history, it's united over 50,000 heirs
0:02:07 > 0:02:12with unclaimed estates worth a whopping sum of over £100 million.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22It's Thursday,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25the day the Treasury publishes its list of unclaimed estates.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30The team have identified those which they think contain property,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34making them potentially high value cases and ones worth pursuing.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38I'm expecting it to be quite active today, quite competitive, really,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and fingers crossed, we'll do well.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44How are we getting on with the census?
0:02:44 > 0:02:50For every name that the team thinks has a property, there are others that are more difficult to judge,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54especially as all estates are listed without giving any values.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Just very briefly remind me what search we've actually got.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Senior Case Manager, Tony Pledger, has been given one such case,
0:03:01 > 0:03:02that of Crook.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05You never know what you're gonna find and indeed,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07life's full of surprises, you know.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10I wouldn't be surprised if this didn't work out to be a lot more
0:03:10 > 0:03:12than we anticipate. Equally so,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16I wouldn't be surprised if it would turn out to be a lot less.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17You just dunno, you know.
0:03:17 > 0:03:25Albert Edward Crook died on 1st February 2008, aged 69.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28He'd never married or had children
0:03:28 > 0:03:31but had lived all his life in Cheshire.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34He worked for many years as a farm labourer
0:03:34 > 0:03:36at Hodge Lane Farm in Northwich,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40where he was responsible for the welfare of the working horses.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Peter Cotherall, the current owner of the farm,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47recalls Albert's dedication.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52Albert was one of the finest horsemen that ever worked on any farm.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56When the horse would be out ploughing the fields and if a shower of rain
0:03:56 > 0:03:58happened to come, Albert would take his coat off
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and put it over the kidneys on the horse, the horse's kidneys,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05to keep it warm and forgot about himself.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07That's how good Albert was.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10His loyalty and industrious nature
0:04:10 > 0:04:13must have made Albert a cut above the rest.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17I'd certainly, as a contractor on a farm, I worked on farms myself
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and I know all about hard work on farms.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23I would staff that man. He would work for me.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Albert loved to work outdoors,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29but never strayed far from the area where he'd grown up.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Before he retired, he worked as a gardener for the local council.
0:04:33 > 0:04:39For the last four years of his life, he lived at Morningside Rest Home.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40He had a very reclusive life
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and apart from a few holidays in his later life,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47I don't think he did a lot. I don't think he went anywhere.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51He lived so frugally he must have never spent money at all.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Albert's working life wouldn't have made him a fortune,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57but because he made no will, any money he did leave
0:04:57 > 0:05:00is being held by the Treasury.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05To get Albert's estate united with the rightful heirs,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the office need to kick-start the investigation.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15He dies in Crewe in Cheshire and we couldn't positively identify
0:05:15 > 0:05:21his home address, but I've now established that when he died
0:05:21 > 0:05:24he was at a residential care home.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I've spoken with the care home,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29they've given me some of his details, previous address etc.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31So, we've been making enquiries.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34They thought that he had a niece that went to the funeral
0:05:34 > 0:05:36and that rather seems unlikely,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39so it's probably either a niece by marriage or...
0:05:39 > 0:05:42I don't know what, but we do think that he had a sister.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Tony has some pieces of information, but nothing is confirmed.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51To get accurate family records, he needs help on the ground.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54That's where the travelling Heir Hunters come in.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Frasers has a network of senior researchers right across the country
0:06:04 > 0:06:07who are ready to go wherever the hunt takes them.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11They collect the vital birth, death and marriage certificates
0:06:11 > 0:06:15as well as interview people who knew the deceased.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23But their most important job is finding and signing up heirs.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Ex-Fraud Squad Detective, Dave Mansell,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32has been an Heir Hunter for over ten years.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37His patch is the Manchester region and he's on hand to help Tony with the Crook case.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Tony thinks he might have identified an address in Northwich,
0:06:44 > 0:06:49but Albert Crook is hardly an unusual name, so...
0:06:49 > 0:06:51he's gonna make some enquiries,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53try ringing a neighbour or two and then...
0:06:53 > 0:06:56But we'll carry on and get the death certificate
0:06:56 > 0:06:59to see if it confirms his suspicions.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02And the only way to confirm these suspicions
0:07:02 > 0:07:08is to find the birth, death and marriage certificates which are the building blocks
0:07:08 > 0:07:09of creating a family tree.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12With the information they get from these,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16the researchers need to work out, generation by generation,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20who the family is, who is entitled and then find any living heirs.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Only at this point can the company make its commission.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Dave Mansell is getting the death certificate for Albert
0:07:29 > 0:07:31to confirm the little information they have
0:07:31 > 0:07:34and also to try and find new clues for the family
0:07:34 > 0:07:36from the informant's name.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Albert Edward Crook died 1st February, as we knew,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and it's from the Morningside Rest Home that Tony
0:07:42 > 0:07:45had already got the information about,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48so we're off to the rest home now.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50We'll go and see the lady there.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Back in the office, the search room is in full swing...
0:07:55 > 0:07:56..but not on Tony's little job.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59All the effort is being put into a high value property case.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Yeah, he's married before. When was his first marriage?
0:08:03 > 0:08:05So you're on your way up to the care home
0:08:05 > 0:08:08to Morningside in Winsford, yeah?
0:08:08 > 0:08:11While Tony waits for Dave to quiz the nursing home about Albert,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15he and his one researcher are looking at potential Crook family members.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18We've got the deceased, we've got that bloke,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21who isn't entitled, he's a step-brother. That's the best I can do.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25With little office support to dramatically push the case forward,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30it's now all down to Dave Mansell and his face-to-face enquiries.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Albert Edward Crook, when was he admitted?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37June 04, 2004.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Donna Liddiat looked after Albert for four years.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Her knowledge of him could be vital.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48One lady in particular used to cook for him and I believe from speaking
0:08:48 > 0:08:52to my deputy, Pauline, that they used to go on holiday together.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54After he passed away, the lady's nephew phoned me
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- to say that they'd found a suitcase...- Right.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02..and when they've opened it, there's a number of pay packets, unopened.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Unopened wage packets - I wish I could leave mine unopened!
0:09:05 > 0:09:08SHE LAUGHS
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- Great!- Albert was never married.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15- He never married?- He lived with his mother and father in a bungalow
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and when his mother and father died,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22the bungalow was sold and he moved into this sheltered accommodation.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25So, he probably got the proceeds from the bungalow?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Never married, lived with his parents.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33There was an amount mentioned at that time of £100,000.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Did you tell Tony that?
0:09:36 > 0:09:37I didn't... I've only just...
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I've not... I found out this information after I spoke to Tony.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42Right, OK, that's great.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46This has just gone from being a small job for Tony
0:09:46 > 0:09:49to a potentially major case for the company.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54A suggested estate of up to £100,000 and the possible existence
0:09:54 > 0:09:58of a suitcase full of money is an amazing turn of events.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- Bye.- Bye.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Donna at the home here said that when the parents' bungalow was sold,
0:10:04 > 0:10:09he got all the proceeds from it and he immediately moved into
0:10:09 > 0:10:13the sheltered accommodation, hence never spending his wage packets.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18No, no, no, I see what you mean. Right, OK then, that's good.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Our assumption is that the value of the mother's property
0:10:22 > 0:10:26that was sold in the 1990s is still complete,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30because it's been invested in his name.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33So, what we're hoping is it's gonna be in the region of £100,000.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36It's been an incredible morning.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40A case that started out as possibly worthless could now be
0:10:40 > 0:10:44as valuable as £100,000, not to mention the mysterious suitcase.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47With this insider information,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51it's more important than ever that Tony and his team find heirs.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54If they don't, all this money will go to the government.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Coming across unexpected and unusual estates
0:11:07 > 0:11:09is the high point of being an Heir Hunter.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13One such case was referred to probate researcher company Hoopers,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17the oldest heir-hunting firm in the country.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20They were asked to unravel the mystery of who owned a valuable
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Victorian school site worth almost £800,000.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27We had a plot of land,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32we had this dilemma of identifying the two donors,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34what happened to them, who survived
0:11:34 > 0:11:38and then identifying who was going to inherit from that estate.
0:11:38 > 0:11:46It just made the whole case different from the normal cases that we deal with.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Essex Council Solicitor, Steven Woodyard,
0:11:48 > 0:11:53was in charge of dealing with the ownership status of the school.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57The case that I had on my hands was a site which was not owned by the council
0:11:57 > 0:12:03but was acquired by two men in the latter part of the 19th century -
0:12:03 > 0:12:06a Mr Coope and a Mr Belli -
0:12:06 > 0:12:09and they acquired the site and owned it jointly.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11This document basically told me
0:12:11 > 0:12:15that the use and control of the school site and the school itself,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19obviously, was transferred to Essex County Council.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23This was in 1913. And it also implied that if
0:12:23 > 0:12:26the school ceased to be a school provided by the council,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29then it would pass back to the original owners.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32If the school ever moved from the building,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34the site would revert to the living heirs
0:12:34 > 0:12:36of the two men who originally owned it.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And those first title holders were
0:12:39 > 0:12:43wealthy philanthropists Reverend Charles Belli and Octavius Coope.
0:12:43 > 0:12:49They collective donated £160 to buy the land and create the school.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Local benefactors and life-long friends,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54they were buried side by side
0:12:54 > 0:12:56in St Peter's Church Graveyard in South Weald.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02But 128 years after its creation, the school they built
0:13:02 > 0:13:06now had an increasing catchment area and the council needed to relocate
0:13:06 > 0:13:12to a bigger building, so Steven Woodyard looked up the deeds to the property.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14There was very little paperwork.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Normally I would expect to see several documents relating to land
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and relating to the council's title in land.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27In this case there are only two documents and the nature of them was,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30one in particular, was different from anything I'd encountered before,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33so I was entering sort of new territory.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37The key article he unearthed was an old legal document
0:13:37 > 0:13:40which revealed the ownership status of the land.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41What we're looking at here
0:13:41 > 0:13:45is the indenture of 1874 which details that the two men
0:13:45 > 0:13:50held the property on a joint tenancy but if one of them died,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54then the other one would actually take the whole legal interest
0:13:54 > 0:13:57in the property and own it in their own right.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00According to the indenture, whoever outlived the other
0:14:00 > 0:14:04would be the owner of the site and their estate would benefit.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07But who died first?
0:14:07 > 0:14:12Establishing this would mean delving back into records over hundreds of years old,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15so Steven needed to refer the case to the experts.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21Hoopers is one of the UK's most established heir-hunting companies.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Founded in 1923,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25they have a wealth of experience in genealogical research.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29With over 20 full-time researchers, their detective work
0:14:29 > 0:14:33has reunited thousands of heirs with unexpected windfalls.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37They specialise in seeking out beneficiaries named in wills
0:14:37 > 0:14:40and crucially, they also solve issues of property ownership.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Could I get someone to have a look for a death for me? Anna, would you?
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Chairman, Mike Tringham, with 35 years of heir-hunting experience,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53took up the challenge of unravelling Belli and Coope's final wishes.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Start about 1880.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Even if they were over 100 years old.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Having identified the problem of the two donors,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07we then had to try and identify
0:15:07 > 0:15:11when they died and who survived out of the two of them
0:15:11 > 0:15:15because obviously there's no point in pursuing both families
0:15:15 > 0:15:19because we knew from the official documentation
0:15:19 > 0:15:23that only the survivor we need to concern ourselves with.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Once we've identified that individual,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29then that's the direction we would go.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Right, Coope.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35The site was estimated to be worth £800,000...
0:15:35 > 0:15:36Yeah, that's him.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39..a good inheritance for any surviving family members
0:15:39 > 0:15:41of either the Coope or Belli family.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Jolly good.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45But which was it going to be?
0:15:47 > 0:15:51We discovered that the Reverend Charles Belli
0:15:51 > 0:15:54died on 6th January 1886
0:15:54 > 0:16:00in the Brentwood area and to our surprise, I suppose,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Octavius Edward Coope only survived by a matter of a few months
0:16:04 > 0:16:09and he died on 27th November 1886, so obviously we knew that
0:16:09 > 0:16:14we had to concentrate on the Coope family and as far as the Bellis' were concerned,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I'm afraid they were out of the frame.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21The hunt had started for the Coope family,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24to inform them of their unexpected windfall.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Octavius came from the upper trading classes.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33He started work at his father's sugar refinery business in London's East End
0:16:33 > 0:16:35before moving into the brewing industry.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41In 1845, he joined Edward Ind's brewery, an already well-established
0:16:41 > 0:16:45business in Romford, Essex, renaming it as Ind Coope.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48This was to be the source of Octavius's wealth.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49As soon as I saw the name Coope,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53I obviously connected that with the brewery dynasty
0:16:53 > 0:16:58and knowing that there was a big brewery in Romford,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01I assume that there was some family connection
0:17:01 > 0:17:04with that industry.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Octavius came from a traditional Victorian family,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13marrying Emily Fulcher in 1848 and having one son,
0:17:13 > 0:17:19Edward and five daughters, Ada, Mabel, Emily, Cicely and Alice.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Usually, the Heir Hunter's job is to trawl through birth,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25death and marriage records,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27tracing the bloodlines to find heirs.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31But if the deceased had left a will, it would cut out all that work.
0:17:31 > 0:17:37Unluckily for Mike, Octavius had done just that.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44He actually left provision for his widow to benefit from his estate
0:17:44 > 0:17:48during her lifetime but after her death,
0:17:48 > 0:17:53then did he bequeath the residue of his estate to his five daughters.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56There was a son as well, but for some reason
0:17:56 > 0:18:00his son wasn't included in his will. Just the daughters.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03In fact, his son, Edward, was well-catered for,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07with Octavius leaving his portion of Ind Coope shares to him.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12We have identified the five daughters and then we have to look to see
0:18:12 > 0:18:15what happened to them, who they married,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20when they died and then we look to see if they've left a will
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and who they had left their estates to.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28The will spanned over a century and was difficult to decipher, but they
0:18:28 > 0:18:32led the Heir Hunters down through each generation of the Coope family.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Living relatives to Octavius Coope
0:18:36 > 0:18:39were slowly being uncovered, including Bob Wayne,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42whose great-grandmother, Mabel Coope,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45was one of Octavius's daughters.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48One suddenly realises one's learning a great deal more than,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51or inheriting a great deal more than just a bit of money.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56It is the sort of knowledge of what went on in the past.
0:18:56 > 0:19:02Inheritance isn't just about money, it's about who you are.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09Bob has an appointment with Mike to discover more about the family.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14- This is the great man himself.- Yes. Quite a good-looking man, actually!
0:19:14 > 0:19:19Yes, I think he was. Obviously looking very prosperous.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23I think the more I look at it and looking at you,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25I think there is definitely a family likeness.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I received this letter completely out of the blue,
0:19:28 > 0:19:34telling me that there was a sum of money resulting from
0:19:34 > 0:19:37the sale of a property in Essex
0:19:37 > 0:19:43and that it was very likely that we could be entitled to a share of it.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48They asked me for the names of my brothers and sisters
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and so I then had to turn round and write to them all
0:19:52 > 0:19:55and tell them the good news.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58I think I started by saying,
0:19:58 > 0:20:04"Now is your chance to buy that yacht or that Roller.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07"You're in for a share of a fortune!"
0:20:07 > 0:20:12I then covered myself by saying it's more likely to be tuppence ha'penny!
0:20:12 > 0:20:16With Bob's information, Hoopers was able to find more heirs.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21The case was going well, almost too well.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25The will of one of Octavius's daughters, Alice Edgerton Green,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27stopped the hunt in its tracks.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31In later life she'd made changes to her original will
0:20:31 > 0:20:36and as she got older, she changed the effect of her will
0:20:36 > 0:20:40and each successive codicil
0:20:40 > 0:20:44became more and more obscure and complex
0:20:44 > 0:20:49until we get to the point where it was, for us,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52it was impossible to interpret what her intentions were.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57Alice had written numerous notes and amendments, so it was very difficult
0:20:57 > 0:21:01to decipher who she really wanted her legacy to go to.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Not knowing her heirs put the Coope legacy in doubt.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06The school could not be sold
0:21:06 > 0:21:08until Alice's final wishes could be fulfilled.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Nothing more could happen.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13All of a sudden, we come up against a brick wall
0:21:13 > 0:21:17and until we could resolve that one issue,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21the whole matter couldn't be settled
0:21:21 > 0:21:23because it would have an impact,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26or it did have an impact, on all the other beneficiaries.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The whole case now rested on what to do with Alice's will.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34The distribution of the entire £800,000 estate
0:21:34 > 0:21:39would grind to a halt unless the Heir Hunters could find a solution.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41To try and break the deadlock,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Mike was going to be in for a trip to the High Court.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52For every case that is solved,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56there are still those that stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country
0:22:00 > 0:22:03are on the Treasury's Unsolved Case List.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years
0:22:09 > 0:22:11in the hope that eventually
0:22:11 > 0:22:15someone will remember and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21With the estates valued at anything from £5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Malcolm John Thomas died in Bethnal Green
0:22:28 > 0:22:29in London in March 2007.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Originally from Pontypool in Wales,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34his mother's maiden name was Griffiths.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Do these details ring any bells?
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Could you be Malcolm's closest relative
0:22:38 > 0:22:41and entitled to his unclaimed estate?
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Gladys Mary Rayner died in London in April 2008.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49She was born in West Ham in London in 1913 and her parents
0:22:49 > 0:22:52were Robert Thomas Rayner and Mary Elizabeth Sheer.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Was Gladys a friend, neighbour or possibly even a relation of yours?
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Since the release of the Treasury's list
0:23:05 > 0:23:08of unclaimed estates this morning,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Heir Hunters Fraser & Fraser have been looking into a number of cases,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13including that of Albert Crook.
0:23:13 > 0:23:19He died at the Morningside Nursing Home in Crewe on 1st February 2008.
0:23:19 > 0:23:25From the enquiries that both I have made on the telephone and Dave Mansell has made locally,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28he appears to have been a long-term resident at the care home,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30he didn't really have any friends.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34He had Alzheimer's and advanced Parkinson's Disease,
0:23:34 > 0:23:39so those two things combined don't really make you a chatty person,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43you know, so he seems to be a bit of a loner, poor old boy.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45With no property registered,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Albert's estate was assumed to be quite small.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50I don't have a definite value on it yet.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54But traveller Dave Mansell's enquiries with those who knew him
0:23:54 > 0:23:56uncovered something that surprised everyone.
0:23:56 > 0:24:02It has been rumoured that his estate may be worth up to £100,000
0:24:02 > 0:24:04and it seems bricks and mortar
0:24:04 > 0:24:07are not the only place to keep one's fortune!
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I was very surprised when I found out he'd got money in suitcases,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13but it did fit in with his reluctance to spend money.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16He was obviously squirreling it away for a later date,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18though when, I don't know!
0:24:18 > 0:24:23But Tony is hoping to find more than just money.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25It might be his marriage certificate,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27it might be his wife's death certificate,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and it could be a family tree and it could be documentation
0:24:30 > 0:24:34to show that he's directly related to Queen Victoria, I don't know.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40But clearly, if we can track down the suitcase and have a look in it,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44it might answer the... might solve the matter, mightn't it?
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Dave Mansell is going to the sheltered accommodation in Northwich where Albert lived
0:24:50 > 0:24:54before the care home and where he left his mysterious suitcase.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59But there's some bad news.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Although the sheltered accommodation
0:25:01 > 0:25:03confirm there's around £2,000 in the case,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06they're reluctant to show Dave the contents.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Absolutely nowhere here.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11I ended up speaking to the solicitor
0:25:11 > 0:25:14who's got your name and telephone number now.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16- The solicitor?- Yeah.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18The solicitor for the local authority,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21because they wouldn't give this girl permission to talk to us.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Tony takes the matter into his own hands.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28The care home is holding a couple of thousand pounds
0:25:28 > 0:25:31of the deceased's money, but they don't know what to do with it,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34so I've now advised the authorities of that,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37the authorities have spoken with the care home, the care home are
0:25:37 > 0:25:40now going to pass it over to the authorities
0:25:40 > 0:25:42and everything gets a bit smoothed out.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45So now at least Tony knows how much is in the case,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and with the possible value of £100,000 on the estate,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53more of the team have joined the hunt for Albert Crook's heirs.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57I'm entering the marriage of the father, David Ernest Crook.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03And it's not long before they start uncovering Albert's relatives.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07So far we've established his parents and that he's got a sister.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Unfortunately, from our point of view, the sister was unmarried
0:26:11 > 0:26:15and has predeceased him as a spinster, so there's no near kin.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18As there are no descendants from Albert, or his only sister, Edna,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22the hunt would usually move onto finding cousins,
0:26:22 > 0:26:26but Research Director, Gareth, has just found something else.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29We've discovered that the parents were previously married
0:26:29 > 0:26:32so if they have children from those marriages,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34they'll be half-blood near kin.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37We're hoping that there are children and we can get some heirs from them.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41The team move quickly to find the crucial birth,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45death and marriage records relating to Albert's father's previous family
0:26:45 > 0:26:49and they soon identify several paternal half-blood relatives.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55The deceased, Albert, and his sister, Edna, were children
0:26:55 > 0:26:59from David Ernest Crook's second marriage to Annie Burgess.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02David Crook's previous marriage was to Margaret Pearson
0:27:02 > 0:27:04and together they had four children -
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Edna, Edith, William and Charlie.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13Although they are now all deceased, Edith and Charlie did have children.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16If they, or any of their children, are alive,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20they would be half-blood nephews and nieces and, more importantly, heirs.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23A search through the phone book
0:27:23 > 0:27:26rewards the team with a contact number
0:27:26 > 0:27:29for the widow of one of the half-blood nephews, David.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33Tony wastes no time in giving her a call to break the news.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Had your husband still been alive, he would, we think,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39have been entitled to a share of this estate
0:27:39 > 0:27:42that we're dealing with, but as he's passed on,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45then unfortunately I don't think you'd be entitled
0:27:45 > 0:27:48because you wouldn't be a blood relative of his, you see.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51You are sometimes, but I don't think you are. Anyway, so...
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Well, you're his wife, yeah, but you're not a blood relative, you see!
0:27:55 > 0:27:58So, his entitlement would pass to his children.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00It turns out David's widow, Winifred,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04had three children who would all be entitled
0:28:04 > 0:28:06and several other family members,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09who may also be heirs, live close by.
0:28:09 > 0:28:10Hello, Dave.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Right, listen. I think it might be best if you up stumps to Warrington,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18if you could, because I've seen, I've spoken to this lady
0:28:18 > 0:28:23and she's happy for you to go and see her after three o'clock.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27So there's several people in Warrington worthy of a visit.
0:28:27 > 0:28:28Right, I'm en-route.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34Dave Mansell's appointments are now a priority.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39It's down to him to visit all of the Crook heirs found so far.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Luckily, his first call is to see several heirs at once.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Alwyn, Albert's paternal half-blood niece,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Win, the widow of a paternal half-blood nephew
0:28:51 > 0:28:56who will not be entitled, and her son, Tony, who IS an heir.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59A member of the Crook family has died without leaving a will,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03so it means all the blood relatives will be entitled
0:29:03 > 0:29:04to a part of that estate.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06You are one of these people.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08You descended from Edith Crook, didn't you?
0:29:08 > 0:29:12- That's right.- That was your mum?- Yes. - I just need to take some details.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14- Is that all right?- Yes, that's fine.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Without revealing the name of the deceased,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Dave Mansell works through the family information.
0:29:20 > 0:29:25Is there anybody else in the family that you know about that's related
0:29:25 > 0:29:30to you that you've not told me about, on the Crook side?
0:29:30 > 0:29:35- No, not that I can remember or think, no.- Right.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39It becomes apparent that Alwyn never knew her half-uncle Albert.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43What's happened is this. Your great-grandfather, your grandfather,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47married twice and there were children from the first marriage
0:29:47 > 0:29:48and children from the second.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52It's complicated the whole investigation, really,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54into tracing you.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57But going over the family history jogs Alwyn's memory.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- There was a disagreement after... - Your mum's Dad?
0:30:00 > 0:30:04Is that the one that was married twice, yeah?
0:30:04 > 0:30:07It's coming to me now, what she said,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10because I think that's how they fell out,
0:30:10 > 0:30:16because when he got married again and I think there was children
0:30:16 > 0:30:19and she didn't have much to do with her dad.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22- Who didn't, Edith?- Yeah.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Often, the reason Heir Hunters investigate cases
0:30:25 > 0:30:27is because of past family splits,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29but it can be a rewarding part of the job
0:30:29 > 0:30:33to inform heirs about their family background.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38I found it interesting and you learn things about your family, so...
0:30:38 > 0:30:42and I'm waiting for the family tree, you know,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46so that would be quite interesting.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47It's a big family.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52And I think the services of Dave, how he's explained everything today,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54has been very good, but it will be better
0:30:54 > 0:30:57when I get the family tree because it's gonna open...
0:30:57 > 0:31:00I can look back to see where did we come from and who?
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Well, no, it's been a marvellous thing today.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06As well as Alwyn and Tony,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10the office have found a further four paternal half-blood heirs.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12- All right.- Well, thanks very much.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15- Thank you, thanks for your hospitality.- OK.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17It's not quite wrapped up, but I would imagine
0:31:17 > 0:31:20that we won't have to do a great deal more research.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23There's still other certificates we've got to find
0:31:23 > 0:31:25and a great deal of paperwork to do
0:31:25 > 0:31:26but actual additional research,
0:31:26 > 0:31:28I don't think we've got much more to do.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31It's approaching the end of a long, hard day
0:31:31 > 0:31:34but matters aren't quite as wrapped up as Tony thinks.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37The team have just realised something
0:31:37 > 0:31:40that's going to take the investigation into the next day.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43A slight administrative cock-up, Al.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47Well, you know this Kenneth bloke that we've got, Kenneth Burgess?
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Well, being the illegitimate child of his mother,
0:31:50 > 0:31:51that's a long word for half-blood!
0:31:51 > 0:31:55Prior to her marriage to Albert's father, David Crook,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59his mother, Annie Burgess, had two children out of wedlock -
0:31:59 > 0:32:01Lillian and Kenneth.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05The penny has suddenly dropped that these children, illegitimate or not,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08are of course still maternal half-blood to Albert,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13so they, or any of their children, would be heirs to his estate.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Unfortunately, despite this late stage of the game,
0:32:16 > 0:32:20there's still gonna be more research to be done tomorrow.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25It seems the investigations are not quite over after all.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33It's day two of the investigation.
0:32:33 > 0:32:39We're carrying on from yesterday's job when we went to Northwich,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42Crewe, Warrington, Appleton.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45We're now onto the maternal side of the family
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and we're going to see, hopefully,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51two or three heirs to the estate.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54So, we're only a minute away so we'll knock onto it.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59He's going to see brother and sister, Steven and Alison,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Albert's maternal half-blood nephew and niece.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Your dad was Kenneth?
0:33:05 > 0:33:07That's him.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11- Kenneth Burgess, otherwise known as Kenneth Burgess-Crook?- Yeah.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14How did that come about?
0:33:14 > 0:33:17He was actually born out of wedlock.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21- Yep? - So he took my nan's maiden name.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23- Annie?- She was Annie Burgess.- Right.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26So he was actually christened... registered as Burgess.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29- Yep.- Nobody knew in the family!
0:33:29 > 0:33:31It was only when my mother died
0:33:31 > 0:33:36that he actually sorted out my mother's estate and it all become...
0:33:36 > 0:33:40- Clearer?- Yeah, that he wasn't actually a Crook, he was a Burgess.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Right. And then Annie remarried, didn't she?
0:33:43 > 0:33:47Yes, she married... cos I knew of my granddad, I didn't know that he...
0:33:47 > 0:33:49So you knew David Ernest Crook as your granddad?
0:33:49 > 0:33:51- My granddad, yeah.- Great.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53That's super.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Now Dave Mansell has verified all the family details,
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Steven's sister, Alison, arrives.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03They both have memories of their half-uncle Albert.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05When I used to go up to see my nan, I remember him.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07You know, I was only a young kid.
0:34:07 > 0:34:12- My biggest memories are when he used to cut the grass.- Yeah, cos he...
0:34:12 > 0:34:15He worked for the local council and used to pop in the house.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18He'd come up, you know, in the street where we lived
0:34:18 > 0:34:21and he'd call to my mum's for a cup of tea and a biscuit
0:34:21 > 0:34:26or whatever and they were the memories I remember most of all.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28They were the only times I really saw him.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32All of the heirs will be in for a substantial windfall,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35as a week later confirmation comes through to the office
0:34:35 > 0:34:38of the real value of Albert's estate.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43It's nice to know that it's turned out to be £100,000 plus
0:34:43 > 0:34:46and both we, and of course the heirs that we traced,
0:34:46 > 0:34:51will, you know, get a lot more than they might have anticipated.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55The fortune that the thrifty Albert Crook never spent during
0:34:55 > 0:34:57his lifetime will now get shared between
0:34:57 > 0:34:59his nine half-blood relatives.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11Uniting unsuspecting heirs with their rightful legacy
0:35:11 > 0:35:14is the day to day work of the Heir Hunters.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19We always take the view that there is always an answer out there
0:35:19 > 0:35:22and if we possibly can, we will find that answer.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27But when probate research company, Hoopers,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29were trying to find the legal heirs
0:35:29 > 0:35:31to a Victorian school site worth £800,000,
0:35:31 > 0:35:35they were faced with over 100 years' worth of wills,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39all stemming from original owner, Octavius Coope.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48Things were going well until they found the will of Alice Edgerton Green, one of Octavius's daughters.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52It contained numerous notes about who she wanted to inherit
0:35:52 > 0:35:55that became increasingly vague.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58It says something along the lines of,
0:35:58 > 0:36:02"The residue to be used to build a church
0:36:02 > 0:36:09"in a crowded area of London over the border if possible."
0:36:09 > 0:36:11By today's standards, in any case,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14building a church in a crowded part of London
0:36:14 > 0:36:16would just be a financial nightmare.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19You couldn't build. You'd need millions for a start.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24"A crowded area of London over the border." Over the border of where?
0:36:24 > 0:36:27What part of London, north, south, east or west?
0:36:27 > 0:36:29I've no idea whatsoever.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34There's no clue at all to what was meant.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39It wouldn't... You couldn't carry out these wishes anyway, and I think
0:36:39 > 0:36:45any expert, will expert, would have to deem this impossible to implement.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49At the time when Alice was altering her will,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51the school still would have
0:36:51 > 0:36:54been playing a thriving part in the community.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Yvonne Limbrick of the British Schools' Museum
0:36:57 > 0:37:00has her thoughts as to why patrons, Coope and Belli,
0:37:00 > 0:37:04gave their money to build the school in the first place.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08I think it's almost certain that the children who would have been going to
0:37:08 > 0:37:13that school were from the poor families of the area.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18They would have been a very mixed bunch but they would have been poor.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22I would have expected that there would have been
0:37:22 > 0:37:26one schoolroom, just the one,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30and all the children would have been taught in that one schoolroom.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33It would have been fairly bare,
0:37:33 > 0:37:39quite bleak by today's standards. All the children would have had a slate
0:37:39 > 0:37:43and a slate pencil and a sponge to erase their writing
0:37:43 > 0:37:47and there would probably have been enough books
0:37:47 > 0:37:50for two or three children to share...
0:37:52 > 0:37:55..and that really and truly is about it.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Despite basic facilities,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00the importance of the school would have been huge.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05Attitudes to education were changing and it was no longer seen
0:38:05 > 0:38:08as a privilege, but as a right for all.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10It would have been very important
0:38:10 > 0:38:14because it was a step towards a different life,
0:38:14 > 0:38:21a step towards raising the expectations of people
0:38:21 > 0:38:24to be able to better themselves.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27For Mike, the only way to move the case along
0:38:27 > 0:38:31was to get the legal advice of a QC who could make a judgment
0:38:31 > 0:38:34on what to do with Alice's unintelligible will.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36The QC ruled that Alice's case
0:38:36 > 0:38:38should be treated as if she had died intestate,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41as if she had not left a will.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Once we'd had the opinion from the QC,
0:38:45 > 0:38:52we were able to work out the proportions in which each individual
0:38:52 > 0:38:57relative of hers, under intestacy rules, was going to inherit
0:38:57 > 0:39:02and we could draw the whole matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05As Alice had outlived her husband and all of her children,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08they quickly established that her portion of the estate
0:39:08 > 0:39:12would revert to her sisters and their beneficiaries.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19It meant that the council could move successfully into their new school
0:39:19 > 0:39:21and the heirs got their legacy.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Come on, good boy!
0:39:23 > 0:39:30Bob Wayne, the great-great grandson of Octavius, and one of 32 heirs,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33received his share of the £800,000.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35We only got a small portion.
0:39:35 > 0:39:42I believe that the luckiest ones got about £33,000 each,
0:39:42 > 0:39:48whereas at the bottom of the tree, we got about £1,600.
0:39:51 > 0:39:58I think that one is very interested in knowing about one's family
0:39:58 > 0:40:02and I think most people would find if they actually looked into it
0:40:02 > 0:40:06that they've got far more interesting relatives than they realised.
0:40:06 > 0:40:13Indeed, you know, the connections seem to go on and on and on.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18As for the school, Holly Trees is now situated in a new site,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22with modern facilities for over 300 students.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25I think there are winners all around.
0:40:25 > 0:40:30The education authority end up with a bigger and better school,
0:40:30 > 0:40:36the family, hopefully they're happy and satisfied financially,
0:40:36 > 0:40:41and from the point of view of their ancestor,
0:40:41 > 0:40:46the legacy of Octavius Coope and his friend, the Reverend Belli,
0:40:46 > 0:40:51does continue and I'm sure they're not forgotten. All in all,
0:40:51 > 0:40:53we think it's a pretty good job.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57However, the biggest legacy is what Coope and Belli had created
0:40:57 > 0:41:03for the wider community back in 1875 when the school was first built.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07You see, and this gateway here is where we used to go in
0:41:07 > 0:41:11and that part there was a classroom.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15Sisters, Beryl Beckwith and Betty Shipton, have fond memories
0:41:15 > 0:41:18of the school they attended in 1939.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Well, we were always made welcome.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25They tried to make it as happy as they could.
0:41:25 > 0:41:31In the first class, obviously, we had slates with the chalks
0:41:31 > 0:41:36and then as you moved up after learning your ABC
0:41:36 > 0:41:40and learning to write your name, then you obviously went up
0:41:40 > 0:41:44to the next class where they took you further with your reading
0:41:44 > 0:41:48and also joined up writing and...
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- Arithmetic.- Yeah!
0:41:51 > 0:41:53Very happy days.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Everybody, you know, all joined in together
0:41:55 > 0:41:58for playing games and everything.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02There was never really a lot of nastiness with the children
0:42:02 > 0:42:06because times were hard and we all had to get on together.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16I did use to go home, because every time the bell went,
0:42:16 > 0:42:19I naturally thought it was time to go home.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21And of course Miss Pickett had other ideas.
0:42:21 > 0:42:26She used to come up home after me and run me down Junction Road
0:42:26 > 0:42:29with a big stick and I mean I had to literally...
0:42:29 > 0:42:31THEY LAUGH
0:42:31 > 0:42:33I didn't do anything like that. I was too good!
0:42:33 > 0:42:35THEY LAUGH
0:42:35 > 0:42:38If you believe that, you'll believe everything!
0:42:38 > 0:42:40THEY LAUGH
0:42:40 > 0:42:47And it's Octavius Coope's generosity over 125 years ago
0:42:47 > 0:42:49that thousands of school children,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52as well as 32 lucky heirs, have to be thankful for.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56If you would like to find out more about
0:42:56 > 0:43:00how to build a family tree or write a will, go to bbc.co.uk.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:24 > 0:43:28E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk