0:00:02 > 0:00:07Heir hunters spend their lives tracking down the families of people who have died without a will.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives
0:00:09 > 0:00:13who had no idea they were in line for a windfall.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:32 > 0:00:36On today's programme:
0:00:36 > 0:00:43the heir hunters encounter a man who left £35,000 but spent his last 40 years sleeping rough.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47I don't think he wanted any assistance, to be honest.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I think he was content in what he was doing.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55And an entire office work against the clock to find heirs for a valuable estate.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00It's not yet quarter past eight, so if it is the right family
0:01:00 > 0:01:03and it's all correct, then that's not bad going.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07And we'll have details of some of the hundreds of unclaimed estates.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Could you be in line for a windfall?
0:01:10 > 0:01:14More than two-thirds of people die without leaving a will.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18If they have no obvious relatives, their money goes to the government
0:01:18 > 0:01:22who last year made a staggering £18 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25That's where the heir hunters step in.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Hi, I'm Paul Matthews from Frazer and Frazer.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33There are more than 30 heir hunting companies who, for a share of
0:01:33 > 0:01:37the estate, make it their business to track down the rightful kin.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Last year, they claimed back £6.5 million for unsuspecting heirs
0:01:41 > 0:01:45who otherwise would have gone empty-handed.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46Our job is incredibly exciting.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50We're tracing family trees, delving back into people's history, delving
0:01:50 > 0:01:54back in time, looking at the hidden mysteries around people's families.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Frazer and Frazer are one of the UK's largest heir-hunting companies.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06This morning, they've been looking over the government list of people
0:02:06 > 0:02:10who have died without a will which has just been published.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14And although it's only 7.15am, they're already working a case
0:02:14 > 0:02:18that's grabbed their attention - that of Irene Shepherd.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26They believe she owned and sold a property in Worcestershire worth an estimated £200,000.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31As the sale was only four years ago, most of this money could still be in her estate.
0:02:31 > 0:02:37It looks as though we've found the deceased birth and deceased parents.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41We have their names. For the moment, we're just searching for their
0:02:41 > 0:02:45deaths and that'll hopefully give us their dates of birth, and from that,
0:02:45 > 0:02:50- we'll get up and running.- With a case of such value, the team are working
0:02:50 > 0:02:54quickly, as other companies are bound to be interested.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57They know that Irene had a sister Rosie and her parents were
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Charles Danks and Lily Williams, all of whom have died.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05If Irene didn't have any surviving children, the office will need to
0:03:05 > 0:03:09research the Danks and the Williams families to find heirs.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Irene Shepherd died in 2008 aged 87 in Redditch, Worcestershire.
0:03:17 > 0:03:24Her friend and neighbour Jim Mills lived on her street and knew her for over 15 years.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Rene would be about
0:03:28 > 0:03:30five foot tall,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34a little dumpy person -
0:03:34 > 0:03:38well, not, actually, fat or anything,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42a typical little dumpy person, grey hair,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46she had to use a stick to walk.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53She could be a good laugh at times, I can assure you.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Irene and Jim shared a joke on the street where she lived over many years.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And he remembers her as a charismatic lady.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06She didn't suffer fools gladly.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11But once she got to know you, she was a real good friend.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20But our most enjoyable times was when we used to walk down the road.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Something as silly as that.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26We used to have a laugh and a joke.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Because Irene died without leaving a will, her estimated £200,000 estate
0:04:31 > 0:04:34will all go to the Treasury unless heirs can be found.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45The team already know that Irene's parents were Charles Danks and Lily Williams.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But as Williams is the third most common surname in England and Wales,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53they are working on her father's family name Danks first.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57They have had a lucky break using the Census as a research tool.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The Census is a national survey conducted every ten years
0:05:03 > 0:05:05that provides vital heir-hunting information,
0:05:05 > 0:05:11such as names, ages and genders of people living in any given address at the time of the survey.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15The 1911 Census includes Irene's father's household.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22So, it's really progressed very quickly because of the Census.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26We've just identified as the top line
0:05:26 > 0:05:32births to the aunt and uncles of the deceased on the paternal side.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Unfortunately, for us, it looks like
0:05:35 > 0:05:38the grandmother has ten children.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Now, worst case scenario is they all have two children, and they have two children,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and those are the ones we find, we're suddenly up to 30-odd beneficiaries.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50We'll have to see how it pans out in a few moments' time.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Such a vital tool in anyone searching family history,
0:05:57 > 0:06:03that it just gives you the full details of the family without really doing a huge amount of work.
0:06:05 > 0:06:13With the help of the Census, the team know that Irene's father Charles Danks had nine siblings.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Two died in infancy, but there were seven surviving brothers and sisters.
0:06:20 > 0:06:27Elsie, Joseph Ann, Albert, Walter, Phyllis and Frank.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30If they all had children, Irene would have had a myriad
0:06:30 > 0:06:34of cousins and potential heirs, so the team have plenty of work to do.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38What we're endeavouring to do is
0:06:38 > 0:06:42locate the deaths for all the males.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47Invariably, the females are going to be married so we're not going
0:06:47 > 0:06:50to know until we find the marriages what their surnames are.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53But we can go straight for the male lines.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58If the team can find death records for the men in the Danks family, they can dispatch researchers
0:06:58 > 0:07:03to go and pick up death certificates which will confirm their research.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06In anticipation of this, case manager David is
0:07:06 > 0:07:12briefing one of their travelling researchers Paul Matthews on the details of Irene's case.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Looks like we may have a valuable one in Redditch.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22Irene Lilla Danks? Danks married Douglas Hague Shepard.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24S-H-E-P-A-R-D.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31The office have a whole team of travelling heir hunters
0:07:31 > 0:07:34who can be sent anywhere around the globe in the race to find heirs.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Being at the right place at the right time can mean getting to
0:07:38 > 0:07:42a neighbour, certificate, or an heir before any of the other companies.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Being first means having the best chance of getting a commission.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57As there are eight branches of the family to research,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Paul is being joined by another travelling heir hunter, Bob Barrett.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07And in the office, it's furiously busy.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11As Irene's estate is worth an estimated £200,000, the entire office are working on it.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16They hope that they can get results in fast and beat the competition.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It's been a fairly crazy sort of hour, really, trying to pin all this case together.
0:08:25 > 0:08:32We've only got the one case which we're running at the moment which has made it particularly hard,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35really, because we've suddenly got all the staff in.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39As you can see around us, there are 25 people in this room.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45We're all working on the same case at the moment, and I've been trying to get the five minutes to
0:08:45 > 0:08:49take a breath and make sure we're all working on what we should be working.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52But there's no breathing time for Neil.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The team are close to finding heirs already.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02Just been looking for to see if I can find current addresses
0:09:02 > 0:09:06for a Brian and a Peter, and a Colin Golby.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11They're all first cousins of the deceased on the father's side.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13It's not yet quarter past eight,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18so if it is the right family and it's all correct, then it's not bad going.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Bryan Golby is Irene's cousin through her Aunt Ann.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29Ann Danks married a William Golby and had four children, one of whom was Brian.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38David Pacifico
0:09:38 > 0:09:41is trying to reach Bryan. To confirm that he is an heir,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45David is asking a few questions about his family.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48What family, if any, did she have?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Yes.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Thank you. Bye-bye.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57That was a cousin.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00He can't fit us in today, but we can see him tomorrow morning.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Good news. By 8.30am, they've confirmed their first heir.
0:10:05 > 0:10:11Downstairs in the research room, Gareth is working on finding other members of Irene's father's family.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14At the moment, because the main bulk of the research
0:10:14 > 0:10:18has been done, so we've done the marriage searches, we've done
0:10:18 > 0:10:23the births and death searches, so now I'm starting to look at other records that might be available.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Army records are very good usually because they give you an awful lot
0:10:27 > 0:10:30of information that you don't normally have access to.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Many of Irene's uncles would have been old enough to serve
0:10:33 > 0:10:37in the First World War and one of them has been difficult
0:10:37 > 0:10:42to find information about, which is why Gareth is turning to the military records.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47I was just looking for a little bit more information on Frank Danks, because
0:10:47 > 0:10:54there's his stamp, and I've found his discharge records, discharged from the First World War.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Unfortunately, it's not telling me a huge amount of information.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Although the military records don't say why
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Irene's uncle Frank was discharged, the fact that he was allowed
0:11:04 > 0:11:10to leave the Army during wartime indicates that he was probably in bad mental or physical health.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Although this may not be obvious from the records, medicine on
0:11:13 > 0:11:16the front line had its own set of rules,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18as historian Nick Hewitt explains.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23Military medicine, first and foremost, if possible, is about
0:11:23 > 0:11:27turning these guys round and turning them back into soldiers and getting them back into the front line.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33Now, if you've got traumatic limb removal, he's not going to go back into the front line, so the military
0:11:33 > 0:11:39tend to treat first as a priority the guy who can be treated and got back into the front line.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42At the other end of the scale is the guy who's not going to survive,
0:11:42 > 0:11:48and that's pretty much the way that triage works today, and then it's the chap in the middle who kind of
0:11:48 > 0:11:54suffers worse under military medicine because the chap in the middle is the guy who, with a lot of intense help
0:11:54 > 0:11:59can be repaired, but will not make a fighting soldier again and he's not the priority for the military.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The way in which these casualties are incurred vary.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09We know about them going over the top when the whistle sounds and being machine gunned, but there's a lot of
0:12:09 > 0:12:12regular low-level activity on the Western front in particular.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16You've got trench raiding, you've got shell fire,
0:12:16 > 0:12:21and also the simple act of day-to-day living in this deeply unpleasant,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24unhealthy environment also brings in...
0:12:24 > 0:12:27has a lot of medical consequences for people.
0:12:27 > 0:12:34There were 2.5 million casualties admitted to hospital during the war, and even those that were
0:12:34 > 0:12:39lucky enough to survive may have spent the rest of their lives as the walking wounded.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44One in 22 of the males in Britain at this period of time have got a conspicuous war-related injury.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46That's really obvious.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51If you imagine a busy high street, there's going to be an awful lot of people walking along that high street
0:12:51 > 0:12:57who have something clearly related to war damage that's physically very obvious about them.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01In the Army records, there are no details about the exact part Irene's
0:13:01 > 0:13:05uncle Frank played in the war beyond the fact that he was discharged from the Army.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10It may have had his details of his next of kin, his wife or a child,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14or even sometimes they have the name of the children, how old they are.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18It does vary, but this is just quite a basic discharge record.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It's not quite what I was hoping for.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25At least the records indicate that Irene's uncle Frank survived the war
0:13:25 > 0:13:28which means he could have had children.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31But Gareth will have to dig around some more to know for sure.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42It's a minor setback for the team but little do they know there are worse ones to come.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Everything we have done so far this morning on the mother's side,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and that's the best part of all five hours' research.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53It's all rubbish. It's back to square one, really.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Heir hunters tend to prioritise looking at
0:14:02 > 0:14:04the cases where the person who died left a property.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10This way, they ensure that their commission will at least cover their costs.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16So, the case of Johnny Hubbard, who was homeless, was an unusual one for the heir hunters to take on.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21Johnny Hubbard died in 2006 aged 74.
0:14:22 > 0:14:29He spent most of his adult life on the streets of London, and the last few years in and out of hostels.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34Like many people sleeping rough, Johnny suffered from mental health problems.
0:14:34 > 0:14:40But despite his apparent poverty and difficulties, he died leaving an estate of £35,000.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Mike Tringham took on Johnny's case.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53He is chairman at Hooper's, one of the oldest heir hunting firms in the country.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The company rarely investigate homeless people, because they don't
0:14:56 > 0:15:00often have an estate to pass on, so Johnny's case stood out.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06When we got an idea of his background, his profile,
0:15:06 > 0:15:11it seemed quite odd to us that someone in his circumstances
0:15:11 > 0:15:15should leave quite a substantial amount of money,
0:15:15 > 0:15:20and it's quite likely that he was left some money
0:15:20 > 0:15:23by a relative some years ago.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26If the money had come to Johnny while he was homeless,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28he may never have known about it
0:15:28 > 0:15:30and it would have continued to earn interest.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Whatever had happened, it would be a sizeable windfall for his heirs -
0:15:34 > 0:15:36if they could be found.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39We know his name is John Walter Hubbard.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41He dies in Hackney.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42We don't know much about him.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Born in London, we think.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- Maybe if we look up his birth, shall we?- Yes, we'll do that.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56The name Hubbard, it's quite a good name.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01It's not too common, so there shouldn't be too many of them.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- There he is.- There we go. Yes.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Seems to be born in London.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09- Finsbury, which is.... - Not far from us.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Once we had identified the birth record of the deceased,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19which gave us the details of his parents,
0:16:19 > 0:16:24we were then able to piece together other areas of the family
0:16:24 > 0:16:29and identify birth records for his brothers and sisters,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33and then really it was a question of tracking them down
0:16:33 > 0:16:36for seeing whether they were sill living,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37whether they married,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and we did manage to do that within 24 hours.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42It was a fast turn-around.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44The heir hunters discovered
0:16:44 > 0:16:47that Johnny's parents were John and Winifred Hubbard,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51and that he was the third eldest of nine brothers and sisters.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Four of them were still alive -
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Peter, Elizabeth, William and Winifred.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Because Johnny had never married or had children,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01they were his nearest kin,
0:17:01 > 0:17:06and were each eligible to inherit an equal share of his £35,000 estate.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Bill Hubbard was Johnny's youngest brother.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Despite being born into the same working class household,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19their lives couldn't have turned out more differently.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Bill runs an established furniture business in Central London,
0:17:23 > 0:17:24but a turbulent childhood
0:17:24 > 0:17:28meant that things might not have turned out that way.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33I could easily have turned into a gangster or a robber,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35or something like that.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40I was very lucky to find a vocation which I enjoy.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Bill, Johnny and their siblings grew up in Islington in London
0:17:44 > 0:17:47under difficult circumstances.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Dad was a pretty violent person.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52If I wanted dinner money, so, to go to school...
0:17:53 > 0:17:57If you asked for it, you got a clump and if you stole it, you got a clump.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03So you were sort of twixt and between what you done.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And because he was drunk, you know, always drunk,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09I think what he used to work on the stall in Chapel Market,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11he used to have a fishmonger's,
0:18:11 > 0:18:16and basically there was a pub immediately behind the stall
0:18:16 > 0:18:21and I think he used to think drinking brandy would keep him warm.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28Bill's business is only a mile away from where he and Johnny grew up.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32The inheritance has prompted him to revisit his childhood haunts.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41This is where my dad's stall was - Jack Hubbard.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Right outside this pub.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45I used to work on the stall sometimes
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and my hands used to get freezing cold,
0:18:48 > 0:18:49and he used to send you -
0:18:49 > 0:18:53you used to get a hot peppermint drink,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55you know, to warm your hands up,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and sometimes your hands would be throbbing with the cold.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Literally throbbing, you know?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03The pain - you'd never felt anything like it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Bill's family home was just around the corner from the stall.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12So this is Grant Street.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15And Grant Street used to go round to the right here,
0:19:15 > 0:19:20and my house, approximately, looking at this...
0:19:22 > 0:19:25This was Sermon Lane where the stables were.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28My house was approximately
0:19:28 > 0:19:30where the police station is there,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34which is Tolpuddle Street Police Station.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35I must say, when I left it,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37it was a pretty dismal and horrible place,
0:19:37 > 0:19:42so I'm quite pleased that we, you know, we survived it, really.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44There you are.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Sometimes I do wander down the market now and again
0:19:47 > 0:19:49just to have a little look round to see what's going on
0:19:49 > 0:19:52and see if there's still stallholders who I know.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54There is still a few here,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57but it's changed dramatically.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59And I don't miss it at all, to be honest with you.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03It's a hard life for anyone, a very hard life.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08The Hubbard children escaped this tough life as soon as they could.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Me earliest memories were me and Peter moving out.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17I'm not sure the exact age we was, but I was quite young,
0:20:17 > 0:20:24and we moved to a lodging room in Highbury New Park.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29And that was the start of me being self-sufficient, really.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32But for Johnny, Islington remained his home.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36When I left home, he was still there.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39The house was in complete disarray -
0:20:39 > 0:20:42lots of windows missing and things like that.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Bill and his brother started to lose touch with one another,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48even though Johnny was working less than three miles away
0:20:48 > 0:20:50in Smithfield's Meat Market.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55I have heard other people telling me that he worked in Smithfield,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57and I think before he went into the army,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00he was a pretty tough character.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04And boxing would have been a natural progression
0:21:04 > 0:21:06if you had come from where we come from.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Johnny had taken up a sport
0:21:09 > 0:21:11heavily connected to Smithfield's Meat Market,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13which was a training ground
0:21:13 > 0:21:15for many professional and amateur boxers.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Dixie Dean and George Hollister were both boxers,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27and together with Alfie Hills,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30they worked in Smithfield Market and knew Johnny.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33He was a pitcher, right?
0:21:33 > 0:21:34On Bothwicks.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35I know that for a fact.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Pitcher is one that carries the meat into the market during the night.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Myself and Alfie, we used to hand the meat down to him,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48lift it off the hooks and hand it down to them like that
0:21:48 > 0:21:50on to their shoulders and they used to run it in.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I even done that myself.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55When it goes in the market, they hung it up in the shop,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and then the porters started about...
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Or the shopping started about four or five o'clock in the morning,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03cutting it up, and the porters started,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05and then they take it out to the butchers.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07That's what Johnny Hubbard done.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- Pitching.- Pitching, yes.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16The heavy manual labour kept the young men who worked here in fighting shape
0:22:16 > 0:22:21and in turn, boxing provided an outlet for them to let off steam.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23A couple of times, I was working on the market
0:22:23 > 0:22:25and they used to give you what they called a run.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28I used to come back and I had a friend of mine, he was a checker -
0:22:28 > 0:22:30what they call a checker, on the box,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33he said, "I just took a message for you, George.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35"Boxing tonight at the Majestic."
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I used to finish work and box on the same night.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40We didn't know anything better, did we? It's like the training.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43The training is all changed now.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46We thought lifting up meat made us strong.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50If you did it today, they'd go, "No, you've gotta turn that in, mustn't do that."
0:22:50 > 0:22:54It's all different. It's a different era now, isn't it? Different ways.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59But it was a confrontation outside the ring in the meat market
0:22:59 > 0:23:01that would change Johnny's life for ever.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04He got into a fight and was struck over the head
0:23:04 > 0:23:07with disastrous consequences.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Apparently, he was having a fight with some of the other porters or whatever it is,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and the only way they stopped him was bashing him over the head.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19After that, he's had all his problems.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21That was it, really.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24I wouldn't have thought my dad would have been any help to him,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28because, you know, my dad was always drunk.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34And I don't think he was very sympathetic to his illness, shall we say.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40After the knock to his head, Johnny became more unstable
0:23:40 > 0:23:42and he was still only in his mid-20s
0:23:42 > 0:23:45when he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for brain surgery.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48He never fully recovered.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51He was pretty violent.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53And...
0:23:53 > 0:23:56all of us were scared of him.
0:23:56 > 0:24:02I don't think he was - I think it was obviously mental problems, you know.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05You didn't get hit if you didn't let him catch you!
0:24:08 > 0:24:13Volatile and violent, Johnny alienated people around him.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15No-one knows quite when he started sleeping rough,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18but it's thought that he spent over 40 years of his life
0:24:18 > 0:24:21homeless around the Square Mile in East London.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24He even became known to the police as Tramp Hubbard.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29I had heard, obviously, that he lived on the streets.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And it's unusual that I never come in contact with him,
0:24:33 > 0:24:38because I'm always down the City of London and round that area.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40The only time I did come in contact with him
0:24:40 > 0:24:45was as I driving around Old Street roundabout with my daughter,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and I stopped,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49got out and spoke to him.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53I don't even know whether he recognised me or not,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55but I knew it was him,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58and I'm not sure whether he did recognise me or not.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00I give him a business card
0:25:00 > 0:25:04and maybe I give him some money - I think I did -
0:25:04 > 0:25:07but I don't even know whether he was aware what I was doing, really.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11I don't think he wanted any assistance, to be honest.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13He was content in what he was doing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Bill wouldn't see his brother again,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19although he was in a hostel not far away.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23The next news he had of Johnny was from the heir hunters.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28They brought Johnny's £35,000 back into the family he had been estranged from for many years.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34And also gave Bill the opportunity to say goodbye to his brother.
0:25:34 > 0:25:40After his death, me and Betty went down to the home where he had been.
0:25:40 > 0:25:46They have got a memorial garden for him, which I find quite...
0:25:46 > 0:25:47touching.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49It makes me wish I'd have known him.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01For every case that is solved,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04there are still thousands that stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Currently, over 3,000 names, drawn from across the country,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years
0:26:17 > 0:26:19in the hope that eventually someone will remember
0:26:19 > 0:26:22and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30With estates valued at anything from £5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Lilian Collins of Dartford, Kent, died in 2003.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Does her name ring any bells?
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Could you be the one person entitled to her estate?
0:26:49 > 0:26:54Herbert Cecil Godfrey died in Combe Down in Bath in 1995.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57The heir hunters have run out of leads.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58Do you know anything about him?
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Maybe he's your long-lost uncle or cousin.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Could your help get to the heirs of Lilian Collins and Herbert Godfrey
0:27:07 > 0:27:10and thousands of cases just like these?
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Is there a fortune out there waiting for you?
0:27:20 > 0:27:21One of the names advertised
0:27:21 > 0:27:25on the government list of people who have died without a will
0:27:25 > 0:27:29was Irene Shepherd who left an estimated £200,000.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34The entire office at Frazer and Frazer is working on her case,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36and with the help of the Census,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39they've already managed to find all her aunts and uncles
0:27:39 > 0:27:42on her father's side, the Danks.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48There's only little bits to do on two of the stems,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52otherwise we may have most, if not all the addresses, which is good.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54A question of contacting them all
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and some people are either ex-directory or not answering,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01so it's come on very well in the time we've had.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07However, the researchers have to make sure they find all the heirs
0:28:07 > 0:28:09before they can submit a claim to the Treasury,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13and this means researching uncles and aunts on the mother's side too.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16The mother's side is Williams. That's a wholly different story.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19The surname is incredibly bad to research.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22It looks like at the moment we've got two separate families
0:28:22 > 0:28:29with a Lily Williams, born in 1899 or thereabouts from the right area.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31One of them's going to be totally wrong,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33one of them's going to be right.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37And we won't know probably until much later, maybe not even today,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40so instead of working two families as we normally would do on cousins,
0:28:40 > 0:28:41we're actually working three,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43one of them we're going to throw away at a later date,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45so it's a bit more work for us,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47but hopefully we get the right family first.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51In order to crack this valuable case before the competition,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54the entire office are being split into two teams.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57The Danks researchers led by David and Gareth
0:28:57 > 0:29:00are finishing off Irene's father's family.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04The Williams team tracing the maternal side
0:29:04 > 0:29:07includes Fran, David and Simon.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Fran is currently following up
0:29:09 > 0:29:12one of two potential records for Irene's mother,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15one in Evesham, one in Worcester.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19Now, either of those two could be correct,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24or she was born in a completely different county,
0:29:24 > 0:29:28in which case we haven't yet identified a birth record for her.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33So we're really working on a hunch at the moment and hope it will pay off.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Birth, death and marriage certificates are vital for heir hunters.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43They contain all the proof needed to verify the family trees that are drawn up in the office.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Unfortunately for the team researching Irene's mother,
0:29:47 > 0:29:50the certificates they need are in Ledbury Register Office
0:29:50 > 0:29:54which is shut, so all their work on the Williams side is speculative.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59We've got the nightmare side of the case.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03We're working Williams and everyone else seems to be working Danks,
0:30:03 > 0:30:07and there's quite a big difference in the two names, to be honest. A bit unfair, maybe!
0:30:09 > 0:30:13While team Williams grumble about their lot, team Danks are tying up
0:30:13 > 0:30:16one of the outstanding stems of their family tree.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21We've got a possibility of another cousin on another branch.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25There's a possibility, but it needs a phone call, and I'm going to do that now.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34David has discovered that Irene's aunt Phyllis had two daughters - Judith and Victoria.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Another two potential heirs and cousins to Irene.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41David is speaking to Victoria now.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46At this junction, we don't know what the value of the estate is, but we believe there is a good
0:30:46 > 0:30:49value to which we we believe that you're part of that family, you see?
0:30:51 > 0:30:56Irene may well have known all her cousins as a child, but as her name was on the unclaimed estates list,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59the sad probability is that none of them even knew of her death.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03We'd like to discuss this matter in more detail, and I was wondering if
0:31:03 > 0:31:08it's possible one of my colleagues to call and see you. Is that possible?
0:31:10 > 0:31:15Travelling heir hunter Paul is nearest to Victoria to go and see her.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19It turns out that there is certainly going to be a lot of cousins out there.
0:31:19 > 0:31:26The deceased on her father's side looking at one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28So she had nine uncles and aunts.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32We've got an appointment in half an hour, so we had better get our skates
0:31:32 > 0:31:37on before one of our competitors comes knocking on the same doors.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45It's only 11.00am and the Danks team
0:31:45 > 0:31:49have already completed Irene's family tree on her father's side.
0:31:49 > 0:31:55Charles Danks had seven adult brothers and sisters who all had children - Irene's cousins.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01They and their children are eligible to inherit, making 17 heirs on this side of the family.
0:32:06 > 0:32:12But team Williams, who are researching Irene's mother's family, are having a much tougher time
0:32:12 > 0:32:15because they're working speculatively.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20The register office in Ledbury which holds the certificates they need to crack the case is shut.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25We tried different lines, and we don't know which one's correct yet.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29That's why we desperately need to get some certificates to prove
0:32:29 > 0:32:31which way we're going.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35The Williams team have found several instances of a woman with the same
0:32:35 > 0:32:38name as Irene's mother - Lily Williams.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43They're trying to whittle them down by a process of elimination.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46It looks, in theory, like this is wrong.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50- Well, keep rolling anyway, I think, but less important on her.- OK.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Fran has just discounted one Lily Williams based in Evesham,
0:32:56 > 0:33:01so Neil is pinning his hopes on a Lily Williams that Simon is working on.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03So we reckon it's this one now, then?
0:33:03 > 0:33:05This is the better option than the Evesham one.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10Simon was trying to get out of working this family because he doesn't like it, and it's
0:33:10 > 0:33:14got a horrible name, and the marriages he's got are horrible.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Everything's horrible. Trying to persuade me that the other one
0:33:17 > 0:33:21is more likely and I've just told him that the other one is wrong.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Simon and the team know that Williams is the third most common name in the country
0:33:28 > 0:33:31which is why it's difficult to research.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34The easy solution would be to wait for the register office to open,
0:33:34 > 0:33:39but the team want to solve the case before other heir hunting companies, so they're cracking on.
0:33:39 > 0:33:45As well as Irene's mother, they're also looking for other Williams' that could be part of her family.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48If they can find and phone a relative, however distant,
0:33:48 > 0:33:52they may be able to confirm they're researching the right family.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Simon thinks he may be on to a winner, because he's found
0:33:56 > 0:34:00a potential aunt - Edith Williams - who could have been Lily's sister.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Edith Williams marrying Ernest Smith in 1917.
0:34:07 > 0:34:12We did a birth search of Smith to Williams sticking to the Worcester area.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16It looks like there's two families having children, at the same time.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19I've picked one, pretty much at random.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22With any luck, this will be right, but if not, at least it's
0:34:22 > 0:34:25crossed one off my massive list that I've got at the moment.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30So I'll just take it up to Grimble and he can ring, hopefully.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Sometimes, heir hunting involves guesswork.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37As there are two possible marriages for Edith Williams,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41the fastest way of ruling one out to is to make a pot-luck phone call.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45David is calling the number Simon's found for one of the families.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Hello, is that Mrs Smith?
0:34:48 > 0:34:54I'm trying to trace a family in connection with an estate I'm dealing with, but unfortunately
0:34:54 > 0:34:59the family names I'm dealing with are Smith and Williams.
0:34:59 > 0:35:05The phone call is a long shot. Is this finally the Williams connection they've all been looking for?
0:35:05 > 0:35:09What if I said the name Danks, would that ring a bell?
0:35:09 > 0:35:11That doesn't ring a bell.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13OK, bye-bye.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17It's another false trail in the hunt for Irene's mother.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23I didn't really expect it, to be honest,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25but it's crossed one off my list.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31It's not just the office who are resorting to long shots.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Bob Barrett has arrived at Worcester register office.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39Even though the certificates they know they need are at nearby Ledbury which is shut,
0:35:39 > 0:35:44they're now getting hold of any other potential Williams certificates in the same area.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48It's not the most economical way to work, but they're hoping to get lucky.
0:35:50 > 0:35:56Can I ask you about the chances of getting several certificates?
0:35:56 > 0:35:57How many do you require?
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Three deaths and two births.
0:36:02 > 0:36:08With every lead drawing a blank, the search seems to be getting wider and wider.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13We are still trying to locate the birth of the mother of the deceased.
0:36:13 > 0:36:19We know now that she's called Lilian Elizabeth, so we've gone through the Lily Elizabeth births
0:36:19 > 0:36:22and we're trying to match up Census from 1901
0:36:22 > 0:36:27to give us an idea of family, and there's 138.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30I'm not really having much luck at the moment.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Everything I touch seems to go wrong today.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39With 138 Lily Elizabeth Williams to get through,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43it looks like this day is never going to end for team Williams.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48Everything so far has gone wrong, and I think some of the
0:36:48 > 0:36:52dejected faces around here and the glum looks are because
0:36:52 > 0:36:56everything we have done so far this morning on the mother's side,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00and that's the best part of four or five hours of research, is all rubbish.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03It's back to square one, really.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08While the office pack up in the hope of a better day tomorrow,
0:37:08 > 0:37:11at least their work on the Danks side is coming to fruition.
0:37:11 > 0:37:18Paul Matthews is calling on an heir on the paternal side - Irene's aunt Phyllis.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Irene's aunt Phyllis had two daughters.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Victoria is one of them, and is a cousin to Irene.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Your mum was Phyllis May Danks?
0:37:34 > 0:37:36- Yes.- Married Horace Butt.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40- Yes.- Your mum had a lot of brothers and sisters?
0:37:41 > 0:37:44Victoria is the youngest of Irene's cousins.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Learning of her share in Irene's £200,000 inheritance
0:37:48 > 0:37:52was the first news she had heard of cousin in years.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55I didn't really know what to think, to be honest.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58It was out of the blue, you know?
0:37:58 > 0:38:04I didn't realise I had got any relations that had got any money,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06you know, to leave, or any property, or anything.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10My mother was one of eight,
0:38:10 > 0:38:15so it goes right back, and you just lose track, because I'm one of the
0:38:15 > 0:38:21youngest ones, so it's nice to know that there are still people there.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Paul has left the paperwork in the hope that she will agree to
0:38:24 > 0:38:27let the company help present her case to the Treasury
0:38:27 > 0:38:30and that they'll end up earning their commission.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42It's a new day at the office, and the Williams team are waiting for that vital clue
0:38:42 > 0:38:46which will help them build Irene's mother's side of the family tree.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Bob Barrett is at the Ledbury register office which is now open,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55to get hold of Irene's parents' marriage certificate.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00The whole case hinges on what Bob will find.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Right, well, I got the marriage certificate that I was after.
0:39:08 > 0:39:14As a bonus I also got a birth certificate of our deceased's mother.
0:39:14 > 0:39:21And in fact, she was illegitimate, so I've got a birth of a Lily Fletcher.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Somewhere along the way,
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Lily Fletcher became Lily Williams because Joseph Williams is shown
0:39:29 > 0:39:32as her father on the marriage certificate.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35So I'll ring these through to the office now...
0:39:37 > 0:39:39..which I'm sure they are eagerly awaiting.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46Without a father on Irene's mother's birth certificate,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49the heir hunters can only prove a half-blood relationship with any
0:39:49 > 0:39:51of Lily's brothers and sisters,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55because they only know for sure who her mother is.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58That means that Irene's aunts and uncles on her mother's side
0:39:58 > 0:40:00would not be in line to inherit
0:40:00 > 0:40:05because they're legally half brothers and sisters to her mother rather than full-blood relatives.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09That's the mother's birth. No father shown.
0:40:09 > 0:40:16As far as we can say, we can't prove full blood on the Williams side.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19It all goes to the paternal side.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23And we've got them all, so, that's that.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Although it's not the outcome they expected,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29the team are pleased to have concluded the case.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33They found all the heirs on Irene father's side.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Bryan Golby, Irene's cousin,
0:40:35 > 0:40:40is the last to be contacted by travelling researcher Paul Matthews.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44I was trying to think that
0:40:44 > 0:40:48most of the children of my uncles and aunties, my cousins,
0:40:48 > 0:40:55must be dead now, because I'm coming up 78, and they're older than me.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58You know Frank? He had two children, Stan and Eileen,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02they're both still alive. They're both in their eighties.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05That's right, yes. Yeah, that's right, yeah.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10All the very best. Nice to meet you.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13- Take care of yourself. - Thank you very much.- Cheers. Bye.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Irene's death and Paul's subsequent visit
0:41:20 > 0:41:26have left Bryan to reflect on a time when the family were much closer.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30I'd forgotten all about them and it's brought back memories, as I say,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34my brother and I were evacuated to Redditch during the war.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37We stayed in my nan and grandad's house,
0:41:37 > 0:41:42but they shared the house with Auntie Phyllis,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and she and her husband lived there
0:41:45 > 0:41:48with their daughters Vicky and Judy
0:41:48 > 0:41:53who I understand from Paul are still alive and still live in Redditch.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57I'd be interested to speak to them again because it's a long, long time.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It must be 30 years since I've seen any of them, you know?
0:42:00 > 0:42:05And it's a surprise when I realise it's that long ago
0:42:05 > 0:42:07that I've seen them.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Irene has provided Bryan and the 16 other heirs on the paternal side
0:42:13 > 0:42:17with an unexpected windfall from her £200,000 estate.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20But for her neighbour, Jim Mills,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22the real reward was simply knowing her.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29Nine out of ten times you met her, she was laughing and joking.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32She had always got a cheery word for you.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35She was just a lovely person to know,
0:42:35 > 0:42:41and I think the world was a better place because of her.
0:42:42 > 0:42:49If you would like advice about building a family tree or making a will, go to:
0:42:56 > 0:42:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:42:58 > 0:43:00E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk