0:00:02 > 0:00:07Heir hunters spend their lives tracking down the families of people who died without leaving a will.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives
0:00:10 > 0:00:13who had no idea they were in line for a windfall.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:32 > 0:00:36On today's programme, the team find themselves
0:00:36 > 0:00:38up to their armpits in heirs.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43With the amount of people that are involved and the size of the tree,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47people will be lucky if they get tuppence ha'penny at this rate.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51And there's a surprise in store for one heir who believed her family were poor.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55This was a complete surprise to me.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59My family had no money at all. Nothing.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Plus the unclaimed estates sitting dormant at the Treasury,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06are you about to inherit a fortune?
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Every year in Britain, over two thirds of people die without leaving a will,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and when no heir can be found, their money goes to the Government.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25Last year, the Treasury made a colossal £18 million from unclaimed estates,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29while only £6.5 million was ever claimed back by heirs.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37Hoping to gain a commission, more than 30 probate research companies
0:01:37 > 0:01:43race against one another to track down and sign up long lost relatives entitled to inherit.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Hello. Sheila Kingsland?
0:01:45 > 0:01:47- Hello, David.- Hello, there.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52Fraser & Fraser is one of the oldest firms of heir hunters in Britain,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and is run by Andrew, Neil and Charles Fraser.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59One of the areas I enjoy is the sort of mystery element of it.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Each family is different from the previous one that we've looked at,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and it's totally different from the next one that we look at.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13In its 30 year history, the company has clawed back over £100 million
0:02:13 > 0:02:18from the Government and handed it back to more than 50,000 fortunate heirs.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28It's 11am, and the team are having an extraordinarily busy morning.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32They're overrun with the names of people who died without leaving a will,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35but they only have the place and date they died
0:02:35 > 0:02:38with no way of knowing how valuable the estates are.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42All right, I've done one, two and 12. Any more?
0:02:42 > 0:02:44The team do a search on each name
0:02:44 > 0:02:49to find out if they owned a house and are therefore likely to have the highest value.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54- Well, there's nothing coming up as her owning the property.- She did.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59They have to be pretty sure which cases are financially viable.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- Well, the ground floor flat. - I believe was the deceased's.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07The point is, she did live there, right?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10So, we've got to get that death before we know where we're going,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13so we know which birth's right, so we might as well go down to Paul.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20- Either way, there's a flat there with money on it. There was money in it at some point.- Yeah, it's a possibility.
0:03:22 > 0:03:29Widow Hilda Bentley Watkinson died in Poole, Dorset, in 2008.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Known to friends as Babs,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35she at one time owned a High Street flat with her late husband,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39opposite Peter Mallory's second hand furniture shop.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Well, I'd known Babs for a few years.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46She was a bubbly,
0:03:46 > 0:03:47fun loving lady.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51She was very friendly with people,
0:03:51 > 0:03:56and if she could help you in any way, she would.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01I hadn't realised that she had died last year and I know that,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05from my point of view, she's going to be sadly missed.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12The team believe that Hilda sold her flat in 2006 for £120,000,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16but have no subsequent address for her.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22They need to get a researcher on the road to find out more.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Right, listen, mate, we've got a shed load of jobs out here.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- 'There's something down in Poole in Dorset.'- Right.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- 'Could you pop down there?' - Pop down to Poole? Okey-doke.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Frasers employ a team of travelling heir hunters based all over the country
0:04:39 > 0:04:43who await the call to be sent wherever the search takes them.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46They follow up leads and hunches and glean as much information
0:04:46 > 0:04:52- as they can about the deceased by knocking on doors and collecting certificates.- Thanks very much.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Hoping to track down an heir before the competition beats them to it.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Looking for Hilda's last place of residence,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06senior researcher Bob Barrett
0:05:06 > 0:05:10is at Poole Register Office collecting her death certificate.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Right, I've got the death certificate for Hilda Watkinson.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17It tells you that she died in a nursing home in Branscombe,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19which I don't think is too far away.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Now the team know that Hilda
0:05:23 > 0:05:26spent the last two years of her life in a nursing home.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29This has huge financial implications.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34Although her flat sold for £120,000 in 2006,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37her care fees will have made a hefty impact on her finances.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Value wise on this, our feeling at the moment is that,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43although she didn't own the property where she's passed away,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48and she possibly owned the property prior to moving into this residential care environment,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50so it's a bit hard to say what the value is,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54but we think there's going to be something there, it's not, however, going to be huge.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Probably between 50,000 and 100,000, maybe.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It's quite a drop from their initial calculations.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Nursing homes can make a significant dent in people's savings,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09as Elizabeth Feltoe from Help The Aged explains.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12By far the most popular place to retire in the UK
0:06:12 > 0:06:14is along the south coast somewhere.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The statistics show us that in the south west of England
0:06:17 > 0:06:19and the south east of England,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23there is a very large proportion of older people in those areas.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28If you live in the south of England, you're a female and you're over 85,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32you have a one in five chance of living in a care home towards the end of your life.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34It's a big proportion of people.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39The south coast is without doubt the care home capital of the UK.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Poole has an enormous proportion of homes for the elderly.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Enticed by the clement weather, coastal air and sandy beaches,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49it's a popular choice for people wishing
0:06:49 > 0:06:55to retire by the seaside, but care can cost as much as £1,000 a week.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01If you're paying for a care home out of your own wealth, and it's on average about £25,000 a year,
0:07:01 > 0:07:06you can imagine in three or four years you've eaten up, basically, £100,000,
0:07:06 > 0:07:07and that's as an average.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It could be a lot more than that.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13So, it really does reduce the value of people's capital in a really big way.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Nice to meet you, anyway. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Bob is hoping the nursing home will hold records on Hilda,
0:07:21 > 0:07:26and someone may remember details of family and friends who visited her.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34The staff wouldn't give me any information at all
0:07:34 > 0:07:37until they had spoken to their manager,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39who's not back till Monday.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42OK, well, to be quite honest with you at the moment there's nothing else.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45They're all from the Croydon area.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Yeah, I see she was born in Mitcham.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49You're probably in the wrong part of the country.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54OK. Well, I'll start heading back towards Surrey, then, and wait to hear.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- Absolutely, yeah.- OK, Frances.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59- All right.- Bye, now.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Bob heads back to the area Hilda was born in.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08To move this case forward, they need to know who Hilda's parents and siblings were,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12etching in the blanks of her family tree, generation by generation,
0:08:12 > 0:08:13until they find her heirs.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18We've pretty much decided now there isn't any near kin on this,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20which means we're certainly going back.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23It means we're researching cousins.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Looking firstly for the uncles and aunts of the deceased,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28so the brothers and sisters of the parents of the deceased,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32and from there we're going to find their descendants and come down.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Hilda Bentley Watkinson and her husband, Ronald,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38are believed to have had no children,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42so there are no descendants to trace from their marriage.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Moving up the tree, Hilda had a brother, Stanley,
0:08:46 > 0:08:47but he died as a baby.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53So, the team will begin their search by tracing her parents,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Richard Elmes and Beatrice Pocock.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Case manager Dave Slee is starting enquiries.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03So far... You've caught me just at the early stages.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08We've been able to find the father's birth in 1890 in West Ham,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and he was the son of Richard Thomas Elmes
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and Mary Anne, we don't know her maiden name yet,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and we've picked them up from the 1901 census.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20In fact, today's our first opportunity
0:09:20 > 0:09:21to run with the 1911 census,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25which is now just online for the first time,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28which has been really helpful.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34The census is taken every 10 years and lists all households and people in the country.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40It includes details of age, marital status, number of children and type of work.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The information is released to the public after 100 years.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48But after pressure from people keen to trace their own ancestors,
0:09:48 > 0:09:54the 1911 census became available online three years early, a huge boon to the team.
0:09:56 > 0:10:03The 1911 census gives far more information because they actually ask on the census, for the first time,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06how many children did you have from your marriage.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09So our aim now is to look to find aunts and uncles of her father's family,
0:10:09 > 0:10:16the paternal family, and aunts and uncles of the maternal family, the Pococks.
0:10:16 > 0:10:17Can you also, then...
0:10:17 > 0:10:20You're now doing Roberts, as well.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23The office is snowed under with work this morning,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28and Hilda Watkinson's case gets delegated to another member of the team.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Fran?
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Watkins.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Fran is now leading Hilda's case.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38The issues search from the marriage has been done.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42There's their dates. No probates, we don't think, but I'm going to check those in a minute.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48While Dave gets sent to the Probate Registry Office to look for wills.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51They usually contain vital family links,
0:10:51 > 0:10:57and the Principal Probate Registry in London retains copies of all wills in England and Wales
0:10:57 > 0:11:02since 1858. What's more, it's only minutes from Frasers' office.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Fran has to pick up where Dave left off.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07The team often have to work on several cases at once,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and need to be able to swap jobs at a moment's notice.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16I haven't got a Henry who was born in '74.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19At the moment, we're still identifying the births
0:11:19 > 0:11:24of the aunts and uncles of the deceased on the maternal side of the family.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30As he finds them, Alan's calling them out and I'm writing them down on the tree.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36The new census has proved a triumph in tracking down Hilda's mother's family but,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40astonishingly, it tells them she is one of 10 children.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45We're just trying to identify birth records,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49find death records and try and get the family together that way.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Fran is keeping her cool, but she knows that from those 10 children,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00there are bound to be dozens and dozens of descendants
0:12:00 > 0:12:04and she needs to account for every last one of them.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Everyone is poring over one scribbled tree.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Jesse, who died up in Congleton, she's left a probate.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13But every time Fran tries to get it copied,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17more and more information gets tacked on the end.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22See if you can find him dead on the machines or alive before you do a marriage.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26The maternal line is exploding with descendants that could lead to an heir.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Would you be so kind, while I start to make up this damn tree,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32could you give Bernard a ring?
0:12:32 > 0:12:36And in the midst of the mayhem, there's a call from Dave Slee.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38He's struck gold.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43He's just picked up the probate for Edward Pocock,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45paternal uncle of the deceased.
0:12:45 > 0:12:51Excellent news, because it mentions that he had four daughters,
0:12:51 > 0:12:56and there's also mention of a grandson, Cliff Conden.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Edward Pocock was Hilda's maternal uncle.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05He had a whopping seven children, Doris, Florence, Louisa,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Laura, Rosie and two more who died as infants.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Florence had just one child,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Clifford, Hilda's cousin once removed,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16and the team's first heir.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17With Clifford lined up
0:13:17 > 0:13:19for an appointment,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Bob Barrett is sent to sign him up.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26- When's he born?- September 1933.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32But by the looks of the tree, Clifford is just the tip of the iceberg.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37- This Bernard is alive and well and on the phone.- I need to get somebody down to Southampton.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42If they're going to stay one step ahead of the competition and scoop up all these heirs,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45they'll have to have more people on the job.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51With several beneficiaries in Southampton, they need another traveller on the road quickly.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Right, I am...
0:13:55 > 0:13:59somewhere between Portsmouth and the M25.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Can you go to Southampton, please?
0:14:02 > 0:14:07- Yes, I can, of course I can. - Have you got your overnight bag?
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- 'It's not going to be an overnight, is it?'- Well...
0:14:10 > 0:14:15hopefully not, but there's a whole branch down in the Southampton area,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19so kind of get yourself to Southampton and give me a ring.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21All right, then.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Cheers, then. Bye, bye.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34There are now two travellers on this case and around 10 office staff.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37The 11 page family tree is spilling off the desk
0:14:37 > 0:14:40and the number of heirs has reached 15.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45I can see us running out of men on the ground very quickly. I can see us having to bring someone else in.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The question is, have they got the manpower to get all the heirs,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55or will Hilda's huge family get the better of them?
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Heir hunters don't just come in the form of large city firms.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12All over the country are freelance probate researchers,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14helping people trace lost inheritances
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and missing family members.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Cat Whiteaway has been a probate researcher since 1997
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and has solved over 100 cases.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27She started slowly, taking work on behalf of solicitors
0:15:27 > 0:15:32and fitting the research in around her full time job as an academic.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36But Cat's passion for family history and genealogy
0:15:36 > 0:15:38has gradually taken over,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and she now solves about 30 cases a year
0:15:41 > 0:15:45through the small heir hunting company she runs with her sister in Australia.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50We work on cases together, so when we get stuck we can bounce ideas off each other,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53mostly through the email system, but, I mean, we do talk regularly,
0:15:53 > 0:15:59especially about cases and more to do with cases than to do with our own personal lives, actually.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Cat claims she can find almost anything,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and will track down missing assets,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07reunite family members and locate heirs to unclaimed estates.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11It's always quite nice to just keep going,
0:16:11 > 0:16:17keep attacking a case until you find somebody, and most times I do.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23One of her recent cases was that of Bertha Clark,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27a widow who died in an alms house in Colchester
0:16:27 > 0:16:32leaving an estate of over £21,000, but no next of kin.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Bertha's case was advertised in 2001.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Well, I start with the death certificate, really,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43and work backwards from there searching for blood relatives.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45It may not look like it at first,
0:16:45 > 0:16:50but the death certificate holds an incredible amount of detail about Bertha's life.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55It tells me that she was born in 1914 in London.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58It also tells me that she was married,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01so it says that she was the widow of a Mr Clark,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03who was a soldier, a retired soldier,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06who happened to live in Military Road, actually.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10And from the death certificate I can order the birth certificate,
0:17:10 > 0:17:16and on this it says her mother was Louisa Elizabeth Crossland and she was a domestic servant.
0:17:16 > 0:17:24And the places where father's name would have been are left blank, so definitely illegitimate.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30An illegitimate birth means there's no way of tracing or proving paternal relatives.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34To be honest, I mean, my heart usually sinks when I see an illegitimacy
0:17:34 > 0:17:39because that means I've got 50% less chance of actually finding relatives
0:17:39 > 0:17:42because I lose the whole paternal bloodline to follow
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and I've only got the maternal line.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Although it's difficult with one less parent,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52it's actually quite intriguing to me to work out, you know,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54or to try and find out, why they...
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Or how they were brought up and who brought them up and what their circumstances were.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01And with Bertha it's no different at all.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Cat wanted to find out more about Bertha's background.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Through the informant on her death certificate,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13she tracked down Hyacinth Headland Smith,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16a voluntary advocate who took care of Bertha
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and her affairs in the years before she died.
0:18:19 > 0:18:25I remember Bertha with fondness because she had a funny side,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27a gentle side, a loving side
0:18:27 > 0:18:32and also a little bit, you know, against authority.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36Bertha was somebody that I will always keep in my memory
0:18:36 > 0:18:39because she was such a nice person.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41She liked people, and people...
0:18:41 > 0:18:47If there was anything that happened, she would always think,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50you know, she should be there to help.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54And that's one thing about what Bertha was like.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56She was very caring.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Bertha and Hyacinth became firm friends,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05but Bertha was also a popular local character.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10I think a lot of people liked her in Colchester, because you couldn't not know Bertha.
0:19:10 > 0:19:16I think Marks & Spencer and other shops would accommodate her.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19You know, she used to go and chat to the ladies
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and then some of them would probably give her a chair to sit on
0:19:23 > 0:19:28because she'll have the entire afternoon she probably spent in Marks & Spencer.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33As Bertha's advocate, Hyacinth tried to persuade Bertha to make a will.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36She didn't speak much of her family.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Like I'd say to her, you need to make a will, "No, no, my dear, I'll do it later.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44"And, I've got money to give to the day centre," because the ladies who worked there,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48they looked after her well and she said, "Oh, I'll leave all my money to them,"
0:19:48 > 0:19:50you know, and things like that.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53But I used to say to her, but you can't do that, they won't accept...
0:19:53 > 0:19:56You've got to make a will. She'd say, "Oh, yes, yes."
0:19:56 > 0:20:00And it would be another day go by, another month or whatever.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Hyacinth went out of her way to organise a memorial service for Bertha when she died,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11and the number of people who attended is a testament to how popular she was.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17I thought it would be a great tribute to her
0:20:17 > 0:20:22for the people who didn't come to the funeral who wanted to mark respect for her,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24that they'll come along.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30And there was quite a lot of people, even though it was a winter's Saturday morning,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33a lot of people turned up and said all what they thought of her.
0:20:33 > 0:20:40And I thought that was a very good tribute to her and her days when they knew her and liked her
0:20:40 > 0:20:42and was very fond of her.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Hyacinth makes a point of visiting Bertha's grave twice a year,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52at Christmas and on her birthday, to lay some flowers.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57As Bertha's closest companion,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Hyacinth kept hold of a few of Bertha's photos and treasured letters
0:21:01 > 0:21:07in the hope that one day someone would come forward and claim them.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Now Cat has the opportunity to see them and find out about Bertha's life.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17I'm really pleased that you can give me some information about Bertha because, I mean,
0:21:17 > 0:21:22I know she was illegitimate, but I don't know who brought her up or anything at all about her.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26She did speak about never really having much to do with her mother.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Her birth mother?
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Her birth mother. But her mother did work in services,
0:21:32 > 0:21:37so Bertha was brought up in service, and I think her birth mother must have moved on.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I don't really know about that.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And then Bertha found love very late in her life, didn't she?
0:21:42 > 0:21:48Yes, she did. I think she got married when she was 39 and I think he was in the Army.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51- But you didn't meet him? - No, I didn't.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53He died before I met her.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55And what else do you know?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I mean, like I said, I don't usually get this chance, actually.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I've got some correspondence that Bertha had,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05from, you know, people all over the world.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07For instance, this from the White House.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08That's incredible!
0:22:08 > 0:22:14I know. It was a card from Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, you can have a look at that.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Wow! Why on earth...?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I think she used to write to a lot of people.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24If somebody died, she'd write sending her sympathy to them.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28If somebody got married, she'd write and congratulate them.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33And, as you can see, all through those letters and with the correspondence she had,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35she was a very kind person.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40- Do you keep them as part of your job, is that, you know... - Well, she was special.
0:22:40 > 0:22:46Because all the other people that I have been partners with, they've either had people who...
0:22:46 > 0:22:50They have relatives, but with Bertha because she didn't have a family,
0:22:50 > 0:22:56I took it on myself to work and do everything for her.
0:22:56 > 0:23:03So, when we found all these things in her house, I kept them, that should one day somebody wanted...
0:23:03 > 0:23:09you know, found that she had relatives they could pass them to them.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Hyacinth was able to pass on photos and personal treasures
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Cat simply wouldn't have found through any other source.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21But on locating who they should be passed on to,
0:23:21 > 0:23:25what would the heir to Bertha's legacy make of the windfall?
0:23:25 > 0:23:28This was a complete surprise to me.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31We thought it was a scam.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43For every case that is solved, there are still thousands that stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:23:43 > 0:23:50Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Their assets will be kept up to 30 years in the hope that eventually
0:23:56 > 0:24:01someone will remember and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08With estates valued at anything from 5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20John Edward Horton died in Holt Park, Leeds, in 2006.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23His estate is still waiting to be claimed,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27and if no relatives can be found, his money will go to the Government,
0:24:27 > 0:24:28but could it be meant for you?
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Etemongha Ayebinimigha died in 2006 in Muswell Hill, London.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Does this name stir any memories?
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Are you a missing and entitled relative?
0:24:43 > 0:24:47With hundreds of estates laying unclaimed every year,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51your information could help this money reach its rightful heirs.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02In the London office of Fraser & Fraser,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05the team are working on the case of Hilda Watkinson.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08She died in the affluent area of Poole in Dorset,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11but spent the last two years of her life in a home.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13With care fees taken into account,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16the value of her estate is still in question.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21We think there's going to be something there. It's not, however, going to be huge.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25Probably between 50,000 and 100,000, maybe.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30They need to make something back on this case.
0:25:30 > 0:25:37The maternal family tree is 11 pages, the paternal a further three,
0:25:37 > 0:25:42and they are using an enormous amount of manpower tracing and signing up heirs to Hilda's estate.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Fran is feeling the strain.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48She's been on the case for over five hours without a break,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and she just doesn't have enough people to cover the workload.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58At the moment I have Dave Hadley in Southampton with four people to see.
0:26:00 > 0:26:06I have Bob Barrett in the Surrey area with potentially two people to see.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12With the amount of people that are involved and the size of the tree,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15people will be like lucky if they get tuppence ha'penny at this rate.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24Bob Barrett now has to convince Clifford, Hilda's first cousin once removed,
0:26:24 > 0:26:26that it's worth signing with the company.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Even if it is only for tuppence ha'penny.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Hello, Mr Conden? Bob Barrett from Fraser and Fraser.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I think you were expecting me? I'm a bit early, is that OK?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40- Yes, that's fine. - Thanks very much.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- They've explained at the office what it's all about?- Yes.- Excellent.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- Distant relatives. - Distant relatives, that's right.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53What we don't know is how much the estate is valued at.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57I do know that the person that died, died in a nursing home.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03Now, the chances are some of the estate has been used to pay for nursing care,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06but I've got no idea what's left.
0:27:06 > 0:27:12The person concerned is a distant relative of my grandparents.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14In fact, it was a cousin...
0:27:16 > 0:27:17..of your mother.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22Only the Treasury know the exact amount of Hilda's estate.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26There are up to 35 maternal heirs alone at this stage,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29all of them first cousins once and twice removed,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and all of them descended from the 10 children of Hilda's grandparents,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Richard Pocock and Eliza Bentley.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Just this Bloom stem here,
0:27:40 > 0:27:45it looks like she had nine children and each one of them appears to have three, four,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48possibly even five. I know one of them has six children.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53We have them up to date, but some of them were born in the '40s, some of them born in the '20s.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57They could have passed away and they could have had five children.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02You can very quickly see how little each person is actually going to receive on this.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06We think the whole estate is probably only £50,000 to £100,000,
0:28:06 > 0:28:12and if they are only entitled to a tiny fraction of that, they may only be receiving £10 to £15.
0:28:13 > 0:28:19This is a tough case for the heir hunters to make money on, but they have to complete it.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Most of the cases they started this morning have fallen through,
0:28:23 > 0:28:29but they need to sign as many of Hilda's heirs as possible in order to get their piece of the pie.
0:28:31 > 0:28:37Well, poor Dave Hadley is feeling quite sorry for himself,
0:28:37 > 0:28:43because there seem to be quite a number of family members in the Southampton area
0:28:43 > 0:28:47and he's figuring he's going to have to find himself a hotel for the night
0:28:47 > 0:28:52because I've just given him addresses of four people to go and see,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54so he's not getting home tonight.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01Resigned to his fate, Dave Hadley begins trying to meet Hilda's heirs.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Well, I've just left a letter there for Mr Bloom.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I've got three more addresses to visit. I've spoken to the neighbour,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10and she believes that
0:29:10 > 0:29:15the gentleman I wanted to see, Mr Bloom, is on holiday.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Apparently he works abroad and goes away quite frequently,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22and she believes he's away at the moment.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Dave leaves without a signed heir, and heads to the next address.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33But Southampton is not the only place Fran needs a traveller.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35The more heirs they find,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37the further afield they spread.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41And just when Bob Smith thought he was clocking off for the day...
0:29:41 > 0:29:45I'm just about to ruin Bob Smith's day. He thought it was over,
0:29:45 > 0:29:50and now I'm going to send him to Colchester, so he's going to love me!
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Hello, Bob. How are you?
0:29:54 > 0:29:56Well, it depends what you're going to say to me!
0:29:56 > 0:29:58The first thing is where are you?
0:29:58 > 0:30:00I'm in East London.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05Ah! Sort of handy for going to Colchester kind of East London?
0:30:05 > 0:30:08- OK, all right. - 'Speak to you in a bit.'
0:30:08 > 0:30:09All right, speak to you later.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14Bob gets sent to Essex with limited information.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19He's got to actually go door-knocking to get in with people
0:30:19 > 0:30:22because we haven't got phone numbers.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26At 5pm it's late in the day to be chancing it without appointments
0:30:26 > 0:30:30but, ever aware of their competitors, they keep working.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Fran's still putting the tree on to the system.
0:30:35 > 0:30:41Three travellers are still on the road and they now have a running total of 45 heirs.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46A family tree this size, we could easily find 50 beneficiaries.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50To get all this stuff together is going to take several weeks, possibly even a month.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57But the admin side of things is the last thing on Bob's mind as he arrives in Essex.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00He needs to find an heir first.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07But things don't look too promising.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10I don't believe it!
0:31:10 > 0:31:14I've driven all the way over to Colchester this evening
0:31:14 > 0:31:18to go and see a lady by the name of Mrs Goddard
0:31:18 > 0:31:22who we believe is the first cousin once removed to our deceased.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be her,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32at the address I'm given, it doesn't appear to be her usual residence.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35It's like a holiday home and she's there once a week.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Bob Smith's had a wasted trip to Essex.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43Bob Barrett has been from London to Poole and back to London again.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Dave Hadley is still in Southampton and Fran is still in the office.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51It's been a tough day all round.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54We have done so much research today.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57We have an 11 page tree on the maternal side,
0:31:57 > 0:31:59three pages on the other side.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03We've had appointments to see beneficiaries this afternoon.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08We have more people to see this evening, appointments tomorrow.
0:32:08 > 0:32:09It's been a good day.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14They found a staggering 45 heirs in one day.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18The total amount of Hilda Bentley Watkinson's estate remains unknown
0:32:18 > 0:32:21until the Treasury accept the claim by her heirs.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Though her heirs never knew her, she'll be remembered with fondness
0:32:27 > 0:32:31as a bubbly and vivacious character by her friend and neighbour.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Yeah, you could always have a good laugh with her.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37She tried not to sort of...
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I think when her husband died she did sort of mellow out a bit,
0:32:40 > 0:32:46but she was always quite funny, nice to talk to and,
0:32:46 > 0:32:51yeah, she didn't want anything from people, really, you know?
0:32:51 > 0:32:54All she wanted I suppose at the end of it was a bit of company.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Back on the case of Bertha Clark, Cat Whiteaway has been researching
0:33:11 > 0:33:16her family history, trying to piece her life story together with more than just certificates.
0:33:19 > 0:33:25Cat went to meet Bertha's closest companion, Hyacinth, who was able to pass on personal photos of Bertha
0:33:25 > 0:33:28and give a little more detail of her life.
0:33:28 > 0:33:33- And Bertha found love very late in her life, didn't she?- Yes, she did.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38I think she got married when she was 39 and I think he was in the Army.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41But Bertha's early years are still a mystery.
0:33:44 > 0:33:50Cat's come to London to locate the address on the birth certificate.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52She wants to build a picture of the life Bertha
0:33:52 > 0:33:56was born into so she can pass on a more complete portrait to her heir.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01This is great because I get the chance to find out where they lived,
0:34:01 > 0:34:06which gives me a bit more of a picture about exactly how they were brought up,
0:34:06 > 0:34:11what the area was like, what their parents might have done and all sorts of different details.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15So, instead of just this piece of paper, I get a feel for the person.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17And, if I can, I love to do this.
0:34:18 > 0:34:25The address has led her to London's East End and a building that used to be a workhouse and infirmary.
0:34:26 > 0:34:32204 Hoxton Street, St Leonards, Shoreditch, offices for the relief of the poor.
0:34:32 > 0:34:38If this is where she was born, then I'm just wondering whether it was like a parish relief place, you know?
0:34:38 > 0:34:43Where people who didn't have enough money, or perhaps it's a home for unmarried mothers.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Louisa was a 39 year old domestic servant when she had Bertha.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54According to East End historian Rachel Kolsky,
0:34:54 > 0:34:59this would have been a pretty desperate situation for her.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Bertha was born at 204 Hoxton Street.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05That was not an address to aspire to. It was a very,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09very sort of dirty and noisy place to live.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12The existence would have been very hard.
0:35:14 > 0:35:15A workhouse was a workhouse.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19If you were given a roof over your head in a workhouse, you had to work
0:35:19 > 0:35:24and so even as a new mother you would have had work to do
0:35:24 > 0:35:27and it was hard work, it was tedious work, it was dirty work.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29People did anything to avoid the workhouse.
0:35:29 > 0:35:36You're unmarried, you've been a servant, you're pregnant, you've been turned out.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Louisa didn't have many options open to her at that time.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43In this grim situation and having gone to the workhouse to have
0:35:43 > 0:35:49her baby, what choice would Louisa have had but to give her baby up?
0:35:50 > 0:35:53There are no records of where Bertha spent her childhood.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58Well, because Bertha was illegitimate, I mean, it's hard to know who actually brought her up,
0:35:58 > 0:36:02but what was really fascinating, later on when I came across
0:36:02 > 0:36:05her mother's marriage certificate in 1938...
0:36:05 > 0:36:11So, I've got Louisa getting married to Thomas Camp at the age of 63
0:36:11 > 0:36:14and one of the witnesses is Bertha herself, so that's fantastic
0:36:14 > 0:36:20to know that at 28 she was close enough to her mum to be her witness.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26So, Bertha, seen here in her 30s, must have been in contact with
0:36:26 > 0:36:30her mother, Louisa, even though Louisa was unable to bring her up.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Cat's next task was to trace Louisa's parents and siblings.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Their descendants would be entitled next of kin.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40I mean, even though Bertha didn't have a father,
0:36:40 > 0:36:47so we couldn't track down any paternal beneficiaries, her mother, Louisa, is one of five children
0:36:47 > 0:36:52so there are four other bloodlines that we can actually follow and out of all of them I've only managed
0:36:52 > 0:36:56to track one bloodline, which is Hannah, who was born in 1871,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00and Hannah had a daughter called Florence.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03So, Florence is Bertha's first cousin.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06Florence has a daughter called Joyce
0:37:06 > 0:37:11and Joyce is the only beneficiary that I can find to Bertha's estate.
0:37:13 > 0:37:20Joyce Vercy is Bertha's cousin once removed and was in the dark about her long lost relation.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22I didn't know Bertha.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Never heard of her or never heard of her spoken of at all.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29My mother didn't know her at all.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Never spoke of her.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Understandably, Cat's letter stating she was the only heir
0:37:36 > 0:37:40left Joyce and her daughter, Corinda, very dubious.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44We thought it was a scam
0:37:44 > 0:37:50because we'd had one before, two years before, and then we heard from
0:37:50 > 0:37:55Cat and so I said, 'oh, it's just one of those letters
0:37:55 > 0:37:59'that you get from time to time, we'll ignore it.'
0:37:59 > 0:38:02And Corinda said, 'no, I think this may be real.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04'We may get something here.'
0:38:04 > 0:38:11So, I said, 'well, whatever we get you can have half,' thinking that would be nothing. Half of nothing.
0:38:16 > 0:38:22Cat's on her way to meet Joyce, the heir to Bertha's £21,000 estate.
0:38:23 > 0:38:29What Hyacinth was able to tell me, you know, means so much and I get a whole image of Bertha.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32And Joyce is going to love it too because Joyce is...
0:38:32 > 0:38:35She's rare because she's actually interested in Bertha.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I mean, some of my clients, not that interested in the person who died.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48- Hi, Corinda?- Yes, it is. - Cat. Cat Whiteaway.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51- Lovely to meet you. - Nice to meet you at last. Thank you.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52It's a poignant moment.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Joyce is amazed to find out about her long lost cousin.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59Because you didn't know about Bertha at first, did you?
0:38:59 > 0:39:01No. I didn't know
0:39:01 > 0:39:04anything about her. I didn't know that she existed.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07I'm sorry that I didn't know.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11I'm sorry that my mother didn't know anything about her.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13My mother never mentioned her.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19Joyce's mother, Florence, pictured here, was 14 when Bertha was born,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23but she probably never knew her baby cousin existed.
0:39:23 > 0:39:29Well, I can only imagine that she was spirited away somewhere because she was illegitimate, perhaps.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32I don't know that for certain.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36But my mother never talked of her.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Ever.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41So, obviously
0:39:41 > 0:39:45her mother couldn't have spoken about her, could she?
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Her mother couldn't have told my mother.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53But, I mean, it's been an incredible journey, all these different things that we've learned
0:39:53 > 0:40:00and Hyacinth, the lady who looked after Bertha later in life and sort of became her friend, you know?
0:40:00 > 0:40:02She wasn't actually paid to look after Bertha,
0:40:02 > 0:40:10but she became her friend and I've met Hyacinth and she's got some photographs of Bertha, as well.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14- Would you like to see them?- I wonder if she looks like my mother.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Let's get the photo, first. This is Bertha.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Can you see Nan in her?
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Yeah.
0:40:27 > 0:40:28Can you see a likeness?
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Yes, definitely.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36There's another one, as well, so...
0:40:36 > 0:40:39So whether they were slightly younger.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43I'm told I look like my mother.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48And if she looked like her mother, then she might look like Bertha.
0:40:48 > 0:40:54Your mum and Bertha were first cousins, so, you know, there should be some similarity.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Do you think she'd mind me having her money?
0:40:59 > 0:41:01- No.- Her mother didn't like me.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03She used to tell me I was ugly.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06'You're ugly!'
0:41:06 > 0:41:09- Louisa?- Yeah. She lived next door to my grandmother.
0:41:09 > 0:41:15When my grandmother was looking after me, she used to look over the garden fence, 'you're ugly!'
0:41:15 > 0:41:18'You're not worth a bladder of lard!'
0:41:18 > 0:41:23I think there's a degree of irony there that you got the money
0:41:23 > 0:41:25after her mother said those nasty things to you.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Yes, I feel very guilty about it.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32Well, you're legally entitled and I wouldn't feel any guilt.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34And what are you going to spend the money on?
0:41:34 > 0:41:36I'm not spending it on myself.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37Who are you spending it on?
0:41:37 > 0:41:40I'm saving it for my grandson.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44He's hoping to go to university next year, so I'll put it aside
0:41:44 > 0:41:48for him so that he doesn't have to have a debt.
0:41:48 > 0:41:54Joyce has come to terms with inheriting Bertha's estate because she's giving it up
0:41:54 > 0:42:00for her grandson's education, but coming to terms with never having known her cousin is so much harder.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02- Very popular.- Yes.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Well known in Colchester, I think.
0:42:04 > 0:42:11Yes. It's made me more sad than ever that we didn't know her.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16If possible, we'd like to meet Hyacinth so that we can take her
0:42:16 > 0:42:23some flowers and thank her properly for looking after Bertha as she did.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30Bertha is no longer the illegitimate relation spirited away in secrecy.
0:42:30 > 0:42:36She is a much missed relative and friend and will be remembered by everyone involved in her story.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47If you would like advice about building a family tree or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:42:56 > 0:42:58E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk