0:00:02 > 0:00:06Heir Hunters track down families of people who died without a will.
0:00:06 > 0:00:12They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives who had no idea they were due for a windfall.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:32 > 0:00:39On today's programme, when it comes to valuing an estate, have the Heir Hunters overestimated?
0:00:39 > 0:00:47I've got a horrible niggling feeling we'll be left with a £5,000 estate having spent a whole day researching.
0:00:47 > 0:00:55After inheriting money from a distant relative, one heir finds out he helped hasten the end of WWII.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57You must not lose concentration.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02You've got to get that message so that it can be decrypted.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08Plus how you may be entitled to inherit some of the unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?
0:01:13 > 0:01:17More than two-thirds of people in the UK don't make a will.
0:01:17 > 0:01:23If the authorities can't find any obvious relatives, the money goes straight to the government.
0:01:24 > 0:01:30Last year, the Treasury acquired a staggering £18 million in unclaimed estates.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33That's where Heir Hunters step in.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38Over 30 companies make it their job to track down heirs to this money.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42They take a commission, so it can be lucrative.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Last year the company's returned over £6.5 million to next of kin.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Fraser and Fraser is one of the oldest heir hunting firms.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Based in central London, it's run by Andrew, Charles and Neil Fraser.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01George R Galloway. Who's got the marriages?
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Their 30-year record of uniting heirs with unexpected windfalls
0:02:06 > 0:02:11has seen them assist 50,000 people to inherit over £100 million.
0:02:19 > 0:02:27It's 7am and the team at Fraser's are looking through the Treasury's weekly list of unclaimed estates
0:02:27 > 0:02:33- which has just been released. - I'm just thinking that's a possibility.
0:02:33 > 0:02:40As they work on commission, they try to identify which cases have value and would be worth pursuing.
0:02:40 > 0:02:48- See if you can get the marriage. - They've started preliminary searches into the case of Peter Martin.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Do you know if he ever had any brothers or sisters?
0:02:52 > 0:02:58- The first port of call is to ring round the neighbours. - Sorry to trouble you.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04Even though it's early to be making cold calls, they need to get a head start on rival firms.
0:03:04 > 0:03:11They often catch people at home who may reveal vital information about the deceased's property and family.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Was the family ever visited by other relatives?
0:03:15 > 0:03:21- Cousins, aunts or uncles? - But this morning the phone calls don't seem to be delivering.
0:03:21 > 0:03:27There's very little we know. When he was born, when he died. And he was a bachelor.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31We wanted to find a neighbour who would know something.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35We are going to have to start from scratch.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Can you check that address? See if that comes up.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Senior case manager David Milchard is leading this investigation.
0:03:43 > 0:03:50Known to his colleagues as Grimble, he's had almost 45 years' experience in tracking down heirs.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54- That was Martin?- Yeah. Can't get anywhere on it, really.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58I took the marriage of the parents back 10 years. None in Brighton.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03- You've gone back to '44 and got nothing?- I thought that was odd.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07I've got a feeling about this one. I don't know why.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10- You feel there might be money in it? - Mm.
0:04:10 > 0:04:17Grimble's got a hunch about this case, which may be down to Peter Martin's Brighton address.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22With property prices at a premium here, the estate could have value.
0:04:26 > 0:04:33Peter Martin died in Brighton three years ago in 2006 at the age of 52.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38He lived there all his life, but never married or had children.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43A bit of a loner, even his neighbour Victor Dodd knew little about him.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49Peter was very private. I don't know if that was his problems or what,
0:04:49 > 0:04:56but he kept himself to himself and that's it. You have to accept everyone has their privacy.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00He looked well kept. He kept his appearance tidy.
0:05:00 > 0:05:07He was small, but round. A round face with a big red beard.
0:05:07 > 0:05:13For the last years of his life, Peter lived by himself in a one-bedroom flat.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18He moved in here about four or five years ago because his mother died.
0:05:18 > 0:05:26He got more or less evicted from his place and they put him in this one-bedroom flat.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32According to the knowledge I heard, he did buy this flat, but I couldn't be 100%.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37But I think he did. He had gas central heating put in.
0:05:37 > 0:05:44If he did own the property, it could be a profitable case and Grimble's optimistic.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46If he owned the flat he lived in,
0:05:46 > 0:05:52he's probably got, I reckon, £40,000-£50,000 in the bank, possibly.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55And then a flat, I would think...
0:05:57 > 0:05:59..another £100,000.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03That's stretching it, I'd think.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Top notch, it's probably 150 altogether.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12But whilst Grimble has high hopes, Neil's a little more cautious.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16It's quite hard to tell the value because of the time since he died.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19He died in 2006, three years ago.
0:06:19 > 0:06:27For that reason, I'm sending Dave Hadley down. Hopefully, he can do a better inquiry face to face.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30We may even work out a value on it.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38Fraser's have a team of travelling Heir Hunters poised and ready to go.
0:06:38 > 0:06:44Their job is to collect the vital birth, death and marriage certificates and interview people.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Thank you.
0:06:46 > 0:06:54Tracking down clues takes them all across the country, with the goal of finding and signing up heirs.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00In the police force for 31 years, ex-Inspector Dave Hadley is based in the south-east
0:07:00 > 0:07:05and is closest to the Brighton job. He's calling at Peter Martin's home.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10Hello there. I wanted to speak to somebody in flat number 39.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15My name's David Hadley from Fraser and Fraser. We trace missing heirs and beneficiaries.
0:07:17 > 0:07:23I've just spoken to the gentleman who lives there now. He says you've lived here for quite a while
0:07:23 > 0:07:30- and might know a bit about him. - The Heir Hunter's inquiries mean he can confirm some of the details.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36It would seem that Mr Martin owned the flat at the time he was living there.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42He bought it off the council. All of the neighbours knew him by his first name.
0:07:42 > 0:07:49It is very difficult to find anything out about these people, but we'll do our best.
0:07:51 > 0:07:58If Peter did own the property, Grimble could be right about it being a £150,000 inheritance,
0:07:58 > 0:08:04but Dave's trip to Peter's neighbour has not revealed any information about his family.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08That's all we can do. If we can get his birth, that'll help.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13- And her death. - She'll be born in Ireland.- Yeah.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18It seems their genealogical detective skills are to be tested
0:08:18 > 0:08:22as they've now got to track the family down the hard way.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26We're going to need certificates to progress any further.
0:08:26 > 0:08:32Birth, death and marriage certificates are the building blocks of the all-important family tree,
0:08:32 > 0:08:37helping researchers piece together each generation to find heirs.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43As well as giving dates, locations and next of kin, they also provide key names such as parents,
0:08:43 > 0:08:49maiden names, witnesses and informants, who are often a family member.
0:08:49 > 0:08:56If the Heir Hunters are given no other clues on a case, getting the certificates is vital.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02They know Peter had no brothers or sisters, hadn't been married or had any children.
0:09:02 > 0:09:08So they're looking for cousins. Peter's parents were Donald Martin and Bridget Lucas.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13The maternal side of the family may be in Ireland and hard to research,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17so for now they're concentrating on the paternal side.
0:09:17 > 0:09:23Peter's grandfather was William J Martin, but to find his aunts and uncles and then cousins
0:09:23 > 0:09:30they first need to know the grandmother's name. Her name should be on Donald's birth certificate.
0:09:31 > 0:09:38Dave Hadley's next step is to get a copy of this. All these records are at the Brighton Register Office.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42If I remember rightly, Brighton is not a same day service.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46They certainly don't do an express service.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51So I think it's going to take all my powers of persuasion
0:09:51 > 0:09:55to see if they'll produce certificates for us today.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01Usually they'd order one or two certificates to confirm their findings
0:10:01 > 0:10:08but as they have no findings, they need to see some records, including Donald Martin's birth certificate.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12- I've got three death certificates... - Right.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17- I've got... two birth certificates.- Right.
0:10:17 > 0:10:23- And I've got a marriage certificate. Now we think the marriage is a registry office.- Right, OK.
0:10:23 > 0:10:29- No chance of getting them today? - You'd have to call back a little bit later today.- That's OK.
0:10:29 > 0:10:36- We're rather busy.- OK. Not even if I get down on my hands and knees and plead?
0:10:36 > 0:10:41At this particular point, I would like to say yes, but I can't!
0:10:41 > 0:10:45- All I can say to you is to leave it with us...- Yeah.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51- Come back about half past three, quarter to four, see what we have got ready for you.- OK.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56- That's the best I can say. - Do you want money now?- Yes, please.
0:10:57 > 0:11:04The wait could cause the team problems, especially if rival firms are also on the case.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10Dave Hadley may be stuck, but research director Gareth Langford is not one to be beaten.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13He has an idea of where to look.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18A probate or a will hopefully will say who their children are.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22The will of a grandparent can be the jackpot for researchers.
0:11:22 > 0:11:28It often lists all the children's names, who would be aunts and uncles to the deceased.
0:11:28 > 0:11:36But to search for a will for Peter Martin's grandfather William, they need an idea of when he died.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41We're trying to find William J in Brighton.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45We've got a good run of Brighton directories.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51If I can find his address in the '40s or '50s, then carry on going up,
0:11:51 > 0:11:56when he disappears out of the directories, it may be when he died.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01I think I've got him in Norfolk Street up to 1956, then he disappears.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06I'm hoping he's going to die just after 1956.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10It's a clever bit of lateral thinking and armed with this date
0:12:10 > 0:12:15they can now start to hunt for a will.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20But Neil has just discovered some worrying news about Peter's flat.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Looks like he possibly owned the house,
0:12:24 > 0:12:30the problem being that the property has been sold since he passed away.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33So, um...
0:12:34 > 0:12:38There's got to be some authority for a house to be sold.
0:12:38 > 0:12:45We have to ask on whose authority that house has been sold. And at the moment it's unclear.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53So there's a lingering doubt that he would have owned the property.
0:12:53 > 0:12:59Despite what Peter's neighbours said about him owning the flat, they may have got it wrong
0:12:59 > 0:13:03and the estate could be worth much less than first thought.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09Back in Brighton, Dave Hadley's about to find out if his charm offensive has worked.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13- Hello. How did you do? - All of them.- Oh, that's fantastic.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19- Thank you very much. - They're all in there now.- Excellent. - So that's everything completed.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Fabulous. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye-bye.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Dave's efforts have rewarded them with the key name they were after -
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Peter's grandmother was Lillian Florence Martin.
0:13:32 > 0:13:38So they are looking for children with the surname of Martin and the mother's name of Martin.
0:13:38 > 0:13:45Just in Brighton alone, I've got over 20 potential brothers and sisters of Donald,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49but no way of working out if any of them are correct.
0:13:49 > 0:13:57Their only option is to do a general search, going through all of these birth certificates,
0:13:57 > 0:14:02but it's now five o'clock and the Register Office will be closing.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07David? Do you reckon they'll let you do a general search in Brighton?
0:14:07 > 0:14:12Not necessarily now, but... tomorrow morning if necessary.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Despite still not knowing if this case will make them any money,
0:14:17 > 0:14:24they're going to take it into the following day. It seems they won't stop until they find heirs.
0:14:24 > 0:14:32I think the reason David is pursuing this one is because he feels that...
0:14:32 > 0:14:36there's a reasonable amount of money in the estate.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40And when he gets these gut feelings, he's usually right.
0:14:40 > 0:14:47But Grimble could be wrong and the case is worth very little commission if Peter didn't own his flat.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51The vibes now don't feel so good!
0:15:00 > 0:15:07Finding heirs to the unclaimed estates is the goal of all probate researchers,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12but that's not necessarily where the story ends.
0:15:12 > 0:15:18In a previous series in 2006, Hector Birchwood of Celtic Research took on the case
0:15:18 > 0:15:22of Arthur Wallace Aldrick, which was worth £350,000.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27He successfully tracked down the heirs to Arthur's estate.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35This is... We've only done the top line.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40- If this had all your cousins, we'd need to wallpaper your house. - Right.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45- And how did you find all of this out?- Ah, well, that's our job.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- Private detective.- That's what we do.
0:15:47 > 0:15:53But the hunt to find these heirs had begun the day before when the name Arthur Aldrick appeared
0:15:53 > 0:15:59on the Treasury's published list of unclaimed estates. In contrast to the big probate companies,
0:15:59 > 0:16:05Celtic Research is a small family-run business with Hector and his stepfather Peter.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Hector is leading this case.
0:16:11 > 0:16:18On the morning of 15th December, 2006, he began with a trip to the Family Records Centre
0:16:18 > 0:16:24in Central London. He was armed with some crucial information he'd learned online.
0:16:24 > 0:16:30The deceased appears to have had two siblings, two sisters - Kathleen and Millicent.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35But we don't yet know what's happened to them.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43We're in a bit of a rush right now. I've got a couple of minutes before the Records Office opens up,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47so there's going to be a lot of competition today.
0:16:47 > 0:16:56Until 2007, the Centre held all birth, death and marriage records in England and Wales
0:16:56 > 0:16:59from 1837 onwards.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05With all the material now online or the National Archives in Kew, it's no longer open,
0:17:05 > 0:17:10but in 2006 it was where probate researchers did much of their work
0:17:10 > 0:17:14and it's where Hector begins to unravel the Aldrick family tree.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20Arthur Aldrick had no children. He had two sisters, Kathleen and Millicent,
0:17:20 > 0:17:26but both had died and neither had had children, so there are no nieces and nephews.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29But Arthur's father had many siblings.
0:17:29 > 0:17:37We're developing the family. We've found a total of four uncles and aunts to the deceased.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43We found one of them marrying, two children. Three of them married, and two children for one of them.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47So it's developing, but it's a very rare name.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Hector makes quick progress on the paternal side,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55but he needs to find all the heirs to complete his research.
0:17:55 > 0:18:02On the maternal side we have no idea. We've only started to crack this. A terrible name to research.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07It's very difficult to get any information that's tangible.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12So I'll leave it at that, really. I've got to get on.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18Luckily, he strikes gold early on with the 1901 census.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22It's her! This is it! They've mistranscribed it.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27It should be a P and they've mistranscribed a P as an R.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30This is it.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38He's keen to make sure his breakthrough isn't overheard by any other Heir Hunters.
0:18:40 > 0:18:46This is the 1901 census for the grandfather of the deceased on the mother's side.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Nathaniel. Yeah, this is him. I'm sure of it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56He finds the maternal grandparents of the deceased - Nathaniel Clark, a ship's steward,
0:18:56 > 0:19:02and his wife, Harriet. From that he can trace the rest of the maternal line.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Got them! Got them.
0:19:05 > 0:19:13Got them. I found...Harriet and Nellie, the mother of the deceased, in the 1891 census.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19It looks like she's an only child.
0:19:19 > 0:19:27Hector can confirm that Arthur's mother Nellie was an only child, and there are no more heirs.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31So what that means is that the £350,000 estate
0:19:31 > 0:19:37will be shared amongst the 18 or so heirs that we have already found.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48Lucy Wiseman is a first cousin twice removed to Arthur
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and one of 20 heirs that Hector eventually tracked down.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55They shared his £350,000 estate.
0:19:56 > 0:20:04For Lucy, more important than the financial gain is finding out about the relative she inherited from.
0:20:04 > 0:20:11Since Hector's knock at the door in 2006, she's been keen to find out more about her cousin Arthur.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Now, three years later, she's doing her own investigating.
0:20:15 > 0:20:21What I'd really like to do now is some research to find out a bit more about his life.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25He was born in 1920. That's all I know.
0:20:25 > 0:20:31He obviously lived to a ripe old age. Between those dates, I wonder what happened.
0:20:33 > 0:20:39Arthur Wallace Aldrick died on 23rd October, 2005, at the age of 85.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44He spent the latter years of his life as a language teacher
0:20:44 > 0:20:48but Lucy has found an intriguing war record.
0:20:48 > 0:20:55I've got a letter from the MOD that says Arthur received various medals from the Second World War.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00One of them is the Africa Star. Another one is the Italy Star.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05I'm really intrigued to find out what Arthur's contribution was.
0:21:08 > 0:21:14She's on her way to visit Ray Sexton to try to understand more about Arthur's military files.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19Ray served in the Royal Army Service Corps, the same corps as Arthur.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28I've brought a copy of a letter which details the medals which Arthur received.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- I wonder if you could... - That's very interesting.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39- There were five in there. - Oh, yes.- But I don't know what any of them mean.
0:21:39 > 0:21:45The two interesting ones are the two stars - African and Italian.
0:21:45 > 0:21:51These you could not be awarded unless you served in this theatre of war.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53The 1945 Star was a general one.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58The Defence Medal was another general one. Everybody got that.
0:21:58 > 0:22:06And the War Medal, ditto. But the two most important ones are the African and Italian Star.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11- And that would have meant he served in Africa and Italy as well? - Yes, definitely.- Right.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21The British campaign in North Africa was fought over two long years
0:22:21 > 0:22:26before the Allies eventually defeated the German and Italian forces in 1943.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31Car load by car load, train load by train load...
0:22:31 > 0:22:39What the Royal Army Service Corps did during the war was that they were responsible
0:22:39 > 0:22:46for transporting all the supplies - food, ammunition. Anything that the army marches on or uses,
0:22:46 > 0:22:54- the Royal Army Service Corps would be carrying.- The men and material of the united nations...
0:22:54 > 0:22:59The war could not have carried on without them, they were essential.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03I have another letter here that might interest you.
0:23:04 > 0:23:10Arthur was called up for military service and enlisted on 8th August, 1940.
0:23:10 > 0:23:17He joined the Royal Army Service Corps and was transferred to the Intelligence Corps in 1942.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22- He spent all his military service in the Y Service.- What's that?
0:23:22 > 0:23:26We do not know what the Y Service is.
0:23:26 > 0:23:33The way to find that out is to apply to the Military Intelligence Museum and they will give you information,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- but I do not know what the Y Service stands for.- OK.
0:23:37 > 0:23:44It seems Lucy's cousin, Arthur, had moved into the intriguing world of wartime intelligence.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49There would be perspiration running down your back, possibly mosquitoes,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53but you must not lose concentration. You've got to get that station.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58And she's soon to discover the remarkable role he was to play.
0:24:06 > 0:24:12For every case that is solved, there are still thousands that stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:24:12 > 0:24:19Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the unsolved case list.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years, in the hope that someone will remember
0:24:27 > 0:24:31and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37With estates valued at anything from £5,000 to millions,
0:24:37 > 0:24:42the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Today we've got two cases Heir Hunters have failed to solve.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Could you be the key? Could you be in line for a pay out?
0:24:50 > 0:24:57Lilian Violet Clark of Norwich in Norfolk passed away on 5th January, 2006.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01In the search to find her heirs, all leads have gone cold.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06Maybe you know something about her. Could you be a long-lost relation?
0:25:06 > 0:25:13Herbert Basil Morris died in Winson Green, Birmingham, in August, 2005.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Does his name mean anything to you? Could Herbert be your long-lost uncle or cousin?
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Could you be the one person entitled to his estate?
0:25:22 > 0:25:26With thousands of estates lying unclaimed every year,
0:25:26 > 0:25:32only new information from you could help millions of pounds reach entitled family members.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Since 2007, the values of these and every other unclaimed estate
0:25:44 > 0:25:50are no longer published by the Treasury. Heir Hunters must now start investigating cases
0:25:50 > 0:25:55without ever knowing for sure they will cover their costs.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58It's a risky business.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04Any cases coming out today, on the face of it they look like there's hardly anything in them.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09You just don't know. You could have somebody that lives in a hovel
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and got stacks of money in the bank.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17Other people live in a lovely property, they don't own it,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21they're mortgaged or bankrupt or something.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Who knows? Nobody knows until you look into these things.
0:26:26 > 0:26:32But for the most part, the money inherited by relatives does come from a home being left.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38The Heir Hunters come across million-pound mansions, terraced houses, tumble-down cottages
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and city flats.
0:26:43 > 0:26:49The Fraser and Fraser team start their second day of investigating the case of Peter Martin
0:26:49 > 0:26:54in the hope that he did own the flat in Brighton where he lived.
0:26:55 > 0:27:02He was described by neighbours as a bit of a recluse and they struggled to confirm if the property was his.
0:27:05 > 0:27:11We've spent, in man hours and certificates, an awful lot of money at the moment.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15I just hope there is some value in this case.
0:27:15 > 0:27:21I've got this horrible feeling that we may not be dealing with an owned property.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It's fingers crossed, really.
0:27:24 > 0:27:31If he didn't own it and his estate is worth just a few thousand, they won't get a good commission
0:27:31 > 0:27:34and could even end up with a loss.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38So far, they've identified Peter Martin's paternal grandparents
0:27:38 > 0:27:44and at least 20 people with the surname Martin who could be aunts and uncles.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49They need to work out which ones are actually related. They or their children would be Peter's heirs.
0:27:49 > 0:27:56Travelling Heir Hunter Dave Hadley heads back to Brighton to pick up the trail.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05- Hiya.- Hiya. Right, what we're basically looking for
0:28:05 > 0:28:09- is to see if any more children came out of that marriage.- Right.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13- They were the parents of our deceased's father.- Yes...
0:28:13 > 0:28:20So we know for sure that they were married around about 1911.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26But there's the First World War so there's a chance there's going to be a gap if he went off to fight.
0:28:26 > 0:28:32- Of course.- But what I'd like is to look from 1911 to about 1935,
0:28:32 > 0:28:38- to see if there were any children from that marriage.- A general search.- Please.- Absolutely fine.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Would you like to come through?
0:28:41 > 0:28:45A general search means going through all the registers by hand.
0:28:45 > 0:28:52Dave Hadley will be looking to pick out Peter's aunts and uncles from all the other Martin births.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56We only have to do this when we can't speak to people.
0:28:56 > 0:29:04It is going back to old-fashioned genealogical ways, which we do, but it's expensive for us to do.
0:29:05 > 0:29:12Dave's given himself a 34-year window to see if the grandparents had any other children.
0:29:12 > 0:29:20OK, we've got the East Brighton section up to the yellow marker which separates it from the West.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26The indexes list all the Martin births, giving a reference number, but no parents' names.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31I'm just pulling out the Martins from the index.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35I've got to pull all of them out, then look for the mother on it.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40And so far... I've done about 80-odd
0:29:40 > 0:29:47and we haven't got a positive yet, but I'm only up to 1924. There's quite a few to go yet.
0:29:47 > 0:29:53After making lists of all the possible births, these are checked against the registers in the vaults
0:29:53 > 0:30:01to see which ones have the correct set of parents, making them aunts and uncles to Peter Martin.
0:30:01 > 0:30:07It's a laborious and time-consuming process, but it could be the only way to break the case.
0:30:09 > 0:30:16As Dave ploughs on, in the office they are worrying that they have still to prove Peter had any money.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Yesterday I was rather...
0:30:20 > 0:30:27optimistic in the belief that we were probably looking at an estate of about £40,000-£50,000.
0:30:29 > 0:30:35I think if we touch twenty it'll probably be lucky! Ah, you never know.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40I'm just getting the vibes now. They don't feel so good!
0:30:40 > 0:30:48But after almost a full day trawling through the records, Dave's search IS reaping rewards
0:30:48 > 0:30:54with the names of Peter's aunts and uncles. They're likely deceased, but their children would be heirs.
0:30:54 > 0:31:02- Hello, mate.- OK, it's Lillian Florence Martin. She died on 28th December, 1967.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06In Brighton General Hospital.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08And the informant...
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Let's have a look.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14It's JE Bell. B-E-L-L.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Daughter.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21And the names are now coming thick and fast.
0:31:21 > 0:31:26It's all happening on the Martin case. I've lost the tree. Here it is.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29And we've now got...
0:31:31 > 0:31:35..three stems - Joyce, Evelyn and a Cecil.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37So...
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Yeah, it's all go at the moment.
0:31:39 > 0:31:46As well as Peter's father, Donald, William and Lillian Martin had a further five children.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50Cecil, Evelyn, Reginald, Joyce and Joan.
0:31:50 > 0:31:57If they got married and had children, these would be cousins to Peter and heirs to his estate.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02We've got quite a lot of marriages to do now. Three on the top line.
0:32:02 > 0:32:08We're doing marriages for them. Also for the Bell stem and also the Simmons stem.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13So...an awful lot of marriages, basically, going on.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19There could be a lot of heirs to find, which means a lot more work.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24The family's getting bigger - oh, my God!
0:32:25 > 0:32:32The team's relentless efforts mean that after two days they finally have an heir in their sights.
0:32:32 > 0:32:39They've found the address for Ronald Simmons, the son of Peter's aunt Evelyn and Peter's cousin.
0:32:42 > 0:32:49I'm hoping that I find him in. we've not been able to contact him, so it's a completely cold call.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53I don't quite know what to expect.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58Dave Hadley is off to break the news to Ronald who lives in the Brighton area.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02- 'Hello?' - I'd like to speak to Mr...
0:33:08 > 0:33:14He's hoping to sign Ronald as a potential heir and find out what he knows about the family.
0:33:14 > 0:33:22- Some of the questions I'll ask you I already know, but I need you to... - Verify.- That's right, yeah.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27'This just came out the blue. I'm completely stunned.'
0:33:27 > 0:33:31I'd like to know more about the family because...
0:33:31 > 0:33:35I don't really remember any of the other family, from years ago.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40Everybody's lost contact and once Mum and Dad died,
0:33:40 > 0:33:45I never thought of anyone else apart from my brother and sister.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48That's all the family we knew we had.
0:33:48 > 0:33:54Finding out about living cousins he'd never known existed has been a revelation for Ronald.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59It would be interesting to find out if I've got relatives still alive.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04It's going back a long time. I didn't think of having anyone else in the family.
0:34:04 > 0:34:11Dave did sign him up and Ronald pointed him in the direction of his brothers and sisters
0:34:11 > 0:34:13who are also potential heirs.
0:34:13 > 0:34:20- Thank you very much. Thanks for seeing me at such short notice. We'll be in contact.- All right.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25That's one more bit of success. We'll get the rest of it wrapped up.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29Lovely. I can have a full weekend now.
0:34:29 > 0:34:35We'll just sit back and wait to see how many millions of pounds it's worth!
0:34:37 > 0:34:43Although it was still unclear whether he owned his own property,
0:34:43 > 0:34:50the Treasury revealed that Peter's estate was worth £30,000-£40,000 - not Grimble's hoped-for millions.
0:34:50 > 0:34:58It won't make a massive commission, but getting back to basics with their skills was worthwhile.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06It's not the greatest day for the firm, but it's a good day in terms of our research
0:35:06 > 0:35:11and teaching people in the office, reminding them how to do the work,
0:35:11 > 0:35:15which could pay dividends on a future case.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Ronald was one of potential 18 heirs sharing the estate.
0:35:20 > 0:35:27For him, discovering cousins he'd never had contact with has been the most rewarding part.
0:35:31 > 0:35:38Once Heir Hunters find entitled family members to estates that would have gone unclaimed,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41their job is done.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46But for the heirs, it can be just the start of their journey.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49It's her! This is it.
0:35:49 > 0:35:56When Hector Birchwood solved the case of Arthur Aldrick back in 2006,
0:35:56 > 0:35:58one heir was Lucy Wiseman.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05Since then, she's been intrigued by her mystery benefactor
0:36:05 > 0:36:13and is now doing her own investigation. She's uncovered her war veteran relative's past.
0:36:13 > 0:36:21It's nice to put the pieces together so that I can explain to my children and other members of the family
0:36:21 > 0:36:25where... where this man was within the war
0:36:25 > 0:36:31and what he contributed to the war efforts.
0:36:31 > 0:36:37Arthur Wallace Aldrick died on 23rd October, 2005, at the age of 85.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41During WWII he'd served in the army.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46- Hello, you must be Lucy. - Thank you so much for meeting me.
0:36:46 > 0:36:53Veteran Ray Sexton has been helping Lucy to piece together Arthur's intriguing military record.
0:36:53 > 0:37:00He joined the Royal Army Service Corps and was transferred to the Intelligence Corps in 1942.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05- Oh, right.- He was then to spend all his military service in the Y Service.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11Lucy's keen to find out more about the mysterious Y Service.
0:37:11 > 0:37:18The Intelligence Corps was largely made up of code interceptors, code breakers and spies.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22Their work was shrouded in the utmost secrecy.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26The famous HQ at Bletchley Park is now a museum.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31Lucy hopes curator Peter Westcombe can shed light on Arthur's intelligence work.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36Why the letter Y? You're curious about Y.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41- If you put the letters WI together and pronounce them, they come out as...- Y.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44- Wireless Intercept.- Right.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Instead of saying WI, it was shortened down to Y.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51- So it became the Y Service.- OK.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55It was Wireless Intercept. That's how it all started.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00How did he come to be in it? He was RASC to start off.
0:38:00 > 0:38:07I suspect that at school or a first year of university he'll have done German or Italian.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12In the RASC they'll have realised that and put his name forward
0:38:12 > 0:38:18because there was a general search throughout the whole of the UK for speakers of foreign languages,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21mostly German, Italian and Japanese.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25He'd have been picked up early as a German and Italian speaker.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29Intel will have said, "We want him." That's how he came here.
0:38:29 > 0:38:34It is a natural accompaniment for this class in wireless telegraphy
0:38:34 > 0:38:41in which the student must be so well-versed that he talks code and cipher as well as his native tongue.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Wireless Intercept - intercepting enemy messages.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49You don't say to the enemy, "Can you please repeat that?"
0:38:49 > 0:38:57You'd intercept a message from Rommel's army, the Afrika Korps, to headquarters in Italy, in Rome,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00pleading for arms, ammunition, men and so forth.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08He could either do that sort of intercept or he could be up on the battlefront.
0:39:09 > 0:39:15Sitting behind the battle lines intercepting German army messages.
0:39:15 > 0:39:22- A tank commander calls another tank commander. He'd be doing one of those two things.- How interesting.
0:39:22 > 0:39:28Life at the listening stations was demanding and it was a job that had major consequences.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Operators like Arthur Aldrick needed to be highly-skilled.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35- Pop these on.- Pop them on.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40OK? Good. You will be told what frequency to listen to.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45They know they'll be on that frequency. So you'd be told that.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50You read down to the dial setting, swing this around
0:39:50 > 0:39:56and just swing backwards and forwards gently and - hey, presto!
0:39:56 > 0:40:02It's underneath a whole lot of other stations with a signal that big, which you've then got to read.
0:40:02 > 0:40:09But you must not lose concentration. You've got to sit there and get that station.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14That's all very well sitting here, as we are in Bletchley, in March.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19If you're in the Western Desert, in August, it's hot and it's sticky
0:40:19 > 0:40:23and there's mosquitoes around and perspiration running down your back.
0:40:23 > 0:40:31And they won't stop transmitting and you're trying to write and your pencil is slippery.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33But you did your six-hour watch.
0:40:33 > 0:40:40The encoded enemy messages the Y Service intercepted were fed back to Bletchley HQ,
0:40:40 > 0:40:46known then as Station X. This gave material for the talented code breakers such as Alan Turing
0:40:46 > 0:40:51to work with. He designed the Turing Bombe, an ingenious device
0:40:51 > 0:40:56which cracked the complex codes of the German Enigma machine.
0:40:56 > 0:41:02The remarkable work of these Secret Service men and women is believed to have shortened WWII
0:41:02 > 0:41:06by at least two years, saving thousands of lives.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12I can give you positive evidence that he was here and his leisure activity was amateur dramatics.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16- Really?- Because we have a programme here when he was in a play.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21- I've got the programme and his name and the dates.- How lovely!
0:41:21 > 0:41:27And what's more, we do have also a photograph of the actual set and the people in the play.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31- Unfortunately, it doesn't include him.- Pity.- He was only the butler.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36- OK!- Two lines and that was it. Would you like to see them?- Please.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38- I'll get them.- Thank you.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42And there he is.
0:41:42 > 0:41:50"By Candlelight. A Viennese comedy in three acts." And it was done on 5th November, 1945.
0:41:51 > 0:41:57And there he is... Chauffeur to the Baron - Mr Arthur Aldrick.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59Yes, there he is.
0:41:59 > 0:42:06It's been a lot to take in, but delving into Arthur's life rewarded Lucy with remarkable findings.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11It has been a fascinating journey to find out more about Arthur.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16When Hector first came to see me, I had no idea who Arthur was.
0:42:16 > 0:42:23And now it's been really interesting to piece together the jigsaw of his life
0:42:23 > 0:42:30and discover what he did in the war and the amazing things he did with code breaking and things
0:42:31 > 0:42:37and then he went on to be a teacher, which is equally commendable.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42So he did a lot throughout his life for other people.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47I'm really pleased that I've been on this journey and found out so much about him.
0:42:47 > 0:42:53If you would like advice about building a family tree or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk
0:43:05 > 0:43:09Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2009
0:43:10 > 0:43:12Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk