0:00:02 > 0:00:04Every year, thousands of people die without leaving a will.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07If no relatives come forward, their estates go to the Government.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Keeping this money in the family is a job for the Heir Hunters.
0:00:26 > 0:00:33- On today's programme, the Heir Hunters grapple with the unknown...- I don't like a mystery.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38..as they investigate a woman who can speak to spirits beyond the grave.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41You cannot contact the dead, they have to contact you.
0:00:41 > 0:00:48It's like a telephone line and, with Gladys, it was a very clear telephone line.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51And in the quest for heirs, they uncover a heartbreaking story
0:00:51 > 0:00:55of a loss of life that affected not just a family, but a whole nation.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00It was just a tragedy, and other families were the same.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02They were just wiped out with this.
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 > 0:01:11Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?
0:01:13 > 0:01:19In the UK, approximately two-thirds of people don't have a will.
0:01:19 > 0:01:25If they die without having made one and with no obvious heir, then their money goes to the Government.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Last year, the Treasury pocketed a staggering £18 million in unclaimed estates.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32That's where the Heir Hunters step in.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36I'm trying to get to speak to Lillian from number 146.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39There are over 30 companies whose business it is
0:01:39 > 0:01:42to trace the rightful heirs to this money and help them claim it back.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Fraser & Fraser is one of the oldest firms of heir hunters in Britain.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50It's run by Andrew, Charles and Neil Fraser.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55They make their commission by solving cases and signing up heirs.
0:01:55 > 0:02:02In the last ten years alone, they have enabled over 50,000 heirs to claim over £100 million.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08It's 7am at Fraser & Fraser's central-London office
0:02:08 > 0:02:13and the Treasury has just published its weekly list of unclaimed estates.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16None of the estates is listed with their values, so the first
0:02:16 > 0:02:20and most important job is to identify the ones worth the most
0:02:20 > 0:02:26because they'll bring in the highest commission but, this morning, boss Neil Fraser isn't happy.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29It's looking like slim pickings.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Although we've started off looking at 14 cases today,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36it doesn't look like we've got any with any value at the moment,
0:02:36 > 0:02:42which is a bit unfortunate, so we're now starting to look at our secondary sort of cases -
0:02:42 > 0:02:47the small low-value stuff - and trying to send people out
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and utilise the staff we've got at the moment.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Although it looks busy, everyone's working on very low-value things.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57The delay is frustrating for the whole team.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02As well as all the staff in the office, there's also a band of travelling Heir Hunters
0:03:02 > 0:03:07like Dave Mansell, who are based all over the country and poised to go wherever the hunt takes them.
0:03:07 > 0:03:13Although every estate that appears on the Treasury's list should be worth at least £5,000,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Frasers need to be pretty sure that a case is worth a lot more than that
0:03:17 > 0:03:20before they throw all their resources at it,
0:03:20 > 0:03:26so until they find one, Dave will just have to bide his time and wait.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Finally, one entry on the list does catch manager Bob's eye -
0:03:30 > 0:03:33the case of Gladys Willerton.
0:03:33 > 0:03:39He thinks it looks like it could have value, so he goes ahead and starts to investigate.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45Gladys passed away in August 2008 at Gwendolen Lodge Nursing Home in Leicester.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48She was a widow and didn't have any children.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Sadly, Gladys didn't leave a will, and unless heirs can be found
0:03:52 > 0:03:55to her estate, her money will go to the Government.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01The first piece of information Bob needs is Gladys's date of birth.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05That will lead him to her birth certificate, which will tell him where she was born
0:04:05 > 0:04:11and her parents' names, giving him a good place to start in the search for living family.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15We've got two possible births there, one in Burnley.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19This is the most likely cos she's supposed to be born in Lancashire, as opposed to Liverpool.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It's still only 8am, so while he's waiting
0:04:22 > 0:04:28for the register offices to open, Bob's trying to find out Gladys's date of birth by other means.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31He calls the nursing home where she died
0:04:31 > 0:04:36and speaks to the manager, who remembers her and can help his investigation.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39How long was she with you for?
0:04:39 > 0:04:40February in '08.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Do you have a note of her date of birth on file,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47and her maiden name if you've got that as well?
0:04:47 > 0:04:52The other question, if I can ask you, about Gladys - as we're a business,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54we need to know that it's going to be worth our while.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Are you aware of whether she had property or anything like that?
0:04:58 > 0:05:03OK, and you're not aware of any money in bank accounts or anything like that, no?
0:05:03 > 0:05:06At least now he's got something to go on, but from what he's hearing,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09it doesn't sound like Gladys left much money.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13But then Bob does get some surprising news.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19According to the nursing home, Gladys did have children after all, four of them.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Right, do you know the details of the children?
0:05:22 > 0:05:27Oh, right. Oh, I see. No information at all.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30I just wonder how that information came about because, as I say,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33from the public records, we can't find any trace of any births,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36particularly from her marriage to Mr Willerton.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41It could be of course that she had illegitimate children or adopted children.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45It seems that Gladys's life was full of mystery.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49If she did have children, then they would be the joint heirs to her estate,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53but if not, then the team will have to look further back in her family tree.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56According to the law, they can go back as far
0:05:56 > 0:06:02as the deceased's grandparents, before then tracing their line forward to find any heirs.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10As I noticed the people around, so the sign stopped.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16Not much is known about Gladys's early years, but her adult life in Leicester was centred around
0:06:16 > 0:06:19her membership of the Leicester Progressive Spiritualist Church.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24In the early 1980s, Gladys was president of the church,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27leading the congregation and even officiating at weddings.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30The current president, Marion, was married by her
0:06:30 > 0:06:35and has fond memories of Gladys as a forceful member of the church community.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38We all knew her as Whacker Willerton.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43We knew Gladys as Whacker Willerton
0:06:43 > 0:06:48because she could be quite physical at times.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52If there was somebody misbehaving in the service, she would think nothing
0:06:52 > 0:06:56of picking up a hymn book and lobbing it across the room
0:06:56 > 0:06:59to call them to attention.
0:07:00 > 0:07:07There were two sides to Gladys - the tough side and the very sensitive side.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13She was very devoted to the church, to the people that came here.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19The Spiritualist Movement came to prominence in America in the 1850s
0:07:19 > 0:07:22when two sisters, Margaretta and Catherine Fox,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26claimed to have made contact with a spirit at their home in New York State.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30With high rates of infant mortality at that time,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33the idea of communicating with dead loved ones was very appealing
0:07:33 > 0:07:37and, soon, groups of people were meeting to conduct seances.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41In her own church, Gladys often presided over these meetings
0:07:41 > 0:07:46and was recognised as a very gifted medium and clairvoyant.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49You cannot contact the dead.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50That's not possible.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52They have to contact you.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58It's like a telephone line and, with Gladys, it was a very clear telephone line.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Whatever her gifts, it seemed that Gladys was loved and trusted
0:08:02 > 0:08:05by her friends and fellow church members.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09When the chips were down, you could rely on Gladys.
0:08:09 > 0:08:16You know, she was there for the people that came to the church and for her friends.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Indeed she was.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26Back in the office, there's a bit of a buzz as more details of Gladys's life have emerged.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Gladys was born in Burnley in 1922.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Her parents were Susannah Rushton and Thomas A Woods,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and she had a sister Amy who died in infancy.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42The team have also confirmed that Gladys married an Arthur Willerton in 1946.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Only seven years after their marriage, disaster struck.
0:08:46 > 0:08:52On Coronation Day in 1953, Arthur was seriously injured in a motorbike accident,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56and overnight, Gladys became the family breadwinner
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and Arthur's carer until his death 30 years later.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Bye.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Research has turned up a copy of Arthur's will,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07which contains some very interesting information.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12I've established that the husband of the deceased died in 1983
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and he left £25,000 to the deceased.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Now, £25,000 25 years ago...
0:09:20 > 0:09:23may perhaps mean that there is a value on the estate.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26We're hoping sort of £40,000 to £50,000.
0:09:26 > 0:09:32This is good news for the Heir Hunters, and Bob has made another important break-through.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35He managed to trace Arthur's sister and, after speaking to her
0:09:35 > 0:09:40on the phone, he's solved the mystery of whether or not Gladys had any children.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43She'd told the workers at the care home that she had four -
0:09:43 > 0:09:49two boys and two girls - but there were no records to confirm this.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53This lady was obviously a sister to the deceased's husband.
0:09:53 > 0:10:00She has informed me that the deceased had no children, definitely had no children.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04She had five or six miscarriages, but certainly no children,
0:10:04 > 0:10:09so we can now concentrate on going back through the mother's and father's family.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14In the spiritualist religion, we believe that,
0:10:14 > 0:10:19when a woman has a miscarriage, the child continues to grow in the world of spirit.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24I do know that, when questioned about her children,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28she totally closed up.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30She wouldn't say anything.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It's the end of the day. It's almost my bed-time, actually.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40No, I think now there's not a lot more I can do.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44It's been a frustratingly slow day for the Heir Hunters.
0:10:44 > 0:10:51Bogged down with wrong turns and blind alleys, will tomorrow shed new light on this case?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- Good morning.- Later in the show, the hunt is on for the heirs
0:10:54 > 0:11:00- to Gladys Willerton's estate, and now the leads are coming thick and fast.- We've got him.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17Some cases stand out more than others, and when they came across the estate of Gillian Edwards,
0:11:17 > 0:11:24the Heir Hunters were about to uncover an incredible story of hardship and family tragedy.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29Gillian died on the 15th of August 2008 on the Isle of Wight,
0:11:29 > 0:11:35leaving an estate worth £280,000, which included her house on the island.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40Her neighbour Judy remembered her as a good friend and fellow dog-lover.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45We moved here a couple of years ago and she became quite friendly
0:11:45 > 0:11:50quite quickly, mainly through our two dogs, George and Wellington.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Everyone knew of Gillian but, at the same time, I think she was also
0:11:54 > 0:11:57quite a private person, listening to what other people have said.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01When she was a little bit younger, she used to dress up quite...
0:12:01 > 0:12:06quite fancy, I think. She'd put lots of jewellery on
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and I think she was quite the lady.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12I used to go round there every day.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14I wasn't really aware of any other family.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19There was pictures in there, but I don't know who they were.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24It seemed clear that if Gillian had any surviving blood relations,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26she wasn't in touch with them when she died,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and as she didn't leave a will, her £280,000 legacy
0:12:30 > 0:12:33was on the verge of going straight to the Government.
0:12:35 > 0:12:41Veteran heir hunter Dave Pacifico has seen his fair share of high-value estates,
0:12:41 > 0:12:47but even by his standards, £280,000 was a lot of money to lie unclaimed.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50The case, though, didn't get off to a good start.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53He couldn't find any record of a Gillian Violet Edwards.
0:12:53 > 0:12:59Although she was known as Gillian Violet, she was actually born
0:12:59 > 0:13:05as Violet Gillian, so there's a slight variation on her name,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09but nonetheless, we managed to identify a birth fairly early on
0:13:09 > 0:13:14and, from that, we were able to start identifying other members of her family.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Once they had her birth certificate, they could now identify Gillian
0:13:18 > 0:13:21by her real given name of Violet Gillian Kemp.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26She was born in Hammersley Street in Bedworth, Warwickshire, in 1933.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31The family had recently moved from Mansfield into a brand-new
0:13:31 > 0:13:34council house there to make a better life for themselves,
0:13:34 > 0:13:39while her father Arthur, a coal miner, is believed to have worked in the nearby Newdigate colliery.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43A mining family moving here from where they'd been, would be delighted
0:13:43 > 0:13:46because it would be a two or three-bedroomed house
0:13:46 > 0:13:49with proper foundations, and a bathroom and toilet.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Even so, for a family of five, six, seven children, it would still have
0:13:53 > 0:13:58been a pretty tight squeeze, but a huge improvement on what they had before that.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02The children lived and played together in the street,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and were constantly in and out of each other's houses.
0:14:05 > 0:14:11Violet's next-door neighbour and childhood friend, Ennis Sparrow, still lives in the same house today.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17She had a photograph of Violet, taken when they were young girls on a Sunday-school outing.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19This was a Whit walk,
0:14:19 > 0:14:24and I think maybe Violet Kemp would be about 16, something like that.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Other Sunday schools, they all congregated
0:14:26 > 0:14:32and the churches all walked together, and it was a nice experience.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36We used to love it, really looked forward to it every year, you know.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40But that's the only one I've got of Violet, the only one I've ever had, I think.
0:14:40 > 0:14:46We didn't have our photographs taken that often - on special occasions.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50And then you lose touch because they move away.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53I was sad to hear she'd died.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58For Violet Kemp and her friends, life as a teenager
0:14:58 > 0:15:03in a Midlands mining town was very far removed from what it is today.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10I think, for a modern generation, to step back would be a huge culture shock.
0:15:10 > 0:15:17Televisions and iPods and all these other things that youngsters take for granted now did not exist,
0:15:17 > 0:15:22and life was hard and work was hard, and hours were long and wages were low,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24and employment was hazardous,
0:15:24 > 0:15:29so there were all sorts of possible areas for disaster, really.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Families lived on the edge very often.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36The Newdigate colliery was notorious for its harsh conditions.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Ex-miners Tony Lloyd and Ken Tullis have lived in Bedworth
0:15:39 > 0:15:44for over 50 years, and remember the hardships all too well.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Don't forget, men were still digging the coal out with picks and shovels
0:15:50 > 0:15:53and what you had to was A - get the coal out
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and then girder your own...to keep the roof up.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01And you know, any danger of any slippage or anything, you really had to be careful.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06One slip of concentration when you were on these heavy jobs
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and these accidents can happen.
0:16:09 > 0:16:16Newdigate itself was finally shut down in 1982 as the coal industry began to contract.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Every trace of the colliery has since disappeared,
0:16:19 > 0:16:25but for the miners themselves, old memories die hard.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29It really is part of our heritage, and we never, never forget it.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34We mix with miners, you talk mining, you know, if you have a pint
0:16:34 > 0:16:37with anybody in the club, so it's always with us.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Memories.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46Stories from close communities are very helpful to the Heir Hunters' investigations.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51By now, they had established Violet's roots in Bedworth, but before exploring
0:16:51 > 0:16:58her family tree any further, they had to rule out the possibility of her having any family of her own.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Early on in our research, we need to identify
0:17:02 > 0:17:08who she was married to and whether or not there was more than one marriage, just to make sure
0:17:08 > 0:17:13there's no really close family - in other words, confirming she had no children herself.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17We identified that, although she died as Edwards,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21she was actually first married to somebody called Bernard Holmes.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25In fact, Violet was married three times, but she never had any children.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29She died a widow, so there's no surviving husband.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33We then identify the next closest family. Now, bearing in mind
0:17:33 > 0:17:37her parents would have been long since deceased,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40we were looking at the brothers and sisters.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Tracking down large extended families and multiple heirs
0:17:44 > 0:17:46is in all in a day's work for the Heir Hunters,
0:17:46 > 0:17:51but Dave wasn't prepared for what he discovered when he started to research Violet's siblings.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56We identified the names and years of birth of her brothers
0:17:56 > 0:18:00and sisters, and suddenly realised she came from a large family.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02She had eleven brothers and sisters.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08A family as large as this would present a huge challenge for the Heir Hunters investigating the case,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12but they couldn't have guessed the tragic events that they were about to uncover.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22For every case that is solved, there are still thousands that remain a mystery.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country
0:18:26 > 0:18:29are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36With estates valued at anything from 5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:18:41 > 0:18:47Today, we've got two cases Heir Hunters have so far failed to solve. Could you be the key?
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Could you be in line for a pay-out?
0:18:50 > 0:18:56Sidney George Alfred Dancey died in Bath on the 27th of July 2006.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Was Sidney a neighbour or work colleague?
0:18:59 > 0:19:04Could you even be related to him and entitled to his legacy?
0:19:04 > 0:19:10James Colin Joss passed away on the 9th of October 2006 in Leicester.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15So far, every attempt to find his rightful heir has failed.
0:19:15 > 0:19:21If no relatives can be found, his money will go to the Government, but could it be meant for you?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28If the names George Dancey or James Joss mean anything to you
0:19:28 > 0:19:32or someone you know, you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44- Still to come on the show... - I want that marriage and then
0:19:44 > 0:19:48I want to do an issue search from that marriage to September 1911.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50The team are closing in on the heirs to what they hope
0:19:50 > 0:19:56will be a £50,000 estate left by spiritualist Gladys Willerton.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Back on the Violet Kemp case, Dave had discovered that she was
0:20:08 > 0:20:14one of 12 children, which was a huge family even by the standards of the day.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18Arthur and Elsie Kemp had seven sons and five daughters.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23Three of them - Walter, Thomas and Phyllis - had died in infancy,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27a tragic but all too common occurrence at that time.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33No sooner had the team confirmed the number of siblings that Violet grew up with when they came across
0:20:33 > 0:20:40some new and disturbing evidence - three more death certificates for Violet's sisters, Rose and Evelyn,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45and her brother Kenneth, who all died within a year of each other when they were young adults.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53We subsequently found out from a member of the family
0:20:53 > 0:20:58that the cause of death for these people that died in their teens was tuberculosis.
0:20:58 > 0:21:05In the 1940s, Britain was in the grip of a TB epidemic so highly contagious
0:21:05 > 0:21:11that it ripped through close-knit working communities, killing one out of every two people infected.
0:21:11 > 0:21:18In Bedworth, the Kemp children contracted pulmonary TB, the most common strain of the disease.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22This is the sort of X-ray that the persons who died
0:21:22 > 0:21:26with pulmonary tuberculosis would have had, who died in the 1940s.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31Professor Peter Ormerod is the president of the British Thoracic Society
0:21:31 > 0:21:33and has made a lifelong study of TB.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38TB is a bacterial infection and it's passed by person-to-person spread.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Somebody with lung TB who's coughing out TB germs in the phlegm
0:21:42 > 0:21:48will have droplets in the air that you can't see which will contain TB bacteria and those are inhaled.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53If some other people inhale those bacteria, they will get infected, and some of the people
0:21:53 > 0:21:56who are infected will go on and get disease and be ill.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01You usually need fairly prolonged exposure to catch tuberculosis, and if you're living in a house
0:22:01 > 0:22:05with somebody seven days a week, that's prolonged exposure.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11Out of the surviving nine Kemp children, six of them contracted TB.
0:22:11 > 0:22:18Jean Kemp, widow of Violet's brother Stan, remembers hearing about the family members affected.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23They told me that there was a big thing with TB in the family
0:22:23 > 0:22:27and a fair few of them contracted it, including my late husband.
0:22:27 > 0:22:33I know Violet had to go to Hertford Hill for treatment.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Hertford Hill sanitorium in Warwickshire
0:22:36 > 0:22:42was one of the many facilities that housed some of the 50,000 people that contracted TB every year.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Violet and other TB sufferers were sent to sanitoria
0:22:46 > 0:22:49to be treated with a strict regime of bed rest and fresh air
0:22:49 > 0:22:54to rest their damaged lungs and give them a chance to fight the disease.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Now, this is me in all my glory.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01This must've been taken late in 1948 or early 1949...
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Like Violet, Herbert Williams
0:23:03 > 0:23:09was only a teenager when he contracted TB and was sent to a Welsh sanitorium.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14The fresh air was fulsome, was more than adequate,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18because they had French windows in the ward I was in.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21They were always flung open, night and day.
0:23:21 > 0:23:27We had red bed jackets to wear, but it wasn't much help with the windows open all the time
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and the freezing cold of a Brecon Beacons winter.
0:23:29 > 0:23:35For some patients, the only hope of survival was to undergo a horrific treatment
0:23:35 > 0:23:41known as collapse therapy, where the lung was forcibly collapsed to deprive the TB bacteria of oxygen.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45In the most agonising and dangerous of these procedures,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49surgeons would break or remove up to eight of the patient's ribs.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54It's a bit like if you imagine taking a...when you take half a chicken, if you break all the ribs
0:23:54 > 0:24:01off the breastbone and push on, the whole thing collapses in, and that's similar to what happened there.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07Violet's brothers Stan and Arthur both underwent collapse therapy,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10but the agonies of TB did not stop there.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Stan was affected by the disease for the rest of his life.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20He had a big scar on his back
0:24:20 > 0:24:22that sort of started
0:24:22 > 0:24:26round by the rib cage, went round the back,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29and it ended up at the top of the shoulder.
0:24:29 > 0:24:35And in the summer, he would never take his clothes off.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40He was very self-conscious about this scar and he said people would know
0:24:40 > 0:24:45what he'd had as a child, and I think he was ashamed to a degree.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Sadly for Stan and other survivors who suffered from the stigma
0:24:50 > 0:24:56of having had TB, there was escape from this cruel and misguided prejudice.
0:24:56 > 0:25:02If I'd have told my step-father that Stan had had TB,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05he would've been banned from the home.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Like Violet, Stan and Arthur eventually recovered.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Their sister Rose, who died in Hertford Hill,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16and Evelyn and Kenneth, who died at home in Bedworth, were not so lucky.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20TB had decimated the Kemp family.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25It was just a tragedy, and other families were the same.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27They were just wiped out with this.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35It seemed that, by the time she died, Violet had left any trace
0:25:35 > 0:25:39of her difficult childhood and humble beginnings far behind her.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42At her death, Violet was a very wealthy woman,
0:25:42 > 0:25:50but she had also completely lost touch with her family, so who stood to inherit her £280,000 estate?
0:25:53 > 0:25:57We knew almost certainly there had to be some close kin still alive.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02It would've been very unusual if all the eleven had died without children,
0:26:02 > 0:26:07and we suspected maybe a very large number of nephews and nieces.
0:26:07 > 0:26:14When estates are divided up between siblings, the money is split equally between them.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Any descendants of deceased siblings will then carve up their father or mother's share.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23In Violet's case, the estate was split four ways.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Half went to her two siblings, a quarter was split between her
0:26:27 > 0:26:33brother Alfred's three children, and the final quarter went to the descendants of her brother Stan.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42That was your dad many years ago, before I even knew him.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Stan and Jean's daughter Jane was amazed when she heard
0:26:46 > 0:26:49she was going to inherit money from an aunt she barely knew.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52I didn't really know what to think at the time.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It was just a bit of a shock.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56I met her at my dad's funeral.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00She asked me who I was, and I told her that I was Stan's daughter.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04I've heard stories about her, but I didn't know her,
0:27:04 > 0:27:09so I was just surprised to be getting any cash from it, really.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I wanted to pay my mortgage off with whatever I get.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14It'll make me better off!
0:27:14 > 0:27:18I'll have some money to spend on myself for a change.
0:27:18 > 0:27:25Jane also had a sister Susan, who sadly passed away when she was only 33, leaving two children,
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Adam and Lauren, the final two heirs to Violet's legacy.
0:27:30 > 0:27:36Heir-hunter David Pacifico remembers the moment when he first contacted the family.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39I felt better that we could tell them some good news,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43but it was awful to find out, speaking to the family,
0:27:43 > 0:27:48that they'd a traumatic loss with the death of their mother at a very, very young age.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56How many did I do?
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Both Adam and Lauren are legally classified as minors,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03so all contact has been through their father Trevor.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08I was told by my dad that my great-aunt
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Violet
0:28:10 > 0:28:18had passed away and some of the money that she'd left had been divided by the blood relatives.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21It was shocking,
0:28:21 > 0:28:26just it appearing out of the blue without knowing who she is.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Hearing about their inheritance made the children think about
0:28:32 > 0:28:36what life was like for their great-aunt and her family.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40I think it would be quite different for Violet and her brothers and sisters
0:28:40 > 0:28:44cos they wouldn't be able to eat a lot of food and do what we do
0:28:44 > 0:28:49and go out, cos they'd have to be in when the bombs came and stuff.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I felt as if I wanted to find out more about her...
0:28:54 > 0:28:58..and where the Isles of Wight is.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03For Violet's great-niece and great-nephew, their share of the £280,000
0:29:03 > 0:29:08inheritance is an opportunity that won't be going to waste.
0:29:09 > 0:29:16I've restricted them to just having £100 each to spend on they want, and then put the
0:29:16 > 0:29:22rest of the money away so they can use it in the future for something more beneficial in their lives.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27We'll never know why Violet didn't leave a will but,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30thanks to the Heir Hunters' successful investigations,
0:29:30 > 0:29:34her money will now go on to benefit future generations.
0:29:43 > 0:29:49Fraser & Fraser have been investigating the case of Gladys Willerton,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53a gifted medium and clairvoyant who died aged 86.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57After initial doubts that her estate would be worth very much, the team uncovered a bequest
0:29:57 > 0:30:00from her late husband, which means it could be worth a lot more.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03We're hoping sort of £40,000 to £50,000.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Now that the case looks like being more valuable,
0:30:06 > 0:30:13Frasers have decided to unleash one of their travelling Heir Hunters to help speed up the investigation.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Gladys's family were all based in Burnley
0:30:19 > 0:30:21so, as Dave Mansell is already in the area,
0:30:21 > 0:30:26he's heading over to Preston register office to gather any information he can find.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35- Morning.- Back in the office, manager Frances Brett has taken over the investigation.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Hi, Alan, I understand you've got this Willerton job.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41And the first thing she does
0:30:41 > 0:30:47is get up to speed on the latest developments from her colleague Alan, who'll be working with her.
0:30:47 > 0:30:53A routine check of the 1911 census has revealed a tantalising fact
0:30:53 > 0:30:56that could provide the breakthrough that the team so badly needs.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00It seems that Gladys's mother Susannah
0:31:00 > 0:31:04was married to a John Thomas Kay and that they had a child.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10If Dave can find a record for this child, then the Heir Hunters will have found a half-sister or brother
0:31:10 > 0:31:15for Gladys and the new lead that they've been looking for.
0:31:15 > 0:31:21It will be a lot easier to follow up a child born
0:31:21 > 0:31:26between 1907 and 1911
0:31:26 > 0:31:30rather than have to go back to the 1870s,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32'80s and '90s,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35so fingers crossed.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41With such a strong lead to pursue, the team is hoping that Dave can get some results fast.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Sunny Preston.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48One of the things that can make or break a case is quick access to official records.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Dave has been working for Frasers for many years
0:31:51 > 0:31:54and he's on very good terms with the ladies in the Preston register office.
0:31:57 > 0:32:03This couple, John T Kay and Susannah Rushton, married in 1907 in Burnley,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07so I want that marriage and then I want to do an issue search from that marriage to September 1911.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11- Right. So any particular district? - No, all districts.- Right.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16Dave is looking for every child with the surname Kay who was born
0:32:16 > 0:32:23in the area, but with a relatively common surname like that, it can be a long and arduous process.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28These index books have been going for some considerable time because that's how they end up.
0:32:28 > 0:32:34Once he's got a list of names, he can then access the birth certificates and see if the parents'
0:32:34 > 0:32:37names match those of Gladys's mother and her first husband.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39That's the first district I've done.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44There's 29 on there that need verified. That's the first district!
0:32:44 > 0:32:51He's found around 70 possible births, but so far no-one that could be Susannah's son.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54The 1911 census that they've got access to in the London office
0:32:54 > 0:32:58is not always 100 per cent reliable, so Dave needs to find
0:32:58 > 0:33:04a birth certificate to prove a child did exist and keep the investigation alive.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09Well, if there's no children, the likelihood that there are any descendants from which heirs...
0:33:09 > 0:33:12would result would seem slim.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17- There you go.- Finally, he gets the news he's been hoping for.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19- Thank you.- Milton. Posh name.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22It is a posh name, isn't it? Milton Kay.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24- Milton Kay.- That's great.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Dave has been able to prove that Gladys did have an elder
0:33:28 > 0:33:32half-brother called Milton Kay, who was born in 1908.
0:33:32 > 0:33:38When his father died and his mother married again, it's likely that 12-year-old Milton moved with her.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Two years later, Gladys was born.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47There are no photos of the two of them from their childhood, but could they have grown up together?
0:33:58 > 0:33:59Yeah?
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Back in London, the team has been working hard as well,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06and they've also come across the name Milton.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10- PHONE RINGS - Here's Dave. Hi, there.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Have you? Is it called Milton? Do you know,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16I was... So hot off the...
0:34:16 > 0:34:20I was just literally this second got off the phone to Alan...
0:34:20 > 0:34:24Frances tells Dave that Alan has found Gladys's mother's
0:34:24 > 0:34:28death certificate and her son Milton Kay is listed as the informant.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33We've got him, and he's just going back inside now to order a copy of his death.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38As Milton was 46 when his mother died, it's very probable
0:34:38 > 0:34:45that he too is dead, but Frances is keen to see who the informant was on HIS death certificate.
0:34:45 > 0:34:52Let's hope the informant is a child, and that that child's still alive.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57It's not long before Dave has got his hands on the proof.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02Right, Milton Kay, a textile warper, retired.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07- Textile warper?- Yeah.- You've got your warp and your weft, haven't you?
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Yeah. Well, this one was a warper.
0:35:09 > 0:35:15- OK.- And the informant was son Donald Hamilton Kay who was present at the death.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18The pieces are falling into place.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Milton Kay was married to Violet Heseltine
0:35:22 > 0:35:27and they had a son Donald, born in 1930, who would've been Gladys's half-nephew.
0:35:27 > 0:35:33That means that Donald was only eight years younger than Gladys.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Could they have known each other?
0:35:35 > 0:35:40Sadly, a quick search reveals that Donald passed away in 1984,
0:35:40 > 0:35:46but the team has discovered that he did get married to Joan, and here they uncover good news...
0:35:46 > 0:35:49- Hi, there.- ..which Fran is quick to pass on to Dave.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Joan - she's still alive.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Joan won't be eligible to inherit because she's not a blood relative,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59but then comes the news they've all been waiting for.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04They have two children, Margaret J Kay.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08There is another child, Richard M Kay.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13Bingo! The Heir Hunters have found their heirs, but they still don't know
0:36:13 > 0:36:15where Richard and Margaret live.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19However, Frances does have an address for Joan, their mother.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Dave wasn't far away, so he hot-foots it over there.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Hi, sorry to bother you. Are you Joan Kay?
0:36:25 > 0:36:30Hi, my name's David Mansell. I work for a firm of probate researchers by the name of Fraser & Fraser.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34What's happened is, a member of the family
0:36:34 > 0:36:37has died intestate,
0:36:37 > 0:36:42and your daughter Margaret and your son Richard will be heirs to the estate.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- Really?- Yeah.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Now, did Margaret marry Ian Rumson?
0:36:47 > 0:36:49- Yes. - Where is she? Where does she live?
0:36:49 > 0:36:52- She lives in Burnley.- Does she?- Yes.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Have you got an address?
0:36:55 > 0:36:57Does your son Richard work?
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Richard works at Otham, yes.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04Dave's finally cracked his case. He can now contact the heirs in person,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and hopefully help them to submit a claim for their inheritance.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12- I've inherited quite a...- Ohh!
0:37:12 > 0:37:17It turns out that Joan has been working on the family tree herself,
0:37:17 > 0:37:21and she offers to show Dave some old papers.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Can I look at that piece of paper?
0:37:23 > 0:37:26- Thank you.- I've been trying to fathom out from that.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30It lists all the family members who attended Gladys's mother's funeral.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Right, let's make a note of this.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Most of the names have already been checked out,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39but a couple of unfamiliar ones are troubling Dave.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Who are Rupert and Margaret?
0:37:43 > 0:37:47Could they be a missing half-sister or brother to Gladys?
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Thanks very much.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Before they can settle the case, the Heir Hunters need to be certain
0:37:54 > 0:37:56that they've not missed any close kin.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04What we've read is a cut-out from the newspaper, and it's very, very confusing.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08This new development has left Frances feeling uneasy.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10I don't like a mystery.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- Is her surname Rupert?- No.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20- There can't be too many Ruperts in Burnley, can there?- No.
0:38:20 > 0:38:25We're just...covering our backs that Rupert isn't...
0:38:25 > 0:38:31another sibling of Gladys that we haven't...discovered as yet.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33There he is. Rupert Rushton.
0:38:33 > 0:38:34Do you reckon that's him?
0:38:34 > 0:38:36Let's have a look.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39- Yeah.- That's it.- That's it.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43He's a distant cousin. Yeah, we've just identified this Rupert.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45He has the deceased mother's maiden name,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49so he's probably a distant cousin which won't affect our research.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50As Gladys's cousin,
0:38:50 > 0:38:55Rupert is less eligible to inherit than her half-brother Milton,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58so he, Margaret and any of their descendants
0:38:58 > 0:39:00are now out of the picture.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07The Heir Hunters have finally traced Gladys's complete family tree,
0:39:07 > 0:39:12and confirm that the true heirs to her estate are Margaret and Richard,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Gladys's great-niece and nephew.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19It's a satisfying end to the search,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23and instead of disappearing into the Treasury,
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Gladys's legacy will now be passed down to her family.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32Whether the great-niece and great-nephew
0:39:32 > 0:39:35will know anything about Gladys,
0:39:35 > 0:39:37I don't know.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39It'll be interesting to know
0:39:39 > 0:39:45whether the two halves of Susannah's family did maintain contact.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Like all the relatives that the Heir Hunters track down,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Gladys's great-niece Margaret was shocked
0:39:53 > 0:39:56when she heard that she was going to inherit some money.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59It was quite surprising, really.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03It was my mum who'd rung and said David had called on my mum,
0:40:03 > 0:40:08and Mum said, "You might have inherited some money from a relative,
0:40:08 > 0:40:12"a distant relative that we didn't know about."
0:40:12 > 0:40:16We had a vague idea who Gladys was
0:40:16 > 0:40:20but we didn't really know properly.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23We've put it all together now
0:40:23 > 0:40:27and realise that Gladys was my granddad's half-sister.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Yeah, looking at that photograph,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34that's Gladys with my dad Donald, which would be...
0:40:34 > 0:40:37What they didn't realise was that, all along,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Joan had an old photograph of Gladys on the beach
0:40:40 > 0:40:42with Margaret's dad Donald.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46There must have been a time when the two sides of the family were close,
0:40:46 > 0:40:47but something changed.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51My granddad was a very big church-goer
0:40:51 > 0:40:56and he was a member of the church choir in the Church of England,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59but it looks like Gladys went off
0:40:59 > 0:41:04towards the spiritual side of the church, which maybe...
0:41:04 > 0:41:09you know, my granddad being set in his ways,
0:41:09 > 0:41:14didn't approve of her going, and that may have caused the rift
0:41:14 > 0:41:17in the family.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20With not having any children of her own,
0:41:20 > 0:41:25it just seems quite sad that she was all on her own, really.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30We could've been visiting and, you know,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33phoning and writing letters to her,
0:41:33 > 0:41:35but we didn't know.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39Gladys may have missed out on knowing this side of her family,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42but it's good to know that her adopted family
0:41:42 > 0:41:46in the spiritualist church were there for her at the end.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50They did their utmost to give her a really lovely service
0:41:50 > 0:41:53in the way that she would've liked it.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57We don't wear black, we wear the brightest colours.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It's not a sad occasion at all.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04It's a celebration of her life and then a celebration
0:42:04 > 0:42:07of the fact that she's now moved upwards and onwards.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15This is how many relatives that you've found at the moment - 190.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19And this is only really part of the family, isn't it?
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Finding out about her long-lost great-aunt
0:42:22 > 0:42:24has awakened her interest in the family history
0:42:24 > 0:42:27and the work that her mum's been doing on the family tree.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30So it'll be quite massive when I've finished it.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Now we've got a few more dates and names,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36whereby my mum had come to a full stop,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39she can now carry on and hopefully build up
0:42:39 > 0:42:42the family tree on Gladys's side.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45We can go further than that, really.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47We can work together on it
0:42:47 > 0:42:51and build it up together.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55If you would like advice about building your family tree
0:42:55 > 0:42:57or making a will, go to:
0:43:08 > 0:43:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:11 > 0:43:15E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk