0:00:02 > 0:00:05Every year, thousands of people die without leaving a will.
0:00:05 > 0:00:11If a relative doesn't come forward, the deceased's estate will fall into the hands of the government.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Tracking down these long-lost families is a job for the Heir Hunters.
0:00:31 > 0:00:38Today, the Heir Hunters take on the case of a man who was a mystery in his own village.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43He wouldn't say a great lot. He was quite reserved.
0:00:43 > 0:00:50We did know that he wasn't married, but as for any other family, he never spoke of them at all.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55And in Blackpool, a bachelor's £55,000 estate reunites his family
0:00:55 > 0:00:58after over 40 years apart.
0:00:58 > 0:01:04- You've got nothing to feel guilty about. You can't do anything about something you didn't know about.- No.
0:01:04 > 0:01:10And we'll have details of hundreds of thousands of pounds of unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15Could you be a rightful heir and in line for a windfall?
0:01:17 > 0:01:21In the UK, two-thirds of people don't have a valid will.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27If they die with no obvious relatives, their money goes to the government
0:01:27 > 0:01:31who last year made a staggering £18 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36That's where the Heir Hunters step in.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38I'm trying to speak to Lillian.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44There are more than 30 heir-hunting companies who track down the rightful kin.
0:01:44 > 0:01:51Last year alone, they claimed back £6.5 million for unsuspecting heirs who would have gone empty-handed.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56These sort of investigations are a bit of an adventure.
0:01:56 > 0:02:03There's obviously a start and a finish and the bit that goes in between can be very unpredictable.
0:02:06 > 0:02:13It's Thursday morning and overnight the Treasury has released the new names of recent unclaimed estates,
0:02:13 > 0:02:18but heir-hunting company Fraser & Fraser's offices are unusually calm.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24It was a Bank Holiday this week, so that's why the list is a bit smaller than it is usually.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28I really would have hoped to have at least two or three cases to work.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34We haven't. We're now starting to look at really our secondary sort of cases
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and try to send people out and utilise the staff we've got.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42But despite his early misgivings, one case has caught Neil's eye.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47It's the death of a 92-year-old Charles Reynolds in Staffordshire.
0:02:47 > 0:02:53He hands it over to his longest-serving case manager, David Pacifico,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57a man with over 37 years' worth of heir-hunting experience.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01- You're so good.- Thank you. - Once you get the name, yeah.
0:03:01 > 0:03:07Very little information has come from the Treasury regarding Charles Reynolds' estate,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12so the team cross-reference his name, looking for leads in the Staffordshire area.
0:03:12 > 0:03:19Ringing around and making neighbour enquiries sometimes allows the Heir Hunters to get ahead.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Researcher Debbie has already managed to track down someone
0:03:23 > 0:03:26who may have been a neighbour to Charles Reynolds.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32She doesn't know if he owned the property. He was an only child. It was the family home for years.
0:03:32 > 0:03:39- That might be worth pursuing if we know what that address was. - Yeah.- An old family home.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45This new information is music to David's ears. If this is the Charles Reynolds they're hunting
0:03:45 > 0:03:49and he owned the family's home, it could mean a sizeable estate.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51The team have to act fast
0:03:51 > 0:03:57as Fraser & Fraser are in competition with other companies to track down possible heirs.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59OK. Bye.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Neil quickly contacts one of the company's many travelling Heir Hunters
0:04:04 > 0:04:07who are based all over the UK.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12I've asked Paul to try and pick up his death to see what he can find out.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17Little query about the addresses. I'm not sure the address we've found is the right one.
0:04:17 > 0:04:24Ex-policeman Paul Matthews is one of Fraser & Fraser's squadron of travellers
0:04:24 > 0:04:27who are willing to go wherever a case takes them.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Their job is to follow the clues and sniff out potential heirs
0:04:32 > 0:04:36to inform them of their deceased relative's estate.
0:04:36 > 0:04:42If the heirs sign up with them, the company earns a percentage of the inheritance.
0:04:43 > 0:04:50My only task is to go to the register office, pick up the death, find out where this chap lived
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and then probably go and make an enquiry there.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55We don't know the value of the estate.
0:04:55 > 0:05:02The first thing we have to do is find out if the estate is commercially viable to try and find relatives.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Getting their hands on the death certificate will allow David
0:05:07 > 0:05:10to confirm not only Charles's date of birth and address,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13but also who the informant of his death was.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18An informant is generally a relative who was present at the time of death
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and can provide all the details the certificate requires.
0:05:21 > 0:05:28If it's a family member on Charles's certificate, the team could be well on their way to finding an heir.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Back at the office, despite having very little to work with,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35the team is trying their hardest to get a head start.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38He'd be born circa 1918 if he was 90.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- So how many Charles Reynolds born about 1918?- Yeah.
0:05:44 > 0:05:51Using the 1911 Census, the team get stuck in. The census is a vital resource to the Heir Hunters.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55It's a national survey conducted every ten years
0:05:55 > 0:06:02that can tell you the names, ages and genders of people living at an address at the time of the survey.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06But the sheer amount of information it provides can be overwhelming.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11I'm trying to find the birth of Charles Reynolds. There's quite a lot of them.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17With Reynolds being such a common family name, the Heir Hunters hit a brick wall.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20I think we should just hold back until we find out...
0:06:20 > 0:06:25First, we need his date of birth and two, we need the death certificate
0:06:25 > 0:06:29which will have his date of birth and his address and the informant.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- So are you OK to hang on for...? - I think so.
0:06:33 > 0:06:40You're not going to be able to... You can't identify family from this, from no date of birth.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43For the office it's a frustrating start,
0:06:43 > 0:06:48but in Staffordshire, travelling Heir Hunter Paul has arrived at the register office.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53- Any chance of getting that today? - It would be £17.- That's all right.
0:06:53 > 0:07:00Paul secures Charles's death certificate and immediately feeds back the information to the office.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04He died in Stafford Hospital and they are the informant.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07This is not an encouraging start in the hunt for any heirs.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11The team were hoping to find a close family member as the informant,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15but it's a stranger who can't give them any information.
0:07:15 > 0:07:21Despite this setback, the team's earlier research on the electoral roll could be about to pay off.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25The name of a possible neighbour to Charles has come to light.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29We're trying to trace relatives of Charles Reynolds
0:07:29 > 0:07:33and I was told that a Peter Taylor knew the deceased in question
0:07:33 > 0:07:37and may have arranged the funeral and so forth.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I don't know. Would that be yourself...? Charles Reynolds.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44David quickly finds out there could be a possible heir.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Peter Taylor knew Charles well.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53In her 90s. No idea where this cousin was, whether she was in the Staffordshire area or...?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56But any hope of a large estate starts to dwindle
0:07:56 > 0:07:58as David digs deeper.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03He rented it, did he? I take it he was not married?
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Did he live with his parents until they died or...?
0:08:07 > 0:08:13From talking to the neighbour, a picture has started to emerge of a solitary man
0:08:13 > 0:08:17who was as much a fixture in his village as the post office or pub.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21He was regularly spotted doing his errands on his beloved bike.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Very little is known about Charles as he outlived most of his peers
0:08:25 > 0:08:30and this is the only photo of him that has come to light.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Charles was always a well-dressed person and very polite.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37He was always a very pleasant, inoffensive sort of person.
0:08:37 > 0:08:44He wouldn't say boo to a goose. He was a really nice chap. And that's how we'll always remember him.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46He used to have a tipple at the pub.
0:08:46 > 0:08:52At ten o'clock at night, he'd be on the dot there, drinking three pints of Guinness.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58That was every night. Obviously, he'd have a chat with one or two of the locals.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03He didn't socialise much, other than that, other than going to the local pub.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07And he didn't look his age. If he was 92, I don't believe he was 92.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10He didn't look nowhere near 92, you know?
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Obviously, it's the stout that was keeping him going!
0:09:17 > 0:09:23It seems people knew Charles's habits, just not that much about the man himself.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27What was his occupation until he retired, do you know?
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Uh-huh...
0:09:34 > 0:09:40Despite keeping himself to himself in his later years, Charles had led a busy working life.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45The majority of his career, he was a boiler man at Cannock Police Station
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and finally retired aged 72.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51From the outside, his rented cottage looks in good order,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54but inside, it was a different matter.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Like many of his generation, Charles didn't like to ask for hand-outs.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03For Adrian Eggington, a director for South Staffordshire Housing Association,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06it's an all too common problem.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Charles didn't really ask for help. He was a proud, independent man,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14which is quite similar to a lot of our elderly clients.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19We were asked to go out and fit an alarm in Charles's home and we went out to see him,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23realised that his accommodation wasn't particularly good
0:10:23 > 0:10:27and that he had extra needs that we could provide for at Riverside House.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32At that point, he was happy to then move in here and receive support from us.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36So, aged 90, Charles moved into Housing Association accommodation,
0:10:36 > 0:10:42leaving behind the cottages he and his parents had shared their entire lives.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49This new information is bad news for the Heir Hunters.
0:10:49 > 0:10:55With no property attached to Charles's estate, the signs point to it having little monetary value.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01But on such a quiet day, Paul is told still to retrieve the parents' death certificates.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05If they came from small families, generally meaning fewer heirs,
0:11:05 > 0:11:11the case may still be worth it for Frasers, but only if they can wrap it up quickly.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- His dad was Joseph Reynolds. - Joseph Reynolds, yeah.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20His mum was Martha Ann - without the E - Reynolds, formerly Ellis.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- Yeah.- Dad was a farm labourer.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28- Yeah.- And the mum was informant and they lived at Castle Street, Eccleshall.
0:11:28 > 0:11:35Back in the office, the team cannot find the birth of Charles's mother, Martha Ann Reynolds, on the census.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37The facts just don't add up.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39But that's...
0:11:39 > 0:11:42That's the wrong census.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Well, it's the only census that goes with Joseph being a son of Samuel...
0:11:48 > 0:11:53- There's only one census that comes up.- Can we look up the birth of Joseph Reynolds?
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Yeah, I'm doing it here.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I think I want to cry!
0:12:02 > 0:12:07Later on, David gets a break and one step closer to an heir.
0:12:07 > 0:12:14- We're happy we've got the right family, yes?- Well...- We can't find anything better, can we?- No.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Heir-hunting companies don't always begin their cases
0:12:23 > 0:12:27from the names posted on the Treasury's Bona Vacantia website.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32Sometimes they are approached to solve cases where everyone else has failed.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Walter Darling was 69 years old.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40He lived alone and died in his bed.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46Every year in the UK, 350,000 people pass away without leaving a will
0:12:46 > 0:12:49and Walter Darling was no exception.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52He left just the remaining contents of his bank account.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57To those who knew him, Walter was a friendly, dry-humoured old man,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00but a man they really knew very little about.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Known locally simply as The Squirrel Man,
0:13:03 > 0:13:07he'd spend days studying and feeding the animals in his local park.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13The £55,000 estate he left would have ended up in the Treasury's coffers,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17had it not been for Jeremy Ford, a senior case manager at Hoopers,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21one of the country's leading heir-hunting companies.
0:13:21 > 0:13:28This is the case of Walter Darling that landed on my desk some time ago, a solicitors' referral case.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32The solicitors brought it to our attention for the simple reason
0:13:32 > 0:13:36that they were having difficulty in solving the investigation.
0:13:36 > 0:13:43We're to identify and trace lawful heirs who would be entitled to share in Walter's unclaimed estate.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48This is a copy of Walter's birth certificate, born the 20th of December, 1938.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54Shows his father's name Henry and the father's occupation, quite unusual, an amusement caterer.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Despite the paperwork showing Walter's parents married in Ipswich,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01the trail soon leads to the coast.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06With his father's job associated with funfairs and showbiz,
0:14:06 > 0:14:12the bright lights of Blackpool's Golden Mile was the perfect place to try and make your fortune.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14There would seem to ambitious people
0:14:14 > 0:14:17to be business opportunities in Blackpool.
0:14:17 > 0:14:23Many people would have wanted to try running guesthouses and small hotels.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Others would have seen opportunities in amusements and entertaining.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32Walter's family would have been settled in Blackpool just as World War Two broke out,
0:14:32 > 0:14:37but what meant chaos for the rest of Britain meant boom times for Blackpool.
0:14:37 > 0:14:43During the war in Blackpool, we had over three-quarters of a million RAF recruits
0:14:43 > 0:14:46who had their initial training in town.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52If you add to that the impact of the Americans based at the nearby Warton air base
0:14:52 > 0:14:56who came to Blackpool for their entertainment and recreation,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59there would have been thousands of them in town.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Many people had money to spend, no shortage of things to spend it on,
0:15:04 > 0:15:09a real melting pot of people coming together, a very exciting place to be.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Worse places to spend the war than Blackpool.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Walter would have grown up amid the excitement of wartime Blackpool,
0:15:17 > 0:15:23but his childhood, much like his adult life, was a mystery to those who knew him best.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29His long-term friend Lisa Savickis remembers how this rascally old man became a fixture in her home
0:15:29 > 0:15:33after initially befriending him at the local newsagent.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Walter worked out that I was living here
0:15:36 > 0:15:41and decided he would frequent every single morning with his paper,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45followed by "Can I have a cup of tea and can we do the crossword?"
0:15:45 > 0:15:48And we just used to sit and talk, do the puzzles.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52He liked it. He was comfortable here.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55And it just sort of went on from there.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59He was just there, he was just my friend.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03He was just part and parcel of my life every single morning.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07As a regular presence in their home for over seven years,
0:16:07 > 0:16:13Walter also inspired Lisa's son Kieran to study the natural world,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16a subject very close to Walter's heart.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Walter used to help me with my homework.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25We did something on rocks and minerals and Walter took me down to the library one day
0:16:25 > 0:16:30and got me a book on rocks and minerals and made me study it, so I knew what they were.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34But despite Walter's drive to teach and inspire,
0:16:34 > 0:16:39he never spoke to Lisa or Kieran about having had children of his own or any family full stop.
0:16:39 > 0:16:45Heir Hunter Jeremy soon discovered this was anything but the case.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50We established that Walter was one of seven children of his mother Frances.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Of that number, there's three still alive.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56One was adopted away from the family
0:16:56 > 0:17:03and one we established was half-blood because there's no father stated on the birth certificate.
0:17:03 > 0:17:10And unfortunately, the seventh child died a number of years ago without any children.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14The research showed that when Walter died,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17he had three living heirs to his £55,000 estate.
0:17:17 > 0:17:23But as Jeremy started to track down his siblings, the tragic history of the Darling family began to emerge.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28As the matter developed, we started making more phone calls,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32one of which was to Walter's sister Muriel.
0:17:34 > 0:17:41And she told me the story of the various children being brought up in homes around Blackpool
0:17:41 > 0:17:45when they were very young, which seemed a bit strange
0:17:45 > 0:17:50because, as far as we were aware and we proved this, the mother was still alive,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54so something clearly was going quite wrong with the family,
0:17:54 > 0:18:00coupled with the fact that Muriel had no specific knowledge of other members of her family,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03in particular, her four blood siblings.
0:18:03 > 0:18:10Muriel Dawson, Walter's younger sister and now heir, spent her youth in a children's home.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13She was taken into care aged just three.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I remember being sort of...held.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21And sort of, um...
0:18:23 > 0:18:26..put through this hatch.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31And the next thing I remember was being in a bath and it was very hot.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37And from there on, I don't really remember anything, apart from going into the children's home.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Muriel was placed in the care of Grundy Children's Home,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47originally founded by a local figure, Sir Cuthbert Grundy.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51He was best known for his artwork,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55but he also became a philanthropist.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Sir Cuthbert Grundy was a man who had a big belief in humanity.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03He believed that you should always help people where you could.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09Jeremy knew from the records that at least three of Frances Darling's children were put into care,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12but at the time this didn't include Walter.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Even at this early stage, the family began to grow apart.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21My brothers were in the home when I got there.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I didn't really know who they were at first
0:19:26 > 0:19:30until I got older, I got to find out who they were.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35Muriel and her brothers stayed in care until their teens.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39In post-war Britain, homes like Grundy's were essential,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43but left young people like Muriel strangers to their own families.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48My mother sent me a birthday card with her address on it.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54And...you know, so I thought, "Right, well, I'll follow this up."
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I was 18. So I thought I'd follow this up.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02And I went round to see her and I knocked on the door.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04And this lad came to the door.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09And I said, "Is Mrs Darling in, please?"
0:20:10 > 0:20:14And he shouted out, "Mum, it's for you!"
0:20:14 > 0:20:18That was the first thing I remember of Walter.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22She was rather taken with drink.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I wasn't impressed.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29You know, it was... There was nothing there...sort of thing.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34No sort of feeling. It was just a case of, "Oh, I'm in my mum's house and with my mum."
0:20:34 > 0:20:37That was it really.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41From that moment on, Muriel was to find her own way in the world
0:20:41 > 0:20:46and steadily lost all contact with the family she had never really known.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48I've got no photographs. Nothing.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52Not of my family.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56None of my nephews or nieces or whatever I may have.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00You know, I've got absolutely nothing
0:21:00 > 0:21:06from my sort of former life, so to speak.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10I don't know what my father looks like.
0:21:10 > 0:21:18So I really... If I could possibly get hold of some, I would really like some photographs of the family.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23That's it.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26That's my life in a nutshell.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34When speaking with Muriel, it became very clear during our conversation
0:21:34 > 0:21:40that for over 30, 40 years, there was no contact at all with any of the siblings
0:21:40 > 0:21:46and amazingly, there was one sibling, a sister, in particular, that she never, ever knew existed.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Despite this good news about her long-lost sister Jenny,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54it was still a bitter pill for Muriel to swallow.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58It brought home the fragmented nature of her family.
0:21:58 > 0:22:05I've missed out on such a lot, you know, as far as my brothers and sister are concerned.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11Wanting to make up for lost time, Muriel put pen to paper.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13I've written a letter to Jenny
0:22:13 > 0:22:17as I don't know her and I don't think she knows me.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22And I'd like Jeremy to forward it to her if he knows where she is.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25That would be really nice.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30I'll just hope and wait to see if she wants to get in touch.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40Later in the show, Muriel travels back to her childhood home of Blackpool
0:22:40 > 0:22:44to try and reconnect with the brother she never really knew.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49I want to find out what sort of man he was and what his friends thought of him.
0:22:50 > 0:22:56You know, how he was out and about around Blackpool.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Back to the confusing case of Charles Reynolds.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12He died in December 2008 aged 92, leaving no will.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Having outlived his peers and with no known family,
0:23:16 > 0:23:23Fraser & Fraser's case manager David Pacifico has had a hard time trying to get the hunt for heirs started.
0:23:23 > 0:23:29- I think I want to cry! - And part of the reason for the slow start soon becomes clear.
0:23:29 > 0:23:35Traveller Paul has ended up with a death certificate for a lady totally unrelated to Charles Reynolds.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40- Hello, Paul.- Hello. I've got that death you asked to get.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44- Good.- Well, everything fits apart from the maiden surname.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46It looks like it's wrong.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52- There must be another death there of a Martha Ann Reynolds. - Back to the drawing board.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57Trying to make up for lost time, the team quickly change priorities
0:23:57 > 0:24:00to the paternal line of Charles's family.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06Initial research suggests Charles's father Joseph could have been born in Walsall and had four siblings.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11If Paul confirms this from a birth certificate for Charles's father,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15the office will have proof they are dealing with the right family.
0:24:15 > 0:24:21But before he's even left the car park, Paul gets another call from the office.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25It seems that one of the father's brothers might be born in Stafford.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28That's Thomas in March quarter, 1897.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Is that OK? You didn't leave Stafford, did you?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36No, I've just got back to the car, so it's a five-minute walk back.
0:24:36 > 0:24:42- Hopefully, that will show him the son of Samuel.- Okey-cokey, Dave, I'm on my bike.- Bye.
0:24:42 > 0:24:49The office's latest research indicates Charles's father Joseph Reynolds had a brother called Thomas
0:24:49 > 0:24:53who Paul will hopefully confirm shared the same father.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56He was a gentleman called Samuel Reynolds
0:24:56 > 0:24:59who married an Alice Mary Gerrard in 1881.
0:25:00 > 0:25:06Luckily, Paul's return visit to the register office does shed some more light on this case.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09How are we doing on this?
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- Thomas, son of Samuel... - And Alice Gerrard.
0:25:12 > 0:25:19- We're happy we've got the right family, yes?- Well...- We can't find anything better, can we?- No.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24The team are happy that Charles's father Joseph is the brother of Thomas
0:25:24 > 0:25:28as both are named as sons of Samuel Reynolds on their birth certificates
0:25:28 > 0:25:32and Paul has also dug up information on a sister called Hannah.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34OK, Dave, cheers. Bye.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39That was Paul. He's now picked up the marriage of a Hannah Reynolds
0:25:39 > 0:25:44who would have been a paternal aunt to the deceased, who married a Frank Smith.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50And also has picked up the birth of their son - William George Smith, born 1909,
0:25:50 > 0:25:55so with his date of birth, we may be able to identify a fairly recent death for him
0:25:55 > 0:25:58which will bring us further on in the family.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Charles's aunt Hannah Reynolds married a Frank Smith
0:26:03 > 0:26:07and had a son called William George Smith born in 1909 in Stafford.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12Some more research reveals he died in 1996 in Lichfield.
0:26:12 > 0:26:20If the informant on his death was family, David could be a breath away from finding an heir.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24But before the team know it, they get another lead from Paul
0:26:24 > 0:26:28concerning Thomas Reynolds, Charles's uncle.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32- What was the date of marriage? - 24/12/18.- 1918.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37- And that was to...? - To Winifred May Keegan.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Winifred May...Keegan.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46It seems that Thomas Reynolds and his wife Winifred also had children.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51That birth of Thomas Reynolds, which does appear to be right, who marries Keegan...
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Thomas is an uncle of the deceased.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57He has three children - Doris A, Sissy and Blanche.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03The office have come up with a marriage for Blanche to an Arthur Martin in 1947.
0:27:03 > 0:27:09The office have found a death in December quarter 1997 of Blanche.
0:27:09 > 0:27:15Obviously, that will hopefully throw out a next of kin, hopefully a son or daughter,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18so that's what I'll apply for next.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23Paul retrieves the death certificate for Blanche, a first cousin of the deceased.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28It reveals the informant on her death was her husband Arthur Martin.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34He subsequently died in 2000 and the informant on his death was indeed family.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40The informant on the death certificate was a sister, so she's not an entitled heir,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42but we think there could be children.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46I'm just going to ask them to check this address out.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Paul has no luck at the address he's been given by the office,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54but luckily, an elderly neighbour knew the family well
0:27:54 > 0:27:59- and gives him a contact number for Blanche's sister-in-law Lillian. - Bye-bye.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Is that Lillian?
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- 'Yes.'- You don't know me at all.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09I work for a probate research company called Fraser & Fraser.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12We've just been round to try and see you.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17We're trying to trace... Your brother Arthur who you were the informant on the death on,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20his wife Blanche, yeah...?
0:28:20 > 0:28:24- 'Yes.'- We're trying to trace her relatives.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Lillian informs Paul that Blanche and Arthur never had any children,
0:28:28 > 0:28:34but the big surprise is that one of Blanche's sisters is still alive and well at 89.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38This could be the first heir, but as always, there's a catch.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42- 'Doris...'- Yeah. - '..and her husband...'- Yeah.
0:28:42 > 0:28:48'..have gone for a holiday to South Africa to their daughter's.'
0:28:48 > 0:28:53At last, the team have managed to track down a first cousin of Charles,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57but it's no good if she's away on holiday.
0:28:57 > 0:29:03At least we've got a result of sorts, but we're not getting anybody to go and see to sign on the dotted line.
0:29:03 > 0:29:10Without an heir to sign up with Frasers, they could still lose the case to another company.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15The team turn their attention to another stem of the Reynolds' family tree.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19We've now got the death certificate of William George Smith
0:29:19 > 0:29:23who is a cousin of the deceased from another branch of the family.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28The informant is a widow. We're checking the address out to see if she's still alive.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31I'd be surprised if she is.
0:29:32 > 0:29:39And, um, obviously, it would take us nearer to see if there's any heirs on this branch of the family.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41David starts making some calls.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46Using the address from William and Lillian Smith's death certificates,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49he rings around their former neighbours.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53Do you remember a family called Smith living at No.24?
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Do you know whether they had any children, any family?
0:29:57 > 0:30:00You've got her details, have you?
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Success! It seems like David's tenacity has paid off.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Do you know her Christian name?
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Oh, sorry, Avis Allsop. A-L-L-S-O-P, yeah?
0:30:10 > 0:30:13Do you have a phone number for her at all?
0:30:13 > 0:30:18David is keen to get this case put to bed as soon as he can.
0:30:18 > 0:30:24I'm trying to contact an Avis Allsop, formerly Smith, the daughter of a William George Smith.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28What I'm hoping for... One of my colleagues is in the area today.
0:30:28 > 0:30:34Would it be convenient for him to call and see you, so he can discuss it in further detail to you?
0:30:34 > 0:30:40It looks like David has found his next heir, a cousin once removed from Charles Reynolds.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44He immediately informs Paul and sends him around to meet Avis.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49So she's expecting you, as I said, in possibly half an hour or more.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54If you're successful, we're going to want to use her possibly as the claimant.
0:30:54 > 0:31:00- OK.- All right, so good luck, Paul. I'll catch up with you tomorrow. - OK, cheers, Dave. Bye.
0:31:00 > 0:31:07At the end of a long day, Paul is glad to finally have a face-to-face meeting lined up with an heir.
0:31:07 > 0:31:13If Avis signs with Fraser & Fraser, they can submit a claim on her and Doris's behalf
0:31:13 > 0:31:16and the ball can get rolling with the Treasury.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Please sit down. Do you want a table?
0:31:20 > 0:31:24Inheriting a long-lost relative's estate can obviously be gratifying,
0:31:24 > 0:31:30but for some, getting long-awaited answers to questions about their family history is worth a lot more.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35- We tend to think it's a small estate. - I'm not terribly bothered about that.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39It was just the fact that you've... You know, about my dad.
0:31:39 > 0:31:45I've been toying with the idea of trying to get a family tree going on his side.
0:31:45 > 0:31:51Paul starts at the beginning with Charles Reynolds, a relative Avis was unaware she had.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55The person who passed away would have been a cousin of your dad.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01Your grandmother Hannah had brothers and sisters. You're a first cousin once removed.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03I didn't know my dad had any family.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Avis is like thousands of others in the UK.
0:32:06 > 0:32:12Over generations, family can simply drift apart and crucial information is lost.
0:32:12 > 0:32:18- Your grandmother was Hannah Reynolds. - I knew her name was Hannah, but I didn't know the maiden name.
0:32:18 > 0:32:24- She married Frank Smith.- I didn't know that.- She had a brother Thomas, a brother Joseph...
0:32:25 > 0:32:29..a sister Maude and a sister Mary-Jane.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34I didn't know she'd got any brothers and sisters, where she came from or anything.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37This information comes as a revelation for Avis.
0:32:37 > 0:32:43The Smith name attached to her father had always confused her and with good reason.
0:32:43 > 0:32:49Frank Smith, Avis's paternal grandfather, was Hannah Reynolds' first husband,
0:32:49 > 0:32:56but she later settled with an Edgar Summerfield and had a daughter Lillian Summerfield by him.
0:32:56 > 0:33:01I often puzzled over it cos I don't think my mum particularly...
0:33:01 > 0:33:06I won't say liked the family, but had much to do with them.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08It just wasn't mentioned.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13I knew about his sister or half-sister or whatever she was.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19But this is lovely to get some information about him.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21I'm really pleased.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26With Fraser & Fraser now representing their case to the Treasury,
0:33:26 > 0:33:32Avis and Doris upon her return from holiday are set to share the £7,500 estate
0:33:32 > 0:33:35of the enigmatic Charles Reynolds.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40Avis may never discover if he knew she even existed,
0:33:40 > 0:33:45but in his death, she'll benefit from Charles, a hard-working creature of habit
0:33:45 > 0:33:51who liked nothing more than to be left to his own devices to enjoy a few pints of stout.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56- All the best. Thank you very much. - Thank you.- Bye-bye.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59It's a great result at the end of a long day.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Very, very nice lady. She's signed an agreement with us.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07At the end of a bit of a frustrating day, we've got an end result,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11so we can put forward her claim and at least get the ball rolling.
0:34:11 > 0:34:17A good end to the day and a good result for myself and for the company, so yeah, very good.
0:34:25 > 0:34:31For every case that is solved, there are still thousands that remain a mystery.
0:34:31 > 0:34:37Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42With estates valued at anything from £5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50Today, we've got two cases Heir Hunters have so far failed to solve.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Could you be the key? Could you be in line for a pay-out?
0:34:56 > 0:35:02Catherine Brown died in Edmonton, London, on the 5th of November, 2005.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Was Catherine a friend or neighbour of yours?
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Could you even be related to her and entitled to her legacy?
0:35:11 > 0:35:18Leonard Clutton passed away on the 16th of August, 2006, in Barking.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22So far, every attempt to find his rightful heir has failed.
0:35:22 > 0:35:28If no relatives can be found, his money will go to the government, but could it be meant for you?
0:35:29 > 0:35:35If the names Catherine Brown or Leonard Clutton mean anything to you or someone you know,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48Walter Darling died in 2008 without leaving a will.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52Heir Hunter Jeremy Ford's job was to discover whether he had any family
0:35:52 > 0:35:56that should share in his £55,000 estate.
0:35:56 > 0:36:02He tracked down three living heirs, one of which was Walter's younger sister Muriel.
0:36:03 > 0:36:09I've missed out on such a lot, you know, as far as my brothers and sister are concerned.
0:36:09 > 0:36:15Having grown up in care, Muriel only met Walter twice in her life,
0:36:15 > 0:36:22but a bigger surprise came when Jeremy helped her contact a sister she never even knew she had.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26This is a letter that I got off me sister.
0:36:26 > 0:36:32It sort of says that she's had her ups and downs in life and...
0:36:34 > 0:36:38She's got two daughters which she's sent me photographs of.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Yeah, I was thrilled to bits.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45I felt like a little kid again for a couple of hours, sort of thing.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Yeah, it was very nice.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51And that's my letter, one I've waited nearly all my life for.
0:36:51 > 0:36:58Muriel and her sister have already discussed meeting each other for the first time in their lives.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02She has also arranged a trip back to Blackpool with her husband Howard,
0:37:02 > 0:37:06hoping for an insight into her late brother's life.
0:37:06 > 0:37:12I want to find out what sort of man he was and what his friends thought of him
0:37:12 > 0:37:18and, you know, how he was out and about around Blackpool.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23As Muriel arrives at her destination,
0:37:23 > 0:37:27the memories of a broken childhood begin to flood back.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32This is where the Oxford bus shelter used to be and the reason this place sticks out to me
0:37:32 > 0:37:37is I believe this is where I was taken off my mother and put into welfare care.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43Muriel has yet to discover why she and two brothers went into care
0:37:43 > 0:37:48whilst other siblings like Walter stayed at home with their mother.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52But her years at the Grundy care home were at least consistent.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56I used to sleep in that room there right by the window.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59It was a life in there.
0:37:59 > 0:38:05You know, it was pleasant. You didn't get hit, you didn't get sort of pushed around or anything.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09I felt really secure in there, as if that's where I belonged.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14I was in there, as far as I know, from being three till about 15.
0:38:14 > 0:38:21And it was during that 12-year period in care that Muriel missed out ever getting to know Walter.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26By the time she was in her late teens, the family was so fragmented,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29they'd lost touch completely.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33Wanting desperately to reconnect with a brother she never knew,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Muriel has arranged to meet up with Lisa Savickis, her son Kieran
0:38:37 > 0:38:40and some of Walter's closest friends.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Hi. Come on in.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- Please come in.- I'm Muriel. This is my husband Howard.
0:38:46 > 0:38:53- Hello. Pleased to meet you both. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. - That's all right.- Please come in.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Having been Walter's friends for over seven years,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Lisa and Kieran have dug out some photos of the man himself.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06It's the first image Muriel has seen of her brother in over 40 years.
0:39:06 > 0:39:12- I think that one's amazing. - I got that one off Brian, one of his friends.
0:39:13 > 0:39:18He's been an absolute godsend to me and Kieran, one way or another.
0:39:18 > 0:39:24Just looking at the picture, apart from the fact that you look similar, very much so, in the face,
0:39:24 > 0:39:30- I just think it's marvellous that you're interested in birds just as much as Walter was.- Yeah.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34- Because that would make him proud. - Yeah, yeah.
0:39:34 > 0:39:40It would make him proud that another member of the family is interested in the same things as well.
0:39:40 > 0:39:47It was this life-long interest in nature that got Walter dubbed The Squirrel Man of Stanley Park.
0:39:47 > 0:39:53Walter would spend days feeding and observing every aspect of the park's wildlife.
0:39:53 > 0:39:59And it was this pastime that not only made him well-known, but also won him many friends.
0:39:59 > 0:40:07Today, his ashes are going to be scattered and a tree planted in his memory in the place he loved best.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Hello, I'm Muriel. It's nice to meet people that have actually known him.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16He just loved the park and all the animals in it and the birds.
0:40:16 > 0:40:23If he found an injured bird, he'd pick it up and take it home and look after it, then bring it back.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27I first met Walter 20 years ago prior to me having this job.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32- He was a character in the park and he's not here and he's missed.- Yeah.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36He'd be in here and he could talk the legs off a donkey.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39- Yeah.- But it was all about wildlife.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43It makes me think that he took to animals...
0:40:45 > 0:40:48STARTS SOBBING I'm sorry.
0:40:51 > 0:40:57- You should be really proud that everybody has got something good to say about your brother.- I am.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01You'll be fine. Yeah?
0:41:01 > 0:41:05He probably took to animals because people let him down.
0:41:05 > 0:41:12- The people that cared about Walter didn't let him down.- I don't mean them people. Just people.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16No, no, no. You've got nothing to feel guilty about.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20- You can't do anything about something you didn't know about.- No.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Hearing the shared memories of Walter from his friends
0:41:24 > 0:41:28is understandably overwhelming for Muriel.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33It's a fitting tribute.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36I want to say on behalf of Walter Darling
0:41:36 > 0:41:42who was a very good friend to all of the people that are here today,
0:41:42 > 0:41:48I think it's nice that his sister is here today and I think she should be very proud of him.
0:41:48 > 0:41:54I think all families should be together and I'm pretty certain Walter would have felt the same.
0:41:54 > 0:41:59And it's not just the human inhabitants of Stanley Park who miss him.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06At the end of a long day,
0:42:06 > 0:42:11Muriel takes time to reflect on the older brother she barely knew until today.
0:42:11 > 0:42:18Coming down and meeting Walter's friends and going to the places that he knew best and things,
0:42:18 > 0:42:22yeah, I feel sort of nearer to him now.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27It's sort of answered a few... Not all of them.
0:42:27 > 0:42:33It's answered a few questions, helped me find out exactly what sort of man he was.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And I'm quite proud of what I've heard.
0:42:40 > 0:42:45If you would like advice about building your family tree or making a will,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48go to: bbc.co.uk
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2010
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk