Cashmore/Maynard Heir Hunters


Cashmore/Maynard

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Every year in the UK, 12,000 people die with no will

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and no obvious relatives.

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Tracking down their long-lost families is a job for the Heir Hunters.

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Could they be knocking at your door?

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On today's programme:

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with the competition hot on their heels,

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the heir hunters are involved in a nail-biting chase.

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I don't know. I don't know who that is.

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And the search for beneficiaries of a £250,000 estate

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reveals a dark family history.

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It didn't actually say that she was a prostitute,

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but from what they said and what was subsequently found out,

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that's what she was.

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And we'll have details of some of the hundreds of estates

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still waiting to be claimed.

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Could you be in line for a windfall?

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Approximately two-thirds of people in the UK

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don't have a current will.

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If they die without making one,

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their money could end up going to the government.

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Last year alone, the Treasury made a staggering £18 million

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from unclaimed estates. That's where the heir hunters step in.

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More than 30 companies make it their job to trace the long-lost relatives.

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As they charge a commission, it's a rewarding business.

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Last year between them they returned £6 million to the rightful heirs.

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It's 7.00am Thursday and this week's Treasury list of unclaimed estates has just been released.

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It's a frantic time in the office of Fraser and Fraser.

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With over 30 rival firms also poring over the same list at the same time,

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they need to work quickly.

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Despite their efforts, Charles Fraser and his team aren't progressing very fast.

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None of you have got anything here.

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It's a bit of a dog's dinner.

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We've got a lot of cases this morning

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where a lot of the deceased appear to be living in nursing homes

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so we've got to wait until the nursing home opens, really.

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Then we can call them and ask for information about the person who's died.

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The Treasury's list doesn't give the value of an estate.

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So when there's only a nursing home as an address,

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it's difficult to decide which are going to be the most lucrative cases to follow.

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But what they do know is that every case on the list

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has to be worth at least £5,000.

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And that money will end up in the government coffers if heirs aren't found.

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Let's try and allocate some of these to you all.

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One of Fraser and Fraser's longest-serving case managers, David Pacifico,

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is assigned the estate of George Thomas Cashmore.

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Like many of the cases advertised today, George died in a nursing home.

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He was 81 years old, had no known family,

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and a history of mental illness.

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When George first came to the home, we didn't know much about him.

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We were aware from his doctor

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that he had a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

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Then he went on to be diagnosed with dementia.

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But George had obviously got a lifetime of experience

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that he'd got locked within him.

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George fought in Germany during the Second World War.

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Although no longer able to talk about his past,

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Jean noticed how he would react to certain songs.

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When they were singing the Vera Lynn songs and things like that,

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they'd got their flags and they were all...

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George actually took part in that.

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So although he couldn't tell us what the feelings were,

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we could see that he was having such a memorable time.

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George suffered from psychological problems,

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but no-one knew what caused them or how long he'd suffered.

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As he died without leaving a will,

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the team start investigating his case.

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They uncover an address he lived at before the nursing home.

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If he owned the property, the value of the estate could be higher than they first thought.

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Needing to check this out straight away, company partner Charles

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calls up one of his team who's based in Birmingham.

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So, Waverley Road. It's Cashmore, yeah.

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Probate research doesn't just happen in the office.

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Up and down the country, there are a number of travelling heir hunters

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employed by the company.

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They pick up records, talk to neighbours about the deceased

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and make door-to-door enquiries.

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But their key role is signing up heirs before the competition.

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Ex-police officer Paul Matthews has been handling cases around his home in Birmingham

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for the past eight years. Eager to establish if the estate is worth anything,

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Paul wants to find out if George Cashmore owned a property.

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The office have come up with an address in Small Heath.

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We're not sure whether he owned the property or rented it.

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The first thing to do is put a value on the estate

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to see if it's viable and worth doing.

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Just because somebody dies in squalid conditions or a care home

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or with no outward signs of wealth

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it doesn't mean they haven't been a hard saver all their life

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or haven't inherited off somebody.

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With Paul heading off in search of clues,

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the office are starting to draw up a family tree

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and already they've found some vital information.

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By cross-referencing George's birth certificate with the census and electoral rolls,

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they have their first breakthrough in this case.

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Could they have already uncovered some of George's heirs?

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George was the son of Thomas Cashmore and Clara Hawkins,

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who had an older sister, Rose.

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Rose died in 2008

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but had five children.

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They would be George's nieces and nephews

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and could all be entitled to a share of the estate.

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Using the electoral roll,

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case manager David Pacifico has already found a phone number for one of the potential heirs.

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So I'm just gonna phone up what I hope might be a nephew

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and if it's correct, try and get an appointment for Paul Matthews to go and see him.

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With David following up leads in the office,

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out on the road, Paul's arrived at George's old street.

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KNOCKS DOOR

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..George Cashmore, an old bloke.

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No?

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OK. Cheers. Thank you.

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Back in the office, things are moving fast.

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It's only 9.00am, but David has already managed to speak to an heir,

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George's nephew, Brian.

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It's come to our attention your uncle's passed away,

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it would seem without leaving a valid will

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and, it was thought, without any known next-of-kin.

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He discovers that George's mental illness only occurred after the Second World War.

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So could it have been caused by his experiences on the front line?

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One person who has a wealth of knowledge on this subject

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is Terry Charman, senior historian at the Imperial War Museum.

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It wasn't just the scenes of combat, of losing your comrades,

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seeing civilians massacred

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and the results of artillery fire, that type of thing,

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but also the deliberate atrocities committed by the Nazis in the concentration camps.

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I think that many of the troops that eye-witnessed, for example, the liberation of Belsen

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and the horrific scenes there

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suffered terribly from this in post-war years.

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Over 5.5 million troops fought in the Second World War.

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Nearly 300,000 lost their lives

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and those servicemen returning home had to deal with what they had witnessed.

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You'd have to have been a very hard and tough personality

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not to have been affected by the sight of your comrades being killed, wounded in action,

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or to view the other sights like the atrocities of the concentration camps.

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I think a lot of people, perhaps even now,

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are suffering from the emotional problems of things that they experienced

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during the Second World War.

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It's come back to haunt them, perhaps, in old age.

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So could this be the answer behind George Cashmore's late onset of schizophrenia?

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Were his experiences enough to trigger his mental illness?

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Having already traced one of George's heirs,

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it seems like it's going to be a straightforward case.

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But nothing is ever that easy.

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Another heir-hunting company is hot on their heels.

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I've just spoken to the nephew.

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I want to get Paul Matthews to contact him direct straightaway.

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But Paul is still busy trying to discover if anyone remembers the deceased.

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-Was that George?

-I never knew George.

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-DIALLING TONE

-All David can do is keep calling.

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Not doing too well at the moment, I'm afraid.

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Other companies are on to this

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and I need him urgently to go round and see somebody who I think is at home now.

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Worried that the competition will beat them to it,

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David goes to see Charles.

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INAUDIBLE

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Paul Matthews, is he doing anything else?

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He's not answering his phone. There's other companies on to it.

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The wife gave me his mobile

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and I'm wanting Paul to see him literally as soon as possible.

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I can't do any more until he phones in.

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-We've put an All Persons Bulletin out.

-I know.

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At last, Paul is back in the car.

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His enquiries have discovered that George only rented at the property.

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He calls into the office to update them.

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You must have dozens of messages there, or missed calls.

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It might not seem like much time has passed,

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but when they are racing to sign up heirs ahead of the competition,

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every second counts.

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'A few minutes ago I spoke to the nephew and I said you'd phone him direct on his mobile.

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'I'm hoping you can see him at work.'

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With competition hotting up,

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will they reach the heirs in time?

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And will Paul be able to unlock the mystery of George's mental health?

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'He used to come and visit when I was a teenager, to the house.'

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But she dreaded him coming because of his mental disability.

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Piecing together separated families is the daily work of the heir hunters.

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But few cases involve nobility.

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So when the name of a lord appeared on the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates,

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there was excitement in the office.

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But it's not just the thrill of working on a case involving blue blood.

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It was a lord leaving a fortune of a quarter of a million pounds.

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This really was a rare treasure for Fraser and Fraser.

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When we first saw this case advertised as Lord Ravencastle,

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my first thought was, "Brilliant. We're gonna work a lord."

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That would be fabulous. Great fun.

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Lord Ravenscastle wasn't the only noble name the deceased went by.

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At some stage in the past he'd adopted Raymond Ravenscastle, or Count Ravenscastle,

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as he liked to call himself.

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He said he had all the paperwork

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to support that, but I never questioned it, you know.

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I thought I'd let him have his fantasy!

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Half the office were arguing it'd be a titled individual,

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and half were saying, "No chance, it's all made up."

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I didn't really go with him being titled.

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I went for it being an ordinary folk.

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I never like it when Grimble's right, but I was a bit disappointed.

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It would have been so nice to say, "We've done the family of Lord Ravencastle",

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but it's not the way it goes sometimes.

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It turned out that he had just appointed himself the title of lord

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and his name was merely Raymond Ravenscastle.

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Either way, the fact still remained that he'd died without leaving a will

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and the lordly sum of a quarter of a million pounds

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would go to the Treasury unless his rightful heirs were found.

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Raymond Ravenscastle died alone aged 70 at his home in Oxford.

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A colourful character, he was well known in the local community.

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Anybody who lived in Boars Hill

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eventually got to see and hear about and to know Ray.

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The pedestrians would be open-jawed in amazement when he went by.

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He looked like Yul Brynner in a black tracksuit.

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I think he used to play up to it.

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But there was more to Raymond than his unconventional appearance.

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An event was organised at a house on Boars Hill where there is a superb grand piano.

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It was all organised, then a few days beforehand, Ray said,

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"I'm going to play a tribute. I've composed a tribute."

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So, with heart in mouth, we let him play after the interval.

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And I'm not a musical person so I can't criticise or comment, really,

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but I thought it was brilliant.

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PLAYS FLAMBOYANTLY AND WITH SKILL

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It was just like you'd hear a grand pianist in a concert playing.

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Fantastic, yeah. Self-taught, too.

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Despite being well known in the neighbourhood,

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Raymond died alone and his body was left undiscovered for weeks.

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We all feel guilty

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that we didn't know he'd died until a long time afterwards

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and he may well have been dead for weeks before he was discovered.

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Nobody knew because he didn't mix with anybody by then

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and so nobody had any particular reason to go and check up on him.

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So why did this charismatic and flamboyant character

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die without any family around him?

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And who was entitled to the £250,000 fortune he left behind?

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Was someone who didn't even know about Raymond Ravenscastle's existence

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in line for a life-changing windfall?

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His friends knew nothing about his family.

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He always created the impression that there was nobody at all.

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He had no mother and father that he could recall,

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he had no brothers and sisters, had never been married,

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didn't have a relationship with anybody.

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So who was this elusive character?

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One of the company's longest-serving case managers, David Milchard,

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known in the office as Grimble, takes up the challenge to find out.

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For heir hunters, the death certificate is their first tool in tracking down heirs.

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As well as the date of death, it normally gives a date of birth.

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Using this information, probate researchers can trawl the archives

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and find corresponding records.

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The birth certificate gives them a place of birth and the names of parents.

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So a family tree can begin to take shape.

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Grimble's research discovers that our "lord", far from being an aristocrat,

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was born simply Raymond Torrence, and was the son of Robina Torrence.

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Once we knew of the birth in the name of Torrence,

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when we got the certificate,

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it showed that there was no father.

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There was the mother's name,

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so we thought immediately that this is an illegitimate birth.

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With no father to investigate,

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Grimble turns his attention to the maternal side of the tree.

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Raymond's mother was Robina Torrence,

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the daughter of James Torrence and Agnes Dickson.

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She was born in Ayr, Scotland, in 1913

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and was the second youngest of their eight children.

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Grimble discovers that all of Robina's siblings have died

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so it was their children, Raymond's cousins,

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who were the potential heirs to his £250,000 estate.

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One heir was Elsie Powers.

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Her grandmother, Isabella, was Raymond's aunt.

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Elsie had never even heard of Raymond.

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So when an heir hunter knocked on her door,

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and told her that she could be entitled to a share of his fortune,

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neither her nor her husband, Fred, could quite believe it.

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I thought it was a joke. I told her it was a joke. I said, "There's somebody at it!"

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When I heard the name Raymond Maynard, I thought they'd got the wrong person.

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Would nae be looking for me because I'd never heard that name before.

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I think she was only 18 there.

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I knew it must be something to do with my mother

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because I never knew that side of the family.

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And the mystery surrounding that side of the family was getting more interesting.

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With no father on the birth certificate,

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the team have no choice but to look for heirs on the maternal side of the family only.

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Until they uncover a very unusual twist in the tale.

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Raymond had a second birth certificate,

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registered 15 years after his first.

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This time, the father's name is entered. Raymond Maynard.

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Now, this certificate is signed by both the mother and the father.

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Which indicates that the couple were not married at the time.

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So who was the man now claiming to be Raymond's father?

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In an attempt to find out more,

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Grimble calls Robina's family.

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Robina, the mother, according to the family, she basically left Scotland.

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Robina had fallen out with her family and moved to the bright lights of London,

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perhaps in search of a more fruitful or glamorous life.

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There is a popular historical image of Britain and Londoners in particular

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loosening moral restraint

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and having a good time and a good sexual time

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as a result of the war.

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And Grimble finds out more intriguing information about Robina.

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They intimated, according to the life she was involved in,

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although they didn't actually say she was a prostitute,

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certainly from what they said and what was subsequently found out, that's what she was.

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The sex trade in London and in areas like this,

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in Soho, was complexly organised,

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nasty, brutish,

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particularly for women, and it was a thriving big business.

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But the story was about to get even more mysterious.

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The heir hunters had already found some potential heirs to Raymond's £250,000 estate.

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But family-held secrets would take them deep into the criminal underworld.

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We've dealt with families that have been on the edge of crime and things,

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but to be heavily involved in the Mafia,

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a Sicilian family,

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if there had been a lot of family still around,

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I think I would have volunteered one of the others to go and sign him!

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For every case that is solved,

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there are still thousands that remain a mystery.

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Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.

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Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years

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in the hope that eventually, someone will remember

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and come forward to claim their inheritance.

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With estates valued at anything from 5,000 to millions of pounds,

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the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.

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Today, we've got two cases heir hunters have so far failed to solve.

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Could you be the key?

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Could you be in line for a pay-out?

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Joyce Mary Kilner died in Urmston in Manchester

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on 30 December 2004.

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Was Joyce a friend or neighbour of yours?

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Could you even be related to her

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and entitled to her legacy?

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Hetty Florence May Liebek passed away on 25 September 2006

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in Worthing.

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So far, every attempt to find her rightful heir has failed.

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If no relatives can be found, her money will go to the government.

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But could it be meant for you?

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Fraser and Fraser are investigating the case of George Cashmore.

0:21:520:21:56

Why did he die alone in a nursing home with no family around him?

0:21:560:22:00

And what caused his mental health problems?

0:22:000:22:03

Hoping to unlock the mystery, senior case manager David Pacifico

0:22:030:22:08

has begun tracing his heirs and finds a nephew.

0:22:080:22:11

One of the children is called Brian Gillen.

0:22:110:22:14

But with other probate research companies also working on the case,

0:22:150:22:19

it's vital for travelling heir hunter Paul Matthews to make contact with him first.

0:22:190:22:24

DIALLING TONE

0:22:240:22:26

-'Hello?'

-Hello. Mr Gillen?

0:22:260:22:28

-'Yes.'

-Paul Matthews from Fraser and Fraser.

0:22:280:22:32

Paul Matthews wastes no time heading over to see him.

0:22:370:22:41

Worried other heir hunters may be trying to contact him at work,

0:22:420:22:46

Paul arranges to meet Brian outside.

0:22:460:22:49

And it's here he starts to piece together the details of George's troubled past.

0:22:490:22:55

-Your Uncle George, you don't know when he was born.

-No.

0:22:550:22:58

Do you know anything about him? He was a bachelor. Where did he live?

0:22:580:23:02

He lived in Windmill Lane, Smethwick, in a flat.

0:23:020:23:05

What was your memories of George?

0:23:050:23:08

He suffered with schizophrenic.

0:23:080:23:11

Something happened while he was in the army, with a girl.

0:23:120:23:16

-He never forgot it.

-Oh, right.

-I think it sent his mind funny ways.

0:23:160:23:22

-Was he all right before that?

-Perfect, yeah.

-Was he?

-Perfect, yes.

0:23:220:23:25

Has George's nephew unlocked the mystery of his mental health?

0:23:250:23:31

Could a war-time relationship really be responsible?

0:23:310:23:34

'In some cases,'

0:23:340:23:37

fraternisation with German girls was frowned upon

0:23:370:23:40

and looked down upon by some of the British troops

0:23:400:23:44

who thought, having seen all the horrors of the camps and this type of thing

0:23:440:23:48

and having endured a lot of hard fighting against the Germans in north-west Europe,

0:23:480:23:54

nearly a year between D-Day and VE Day.

0:23:540:23:57

And in some cases there was the feeling

0:23:570:23:59

that German women and girls, by getting a British or an American boyfriend,

0:23:590:24:05

was somehow cosseting them from the rest of the population.

0:24:050:24:12

And indeed, perhaps providing them with protection as well.

0:24:120:24:16

Armed with his new information, Paul calls David.

0:24:200:24:24

But he has news of his own.

0:24:240:24:27

He spoke about his Uncle Norman, did he, to you?

0:24:270:24:30

He said he died during the war. Didn't know much about him.

0:24:300:24:33

For your information, he was born as Norman Harold Hawkins,

0:24:330:24:37

which was before the parents' marriage.

0:24:370:24:42

David Pacifico discovered that George's mother, Clara,

0:24:430:24:46

gave birth to a son, Norman Hawkins,

0:24:460:24:48

before she married George's father.

0:24:480:24:51

The team need to discover if he was adopted by George's father.

0:24:510:24:56

If he was, his descendants would be heirs.

0:24:560:24:59

They learn that Norman was a member of the British Royal Artillery

0:24:590:25:04

and had served in the Second World War.

0:25:040:25:06

In 1943, his family were sent a letter by the Red Cross

0:25:060:25:10

informing them that he was missing, presumed dead.

0:25:100:25:13

Further digging reveals that Norman's name

0:25:130:25:16

is on a list of those killed in the Ballale Massacre in March 1943.

0:25:160:25:21

Mary Baker's late husband, Alf,

0:25:220:25:25

was also part of the regiment and documented the history of the tragedy

0:25:250:25:29

and named those who lost their lives.

0:25:290:25:31

And in the list is Hawkins N H,

0:25:310:25:35

Gunner, ninth coast, aged 23,

0:25:350:25:38

as one of the 517 that were lost at Ballale.

0:25:380:25:43

George's brother, Norman Hawkins,

0:25:440:25:47

was one of 600 members of the British Royal Artillery

0:25:470:25:50

who were captured by the Japanese in 1942.

0:25:500:25:53

Originally held in the Changi prisoner-of-war camp,

0:25:530:25:57

they were then transported to Rabaul on the island of New Britain

0:25:570:26:01

in Papua New Guinea.

0:26:010:26:02

From there, 517 of the men were taken to Ballale in the Solomon Islands

0:26:020:26:08

where they were forced by the Japanese to build an airstrip.

0:26:080:26:11

Mary's husband, Alf, was left behind in Rabaul

0:26:110:26:14

so lived to tell the heart-breaking story of what happened next.

0:26:140:26:18

Once the job was done, we believe that, if they hadn't been killed by bombing,

0:26:200:26:25

they were executed.

0:26:250:26:28

The office's research confirmed that George's older brother, Norman,

0:26:290:26:33

was killed by the Japanese on the island.

0:26:330:26:35

As he died without having any children,

0:26:350:26:37

whether he was adopted by George's father or not,

0:26:370:26:40

the only heirs to George's estate

0:26:400:26:42

are now his half-sister Rose's five children.

0:26:420:26:45

The search for them is coming together well.

0:26:500:26:53

It's only 11.30 in the morning and Paul has managed to sign up one of them, nephew Brian.

0:26:530:26:58

So we're doing very well today.

0:27:000:27:02

Let's hope we get lucky and it's an estate that's worthwhile researching.

0:27:020:27:08

So, yeah, the day's good so far.

0:27:080:27:11

But Brian is only entitled to one-fifth of the estate.

0:27:120:27:15

For the case to be worthwhile for the team,

0:27:150:27:18

they need to try to sign up all five of the heirs.

0:27:180:27:22

With the race still on for him to reach the others ahead of the competition,

0:27:220:27:26

he dashes over to the house of Patricia, one of George's nieces.

0:27:260:27:30

Fraser and Fraser. Pleased to meet you.

0:27:300:27:33

And he is only just in time as there is a rival heir hunter at the door.

0:27:330:27:38

I don't know who that is.

0:27:380:27:41

With his competitor outside on the doorstep,

0:27:410:27:44

Patricia decides to sign up with Paul.

0:27:440:27:46

If you sign there...

0:27:460:27:48

When you're working these estates, time is very, very important.

0:27:480:27:52

If you end up ten minutes further behind than where you should be,

0:27:520:27:57

then he'd have been sitting in there seeing the heir while I'm at the door.

0:27:570:28:01

It may be lunchtime, but there's no time for Paul to stop.

0:28:010:28:05

He heads over to the office of Michael,

0:28:050:28:08

another one of George's nephews.

0:28:080:28:10

Like his brother, Brian, Michael remembers his troubled uncle.

0:28:110:28:15

He used to come and visit when I was a teenager, to the house.

0:28:150:28:18

He had this obsession for washing.

0:28:200:28:22

He was always washing. He'd leave the taps running and I'd see the water coming out the bathroom.

0:28:220:28:28

Psychological problems manifested themselves in George's day-to-day life.

0:28:280:28:33

This odd and unpredictable behaviour

0:28:340:28:36

may help to explain why his family had lost touch with him.

0:28:360:28:40

It's over 40 years since the last time I saw him.

0:28:410:28:44

So it is rather weird to get that phone call this morning,

0:28:440:28:47

to find out he passed away.

0:28:470:28:49

It was also weird cos my mother passed away last year as well.

0:28:490:28:55

So it's uncanny that they both passed away the same year.

0:28:550:28:58

George's nephew, Michael, agrees to sign with Fraser and Fraser.

0:28:580:29:03

It's not even three o'clock and Paul has already achieved a hat trick.

0:29:030:29:07

A good interview with the gentleman.

0:29:080:29:11

He's happy for us to put forward his claim.

0:29:110:29:13

So we've seen three people, we've signed all three.

0:29:130:29:17

So it's Frasers three, the competition nil, which is good.

0:29:170:29:20

Back in the office, David checks in with Paul.

0:29:230:29:26

Hello, Paul.

0:29:260:29:27

-I've seen Mr Gillen at work, Michael.

-'Yeah.'

0:29:270:29:30

No problem. He's quite happy for us to put forward his claim.

0:29:300:29:34

I've got a sporting chance. I'll try Janice later.

0:29:340:29:39

-Catch up with you later or tomorrow.

-Okey-cokey, Dave.

0:29:390:29:42

Paul has just two more heirs to the Cashmore estate to sign up.

0:29:450:29:49

As George's niece, Janice, works as a schoolteacher, Paul has to hang around until she gets home.

0:29:490:29:55

And his wait is worth it.

0:29:550:29:58

Not only does he get Janice's signature,

0:29:580:30:00

he finds out more about George's troubled past.

0:30:000:30:03

Paul Matthews, Fraser and Fraser. Pleased to meet you.

0:30:030:30:06

He went into the army during the war.

0:30:090:30:12

He was sent to Germany.

0:30:120:30:14

He, um...

0:30:140:30:17

fell in love with a German woman.

0:30:170:30:21

And, um, on the boat back...

0:30:210:30:26

because he'd fallen in love, he had such a severe beating

0:30:260:30:30

that it caused his mental illness.

0:30:300:30:32

He was severely beaten and he was tortured

0:30:360:30:40

by his comrades.

0:30:400:30:42

It caused him to be schizophrenic.

0:30:420:30:45

George's colleagues viewed him as a traitor

0:30:460:30:48

and couldn't forgive him for his relationship with a German girl.

0:30:480:30:52

There was a feeling that these people had been responsible

0:30:520:30:56

for bringing to the world so much death and destruction and misery.

0:30:560:30:59

"How can we ever actually forgive them?"

0:30:590:31:03

So Janice's final piece in the jigsaw

0:31:030:31:05

helps the office unlock the mystery of George's mental health.

0:31:050:31:09

The team's had a successful day - they've already signed four out of the five heirs.

0:31:090:31:14

We're pleased at the outcome of this case,

0:31:140:31:16

that we've been able to identify the next-of-kin and tell them

0:31:160:31:21

the uncle had passed away

0:31:210:31:23

and put a closure to that because maybe they were wondering what happened to him, things like that.

0:31:230:31:29

'The good that's come out of the news today'

0:31:300:31:34

is the knowledge for us that now they're all reconciled.

0:31:340:31:37

They're all together again.

0:31:370:31:39

Nobody is suffering any more

0:31:390:31:42

and they'll all know the answers to these questions they've pondered on for so many years.

0:31:420:31:48

Fraser and Fraser have already invested a good deal of time and resources

0:31:570:32:01

on the case of Raymond Maynard, the self-appointed lord and local eccentric

0:32:010:32:06

who died in Oxford in February 2009 without leaving a will.

0:32:060:32:10

His estate is worth a massive quarter of a million pounds,

0:32:100:32:14

a life-changing sum

0:32:140:32:16

which would end up in the Treasury coffers if the rightful heirs aren't found.

0:32:160:32:21

As heir hunters work on commission, they have a huge incentive to track them down.

0:32:210:32:25

They found heirs on Raymond's mother's side

0:32:250:32:28

but who was his father? And why did he wait 15 years before he put his name on Raymond's birth certificate?

0:32:280:32:35

Grimble had discovered that Raymond's mother, Robina, was involved in the sex industry.

0:32:350:32:40

Nobody actually came out with "She was a prostitute", but from what we found out,

0:32:400:32:47

it's obvious she was heavily involved.

0:32:470:32:49

Police documents held at the National Archive

0:32:500:32:52

show Robina had 32 convictions for working the streets.

0:32:520:32:56

The documents also revealed that she was involved with one of the most notorious crime dynasties

0:32:570:33:03

ever to plague London's streets,

0:33:030:33:05

the Messinas.

0:33:050:33:07

Five Mediterranean brothers who'd built up a multi-million-pound empire of vice in London.

0:33:070:33:13

The Messinas come to London in the late 1930s

0:33:170:33:21

and they intervene in the trade in a number of ways

0:33:210:33:24

by increasing the amount of strong-arm tactics, violence,

0:33:240:33:31

bullying and gang-style control of street women.

0:33:310:33:36

So how was Robina involved with the Messinas?

0:33:370:33:40

Records show one of the brothers, Attilio Messina,

0:33:400:33:44

had been convicted of living off her immoral earnings.

0:33:440:33:47

But her family suggested there was more to her relationship.

0:33:470:33:50

It must have been more than just pimp/prostitute.

0:33:520:33:56

Cos after all, members of her mother's family had met him.

0:33:560:34:00

There's a bigger story there somewhere.

0:34:000:34:03

Police intelligence records reveal that the couple lived together as man and wife

0:34:050:34:10

and that Attilio paid for Raymond's private education at a top boarding school.

0:34:100:34:14

With Attilio playing happy families,

0:34:140:34:16

where was Raymond's father?

0:34:160:34:18

And why did he wait until Raymond was 15

0:34:180:34:21

before putting his name on the birth certificate?

0:34:210:34:24

Grimble had a name. Raymond Maynard.

0:34:240:34:27

But his research keeps leading to dead ends.

0:34:270:34:30

So knowing about Raymond's mother's criminal connections,

0:34:300:34:34

Grimble decides to look up the name Raymond Maynard in the police records

0:34:340:34:38

and makes a surprising discovery.

0:34:380:34:41

I went through the police records

0:34:410:34:43

and we identified a Raymond Maynard.

0:34:430:34:47

At that stage, you wouldn't know whether he was our guy or not.

0:34:470:34:50

But it turns out this particular one we followed through

0:34:500:34:55

was also known as Attilio Messina.

0:34:550:34:58

Grimble discovers that Attilio Messina also went by the name of Raymond Maynard.

0:35:010:35:06

In fact, all the Messina brothers adopted English sounding names

0:35:060:35:10

in an attempt to blend in.

0:35:100:35:12

So why would Attilio now be claiming to be Raymond Jnr's father?

0:35:130:35:18

Grimble has his own theory as to why he wanted to register the birth.

0:35:180:35:22

The Messina family were having a running conflict with the Home Office.

0:35:230:35:28

I think they were being deported for their criminal life.

0:35:280:35:33

The fact that he got this declaration I think was probably an attempt

0:35:330:35:39

to show to the authorities that he's got a child

0:35:390:35:44

and that's one reason why he shouldn't be deported.

0:35:440:35:48

The Messinas were facing deportation after an expose in the press.

0:35:500:35:54

A front-page exclusive detailed their vice trade activities

0:35:540:35:59

and forced the police to take action against them.

0:35:590:36:02

The brothers ended up in court and the authorities started moves to deport them.

0:36:040:36:08

It is around this time that Raymond's birth is re-registered.

0:36:080:36:12

Could it have been a further attempt of the Messinas to flout the law?

0:36:120:36:16

Whatever the truth, the birth certificate is a legal document

0:36:170:36:21

so in the eyes of the law, Attilio Messina, who also went by the name of Raymond Maynard,

0:36:210:36:26

was Raymond's father.

0:36:260:36:28

And this meant that any of his living relatives

0:36:280:36:31

would be entitled to a share of Raymond's estate.

0:36:310:36:34

Grimble now has the task of finding out if there are any heirs descended from these gangsters.

0:36:360:36:41

Luckily for him, the police records already have most of the information he needs.

0:36:410:36:46

It was good to see all those records from so many years ago

0:36:470:36:51

compiled by the Foreign Office or whoever was trying to deport them.

0:36:510:36:57

They've obviously had to go in depth into the family background.

0:36:570:37:02

So you get a lot of information there, which for genealogies would be marvellous!

0:37:020:37:08

If every time you had something like that, half your work would be done.

0:37:080:37:13

But once you get to the stage where they must have been deported,

0:37:130:37:18

zilch, nothing.

0:37:180:37:19

After they were deported, most of the brothers moved to San Remo in Italy.

0:37:190:37:24

Further investigations by Grimble showed that all five of the Messina brothers

0:37:240:37:30

and their sister, Emma, had died without having any children.

0:37:300:37:33

So the Messina stem of the family tree had died out.

0:37:330:37:37

None of Raymond's £250,000 estate would be going to the descendants of these gangsters.

0:37:370:37:43

We've dealt with families that have been on the edge of crime and things like that,

0:37:430:37:47

but to be heavily involved in the Mafia, a Sicilian family,

0:37:470:37:52

if there had been a lot of family still around,

0:37:520:37:56

I think I would have volunteered one of the others to go and sign them!

0:37:560:38:01

In the end, all of Raymond's heirs are on the maternal side of the family.

0:38:020:38:07

Raymond's mother, Robina, was one of eight children.

0:38:070:38:10

It is her nephews and nieces and their children, all 23 of them,

0:38:100:38:15

who are entitled to a share of the estate.

0:38:150:38:17

Elsie Powers, the granddaughter of Robina's sister, Isabella,

0:38:190:38:23

is one such heir.

0:38:230:38:25

She knows very little about her mother's side of the family.

0:38:250:38:29

I was really glad when they contacted me.

0:38:290:38:31

Really glad, because it let me know a side of the family that I never knew existed.

0:38:310:38:38

Because I always knew just the one side of the family.

0:38:380:38:42

Keen to know more about her mysterious cousin and benefactor,

0:38:430:38:47

Elsie travelled to Oxford with her husband.

0:38:470:38:50

I'd like to find out what he done for a living

0:38:510:38:54

and who all his friends were.

0:38:540:38:57

Um, how long he's been here

0:38:570:38:59

in this area.

0:38:590:39:01

Elsie and Fred met up with Raymond's neighbours.

0:39:020:39:05

This is the photo album, as it says, which we found in the house

0:39:060:39:11

in a locked cupboard on the side of the stairs, going upstairs.

0:39:110:39:16

-Wow! Look at him.

-These are photographs of Ray.

0:39:160:39:20

-Right.

-His eyebrows were remarkable because they were painted on.

0:39:200:39:24

-Tattooed on.

-Tattooed.

-His head was tattooed.

0:39:240:39:26

-His head was tattooed.

-Who's he like?

-Like Roy.

0:39:260:39:29

Does he remind you of people?

0:39:290:39:31

-He looks like my brother.

-Really?

0:39:310:39:34

It puts a face to the name

0:39:340:39:37

that I never knew.

0:39:370:39:39

He does look awful like my young brother.

0:39:420:39:45

There's a canny resemblance to him.

0:39:470:39:50

It's a good picture, if you take away the hair.

0:39:500:39:52

If you took away the hair and made him a bit fatter, that's what he looked like.

0:39:520:39:57

To me, he's part of the family now.

0:39:570:40:00

He's a family member. It's just a shame we never knew that.

0:40:000:40:04

How did he start out? Did he go to college or go to university?

0:40:040:40:10

He gradually worked his way through three separate psychiatric nursing levels.

0:40:100:40:15

And then he applied to go to what is now called Harris Manchester College.

0:40:180:40:23

It was then called just Manchester College in Oxford.

0:40:230:40:27

He went there as a mature student

0:40:270:40:29

and then he transferred from there to Oriel College

0:40:290:40:33

and eventually took his degree.

0:40:330:40:36

The Messinas' money paid for Raymond's school education.

0:40:370:40:41

Despite his unconventional upbringing,

0:40:410:40:43

he ended up studying at Oxford University.

0:40:430:40:46

It is believed that he taught Sociology after he graduated.

0:40:460:40:50

In 1982,

0:40:510:40:53

he bought a three-bedroomed house,

0:40:530:40:55

Wuthering Heights in Oxford.

0:40:550:40:57

It was as eccentric as the man himself, and Ray's friend Kate O'Kane showed Elsie around.

0:40:570:41:03

-Have you not seen the house before?

-No. I didn't even know that he existed.

0:41:030:41:09

-So this is the house.

-Oh, yes.

0:41:110:41:14

It's always been blue and yellow, ever since I've known it.

0:41:140:41:18

Right.

0:41:180:41:19

It is colourful!

0:41:220:41:24

He was a colourful character.

0:41:270:41:29

Despite the house having three bedrooms, Raymond chose to live in the garage,

0:41:300:41:35

renting rooms in the house to people in dire straits,

0:41:350:41:38

mainly ex-psychiatric patients.

0:41:380:41:40

He saw it as his public duty.

0:41:400:41:43

He moved into here.

0:41:430:41:45

-Did he?

-Yes. Now, this was the garage.

0:41:450:41:48

-His heater's up on the wall.

-My, it's so...

0:41:480:41:52

This is where he lived.

0:41:530:41:55

Goodness.

0:41:550:41:58

Got a little stove or something.

0:41:580:42:01

Raymond lived in the garage to help other people.

0:42:020:42:06

Now his quarter-of-a-million-pound estate will go on to benefit others.

0:42:060:42:10

I think it's sad he lived here on his own.

0:42:100:42:14

Just a pity we didnae get to know him, really.

0:42:150:42:18

And be able to talk.

0:42:190:42:21

But no-one really got to know Raymond that well.

0:42:230:42:25

He was a complex man, haunted by dark family secrets

0:42:250:42:30

which he kept locked within himself.

0:42:300:42:32

He was a great eccentric who died as he lived, in a way.

0:42:320:42:37

And who I don't think would have wanted it any other way.

0:42:370:42:41

That's what he chose and that's what happened.

0:42:410:42:44

If you'd like to find out more about how to build a family tree

0:42:530:42:56

or write a will, go to:

0:42:560:43:00

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