0:00:02 > 0:00:04Welcome to Heir Hunters, where we follow investigators
0:00:04 > 0:00:08as they search for living family of people who've died without leaving a will.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13Today the team are looking for heirs who could be in line for thousands of pounds.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17The Heir Hunters uncover a tragic family story
0:00:17 > 0:00:21as they track down the heirs to a £40,000 cash estate.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25They're looking for long-lost relatives
0:00:25 > 0:00:28who have no idea they're in line for a windfall.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Coming up on today's programme:
0:00:51 > 0:00:56In the office, the Heir Hunters have got their work cut out
0:00:56 > 0:00:59searching for descendants of a man with one of the most
0:00:59 > 0:01:01common surnames in the country.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- They knew that Ronald died. - So this is correct, then?
0:01:04 > 0:01:06This is correct.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09A straightforward investigation goes global
0:01:09 > 0:01:13as they hunt for the beneficiaries of an unsung hero of rock'n'roll.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16If you listen to the man, he was born to perform.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20And I'll be discovering more about the man and his music
0:01:20 > 0:01:23from radio DJ Johnnie Walker.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It's one of those Sixties, you know, things where
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- it's lost in the mists of time. - A hazy memory!- Yeah!
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Plus, how you may be entitled to inherit
0:01:31 > 0:01:35some of the unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Every year in the UK,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48an estimated 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52If no relatives are found,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55then any money that's left behind will go to the Government.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00Last year, they made £14 million from unclaimed estates.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04That's where the Heir Hunters come in.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07They make it their business to track down missing relatives
0:02:07 > 0:02:12and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16It is rewarding when one can put people in touch with one another.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23First today, the Heir Hunters take a chance
0:02:23 > 0:02:26on the case of a man from Essex who died without leaving a will.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It's Thursday morning in central London,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and in the offices of heir hunters Fraser & Fraser,
0:02:36 > 0:02:41boss Neil is scanning the Treasury's weekly register of unclaimed estates.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45One listing of the popular surname Jones catches his eye.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49He's not 100% convinced it's the right case to pursue.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53On this case of Jones, I've really got no idea how much it's worth.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Before I commit loads of staff here, or even drop the case,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I've asked Bob Smith to go down there.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01He's going to do an enquiry with the neighbours.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06He will hopefully find out whether it's worth £5,000 or £500,000.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Until we get an answer, I don't want to commit staff to work it.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Heir hunters work on commission, taking a percentage of the money
0:03:14 > 0:03:16received by each heir that they sign.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19So before he decides to go ahead with this job,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Neil wants to know that it will be worth his while,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26especially because it involves a potentially tricky surname, Jones.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29It's still very early in the morning,
0:03:29 > 0:03:35but Neil's keen to stay ahead of the competition so he gets straight on the phone to Bob Smith.
0:03:35 > 0:03:36Ronald Jones.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38All right, OK.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Off we go.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44The company employs several travelling heir hunters like Bob,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47who are based all over the country.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51It's their job to chase up any lead, no matter where it takes them,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and make sure that, if there are heirs to be found,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56they're first on the doorstep.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01Yeah, our deceased, Ronald Jones, died and, presumably,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04would have lived in the Basildon area of Essex.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09At this stage we don't know whether he lived in rented accommodation
0:04:09 > 0:04:12or he owned his own property.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Before Bob can speak to the neighbours and hopefully find out this information,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18he needs to get Ron's address.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21First stop is Basildon Register Office
0:04:21 > 0:04:23to collect Ron's death certificate.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28Ronald Jones died aged 77 in Basildon in Essex.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30He left no will,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32and not even a photograph survives of him.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Before he died, he lived in this modern terraced house.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39His neighbour Lisa Hendy remembers him fondly.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43We really got quite close with Ron.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46About 10 years ago, we'd been in here for five years,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50and we were out in the garden and he'd a nice cold tinny,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52as he used to call them, on the go.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56He asked my husband if he wanted to join him.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57It was basically from there,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00talking the old-fashioned way over a garden fence,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03having a bit of a gossip, having a laugh.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05He was a lovely man.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08He liked doing his gardening, meeting people,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11going out getting his newspaper, having chats with people,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13or going to play bingo.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The way he used to dress was very smart.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Always wore trousers, pair of shoes,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23nice, freshly-ironed shirt, very clean shaven,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25hair in place all the time.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27One day, Ronald had a fall
0:05:27 > 0:05:32in his garden, and Lisa called an ambulance and took him to hospital.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34He never recovered and passed away a month later.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Before he died, Lisa visited him there on fireworks night.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43He was there on 5th November, which was his actual birthday.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45We were looking out of the window.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Ron was saying, "Look, they're celebrating me being in here!"
0:05:48 > 0:05:51So, even when he really didn't want to be somewhere,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54he was still jovial and happy.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58In the office,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02the team are waiting to hear whether the Jones case is a goer or not.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Before they commit to a full-scale investigation,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09they need reassurance that it's sufficiently high value
0:06:09 > 0:06:11to be worth their while.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Which is why Bob Smith is in Basildon.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18He's been given the job of finding out how much this case is worth,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and he's just picked up Ron Jones's death certificate,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24which should contain some vital information
0:06:24 > 0:06:26to help him in his research.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30It gives his address in Basildon.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32So, that's handy.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35We'll go there and make enquiries, see if he owned the property,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Any information about his family.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40But also, his date of birth.
0:06:40 > 0:06:435th November, Guy Fawkes night.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44In Islington.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49The date and place of birth are crucial bits of information.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51With these key facts,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54the team will be able to start the search for Ronald's wider family
0:06:54 > 0:06:56But, first things first.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Bob needs to find out what he can by going to Ronald's last known address.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08I'm actually making enquiries about next door, Ronald Jones.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Oh, yes.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12We're trying to trace his next of kin.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14He apparently has left an estate,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17whatever that is, money in the bank, whatever,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21and obviously the family need to know because they're entitled to it.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- Yeah.- All right?- Yeah.- Number three?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- All right, lovely, thanks. - Thanks.- Bye.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Bob moves on to the next house. The office are depending on him
0:07:31 > 0:07:35to find out whether Ronald Jones's estate is worth anything
0:07:35 > 0:07:39and to come up with some information about family who could inherit.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42He's been in this game a long time
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and knows that only persistence brings results. Sure enough...
0:07:45 > 0:07:50He did have some children, but they were what I call estranged.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Right.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55I believe he's got one or two daughters that live in London.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Bingo. Bob has struck gold. According to this neighbour,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Ronald Jones has children living in London.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Apparently they were estranged from their father,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08but they would still inherit any money.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Bob also discovers that the estate has some value.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Ronald didn't own his house, but when his property was cleared after his death,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19a jaw-dropping discovery was made.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21£40,000 in cash.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24That's lovely. Thanks very much.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28This is a great result for Bob. Thanks to him,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32the team now know that Ronald has two estranged daughters
0:08:32 > 0:08:36who would be the sole heirs to their father's £40,000 estate.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40But where there's money, Bob knows there will probably be competition
0:08:40 > 0:08:43from the 30 or so other heir hunting companies.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47And he's still dealing with one of the most common surnames in the UK.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50There's a long way to go before this case is solved.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Back in the office, the team now have the crucial information
0:08:54 > 0:08:56they need to get to work.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02The heir hunters now know this is what they call a "near kin case",
0:09:02 > 0:09:05meaning that the deceased had children who can inherit.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08So the heir hunters know that once they've found them,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10it'll be job done.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Researcher Debbie has been online looking for birth records
0:09:14 > 0:09:16for Ronald Jones's children.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18She's made an interesting discovery.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Apparently, the deceased, Mr Ronald Jones,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25had four kids, was married before.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29So we're speculatively looking at marriages for them.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34According to the information Debbie's found online,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Ronald had four children, not two, like the neighbour said.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40London is full of Joneses,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44so finding them will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The one lead they have is that they know Ronald was born in Islington,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51a fact gleaned from his death certificate,
0:09:51 > 0:09:56so it's the best place to start looking for other family members.
0:09:57 > 0:10:03Case manager David Pacifico has taken charge of the investigation.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- Did you speak to Bob? - No, I left a message.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07The first thing he does
0:10:07 > 0:10:10is to recruit another travelling heir hunter,
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Bob Barrett.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13'Are you still round Hammersmith?'
0:10:13 > 0:10:16No, I'm at Chelsea Bridge now.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18'Could you go to Islington?'
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- Right.- 'The Register Office.'
0:10:20 > 0:10:21Thanks, Bob.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Bob heads off to collect Ron's birth certificate
0:10:25 > 0:10:27from Islington Register Office
0:10:27 > 0:10:31and to see what other Jones family records he can find there.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34While Bob makes his way across London,
0:10:34 > 0:10:39David Pacifico is trying to consolidate what they know so far about this case.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44Jones. Now, this is a case where we found out from a neighbour
0:10:44 > 0:10:47that he had about £40,000 in cash in the house.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51A council house, but £40,000, so it's well worth looking at.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I've got Bob Barrett going to Islington
0:10:54 > 0:10:57to pick up the birth of the deceased Ronald Jones,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00hoping it might give us good information,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02and hopefully some decent names of the parents.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06But Noel's already working on identifying Ronald's parents,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and amazingly, he strikes lucky.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Out of all the Jones marriages registered in Islington,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16the first one he finds is the right family.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18The dad's Brinley Jones...
0:11:18 > 0:11:21married September 1930.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24Islington.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27She's Alice Hall.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Ronald's parents were Brinley Jones and Alice Hall.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Brinley and Alice had three children -
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Ronald, a son Brinley and a daughter, Doris.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41We did a death search of Brinley Jones Junior.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43He died in Brentwood in 1998.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48His address was in Basildon, same place as the deceased guy.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51We've just found out the phone number of his widow.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56If she's there now, hopefully we might get a few answers.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58This is a great result for the team.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00If they can speak to Brinley's widow
0:12:00 > 0:12:05she may be able to give them vital information about Ronald's marriage
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and the whereabouts of his children. But after all that,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11she's not in, so David has to leave a message.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13We're trying to trace the descendants
0:12:13 > 0:12:16of a Brinley Jones and Alice Jones, formerly Hall,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19which I'm hoping were the parents to Brinley Jones,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23particularly about a possible brother that he may have had
0:12:23 > 0:12:25by the name of Ronald.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Thank you very much.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30It's frustrating for the team.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Somewhere out there in London, Ronald Jones's children are entitled
0:12:34 > 0:12:36to share their father's estate.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39But for the time being, all the heir hunters can do
0:12:39 > 0:12:41is keep looking for them.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44Coming up:
0:12:44 > 0:12:47The team make a breakthrough.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50She's either living at this address, or this address.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53But for David, it comes at a price.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Never like that. Never like these sort of cases.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year
0:13:04 > 0:13:07and millions of pounds are paid out to rightful heirs,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09but not every case can be cracked.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15The Treasury Solicitor has a list of over 2,000 unclaimed estates online,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18known as the Bona Vacantia.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21The procedure is that initially the case will come in,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24we will make some enquiries ourselves
0:13:24 > 0:13:26to see whether we can trace relatives
0:13:26 > 0:13:32or a will, and if those initial enquiries don't bring forth anything
0:13:32 > 0:13:33we will then advertise.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38These unsolved cases could be worth anything from a few hundred pounds
0:13:38 > 0:13:42to millions, and they're waiting to be claimed.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45If someone thinks they're entitled to an estate we're dealing with
0:13:45 > 0:13:48then they need to contact us.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52They can do that direct, or via an agent - it's entirely up to them.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54We need to have a simple family tree
0:13:54 > 0:13:58showing how they think they're related to the deceased person.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Based on that initial evidence, the Bona Vacantia division
0:14:02 > 0:14:05will make a decision on the validity of a claim.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09If they think it's strong, they'll then ask for further documentation
0:14:09 > 0:14:12proving your link to the deceased.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15So, are today's featured cases relatives of yours?
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Could you be entitled to hundreds, thousands,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20or even millions of pounds?
0:14:24 > 0:14:29Edmund James Peddie died on 4th January 2009, in Coventry.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34Edmund had a wife whose maiden name was thought to be Powell.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Do you share the surname Peddie? Could you be Edmund's heir,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40and entitled to his unclaimed estate?
0:14:41 > 0:14:46William James Kingdon died on 19th January 2007
0:14:46 > 0:14:48in Clapham, London.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Kingdon is an Anglo-Saxon name,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54from the parish of Kingsdon near Somerton in Somerset.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57The greatest concentrations of Kingdons in the country
0:14:57 > 0:14:58live in Exeter.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Do you remember William? Was he a member of your family?
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Brenda Gagg died on 24th April 1998,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13aged 78, in Radford, Nottingham.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Gagg is a very rare surname in Britain -
0:15:16 > 0:15:18only six people in a million have it
0:15:18 > 0:15:21and the majority of them live in Torquay.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Brenda left no will and so far, no-one has come forward to claim her estate.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Could you help crack this case? If you think you're related to any of the names today,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34you need to show your relationship to the deceased
0:15:34 > 0:15:36in order to claim their estate.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40People need to prove their entitlement
0:15:40 > 0:15:42by producing documentary evidence,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45various certificates of birth, death and marriage,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48which we will tell them what's required.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51And then they will need documents of identity.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Those names again -
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Edmund Peddie, William Kingdon and Brenda Gagg.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03If any of today's names are relatives of yours,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06then you could be entitled to their unclaimed estate.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Next, the investigation into a remarkable man who died alone.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16In the hunt for his heirs,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20the team's research reveals a remarkable musical legacy.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Most of the time, the heir hunters are looking for the heirs
0:16:25 > 0:16:27of people who lived ordinary, everyday lives.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31But once in a blue moon, they come across an extraordinary individual
0:16:31 > 0:16:35whose legacy touched thousands of people all over the world.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Later, I'll be talking to someone who actually knew this highly talented man,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44but first here's how the case began.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48When heir hunter Gareth Langford of Fraser & Fraser first started
0:16:48 > 0:16:51investigating the estate of Timothy Allan Rose,
0:16:51 > 0:16:56the name meant nothing to him. But all that was about to change.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58When the case was first advertised,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01all the information we had was his name - Timothy Allan Rose.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04He died in 2002 in Westminster. From that death,
0:17:04 > 0:17:09we knew that he was born in 1940. And then the problems started.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Timothy Allan Rose died on 24th September 2002
0:17:14 > 0:17:17in Westminster in London.
0:17:17 > 0:17:23But mysteriously, his estate didn't appear on the Treasury's list until eight years later in 2010.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28The only other information Gareth had was his date of birth.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31He had no idea about the value of the estate
0:17:31 > 0:17:34so he didn't even know if the case would be worth pursuing.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38The first thing Gareth did was to look around for a birth certificate.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42He found one for a Timothy Rose that seemed to fit,
0:17:42 > 0:17:43but he couldn't be sure.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49The birth that we were looking at was a plain Timothy
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and it was in slightly the wrong quarter.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56We would've expected him to born in 1940 - we had a birth in 1941.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58So he didn't have the second Christian name
0:17:58 > 0:18:00and he was in the wrong year.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04We basically had a question of do we work the family that we had a birth certificate
0:18:04 > 0:18:08that we didn't like, or do we go and get the death certificate?
0:18:08 > 0:18:09We decided to do both.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13While Dominic went to order the death certificate
0:18:13 > 0:18:17from Westminster Register Office, the team got busy researching
0:18:17 > 0:18:19the family of this Tim Rose without a middle name.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22It wasn't long before they'd made fantastic progress,
0:18:22 > 0:18:27even lining up several beneficiaries who would be entitled to inherit.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32It looked like this job would be all sewn up in a matter of hours.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35But then the death certificate arrived back in the office
0:18:35 > 0:18:36and changed everything.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Two main things came from the death certificate.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45The first was that the family that we had been working with was wrong,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49and we knew that for two reasons - one, the date of birth was wrong,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52but also, more importantly, our deceased was born in America.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56For Gareth, this was potentially bad news.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59If Tim WAS American, then it was likely that his heirs would be
0:18:59 > 0:19:02American as well, which means the whole case would have to be
0:19:02 > 0:19:05handed over to the company's US associates.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09But just when this case was looking like a real non-starter,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12another key fact leapt off the page.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18The second bit was that he was a singer-songwriter and as Dom was telling me on the phone,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I immediately thought, "We have to look on the Internet for this chap."
0:19:22 > 0:19:25If Tim Rose WAS a successful musician,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28then Gareth was expecting that there would be some information
0:19:28 > 0:19:33about him online that would give this investigation a helping hand.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36But what he actually found was much better than
0:19:36 > 0:19:38he could ever have hoped for.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42There was a wealth of information about him, including biographies,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45all of the music that he'd done over the years, and also footage.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50It seems that Tim Rose was not your average jobbing musician.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54One of the first things that Gareth came across when he looked online
0:19:54 > 0:19:58was a clip of Tim on the Jools Holland show in 1997.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr Tim Rose!
0:20:02 > 0:20:03APPLAUSE
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Tim had been invited onto the programme to perform the song Hey Joe.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14This was the track that bought him recognition
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and later turned into an international hit for Jimi Hendrix.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20# Hey Joe
0:20:22 > 0:20:25# Where are you going with that money in your hand? #
0:20:25 > 0:20:28The more Gareth read, the more intrigued he became
0:20:28 > 0:20:32as he came across tribute after tribute to Tim Rose.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34He's a connoisseurs' artist.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36He's the sort of person that
0:20:36 > 0:20:39if you know a lot about a certain type of music,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41you'd go towards Tim Rose.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44He was obviously highly regarded by both the critics
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- and his fellow musicians. - Tim was a great performer.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52George Harrison wanted him to record With A Little Help From My Friends.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55'He had a voice'
0:20:55 > 0:20:58which could move through all the emotions -
0:20:58 > 0:21:01it could go from tender to hard-edged to rock.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03'I'd never heard anything like Tim Rose before.'
0:21:03 > 0:21:06There wasn't anything around like Tim Rose.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10# Well, I said, I said, hey
0:21:10 > 0:21:12# Ah-hey-hey
0:21:12 > 0:21:15# Hey Joe!
0:21:15 > 0:21:17# Wah-ah-h-h-h-h!
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- # Wah! # - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:21:20 > 0:21:24From everything that he had read online, it was clear to Gareth that
0:21:24 > 0:21:29despite being an American, Tim had had most of his success in the UK.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32It seemed he moved over here in the late '60s
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and started working with professional roadie Martin Hughes.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39It was the beginning of a 40-year friendship.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43I took Tim down to Hastings for his first gig here that year.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48I didn't know what to expect, but when I stood at the side of the stage and he started up,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52that did it for me. He grabbed me straight away. He was demanding...
0:21:52 > 0:21:55but he was so talented.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Tim's career in the music industry spanned four decades,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01but it was anything but consistent.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04In the '70s, the gigs dried up and he left London
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and went back to the States where he fell on hard times.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11He hit the bottle quite strongly for one period of time.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13He sold everything -
0:22:13 > 0:22:16his car, his home, even some guitars.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Tim eventually pulled himself back from the brink.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Over the next 20 years or so, he did a variety of jobs,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27all of them far removed from the music business.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29But one day, he picked up his guitar again.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31And then the bug got him again
0:22:31 > 0:22:35and, you know, one thing led to another and back he came.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Tim moved back to the UK.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41He recorded a few albums and went out on the road again,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43doing what he loved best -
0:22:43 > 0:22:45playing to his loyal fans.
0:22:45 > 0:22:51But sadly by the late '90s, he was suffering from cancer and in a lot of pain.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53His friends told him to slow down, but he wouldn't.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56He just wanted to work. So he was taking everything on.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Ignoring advice from his doctors, Tim went ahead
0:22:59 > 0:23:02and had an operation to remove the tumour.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04He didn't survive the surgery
0:23:04 > 0:23:07and died the day after his 62nd birthday.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09He was in the middle of his latest tour.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13If you listen to the man or look at any decent footage of him,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16he was born to perform. Music was him.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23For Gareth, all this information was extremely encouraging.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28If Tim Rose was a successful singer-songwriter, it was likely there'd be some value to his estate.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33But Gareth still didn't have any leads on Tim's heirs.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37For that, the team had to sift through the biographical sections of the websites.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40They soon discovered that Tim was born
0:23:40 > 0:23:43on 23rd September 1940 in Washington DC.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49He was an only child whose parents were Harold and Mary Rose.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Harold was described as an absent father
0:23:51 > 0:23:56and Tim was brought up by his mother and an unnamed aunt.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59One of the things that we've often found with the Internet is
0:23:59 > 0:24:03that some of the information is correct and some is wrong.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05However, in this case, I think we are on the right path
0:24:05 > 0:24:10because we not only had his own website saying this information, we also had other sources as well,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and they were all saying the same thing.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18Gareth was now confident that he had built up an accurate picture of Tim's close family.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21He knew that his parents were Harold and Mary
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and that he was an only child
0:24:23 > 0:24:27so there were no siblings who could inherit.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32But the interesting figure in all this was the unidentified aunt who had helped bring Tim up
0:24:32 > 0:24:35and was mentioned on so many of the websites.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38If this aunt had got married and had children,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41her descendants would be Tim Rose's heirs.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Could she be the key to this entire heir hunt?
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Tim was a very talented musician and I'm going to meet a fan
0:24:53 > 0:24:57who can tell me all about him and the music scene in the '60s.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03And that fan is none other than radio legend Johnnie Walker
0:25:03 > 0:25:07who had his finger on the pulse of swinging London.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10- Hi, Johnnie!- Hi, Lisa.- Nice to meet you.- How are you?- Good, and you?
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Very well, thanks.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15When did you first hear about Tim Rose?
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Well, 1967, I was on pirate ship Radio Caroline,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22two weeks on the ship, a week on shore.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26One of the highlights of the day was when our supply boat would come out.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29There'd be newspapers, magazines and things,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31but the most important thing was new records.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35So I'd rush down to the studio and I'd got this record
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and it was on CBS.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I mean, Bob Dylan was on CBS, but so was Barbra Streisand.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45It wasn't those labels that you just dashed to hear.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50But Tim Rose, Morning Dew I thought, "This might be interesting," put it on the turntable.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Also looking at it as a vinyl record,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56the power of the music is the depth of the grooves
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and you can actually look at the vinyl record, and the beginning
0:26:00 > 0:26:03looks very shallow and then it gets really deep, the grooves.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Cos Tim's voice and the power of his voice is just incredible.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12So I played this to myself in the studio and thought, "I can't wait to get on the air
0:26:12 > 0:26:14"and to play it to the millions listening in."
0:26:14 > 0:26:18'I haven't heard the track Johnnie is so enthusiastic about.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- 'It's time for a blast from the past.'- This is Morning Dew.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- One of his best ever. - GUITAR PLAYS
0:26:32 > 0:26:35# Walk me out in the morning dew
0:26:35 > 0:26:37# My honey
0:26:39 > 0:26:45# Walk me out in the morning dew today
0:26:46 > 0:26:51# Can't walk you out in the morning dew, my honey
0:26:54 > 0:26:58# Can't walk you out in the morning dew at all... #
0:27:00 > 0:27:05What do you think was so special about him?
0:27:05 > 0:27:06Tim Rose sang every song,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11whether it was making a record or doing a live show,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14like it was the last song he was ever going to sing.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Just the intensity. And the songs that he chose, I mean,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21he did a recording of Hey Joe
0:27:21 > 0:27:23that was just unbelievable.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27And then Jimi Hendrix heard it and it was just one of these songs,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30nobody could quite know the background of it.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Tim Rose did this arrangement of Hey Joe, Jimi Hendrix heard it and thought,
0:27:33 > 0:27:39"I like the sound of that," he did it, had a massive hit, his career rockets off,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42poor old Tim Rose, you know, who kind of invented
0:27:42 > 0:27:45the arrangement of Hey Joe, just didn't happen for him.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Why do you think it didn't happen for him?
0:27:48 > 0:27:53Well, there's lot of reasons. George Harrison wanted to produce him.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57He shared a bill with the likes of Stevie Wonder, The Doors,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Simon and Garfunkel, you know,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02he was on the beginning of really big things.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08But I don't know whether it was a lack of confidence or self-esteem,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10and also he liked the drink,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13which was maybe his way of dealing with his nerves.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Perhaps he was frightened of becoming really successful,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19cos it's hard -
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- you get on the top and it's a long way to fall.- Exactly.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27So it's difficult to say whether he was just unlucky, or perhaps he didn't want it badly enough.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Do you think that he was underrated?
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Well, he was undiscovered, that was the thing. He just became...
0:28:34 > 0:28:37He had a sudden big flash of interest from people
0:28:37 > 0:28:40and then that could've grown, but it didn't.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44And so there weren't that many people who got to know
0:28:44 > 0:28:48about Tim Rose, so he became an underground cult figure,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51and then he disappeared to America
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and became a stockbroker of all things.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55- It's crazy!- Yeah.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59It's amazing to hear first hand the impact Tim Rose had
0:28:59 > 0:29:02on everyone who heard his music.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05But to go from a budding musical talent in the swinging '60s
0:29:05 > 0:29:09to a stockbroker is quite a transformation.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13From listening to Johnnie, it sounds like Tim Rose was a talented,
0:29:13 > 0:29:14but also troubled man.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22Coming up later in the programme, Johnnie Walker shares
0:29:22 > 0:29:27yet more memories, about seeing Tim once again after a 30-year absence.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30I hear this gruff voice. "Johnnie,
0:29:30 > 0:29:32"I think you played my record."
0:29:32 > 0:29:34I turn round,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37there's this big guy with this mane of grey hair.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Let's return to investigations into the case
0:29:46 > 0:29:52of Ronald Jones, who died aged 67, in Essex, without leaving a will.
0:29:52 > 0:29:58Can the heir hunters track down living family members entitled to inherit his £40,000 estate?
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Despite the team searching hard for his heirs,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04the case has got off to a slow start.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12Neil wasn't sure that it would be worth enough to justify a full investigation.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15On this case of Jones, I've really got no idea about the value
0:30:15 > 0:30:17but I don't like turning cases down.
0:30:18 > 0:30:24But then travelling heir hunter Bob Smith made a startling discovery.
0:30:24 > 0:30:30He heard that after Ronald had died, they'd found £40,000 in cash stashed around his house.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Ronald's friend Lisa was there
0:30:34 > 0:30:38when the money was found, and she couldn't believe where he'd hidden it all.
0:30:38 > 0:30:43Behind wardrobes, in coat pockets, in suit jackets,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45detachable hoods off of coats.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48There was a large amount of money that he'd put in there.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I think he probably didn't want to put it
0:30:50 > 0:30:53into a bank because he probably felt safer with it
0:30:53 > 0:30:56on him, where he could keep an eye on it,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59more than bank managers, probably, knowing Ron!
0:31:03 > 0:31:09The team are working on the theory that this case involves near kin.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13The neighbours said Ronald had some children but they were probably estranged.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Their best hope of tracing these children
0:31:15 > 0:31:18is to go back through Ronald's family
0:31:18 > 0:31:22and find someone who remembers them or knows of their whereabouts.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24The dad is Brinley Jones...
0:31:24 > 0:31:29Researcher Noel found a phone number for Ronald's brother
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Brinley's widow, but she wasn't in to take the call.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Thank you very much.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38But then suddenly he makes another breakthrough.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39Hang on.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43She is either living at this address or this address.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47He's managed to track down Brinley's widow's daughter.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50David heads off to try his luck again.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Am I right in saying you're the daughter of a Brinley John Jones?
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Brinley's daughter is in, and better still,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00her mum is visiting her and is happy to speak to David.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Mrs Jones, I represent a company of probate researchers in London.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06We're trying to track down
0:32:06 > 0:32:09the closest next of kin of your brother-in-law, Ronald Jones.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11The closest ones obviously would be his children.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Jennifer...
0:32:13 > 0:32:15What about Kathleen?
0:32:16 > 0:32:20Brinley's widow tells David that Ronald's wife was called Lydia
0:32:20 > 0:32:24and they had two daughters, Jennifer and Kathleen.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27But she also has news about the two other children.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29What, when they were very young?
0:32:29 > 0:32:31Oh, dear!
0:32:31 > 0:32:34David has learnt that the two other children,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Martin and Jacqueline, died when they were infants in a car accident.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42Sadly it seems that the stress of this tragedy took its toll
0:32:42 > 0:32:44and Ronald and Lydia later divorced.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49Worse still, Lydia was recently killed in another road accident.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Well, you've given us a lot of information
0:32:52 > 0:32:55and I'm sure we can track them down.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57How old would Jennifer and Kathleen be now?
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Would they be, sort of...
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Thank you very much indeed, Mrs Jones.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06David has uncovered the sad story of a family dogged by tragedy.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10What's more, it seems that Brinley's widow hasn't seen her nieces in years,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13so not only were they estranged from their father,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16but from his whole side of the family.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18David checks back in with the team.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20I spoke to the mother.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23They knew that Ronald died.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25So this is correct?
0:33:25 > 0:33:28This is correct.
0:33:28 > 0:33:33Now it's been confirmed that there are only two heirs, it's all systems go for the heir hunters.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36David calls travelling researcher Bob Barrett.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38He's at Islington register office looking for
0:33:38 > 0:33:41birth and marriage certificates for Ronald Jones and his family.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Can you just hold fire a minute?
0:33:44 > 0:33:46I think we're going to work a few things out.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48So we don't want anything from Islington?
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Basically, what we were going to get is probably irrelevant now.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55We've got the names of the children,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59we've got a married name of one of the daughters.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01I think this will come out in North London, by the way,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03but I'm not sure where.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05No problem, cheers. Bye.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13Bob Barrett is standing by, awaiting his next instructions, so David gets back to the task.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15He knows he's very close to finding an address
0:34:15 > 0:34:17for one of Ronald's daughters,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20and sure enough...
0:34:20 > 0:34:22This is Kathleen's address.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24David gets straight back on the phone.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Bob, David.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29'I've got an address in Islington, London N1, for you.'
0:34:29 > 0:34:31See if you can get any joy at that address.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34We're still plugging away, but that's the closest we've got so far.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38- OK, I will go round there now and see how we get on.- 'Thanks.'
0:34:39 > 0:34:41It's now over to Bob Barrett.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45He's got an address so he can finally swing into action.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50But on a case like this one, he knows he needs to tread carefully.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53You never quite know what you're walking into
0:34:53 > 0:34:55with a relationship as close as this.
0:34:55 > 0:35:01Now I don't know whether I'll find Kathleen,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04but if I do, I don't know how she's going to react
0:35:04 > 0:35:07to the news that her father has died.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09'At the T-junction, right turn...'
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Near-kin cases are very hard for the heir hunters.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17They often involve unhappy stories of estrangement
0:35:17 > 0:35:20and the team have to be prepared for the difficult task
0:35:20 > 0:35:24of breaking the news that someone's children or parents have died.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27On this occasion, it turns out Kathleen isn't at home,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30but Bob does manage to speak to her neighbour.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32- Hello.- Hi.- I've finally found it.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35I'm trying to trace Kathleen Hogg at number 14.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38I'm from a firm called Fraser & Fraser.
0:35:38 > 0:35:39OK, Kathleen Hogg.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42She's a friend of mine, I have her phone number.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43I'll just go and get it for you.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Does she still live there?
0:35:45 > 0:35:46Yes, she does.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Now Bob's got a phone number for Kathleen,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51it's time for him to call back to the office.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55David Pacifico, please. Thank you.
0:35:55 > 0:35:56All right, Bob.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00- Kathleen Hogg does still live at that address.- OK.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03I have got a mobile telephone number for Mrs Hogg
0:36:03 > 0:36:05and I was wondering if it might be better
0:36:05 > 0:36:08if someone from the office rings rather than me on a mobile.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10'Sure.'
0:36:10 > 0:36:13This will be a difficult phone call for David to make,
0:36:13 > 0:36:17but the heir hunters always try to respect the family's feelings.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19I'm sorry to trouble you.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22I'm sorry, I don't know how to say this, but unfortunately
0:36:22 > 0:36:25it's to do with your father.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28I'm sorry to say he has since passed away.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32We're trying to trace his next of kin,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35which it would seem would be yourself and your sister.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37What I'm hoping that we could do
0:36:37 > 0:36:40is discuss the matter in more detail because
0:36:40 > 0:36:42it's obviously difficult over the phone.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Thank you. Bye.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52God, I never like that, I never like these sort of cases.
0:36:52 > 0:36:53That was Kathleen.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Kathleen was very upset to hear the news of her father's death
0:36:58 > 0:37:02but she has agreed to meet with Bob Barrett.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07I've mentioned about, obviously, her father's passed away.
0:37:07 > 0:37:13'Also mentioned that we've spoken to Ronald's sister-in-law's daughter.'
0:37:13 > 0:37:17I had to be totally open about it. I hate these cases.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20- I know.- 'Tell somebody their parent has died.'- It's awful, isn't it?
0:37:20 > 0:37:25Bob sets off for Kathleen's son's house where she's been staying.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28He's about to meet his first heir on this case,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31which is a key moment in any heir hunt.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33But he also knows that Kathleen has just heard
0:37:33 > 0:37:36that her father has died, so he wants this experience
0:37:36 > 0:37:39to be as painless as possible for her.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser. I think you're expecting me.
0:37:43 > 0:37:44- Yes.- Thanks.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48I'm sorry that we had to break the news about your dad.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50You hadn't seen him for a while.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53I think I was about 29 the last time I saw him.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58I was very close to my dad when he was with my mum.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01They split up when I was about seven-and-a-half, eight.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05Then he moved to Australia so we lost contact.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Bob tells Kathleen about the money
0:38:08 > 0:38:10that her and her sister are set to inherit.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13I know talking about money is not...
0:38:13 > 0:38:16You just learnt that your father's died.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20But apparently there is about £40,000 in cash,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24I don't know whether David mentioned it to you, that was found in the house.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26So whether that was,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28presumably that was savings over many years.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33He may have won the Lottery the week before, who knows?
0:38:33 > 0:38:36He always had money
0:38:36 > 0:38:40but I never expected him to have savings.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44Do you know what I mean? He was always a free-hearted man.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Kathleen is happy for the company
0:38:46 > 0:38:49to help her make her claim for her inheritance
0:38:49 > 0:38:50in return for a percentage.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52So she signs up there and then.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56- Thanks ever so much. Nice to meet you.- Nice to meet you.- Goodbye.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Kathleen has given Bob her sister Jennifer's phone number
0:39:00 > 0:39:03and address so Bob heads off to see her,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07leaving Kathleen to consider the desperately sad news she's just received.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12I often thought about him, you know.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14I wondered what he was up to.
0:39:14 > 0:39:21I thought if he wanted to see me, then he'd contact me.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25Do you know what I mean? You sort of let things slide, don't you?
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Although Kathleen hasn't seen her dad for many years,
0:39:29 > 0:39:31she remembers him as a charismatic figure.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35Yeah, when he took us out that time when he came to visit us
0:39:35 > 0:39:37when I hadn't seen him for ages
0:39:37 > 0:39:39and I was calling him Dad.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44"Don't call me Dad. I don't want people to think I'm old!"
0:39:44 > 0:39:50He had grandkids, you know! Made me laugh.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53He picked me up in his arms when I opened the door.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58He picked me up in his arms and swung me round, and it was like...
0:40:00 > 0:40:05I did think we'd see each other again.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07It's very sad.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Bob's arrived at Kathleen's sister Jennifer's house,
0:40:13 > 0:40:16prepared for another emotional meeting.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20As before, David Pacifico has called ahead to break the sad news.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Nice to meet you. Bob Barrett.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28Like her sister, Kathleen, Jennifer is happy for the company to help
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and signs an agreement on the spot.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35I'll leave that with you. File these away before I lose them.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37What a shock.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41Yes. You didn't expect this when you got out of bed this morning.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44I would have liked him to be alive
0:40:44 > 0:40:48so I could introduce him to my family.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50As Bob heads off,
0:40:50 > 0:40:55Jennifer is also left to reflect on her long-lost father.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57I didn't know him enough, you know.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00My mum left him, you see.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03And she went to live with my nan,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06me and my sister after the car accident.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12I didn't see him again till I was about 15. He came up to our house.
0:41:12 > 0:41:18It would have been nice to know he'd written a will for me and my sister.
0:41:18 > 0:41:19But...
0:41:21 > 0:41:23It's not really, you know...
0:41:24 > 0:41:27He's not left it to us, has he?
0:41:32 > 0:41:34With both heirs signed with the company,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Bob calls into the office to speak to Dave
0:41:36 > 0:41:40and reflect on what's been a difficult day for both of them.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44'Hello, Bob. I gather you've had another lengthy interview.'
0:41:44 > 0:41:47I don't know how much the daughters mentioned.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49Did they want to know more about their father?
0:41:49 > 0:41:53They both seemed quite upset about not having seen him for so long.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57I think they would probably appreciate a bit more information about him.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Isn't it a shame? They're wondering about him...
0:42:00 > 0:42:02'And it's too late. Yeah.'
0:42:02 > 0:42:05But it seems there IS a chance
0:42:05 > 0:42:09for Kathleen and Jennifer to find some comfort amidst their grief.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Ronald's friend and neighbour Lisa has been on the phone to the office,
0:42:13 > 0:42:14offering to speak to them.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19In his final days, Ronald had asked to see his daughters
0:42:19 > 0:42:21but Lisa hadn't known how to find them.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24Now she can put that right.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27I think it's probably going to be one of his biggest regrets
0:42:27 > 0:42:29that he didn't keep in contact with them,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31especially as the last few days before he passed
0:42:31 > 0:42:33he'd asked to see them.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38Ron would want his daughters to have his money because he would probably want to use that
0:42:38 > 0:42:45to build the bridge from where it collapsed when they didn't speak to each other for so long.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50Whatever Ronald's last wishes actually were, in the end, thanks to the heir hunters,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53his money will go to his closest living relatives,
0:42:53 > 0:42:57his two daughters, Jennifer and Kathleen.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06Here are some more unsolved cases where heirs still need to be found.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11The list of unclaimed estates is money that is owed to members of the public,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14and new names are added all the time.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18The list goes back to 1997, when our case management system came on line.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22The idea is to produce a list of all those solvent cases,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24so there should be at least a few pounds in there,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26possibly many thousands.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30And the Bona Vacantia team's mission is a simple one.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35Try your hardest to find the heirs to an estate.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37My division isn't allowed to make a profit.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41We don't make commission, or get bonuses for passing lots of money to the Treasury.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45The Treasury's more interested in, are we finding more kin? Which we are.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48And are we good value for taxpayers' money? Which we are.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Let's see if we can help find someone's long-lost heirs.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Do these names mean anything to you? Are they relatives of yours?
0:43:58 > 0:44:02Frank Garbutt Sherwood Adams died in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04on 29th December, 2008.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Perhaps Sherwood was Frank's mother's maiden name.
0:44:09 > 0:44:10Could you be related to him?
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Raymond Russon died on 25th October 2009
0:44:17 > 0:44:20in Walsall in the West Midlands.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23Russon is an English medieval name, and was commonly given to
0:44:23 > 0:44:26a person living in a place where wild roses grew.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30The name is most common in Cornwall and the West Midlands.
0:44:32 > 0:44:37Do you share the surname Russon? Was Raymond a member of your family?
0:44:38 > 0:44:41Audrey Ronksley died in Sheffield back in July 1998.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44I've got Audrey's death certificate here,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47which contains more information about her.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51It shows that she was born on 1st August 1934 in Sheffield.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54As she was born and passed away in Sheffield,
0:44:54 > 0:44:56it's likely she was from a local family.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Did you know Audrey? Were you related to her?
0:44:59 > 0:45:02The death certificate also shows Audrey's occupation.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05It says she was an alterations assistant.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Did you perhaps work with Audrey years ago in a dressmaker's shop?
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Can you help solve this case?
0:45:11 > 0:45:16Has any of this jogged your memory? Are you related to Audrey?
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Remember, you're the person who has to prove the link.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23If people put together their cases very well and get their family tree,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26and they get all the certificates to fill in, such as birth,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28death and marriage, maybe anything to do with adoption,
0:45:28 > 0:45:30send that in,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34and it's dealt with by someone who's an expert in their field.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37They'll be able to see whether the claim is made out or not.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41A reminder of those names again.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Frank Adams, Raymond Russon and Audrey Ronksley.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50If today's names are relatives of yours,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52then you could have a windfall coming your way.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00Let's return to investigations
0:46:00 > 0:46:03into the case of singer-songwriter Tim Rose.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Later, I'll be exploring his musical legacy.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11They were songs that had such power, and when he used to do them live,
0:46:11 > 0:46:12you would hear a pin drop.
0:46:13 > 0:46:18But first, back to the search for his living family.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Heir hunter Gareth Langford was leading the investigation
0:46:21 > 0:46:23to find any beneficiaries.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26After quite a bit of research,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29he discovered that this gifted musician was an only child,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32raised by his mother and a mysterious aunt,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34who so far hasn't been named.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Gareth was pinning his hopes
0:46:38 > 0:46:40on this aunt having married and had children.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44As Tim's cousins, they would be in line to inherit.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48But despite all these hours of hard work and amazing discoveries,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52sadly for Gareth, it looked like the hunt in England was over.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Once we'd read through all the information on the Internet,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58it became apparent quite quickly
0:46:58 > 0:47:00there was very little we could do over here.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04He didn't marry, he was a bachelor,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06so there was no marriage to look for.
0:47:06 > 0:47:07He wasn't born over here,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10and it doesn't appear any of his family came here either.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14So at that stage, we had to hand it over to our American colleagues
0:47:14 > 0:47:17and see if they came up with any good leads.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20But for the time being, all Gareth could do was wait,
0:47:20 > 0:47:24and the chances are he'd have to wait quite a while.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28Heir hunting in the US is a very different proposition.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32Unlike the UK, they have no centralised record office
0:47:32 > 0:47:35for births, marriages and deaths, and each state has its own rules
0:47:35 > 0:47:38governing the release of this information.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41So, several days went by before Gareth heard anything at all,
0:47:41 > 0:47:44and when he did hear back, it wasn't good news.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49It appears that maybe the deceased was an only child of parents
0:47:49 > 0:47:51who were only children.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54This was a real blow to the whole investigation.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58That would mean there was no possibility
0:47:58 > 0:48:00of finding any heirs on this case.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02But Gareth wasn't giving up yet.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Why would so many different sources on the Internet talk about an aunt
0:48:05 > 0:48:07if she didn't exist?
0:48:08 > 0:48:12The more he read about Tim, the more convinced he became
0:48:12 > 0:48:15that there WAS going to be some value in this estate.
0:48:15 > 0:48:16The reason why
0:48:16 > 0:48:20the case was only very recently advertised is a mystery.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22The deceased died in 2002,
0:48:22 > 0:48:26but his estate was only advertised on the list in 2010.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30I don't know exactly why that's happened,
0:48:30 > 0:48:34but one obvious reason is that his albums are selling.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Royalties are due to him, and his estate needs to be settled.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39As a published singer-songwriter,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Tim would have been earning royalties from the sale
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and performance of his records throughout his life,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and that would have continued for the eight years since his death.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52The reality is that, even after you have died,
0:48:52 > 0:48:53you can earn money
0:48:53 > 0:48:56from your performances and your work for quite some time,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59provided they're sold, provided they're played on radio
0:48:59 > 0:49:01or TV or in public places, accounts are made,
0:49:01 > 0:49:03and by the end of the year,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06it all tots up to being, hopefully, a significant sum.
0:49:06 > 0:49:11But how many records did Tim Rose sell over his chequered career?
0:49:11 > 0:49:14And were they still selling even after his death?
0:49:14 > 0:49:18I think Tim is the classic nearly man of rock music.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21He was almost there on several occasions.
0:49:21 > 0:49:22There were several times
0:49:22 > 0:49:25when he nearly had a hit single in this country.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28He went on Top of the Pops, he was on the radio a lot,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31he was playing live and getting lots of acclaim and good reviews,
0:49:31 > 0:49:32but it didn't quite happen.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35The highlight of Tim Rose's career was his first solo album,
0:49:35 > 0:49:37so he peaked early.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39It is a classic of its time, there's no doubt about it.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41It's a great album.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44One track on that record, Hey Joe,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47would prove to be the most important of Tim's career,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49but what success he had was soon overshadowed
0:49:49 > 0:49:52by another up-and-coming American artist.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Very shortly after Tim did a version of the song,
0:49:57 > 0:50:02Jimi Hendrix had a hit single with a slow version of the song.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06It sounds very similar to Tim's version, and he felt hard done by.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Hendrix had the big hit with the song,
0:50:08 > 0:50:10but Tim had done the arrangement.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13Although Tim was disappointed that he never made the big time,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17in the end, it was the music and the fans that mattered.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21His first London show for nearly 20 years,
0:50:21 > 0:50:24at the Half Moon pub in Putney, and it was absolutely packed.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27A lot of people who remembered him at the time,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30and then a subsequent generation of people who got into him
0:50:30 > 0:50:31as his records have been reissued.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35You could almost see him being blown away by the response.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40Touchingly, I thought, at the end of the show, he stood at the door
0:50:40 > 0:50:43and shook hands with every member of the audience as they left.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46It was like a vicar saying goodbye to people leaving church.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50Only a few years after that sensational comeback,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Tim's fans gathered at the Half Moon again.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56But this time, it was for his wake.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59Martin still comes here every year to remember his friend.
0:51:00 > 0:51:05Today is Tim's birthday. I come up to London to tidy the grave.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08I've called in here for a drink at the same time,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10and bring back a few memories.
0:51:10 > 0:51:11When I play one of his CDs now,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14which I did on the way up here in the car,
0:51:14 > 0:51:16it always means the same to me.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20The man is not dead, he's still with us.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23He's left his imprint on life.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27We can't get him back, but we can keep the music.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31Tim was never in the first rank of rock'n'roll earners,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33but his records were still selling
0:51:33 > 0:51:35to fans and connoisseurs long after his death.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39And with the royalties that accrued over the years, it turns out that
0:51:39 > 0:51:43the nearly man of rock may have left a sizable legacy after all.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Mr Tim Rose!
0:51:45 > 0:51:46CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:51:54 > 0:51:55But after all that,
0:51:55 > 0:51:59this heir hunt was still in the hands of the Americans.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00Unless they found Tim's missing aunt,
0:52:00 > 0:52:04then any money that he had left behind would be going
0:52:04 > 0:52:05straight to the Government.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11But two weeks later, Fraser has some fantastic news.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Records have turned up in America that prove
0:52:13 > 0:52:17the aunt did exist, and what's more, she had living descendants.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22We've just heard back from our agents in America.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26It's good news, really. It sounds like they've found beneficiaries.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29At the moment, I don't know the full extent of the family.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33But the agreements have been sent and they've spoken to all of them.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36They're aware, we're just waiting for the reports to come through.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39For Neil, it's a satisfying end
0:52:39 > 0:52:43to a very different kind of investigation.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47We've been able to identify a case, a case which we think has got value,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49even though initial thoughts indicated
0:52:49 > 0:52:51there probably wasn't going to be any value.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53We've been able to find the beneficiaries.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56We're the first people to find those beneficiaries,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59and we've spoken to them. So, we're in a very good position.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01Fingers crossed, now, a waiting game, really,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04to see if the contracts come back to us.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11It was a good result for the heir hunters in the end.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15But as well as his estate, whatever its final value,
0:53:15 > 0:53:17Tim Rose's real legacy is his music.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22I'm back with radio DJ Johnnie Walker, who not only remembers
0:53:22 > 0:53:26when Tim arrived on the scene, but also, sadly, when he left it.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30After decades, the two men of music's paths finally crossed.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33For me, there's a huge gap of about 30 years.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38So we go from 1966, pirate radio, I'm in Marylebone,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41in a little church hall at a self-help group meeting,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45cos I had a bit of a problem with drink and stuff,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48and after the meeting, I hear this gruff voice, "Johnnie,
0:53:48 > 0:53:52"I think you played my record."
0:53:52 > 0:53:55I turn round, there's this big guy with this mane of grey hair.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01And I go, "Yeah?" He goes, "Tim Rose."
0:54:01 > 0:54:04- And I was completely blown away.- Yeah.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08- I had just no idea.- And had you met him in the '60s before?
0:54:08 > 0:54:09No, I never had. Never had.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12I've got a vague recollection, there's this great club
0:54:12 > 0:54:15in Margaret Street where all the musicians used to go,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19and I've got a vague recollection of him doing a gig there.
0:54:19 > 0:54:20But I might be wrong.
0:54:20 > 0:54:25It's one of those '60s things where it's lost in the mists of time!
0:54:25 > 0:54:27A hazy memory!
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Yeah! So I never really did meet him.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34So then, here we are in 1999, and he's back,
0:54:34 > 0:54:38and he's trying to get his career going again.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42And he's been clean and sober, not had a drink for eight years.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45So, he's really doing well.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48We went to a little cafe and just had a cup of tea
0:54:48 > 0:54:51and had a chat about the old times and things like that.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54And then he was getting ready to do shows at the Festival Hall.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56He went on Later...With Jools Holland,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00and so suddenly his light's shining again.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03He's in a better place, I think, to handle it.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07Through being just completely off drink.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10So, great shame, then, that he gets struck with cancer.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Did he ever talk to you about his family, or was it more about music?
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Then, at that stage, in those sort of meetings, it was about,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22"Jeez, this is hard, isn't it?!"
0:55:22 > 0:55:26- Of course.- It was about getting through a day at a time.
0:55:27 > 0:55:32In the most unlikely of places, Johnnie and Tim had finally met.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35It's just sad to hear that Tim had finally beaten his addiction
0:55:35 > 0:55:39to alcohol to then succumb to cancer.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43Talking to Johnnie about the man and his music makes me think
0:55:43 > 0:55:45how much I would have loved to have seen him live.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48By all accounts, he was a mesmerising performer.
0:55:51 > 0:55:56He sang one night at the Speakeasy Club, which was a wonderful club
0:55:56 > 0:56:00where you'd have The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix go, and also roadies.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02- There was a roadies' bar... - I wish I'd been around then!
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Then you had this wonderful... They called it the Greenhouse.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08It was a glassed-in restaurant enclosure,
0:56:08 > 0:56:10where some of the big names would go,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13and you'd see Ahmet Ertegun, the boss of Atlantic Records,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16hanging out with Clapton and Beatles and stuff.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Then they had a music room, and Pink Floyd played there,
0:56:18 > 0:56:21and all sorts of people played their first gigs there.
0:56:21 > 0:56:22I'm sure Tim Rose sang there.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26I've got this recollection of hearing Tim doing Morning Dew.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29What do you think his legacy is, then?
0:56:31 > 0:56:34Well, I think that he helped Jimi Hendrix become world famous,
0:56:34 > 0:56:38through his arrangement of Hey Joe.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Morning Dew is a record that will sound good forever.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45And so there's a legacy for his descendants from that,
0:56:45 > 0:56:49because it still gets played an awful lot.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53So, I think the records that he did make stand the test of time.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55And for me, if I made one record in my life
0:56:55 > 0:56:57and it was Morning Dew, I'd be happy.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01So I think it much better to look at the positive,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04he made some great music, rather than, he never really made it big.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06- Yeah.- Perhaps he didn't want to.
0:57:07 > 0:57:12You can be almost famous for a long time.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15You could be very famous for a very short time.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19He had this wonderful intensity,
0:57:19 > 0:57:23and he would pick songs like Come Away Melinda, Morning Dew, Hey Joe,
0:57:23 > 0:57:26they were songs that had such power.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30And when he used to do them live, even in the later years, 2002,
0:57:30 > 0:57:34when he was performing, you would hear a pin drop when he performed,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37and then at the end, everybody sits back in amazement.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40"Wow! I've just seen something really special!"
0:57:46 > 0:57:49He was performing again, he was recording again,
0:57:49 > 0:57:56and so sad that then health cut his life too short.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59They say the brightest stars burn the quickest,
0:57:59 > 0:58:02and Tim Rose is an example of pure singing talent.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06The heir hunters may have found his long-lost relatives,
0:58:06 > 0:58:08who will be entitled to Tim's estate,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11but his windfall of wonderful music is out there
0:58:11 > 0:58:13for everyone to inherit.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18If you would like advice about building your family tree
0:58:18 > 0:58:20or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:28 > 0:58:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk