0:00:02 > 0:00:07It's early morning and one heir hunter has hit the road to chase up new information
0:00:07 > 0:00:09about a case worth over £2 million.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15He's hoping to track down long-lost relatives who have no idea
0:00:15 > 0:00:18they could be in line for a life-changing sum.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Could he be knocking at your door?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39On today's programme...
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The heir hunters try to solve one of their biggest ever cases.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47The multi-million-pound estate of a dishevelled recluse.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I am totally astonished that he had so much money.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52I would never have guessed he was so wealthy.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55As the heir hunters look at a case in West London,
0:00:55 > 0:01:00is a £600,000 Kensington flat just the tip of an iceberg?
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Reasonable to assume if you've have a good quality leasehold property,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06that you've got a good quality bank account to go with it.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Plus how you could be entitled to unclaimed estates
0:01:09 > 0:01:12where beneficiaries still need to be found.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Could you be in line for windfall?
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Every year in the UK,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27an estimated 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:28 > 0:01:34If no relatives are found, then any money left behind goes to Her Majesty's Government.
0:01:34 > 0:01:41Last year, the Crown made £12 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46There are over 30 specialist firms competing to stop this happening.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Known as heir hunters, their business is to track down
0:01:50 > 0:01:54missing relatives and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I make sure that the Government doesn't seize assets
0:01:57 > 0:01:59which do not belong to them.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Every Thursday morning, heir hunting companies across the land
0:02:09 > 0:02:12scrutinise the Treasury's latest list of unclaimed estates.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14I guess she's the sister...
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Working on commission,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18they're looking for estates that are valuable enough
0:02:18 > 0:02:22for them to invest time and money of to find heirs.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25We're missing the birth of her father.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29One estate which was first released by the Treasury in 2006
0:02:29 > 0:02:33is that of David John Roberts. Heir hunting company,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Celtic Research, have spent the last five years trying to find his heirs.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42And with good reason.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45This one looked funny because it was listed as only worth about £2,000.
0:02:47 > 0:02:54A week after that, the value changed.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58It was the same case and instead of £2,000,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00it was £2 million.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04£2 million is a colossal sum.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and could give Peter his largest ever pay-day.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12But David Roberts has proved to be an enigmatic figure.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16The search for his heirs has been an uphill struggle.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25David Hugh John Roberts died in a modest, first-floor flat
0:03:25 > 0:03:28in Raynes Park in London in 2005.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32He was a successful businessman
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and, the 1970s, an active member of his local Conservative Club.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39He eventually became chairman,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44and friends from the club remember him as a pleasant, but private man.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46When he came into the club he was always well dressed.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48He always wore a suit and tie.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50He always looked businesslike.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53The way he acted was much the same.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58In the mid-1980s, David suddenly resigned as chairman of the club
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and cut himself off from everyone he knew there.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Over the next 20 years,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09it seems that he retreated away from this life.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11To his neighbours, he was someone they saw
0:04:11 > 0:04:14as a rather dishevelled recluse.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23I did see him walking along the road, pretty much every day.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26He didn't look smart, his clothing were rather shabby,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29rather long, grey hair.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33He didn't really keep himself in trim condition.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36But in death it emerged there was more
0:04:36 > 0:04:41to the mysterious David Roberts than appearances suggested.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48At some point, he'd been wealthy enough to squirrel away
0:04:48 > 0:04:50an enormous £2 million fortune.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53For those who'd known David as successful businessman,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55this wasn't a surprise.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59He never gave the impression that he was short of money.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05What his financial position was I don't think anybody really new.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09He certainly gave the impression that he had some money.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Cracking the case of David Roberts and his £2 million estate
0:05:13 > 0:05:17has become something of a holy grail for the heir hunters.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Peter Birchwood and his son, Hector,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23have over 40 years combined experience in the genealogy game
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and like to solve the cases other companies have given up on.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31If we check on the telephone directory, it might show up.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Several heir hunters have tried to crack the Roberts case, but they've been defeated
0:05:36 > 0:05:38by a lack of information.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Now there's hope that it could finally be solved.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47In 2010, new information has come to light.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Peter has wasted no time reopening the case.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55One of the main things is the 1911 census
0:05:55 > 0:05:59which was not available at the time that we worked on the case.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02I consulted that and we might
0:06:02 > 0:06:04have some information that could be valuable.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09The tantalising new information in the 1911 census
0:06:09 > 0:06:11has got Peter really excited.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15It shows two new children listed
0:06:15 > 0:06:18in the Robert's household who weren't there in 1901.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23It's the offspring of these children that could potentially
0:06:23 > 0:06:26lead Peter to the rightful heirs to David Roberts's £2 million estate.
0:06:29 > 0:06:36Big value cases have, on the whole, proved to be unsolvable.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Perhaps this one might be different.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Peter and Hector began work
0:06:42 > 0:06:46on this case long before the 1911 census was released.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49They have already thoroughly researched
0:06:49 > 0:06:50David's family background.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57The deceased didn't have a wife or children
0:06:57 > 0:06:59and no siblings.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Peter has looked into David's mother's family
0:07:04 > 0:07:08in the hope of finding aunts and uncles that may lead him to cousins.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14He's learnt that David's mum, Ethel, had two sisters,
0:07:14 > 0:07:19one who died in infancy and another who died in 1979,
0:07:19 > 0:07:20leaving no children.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25With one side of the family dead,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28we were working on the Roberts family, the paternal cousin line.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Peter has had to go way back down the generations.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38The father, Hugh David Roberts
0:07:38 > 0:07:41was one of four children.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43They all lived in Dolwyddelan.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The Roberts family had been in the area for generations.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54David's grandparents, Catherine and Hugh Roberts,
0:07:54 > 0:07:59had indeed raised four children, including David's father, Hugh.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02But Hugh's sister, Elizabeth, had died without children
0:08:02 > 0:08:06and his other sister and brother had disappeared from all records.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09This is hugely frustrating for Peter.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13These siblings would have been David's aunts and uncles
0:08:13 > 0:08:14and could have led him to heirs.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21But Peter has learnt that David's grandfather was a slate quarry man.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26So how did David end up in London with a high flying city career?
0:08:26 > 0:08:32The answer is his father, also Hugh, who moved away in the 1900s.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41The father of the deceased was one of the Welsh emigrants,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43if you can put it like that,
0:08:43 > 0:08:48who came to London back in the early years of the 1900s.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53Before he married, he was apprenticed as a draper
0:08:53 > 0:08:59in one of the old-time Oxford Street department stores.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06David's father worked in Marshall and Snelgrove,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08a textile retailer of distinction,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12established in 1878 on London's busy Oxford Street.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Marshall and Snelgrove,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and in some ways its great rival, Swan and Edgar of Piccadilly,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22they were upmarket stores.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24There was a battle going on for who
0:09:24 > 0:09:27was going to be the classiest store in London.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Marshall and Snelgrove were certainly
0:09:30 > 0:09:32key players in that battle.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35As London boomed in the early 1900s,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38the department stores needed specific labour skills.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41People from the provinces, like Hugh,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44were in a good position to provide it.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Unfortunately, he had to start at the bottom.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51The job of an assistant draper would be pretty much a dogsbody.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55It's pretty mundane work at that level.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59All the time you're hoping that you'd eventually
0:09:59 > 0:10:01become a sales person yourself.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Hugh Roberts may have been a humble draper's assistant,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10but his son went on to become a multi-millionaire.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Peter's hot on the trial of his heirs.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15The two new children mentioned, in the census,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18could be the key to cracking the case,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21so Peter's decided to hit the road.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28He doesn't have much to go on,
0:10:28 > 0:10:33but he's heading to the Llandudno register office in North Wales,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35where records of the Roberts family's births,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38deaths and marriages are kept.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42The step-grandmother of the deceased
0:10:42 > 0:10:48is shown as having two children with Hugh Roberts, the grandfather.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53These children could be David's are half-blood aunt and uncle.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58It's an exciting lead and Peter's come to see the registrar,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01armed with information about David's grandfather Hugh's
0:11:01 > 0:11:03second marriage to Margaret A Jones.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- How are you?- Oh, not so bad.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Pleased to meet you. Have yourself a seat.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Somewhere between 1901 and 1911
0:11:12 > 0:11:18there's a birth in this family. Probably two, possibly twins.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23I would like to know if that's at all possible.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Peter wants to cross-reference the information on the census
0:11:27 > 0:11:30with records held at the register office.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33This will confirm that he's onto the right family.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36I know it says here on the 1911 census
0:11:36 > 0:11:40that they had been married for 12 years.
0:11:40 > 0:11:421486, yeah...
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Peter's hoping to see a copy of Hugh and Margaret's marriage certificate.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51This could help him find out if the couple went on to have children
0:11:51 > 0:11:53who could lead him to heirs.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Hugh Roberts, Margaret Anne Jones.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Mmm, I wonder if it's the right person?
0:12:06 > 0:12:11Hugh should have a father, also called Hugh.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- No.- Ah...- Robert.
0:12:14 > 0:12:20So that then is the wrong marriage.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23It's a dead end.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26The marriage records don't match the information
0:12:26 > 0:12:27Peter has from the census
0:12:27 > 0:12:30so he tries a different approach.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34We have got that Margaret,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37that would be Margaret Roberts,
0:12:37 > 0:12:42died on 29th July, 1932 in Dolwyddelan.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Right.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50It's another tense wait for Peter.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Margaret Roberts's death certificate
0:12:52 > 0:12:55could be almost as useful as records for her marriage
0:12:55 > 0:12:57to David's grandfather.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Is it the key to cracking this £2 million case?
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Coming up...
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The search reveals more about David's successful City career,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13but does it get Peter any closer to finding heirs?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Penny Belchambers was born in 1944 in Tonbridge.
0:13:23 > 0:13:29She died in hospital, in London, aged just 64.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Penny had lived in her Kensington flat for years
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and the porter remembers her as a very private person.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41She didn't like to talk to anybody.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45She'd just go out, come back and never said anything to anybody.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Penny died without leaving a will
0:13:51 > 0:13:55and few people seem to know anything about her.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58But, Roderick Dannatt knew Penny through his father, Denzel.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Well I knew her in her late 50s.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04She used to work in central government.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08In an earlier time, she travelled a lot
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and I have an impression of a former passion for horses, too.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Penny lived and cared for Roderick's father, Denzel,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19for the last four years of her life.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23The pair had originally struck up a friendship, through a mutual love
0:14:23 > 0:14:27of chess and despite being 30 years his junior, they became inseparable.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34She looked after my father and she was very useful
0:14:34 > 0:14:37in helping putting my father's affairs in order.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Even though Penny spent the final years of her life living with Denzel,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45she still came to her flat every day
0:14:45 > 0:14:48to care for her beloved parrot, George.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53The parrot came from her time in the East, in Malaysia or Singapore
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and he came back with her to England.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01It was a feature, and you see it in photographs going back a few years.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04She used to put him on a stick
0:15:04 > 0:15:06and carry him around on a stick, about so long.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10She would walk him down to the park, and she would come back
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and sit in the foyer and let George roam around the foyer.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16It was fabulous to watch.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Penny's estate was advertised by the Treasury in 2010
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and heir hunting company, Fraser & Fraser picked up the case.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34The job of tracking down her heirs fell to senior case manager, Tony Pledger.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Because they were of a good address, erm,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42obviously we started to research into it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Tony has over 45 years experience in genealogy
0:15:46 > 0:15:49and he quickly realised this was a high-value estate.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52The team had established that Penny owned her Kensington flat,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57which was worth an astonishing £600,000.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59With such a valuable property,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Tony suspected they'd be more to come.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05It's reasonable to assume if you've got a good quality leasehold property,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08you've got a good quality bank account to go with it.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Tony and his team had to start with the basics because the Treasury
0:16:12 > 0:16:15had only given them limited information about Penny.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21All we had was a name, the date of death
0:16:21 > 0:16:24and the place of registration of the death.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Step one was to get Penny's birth certificate
0:16:30 > 0:16:32and Tony used this to find her parents.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36They were Isabella Dyson and Arthur Moore.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41They had married in 1936 and, frustratingly,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44initial research suggested Penny was an only child.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49But Tony felt there were reasons to be positive.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53She was actually called Penelope Brabazon Harewood Moore.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01Her parents, her mother was Isabella Sheila Brabazon Colvec Dyson,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05before she married Arthur Geoffrey Harewood Moore.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09So, you know, I always think the more Christian names you've got,
0:17:09 > 0:17:10the more money your family had.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15But there was still the question of whether Penny had ever married,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18or had any children of her own.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21This is something Roderick's father, Denzel was able to help out with.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24He knew that Penny had been married
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and was able to pass on the name of her ex-husband.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32They advised us that they got married in the Bahamas,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35which is clearly not an area of our normal research,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37looking for the original marriage.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46Tony now knew that Penny married Anthony Belchambers in 1980.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50They divorced 13 years later and the couple never had children.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53This meant that Tony and his team would have to go back
0:17:53 > 0:17:56to Penny's grandparents to try and find heirs.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03So we were readily able to identify,
0:18:03 > 0:18:08from the birth of the mother,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11who her parents were.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15The search was on for aunts and uncles who could lead to cousins.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Penny's grandparents were Isabella and William Dyson.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Although Tony couldn't find a record of their marriage,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26the census showed, that along with Penny's mother, Isabella,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29they had had three other children.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33One of these children was Penny's aunt, Roberta.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40She married three times, once before the Second World War,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43once after the war and then she married again.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Roberta's second husband was a famed Polish fighter pilot
0:18:48 > 0:18:50called Witold Lanowski.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Fellow pilot, Frank Kornicki, flew numerous missions with him
0:18:55 > 0:18:57as part of 317 Squadron.
0:19:00 > 0:19:07We worked primarily from Cornwall airfield
0:19:07 > 0:19:11and then from north-east of London.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15So, we flew together on all those missions,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17during that particular period.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Penny's Uncle Witold was born in 1950 in the Polish city of Lvov.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29He was captivated by flight from a young age and after training
0:19:29 > 0:19:34as a pilot, he became an instructor at a military aviation school.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37But when war broke out, he was called into action.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42He travelled from Poland to France and then on to Britain
0:19:42 > 0:19:45where he learned to fly English planes.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51He then became part of a special Polish contingent who flew alongside the RAF.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55He was an excellent pilot.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58You have to know how to fly.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02You have to know your aircraft.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07What you can get in terms of speed, diving,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10turning, aerobatics.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Above all, you must look.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18You really must look if you want to survive.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23Witold went on to fly Thunderbolts for the United States Air Force
0:20:23 > 0:20:31and in 1944, he shot down four enemy planes in a series of deadly combats.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Despite this success, he was seen by some as a hot-headed
0:20:35 > 0:20:39and rebellious figure who had a tendency to question those in authority.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43He was a man of integrity
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and he had to say what he believed in.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Out of the cockpit, Witold was a very popular figure.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58He was a very jolly chap.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Full of beans...
0:21:00 > 0:21:03And jokes, good-looking.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Certainly popular with the ladies.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11I rather liked him, he was a nice fellow,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12one of the boys.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19It was this fun-loving side of his character that attracted Roberta to Witold.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23They married in 1946 and had a son, Alex Grenfell.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31My mother would have met my father, who was Polish, Witold Lanowski.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36They met during the war and they got married just after the war,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I think it was in 1946.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41I would of been five or six when my parents divorced,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45that's my mother divorced Witold Lanowski.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Erm, so that would have been about 1953, something like that.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55My mother then remarried late in 1953 and I didn't
0:21:55 > 0:21:57see my...as I call him, my real father,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Witold, for about 40 years after that.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Basically, I was brought up by my mother and my stepfather in subsequent years.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10But as Roberta's son, Alex was Penny Belchamber's cousin
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and an heir to her £600,000 estate.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18We were able to contact Mr Grenfell,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22or the family of Mr Grenfell the same day that the matter came out.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You know, for sufficient time to arrange an appointment
0:22:25 > 0:22:29and for one of our researchers to visit them in the West Country.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32When you get a call like this, and particularly in today's world
0:22:32 > 0:22:37when we are all plagued a little bit by sales calls and whatever on the phone,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41the feeling initially was these are just more sales calls
0:22:41 > 0:22:44trying to sell us something. Please go away and leave us alone
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and we'll get on with our lives. In reality, it wasn't that.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Yeah, it's quite interesting...
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Alex was the first heir found
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and with a little encouragement from his wife, Carol,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59he was appointed administrator of his cousin's estate,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03a cousin he hadn't seen for over 40 years.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Alex has no idea why Penny lost contact with his family,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10but he's hoping he may find some answers today.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15As the administrator of the estate, one of his roles is to visit
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Penny's flat and sort through some of her belongings.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Penny died in October last year, so that's about eight months ago.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30As far as we know, people haven't been back in the apartment since then.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Yeah, it's going to be and interesting day
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and full of surprises, perhaps.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Coming up, Alex begins the slow process
0:23:40 > 0:23:44of piecing together the last 40 years of Penny's life.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49It all went very different, didn't it, after...after that.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02ensuring millions of pounds are paid out to the rightful heirs.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Not every case can be cracked.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09In the UK, the Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates
0:24:09 > 0:24:13that have baffled the hunters and remain unclaimed.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Could you be the heir they've been looking for?
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Estates can stay on the list for up to 30 years
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and each one could be worth anything from 5,000
0:24:23 > 0:24:24to many millions of pounds.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28It's money that could be destined for you.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Today we're focusing on three names from the list.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Are they relatives of yours.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40Preciosa da Assuncao, died aged 84 back in 2002.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42She was based in Colchester, Essex
0:24:42 > 0:24:47and her distinctive surname may jog someone's memory.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51If no heirs are found, her money will go to the government.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Did you know Dennis Dickens?
0:24:54 > 0:24:59He died in October 2007 in Coventry in the West Midlands.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03So far all efforts to trace his heirs have failed.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06What about Zofia Zuk?
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Her surname is of Russian origin and she died in 2002,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15aged 87, in Newton Abbot in Devon.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21If the names Preciosa da Assuncao, Dennis Dickens or Zofia Zuk
0:25:21 > 0:25:24mean anything to you, then you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Still to come...
0:25:32 > 0:25:35The hunt continues for heirs to David Roberts' £2 billion estate.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39I've still got some missing people.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43You've checked thoroughly, haven't you?
0:25:46 > 0:25:53In 2010, heir hunter, Tony Pledger, looked into the £600,000 estate
0:25:53 > 0:25:55of Penny Belchambers.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58She had died in Kensington without leaving a will
0:25:58 > 0:26:00and the search for her heirs
0:26:00 > 0:26:02had already uncovered the remarkable story
0:26:02 > 0:26:07of her uncle, Witold Lanowski, a famed Polish fighter pilot.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Witold was married to Penny's Aunt Roberta Anderson
0:26:12 > 0:26:15and their son, Alex, is one of the heirs.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18He's also the administrator of Penny's estate
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and today he's come to see her flat
0:26:21 > 0:26:23with chartered surveyor, Andrew Fraser,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26a partner at heir hunting firm, Fraser & Fraser.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30They'll be trying to assess the value of the flat,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33as well as looking for important financial documents.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Alex is understandably apprehensive about the visit.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41It's actually quite difficult to explain exactly how I feel.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45A degree of trepidation, degree of uncertainty.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48We're not really sure what we're going to find. I just feel nervous
0:26:48 > 0:26:52and slightly hesitant about what's going to be in the apartment.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Alex was the first heir Tony contacted,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59but there were still many more to find.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Enter Alex's wife, Carol, a keen genealogist
0:27:03 > 0:27:05who had already researched the family.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Alex's grandfather William Lionel Dyson was born in Batley
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and, I believe at one stage, he was a divinity student
0:27:12 > 0:27:18and met his wife, Isabella. They were married in India.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25This explained why Tony hadn't been able to find Penny's grandparents marriage certificate.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28India wouldn't have been one of the first places
0:27:28 > 0:27:31that we would have searched for the marriage,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33but from information that she gave us
0:27:33 > 0:27:35we were able to get a copy of the marriage record
0:27:35 > 0:27:40and that tidied things up quite nicely.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47As he continued the hunt for further heirs,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Tony turned his attention to Alex and Penny's uncles,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Trevor and Lionel.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Any children they'd had would also be heirs to Penny's £600,000 estate.
0:27:58 > 0:28:04Initially, our initial research showed that there was an uncle...
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Well there was a cousin of the deceased called Lionel.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Alex only ever talked about an Uncle Trevor,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14he never talked about an Uncle Lionel,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16except when I mentioned Lionel Walter.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21In fact, he did remember very briefly an Uncle Walter.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23He was a bit of the missing link
0:28:23 > 0:28:26when were trying to put together the family tree.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30The confusion came from the fact that Uncle Lionel
0:28:30 > 0:28:34was always known to Alex as Uncle Walter.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Once that was cleared up, Tony found a further three heirs.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41That just left him with Uncle Trevor to find.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Carol was able to identify
0:28:47 > 0:28:52William Trevor Dyson's birth record.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Alex's memories of Uncle William Trevor Dyson
0:28:55 > 0:28:58were that he was quite a character.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01I remember my parents talking about Uncle Trevor,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03and his interests.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06He was supposedly a medium,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08if you believe in spiritualist-type things,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and he is supposed to have had a message one day,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15he needs to pack that everything he's got in this country.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19I think he had the garage at that time up in Norfolk,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22and he decided to leave the country,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25and go to Swaziland.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Why Swaziland? I have no idea.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30And there started a company, a general store.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Ultimately, he became the Deputy High Sheriff of Swaziland,
0:29:34 > 0:29:35for his sins.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37So, quite an interesting character.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Uncle Trevor had died in 1991,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46and Tony began researching his branch of the family.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51If Trevor was still alive, or had any children, they would be heirs.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54But then Tony made a surprising discovery.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57He was adopted out of the family.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00If he did have any descendants - and we don't think he did -
0:30:00 > 0:30:04they would not unfortunately be entitled in this case, anyway.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08This discovery meant Penny's £600,000 estate
0:30:08 > 0:30:11would go to the heirs Tony had already found.
0:30:11 > 0:30:16It could well be some life-changing amounts of money.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19The majority of that money
0:30:19 > 0:30:23will come from the sale of Penny's valuable Kensington flat.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Heir Alex has travelled to London to visit the property,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30and sort through Penny's belongings.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32It is the first time anyone has been inside
0:30:32 > 0:30:34since the case was handed to the Treasury.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Here we are.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42This is interesting. We didn't know what to expect.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45A lot of paintings on the wall.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50In need of a bit of decoration, but I guess that would be expected.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Here's a little kitchen, or kitchenette.
0:30:52 > 0:30:53I don't know what you'd call it.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Alex lost contact with Penny 40 years ago.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03But now, he and chartered surveyor Andrew Fraser
0:31:03 > 0:31:07have the task of delving through her affairs.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10I guess this was her bedroom.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Clothes everywhere. Shoes everywhere.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Just as it was left, eight months ago,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20or something like that.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24I imagined something a bit more, perhaps, dusty.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28But it is only eight months.
0:31:28 > 0:31:34It feels as though somebody has just gone to work today.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36And left some of their clothes around.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38Perhaps somebody a bit untidy,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40and would come back later in the day.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44So, really quite strange, in a way.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46I expected it to be more of a mess and a muddle.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Dare I say it, cobwebs and things like that.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52I see a lot of papers around, and by going through them,
0:31:52 > 0:31:56we will pick up the whole of her financial history.
0:31:56 > 0:32:02- It will be very helpful for the solicitors involved.- Right.
0:32:04 > 0:32:09Whilst Andrew searches for important financial documents,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Alex is reviving the memory of his long-lost cousin.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14That's Penny, I'm sure it is.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19She is looking quite glamorous.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Well-dressed, long blonde hair,
0:32:21 > 0:32:23swept back.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I can remember her even when she was
0:32:26 > 0:32:2918 or 20, that sort of age,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31having the long blonde hair.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Very similar, but just a bit older.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42Penny's marriage ended in 1993.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46This was followed by a bitter legal battle over her parents' will.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Although they had left a substantial estate,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Penny ended up with just £1,000, and her mother's jewellery.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57It seems this experience affected her deeply.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59She turned heavily to religion.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02As he looks through her belongings,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Alex is starting to see how important
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Penny's Christian faith became.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11She seemed to have been living a good life, and enjoying life.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16It all went very different, didn't it, after that.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22It is very clear from what we have seen and heard,
0:33:22 > 0:33:27that she became very religious in her later life.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32This is a book that she wrote,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35or some poems or verse that she wrote
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and had published about 10 years ago.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41There's quite a lot here.
0:33:41 > 0:33:42I think most of these boxes are full up
0:33:42 > 0:33:47with these inspired Christian verse books.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50I will keep one or two of those, but maybe not the whole lot.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Penny began to live her daily life through the Bible,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56and she wrote about the many things in society
0:33:56 > 0:33:58she believed to be wicked and evil.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01She retreated away from the outside world,
0:34:01 > 0:34:06and devoted a great deal of time to fighting a variety of legal battles.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08But this was a far cry from the glamorous,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11well-travelled lady Alex remembered.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16I think it is very clear that everything was here.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21She kept everything here. That was her life.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24She couldn't travel and do things she did in the past.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Big change for her.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31Penny's £600,000 estate will now pass to her long-lost family.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Although it seems her latter years were tinged with sadness,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Alex has learned that when Penny was younger,
0:34:38 > 0:34:39she lived life to the full.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43I think it has opened up my eyes.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Just seeing some of the photos from cruises,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48and from trips all over the world,
0:34:48 > 0:34:53I feel I know more of her life in the intervening years,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55so I feel I know the person better.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Armed with new information from the 1911 census,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Peter Birchwood of Celtic Research
0:35:11 > 0:35:16has reopened the tantalising £2 million case of David Roberts.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21David died in 2005 in London, aged 75.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24By all accounts, he was an elusive and enigmatic figure.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29The exciting new information that Peter has learned
0:35:29 > 0:35:33has brought him to the Llandudno register office in North Wales.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39So it should hopefully be that sub-district.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42There is a possibility that David's grandfather, Hugh Roberts,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45may have had two more children with his second wife, Margaret.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49But first, Peter needs to confirm he is looking at the right
0:35:49 > 0:35:50Margaret and Hugh.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Right, Margaret Roberts.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00- Mm.- 77 years. Widow of Hugh Roberts.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Do you have an address for them at all?
0:36:03 > 0:36:06- Uh, I did...- Is it in Dolwyddelan?
0:36:06 > 0:36:08That's the address, yes.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10That's that then, isn't it?
0:36:11 > 0:36:15Fantastic. Peter knows he's got the right couple.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19He must now look to their children
0:36:19 > 0:36:24to see if that leads to heirs to a £2 million fortune.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28David's vast wealth was something his friends knew little about.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33David was a private person. He kept himself to himself.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35He had a few friends in the club
0:36:35 > 0:36:39who he socialised with, played cards and shove ha'penny,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42but otherwise he never spoke about his private life
0:36:42 > 0:36:45or even very much about what he did for a living.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51But David had actually had a very prestigious job.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53He worked as an insurance broker
0:36:53 > 0:36:56at the world-renowned Lloyds Of London,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00where it's likely he had a high salary but high-pressure job.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05In the late '80s, recession and large US legal claims
0:37:05 > 0:37:10hit the company hard and it was probably a stressful time
0:37:10 > 0:37:12for the people who worked there.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17But could this explain why David Roberts
0:37:17 > 0:37:20seemed to suddenly turn his back on his career
0:37:20 > 0:37:24or why he chose to live as a virtual recluse later in life?
0:37:26 > 0:37:27He didn't have family.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30I never saw family going to visit him
0:37:30 > 0:37:32so I did assume that he just lived on his own
0:37:32 > 0:37:35and didn't really know very many people.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37I used to wonder how he supported himself.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44But it's not just David whose life is shrouded in mystery -
0:37:44 > 0:37:48his family are proving equally hard to fathom,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52and in Wales, Peter's still waiting for that crucial nugget of information
0:37:52 > 0:37:55that could lead him to an heir.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59As you can see, it says, "Marriage, 12 years.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03"Two children of this marriage.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05"One still living."
0:38:05 > 0:38:10That'd make her 43, wouldn't it?
0:38:10 > 0:38:14It is a bit on the elderly side for having any children,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17so whether Margaret had had some children with Hugh
0:38:17 > 0:38:20before they got married...?
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Hugh Roberts' first wife died in 1891.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28He married Margaret eight years later in 1899
0:38:28 > 0:38:33and the 1901 census doesn't show any new children in the household,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37but Peter is hoping they went on to have children a few years later.
0:38:40 > 0:38:47There might be a birth 1901 up to, let us say, 1905.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51This is a bit of a long shot.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Peter's hoping that Margaret went on to have children
0:38:54 > 0:38:56when she was in her mid-to-late 40s.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Hugh Roberts, Margaret Anne.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14Bingo. They've found two potential births in the right period.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18But they still can't be sure that these are the right children -
0:39:18 > 0:39:21it's possible they could be the children of another couple
0:39:21 > 0:39:25called Hugh and Margaret Roberts from the Dolwyddelan area.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30With £2 million at stake, they need to be absolutely certain,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33so Peter wants to cross-reference the births
0:39:33 > 0:39:36with Margaret's maiden name, Jones.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Would it be possible to check to see if there is a marriage?
0:39:39 > 0:39:44That should give us Margaret's maiden name,
0:39:44 > 0:39:49would identify, or not, the two births that the registrar has found.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55But it's not the result Peter was hoping for.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58The maiden names on the records do not match.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03So if this is right, then the births we found are incorrect, aren't they?
0:40:03 > 0:40:07Because they are the children of a Jones, not an Evans.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12This is a real blow for Peter.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15He'd hoped the two children who appear on the 1911 census
0:40:15 > 0:40:18for the offspring of Hugh and Margaret Roberts.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22But it now seems they must have been children
0:40:22 > 0:40:25from one of Margaret's previous relationships.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29This means they are not blood relatives of Hugh Roberts
0:40:29 > 0:40:32or his grandson, David.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36I'm back to our mystery two members of the family
0:40:36 > 0:40:39who just seemed to vanish and don't do anything.
0:40:41 > 0:40:42So...
0:40:42 > 0:40:46No easy answers on this one.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48- Bye, now.- Bye.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51But Peter thinks he has a theory
0:40:51 > 0:40:53as to why the two children on the census
0:40:53 > 0:40:56were listed as being the children of Hugh and Margaret.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01What probably happened was there was a misunderstanding
0:41:01 > 0:41:04when the form was written out back in 1911,
0:41:04 > 0:41:09that perhaps she thought it meant that she was to put down
0:41:09 > 0:41:14any children that she herself had had in previous marriages.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17That wasn't the case, but it's an easy mistake to make
0:41:17 > 0:41:18and I think that's what happened.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23But as long as there's a £2 million estate up for grabs,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Peter will never give up.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30There is one last tantalising piece of evidence that can't be ignored.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34David's aunt Elizabeth died in 1957
0:41:34 > 0:41:38and research has shown that David and another blood relative
0:41:38 > 0:41:40were beneficiaries in her will.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43This other relative must have been a descendant
0:41:43 > 0:41:48of either the missing uncle, Isaac, or the missing aunt, Catherine,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51and if THEY had children, there's still a chance
0:41:51 > 0:41:53that this case could be solved.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59If we can solve this one - and I'm sure there's a solution somewhere,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02because I know there was at least one other member of the family
0:42:02 > 0:42:06still living in the 1950s, apart from the deceased -
0:42:06 > 0:42:09if we can find these people,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12this is something that is guaranteed to change their lives.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15It's a massive amount of money
0:42:15 > 0:42:21and we would really look forward to reuniting it with the right people.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24Did you know David Roberts?
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Could you have information about his family
0:42:27 > 0:42:32or are you a descendant of his aunt, Catherine Jane Roberts,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34or his uncle, Isaac Roberts?
0:42:34 > 0:42:37If you are, you could be the rightful heir
0:42:37 > 0:42:40to a £2 million fortune.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46If you would like advice about building your family tree
0:42:46 > 0:42:51or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd