0:00:02 > 0:00:06Heir hunters earn their money tracing the relatives of people who've died without leaving a will.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09They hand over thousands of pounds
0:00:09 > 0:00:12to family members who had no idea they were in line to inherit.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:31 > 0:00:34On today's programme, the heir hunters take a gamble
0:00:34 > 0:00:39as they challenge an 80-year-old law in pursuit of an unclaimed estate.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42If any case is ever going to be accepted, this is the one.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45The decision is really the Treasury solicitor's,
0:00:45 > 0:00:46and I wouldn't like to call it.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50And 50 years after an industrial accident,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54the search is on for heirs to £55,000 of unclaimed compensation.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58I didn't know at this time who the person was that had left the money,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03but I was surprised there was anybody left to leave anything.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Plus, how you could be entitled to unclaimed estates
0:01:07 > 0:01:10where beneficiaries still need to be found.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?
0:01:19 > 0:01:25Each year in the UK, an estimated 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29If no relatives are found, then any money that's left behind
0:01:29 > 0:01:30will go to the government.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35And last year they pocketed £12 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40That's where the heir hunters come in.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43They make it their business to track down missing relatives
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I love the fact that I can put families back together,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52I can reunite people, I can tell them secret histories
0:01:52 > 0:01:56about their own family they don't actually know about themselves.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05The Treasury have released their weekly list of unclaimed estates
0:02:05 > 0:02:09and across the UK heir hunters are pouring over the details.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Fraser & Fraser is one of 30 firms competing to find heirs to estates
0:02:13 > 0:02:18which could be worth anything from £5,000 to many millions.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21How many births have we got on that quarter, Noel?
0:02:21 > 0:02:26Unfortunately, this week's list has failed to offer any rich pickings,
0:02:26 > 0:02:31so partner Neil Fraser has decided to revisit an unsolved case from the archives.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36On this case of Ivy Hudson, it's a case we've had in our cabinets
0:02:36 > 0:02:41since 2003, 2004, when Ivy passed away.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45It's only now we've come back and had a second look at that, and it's 2010.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49The reason being is we couldn't get on to the family when we first looked at it.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52We found two marriage certificates, we found a death certificate,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55all of which confirming the same age,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57but we were never able to locate a birth
0:02:57 > 0:03:01which went with that information.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Neil's especially keen to solve this case
0:03:05 > 0:03:08because, unusually, he knows the value - £25,000.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12To guard against fraud,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15the Treasury's list doesn't show the values of estates.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19But this is crucial information for the heir hunters,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23because they usually work for a pre-agreed percentage.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28We only get money if the beneficiaries we find get money,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and if we find a beneficiary and they're only entitled to £100,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I may only get £10 out of it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39But Ivy's Hudson's estate was advertised in 2003,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41when the list still included values.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44The team immediately began the search for heirs,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46but they couldn't find any trace of family
0:03:46 > 0:03:49so the case got put to one side.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54Today, though, there's hope they may finally be able to make some progress.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The recent release of the 1911 census
0:03:57 > 0:04:00has opened up a brand-new line of enquiry.
0:04:00 > 0:04:07This 1911 census is the most crucial piece of documentation
0:04:07 > 0:04:10to help us establish who the next of kin to the deceased is.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14The team has begun searching the new records
0:04:14 > 0:04:17for the name Ivy Marguerite Hudson.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Will the census yield any names of brothers or sisters?
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Born in 1900, Ivy worked as a Red Cross nurse
0:04:27 > 0:04:29during the Second World War.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32When the conflict ended, she became a hairdresser
0:04:32 > 0:04:34and lived in Kent for most of her life.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Ivy was married twice,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42and died in November, 2003, at the staggering age of 103.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45While she was surrounded by friends all her life,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49she never had children and so left no descendants.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Jacqueline Williams was one of Ivy's closest friends.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56Ivy was my mum's best friend.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02She was a travelling hairdresser in Petts Wood after the War,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04and she came to do my mum's hair,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and they met and she became part of our family.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09She was a widow, she lived on her own,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13and, in a sense, you know, her friends were her family.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17They were the family she'd built in the absence of her own family.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Ivy's natural charisma and zest for life
0:05:20 > 0:05:24made a lasting impact on friends like Simon Bentley.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29She was a lady of incredible honesty
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and integrity and humour.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36She made me laugh, I like to think I made her laugh.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39She loved Abba, I love Abba.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Her favourite song was I Have A Dream,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and we'd sit down and sing I Have A Dream together.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I regarded her as a really loved friend.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57So I take a lot of pleasure from my time on Earth with Ivy,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and she won't be forgotten.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06In the office, the team has had a breakthrough with the 1911 census.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Here we have George Telford, the head, and his wife, Annie,
0:06:11 > 0:06:16and there's Ivy, the deceased, shown clearly as the daughter.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22The census shows Ivy came from the Telford family and had six siblings.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23But there's a twist.
0:06:24 > 0:06:31I've just literally located the first of the nephews and nieces on this estate.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34What transpires from this conversation is that
0:06:34 > 0:06:38they believe that Ivy was not a natural child
0:06:38 > 0:06:42born to their grandparents, George and Annie,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44but was raised by them.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Ivy was adopted by the Telford family,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52and these days that would make them legal blood relatives.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56But, because the adoption happened in 1901, there's a problem.
0:06:56 > 0:07:02The problem is that legal adoption was started by the 1926 Adoption Act,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05which came into force in 1927,
0:07:05 > 0:07:11so any adoption before 1927 is a non-legal, informal adoption.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Informal adoptions aren't recognised by the Treasury
0:07:15 > 0:07:19which means Ivy's adoptive family would not be allowed to inherit.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22But, because the Telfords were the only family Ivy knew,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24the team think they may have a case.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Every now and then you have to test this law,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and you have to put in a test case
0:07:31 > 0:07:34to make sure that the old rules are still standing.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40The company want to help Ivy's adoptive family put in a claim.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42They've spoken to Anita Goodwin,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46who is the daughter of Stanley Telford - Ivy's adoptive brother.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Anita, who is known as Ann, lives in Bristol with husband Peter.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55The couple came across references to Ivy in old family papers.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01I never met Ivy, and I didn't really know very much about her
0:08:01 > 0:08:06until after my father died and I inherited his letter
0:08:06 > 0:08:08that he'd had about her adoption,
0:08:08 > 0:08:13which was her mother signing her over to my grandparents
0:08:13 > 0:08:16when Ivy was eight months old.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20The letter reveals what must have been a difficult decision
0:08:20 > 0:08:22by Ivy's biological mother.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28"I entirely renounce any claim whatsoever on the person of the child,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32"Ivy Marguerite Hunt, from this time forth."
0:08:32 > 0:08:35And it's signed Gertrude Alice Hunt.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37I think it's such a sad little letter.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39This is what's made me interested in Ivy,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42in trying to find out something about her,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46and about her mother, but it's proving a bit difficult.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52Perhaps her mother couldn't keep her, wasn't married,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56and it was a very difficult time to be having a baby
0:08:56 > 0:08:59that you couldn't keep and that didn't have a father.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06In the early 1900s, there were still thousands of children
0:09:06 > 0:09:10either living rough or in appalling conditions in work houses.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Determined to combat the problem,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15The Salvation Army recruited foster families to take children in.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19As Ann's grandfather was a committed Salvationist,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21it's likely he volunteered.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26He joined The Salvation Army in, uh, 1908.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31I have the paper where he signed, it's called the Articles Of War,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35and you have to sign these Articles
0:09:35 > 0:09:39to be enrolled as a soldier in the Salvation Army.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43He was very strict, and you weren't allowed
0:09:43 > 0:09:48to listen to the radio on Sundays, he would turn the electricity off.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Ivy never came into conversation at all, as far as I can remember.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57I don't remember my grandmother - my grandparents lived with us -
0:09:57 > 0:10:00but I don't remember my grandmother ever mentioning her.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Sadly, Ann never met Ivy, but she may still be an heir to her estate
0:10:05 > 0:10:08if the heir hunters can successfully challenge inheritance laws.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12In London, Dave Slee and his team are gathering information
0:10:12 > 0:10:15to try and support Ann's claim,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and the letter from Ivy's biological mother could be crucial.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Adoptions which happened before the 1927 Adoption Act
0:10:22 > 0:10:25are considered informal, and therefore invalid.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27But the letter suggests that Ivy's adoption was done
0:10:27 > 0:10:30as formally as was possible in 1901.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37The deceased was given up for adoption by her mother
0:10:37 > 0:10:40to George and Annie Telford, who were then living in Leytonstone.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45It's written in 1901 on headed notepaper from Shaftesbury Avenue.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49If the address is the office of a lawyer or solicitor,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53it could help show that the adoption was formally done.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58We have here the 1900 Kelly's Directory,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03which is a forerunner of our modern telephone directory.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08And under Shaftesbury Avenue, which we should find...
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Here we have Shaftesbury Avenue, number 17...
0:11:17 > 0:11:22..and there we are, it was the offices of a Samuel Bartlett, a solicitor.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26So we now know that the letter written by the deceased's mother
0:11:26 > 0:11:31in 1901 was on the headed notepaper of a solicitor.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34This is exactly what he hoped to find.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38They can now prove that Ivy's adoption took place
0:11:38 > 0:11:40formally in the offices of a solicitor.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46It's the star piece of evidence among a pile of documents
0:11:46 > 0:11:48that prove the link between Ivy and the Telfords.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I'll furnish the Treasury solicitors
0:11:53 > 0:11:56with a copy of the deceased's second marriage certificate,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59which clearly states her father is George Telford,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02the 1911 census, which clearly again states
0:12:02 > 0:12:06that she was the daughter of George and Annie Telford,
0:12:06 > 0:12:12and, crucially, the letter from our client, the 1901 letter of the mother
0:12:12 > 0:12:16stating that she wished to place, for adoption, the deceased
0:12:16 > 0:12:19into the hands of George and Annie Telford.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24With such a strong paper trail, Neil is cautiously optimistic.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27We've spoken to quite a lot of beneficiaries,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29or potential beneficiaries.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34We've been careful to explain to them all the time
0:12:34 > 0:12:37that there's a problem with this estate,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40a problem trying to submit their paperwork,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44and there's a possibility that they won't be beneficiaries.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49However, we think this is as strong a case as we could ever put forward
0:12:49 > 0:12:51for a relatively small value,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and if any case is ever going to be accepted, this is the one.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Ann could be in for a share of the £25,000 estate,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01but her main interest is finding out more about Ivy.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08I'm already working off the idea that, if they say it's no,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12your claim isn't successful, saying, "Yeah, all right,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17"I don't want the money, but did she leave newspaper cuttings,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22"or has she got anything about her life, has she got photos and things?"
0:13:22 > 0:13:25I mean, you never know if they're going to give you somebody's
0:13:25 > 0:13:27possessions from seven years ago.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31They might be two black bin bags full of old nighties, mightn't they?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35May I particularly welcome Ivy?
0:13:35 > 0:13:36APPLAUSE
0:13:36 > 0:13:38We are so pleased to see you here.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42What Ann doesn't yet know is that Ivy had a large surrogate family
0:13:42 > 0:13:46of friends and loved ones who could satisfy her desire to know more.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48And there she is at our house.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Jacqueline Williams and her daughter, Laura,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54were close friends of Ivy for many years.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56It hadn't been the happiest of childhoods.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00She talked with great affection about the children
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and about taking them out to play and so on,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08but she didn't feel as if she was as much a part of the family
0:14:08 > 0:14:11as the other children were, she always felt like an outsider.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And on the morning of her 18th birthday,
0:14:14 > 0:14:15without telling any of the family,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18she packed her battered little suitcase,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20put a nightie and a few other bits and pieces in it,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and walked out of the door and made a life for herself.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30The two halves of Ivy's life have been separate for over 80 years.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Will the heir hunt bring them together?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43When the heir hunters were asked to look at the case of Norah Jackson,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47they uncovered the shocking tale of a tragic factory accident
0:14:47 > 0:14:52and a compensation payout that had gone unclaimed for over 50 years.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Their challenge was to find the long-lost relative
0:14:56 > 0:15:00who would inherit an estate worth £55,000.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04The case fell to probate research firm Hoopers.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Like many heir hunters, their work is varied,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11ranging from Treasury cases to solicitor referrals
0:15:11 > 0:15:14but this case came from a more unusual source.
0:15:14 > 0:15:21This case of Norah Jackson was referred to us by the Court Funds Office,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25a body who look after monies awarded as compensation,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28as far as I can understand.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32They had quite a number of these cases but this was the largest of its type
0:15:32 > 0:15:35and there was a sum in excess of £50,000,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40which they'd held for many, many years and they had no idea who was entitled to it
0:15:40 > 0:15:46and so they asked us if we could bring our expertise to bear
0:15:46 > 0:15:49and try and discover who should have this money.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54The Court Funds Office handles money that passes through the civil courts.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59They hold hundreds of millions of pounds for people who've been awarded damages or compensation.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Vast amounts of this money is sitting unclaimed.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07We presently have approximately £85 million,
0:16:07 > 0:16:13which represents several thousand potential beneficiaries
0:16:13 > 0:16:18out there who have either lost contact with Court Funds Office
0:16:18 > 0:16:23or who we can't establish a claim for.
0:16:23 > 0:16:31In the last three years, the Court Funds Office has reunited people with payouts totalling £60 million.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34But in the case of Norah Jackson they've drawn a blank
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and her £55,000 estate was still unclaimed.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44The information we were given was very limited.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Almost nothing at all.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50All we had was a name,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and a snippet of information about their belief
0:16:54 > 0:17:00that Norah - Norah Jackson - had died in the 1980s.
0:17:01 > 0:17:08The problem was that even if we had stumbled across the correct death record,
0:17:08 > 0:17:14we didn't really know how we were going to prove that was her death record.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15We had nothing to go on.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20It would be several weeks before Mike would unravel the mystery of Norah
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and her husband James Jackson.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28Married in their late 30s, just at the end of the Second World War,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Norah and James Jackson set up life together in East Manchester.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Kay Street is now an industrial area,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38but at the time, it was a typical working-class terrace.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45In 1950, Norah's husband James found a job working as a maintenance man
0:17:45 > 0:17:48in a factory which made wire cables.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52The factory no longer exists,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56but in its day it employed hundreds of people.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02In the 1950s, places like this would be hives of activity.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07There would be a great amount of noise, machinery working,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11and workers would be in close proximity to the machines
0:18:11 > 0:18:13and that's how accidents happened.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Training was very sparse.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23The only indication we would have would be the notice of the Factories Act posted on the factory wall
0:18:23 > 0:18:27or special regulations with machinery required,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30but people got on with the job.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34They had to take risks in some cases
0:18:34 > 0:18:38and sometimes these risks resulted in accidents.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Just five weeks after starting at the factory,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45James Jackson had an horrific accident.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50He'd climbed an iron ladder to clean lamps in one of the workshops
0:18:50 > 0:18:53when an overhead crane caught his bucket.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00As I understand the circumstances, he was only recently employed,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03so he wouldn't be aware of the situation in that factory
0:19:03 > 0:19:06in the way that perhaps long-term employees would be
0:19:06 > 0:19:10so he put himself into a situation where he was at risk,
0:19:10 > 0:19:14and that situation obviously developed into a fatal accident.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Terry O'Grady worked at the factory a decade later
0:19:20 > 0:19:23when the same cranes were still in operation.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27The crane mainly ran on the overheads on the RSJs
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and it used to lift the big billets which was quite heavy.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32It used to lift them into position.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37He was in charge of half a ton of whatever it might be, and he was moving it along himself.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40If somebody was kneeling down, you know,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42you wouldn't necessarily see them.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46It didn't happen while I was there, to be honest, but it was a possibility.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Overall, within factories and workshops,
0:19:50 > 0:19:55every year it was probably between 600 and 1,000 people killed.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59So if you take that over, say, 50 years,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02you could fill Wembley Stadium with the number of people
0:20:02 > 0:20:05that were actually killed in workshops and factories.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10Unseen by the crane driver, James was knocked from his ladder
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and crushed to death on the tracks.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16The accident sent shockwaves through the factory community
0:20:16 > 0:20:18and was still discussed years later.
0:20:19 > 0:20:26I did hear something once about a chap what was killed well before my time there.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30I think it was around the '50s, it was quite a serious accident.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It wasn't mentioned a lot
0:20:33 > 0:20:38but I did remember some of the older guys mentioning that somebody had been killed on the premises.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Depending on the type of injury that a worker experienced,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49he would be compensated.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54There were nominal sums appropriate if you lost a leg or an arm or an eye,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56there were appropriate sums allocated.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59If a workman was killed,
0:20:59 > 0:21:05then obviously it would be his beneficiaries who would be compensated.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09So, for example, his wife would probably be awarded a fairly nominal pension.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16Court records showed that Norah was indeed awarded compensation for the death of her husband,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19but a rather dated payout practice was in place.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Once I received the case, I did a bit of research of my own
0:21:23 > 0:21:27and I discovered that back in the '50s and before,
0:21:27 > 0:21:32when money was awarded to a widow in a case typical of this
0:21:32 > 0:21:36when we have industrial compensation,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40it was deemed that widows were incapable
0:21:40 > 0:21:44to look after their own financial affairs
0:21:44 > 0:21:46and therefore when an award was made
0:21:46 > 0:21:54the money was kept by the court and doled out to the widow as and when she needed it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:56At just 44 years old,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Norah found herself in a desperately sad situation.
0:22:00 > 0:22:07There she was, a young widow, no husband, no children, probably no prospects.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Just after the war, when times were pretty tough.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15So, you know, it's rather sad, really.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Just five years after her husband had died, Norah also passed away.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25In the case of the widow's fund,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29it's quite possible that the sum of money can be left unclaimed.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34If, for instance, the widow dies and there is no obvious route
0:22:34 > 0:22:37that the Court Funds Office can trace to a beneficiary.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Norah's compensation sat gaining interest for over 50 years
0:22:43 > 0:22:47until it was worth a staggering £55,000.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52It would be a huge and unexpected windfall for one long-lost relative.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03ensuring that millions of pounds are paid out to the rightful heirs,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05but not every case can be cracked.
0:23:05 > 0:23:12The Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates that have baffled the heir hunters and remain unclaimed.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15These estates stay on the list for up to 30 years
0:23:15 > 0:23:21and each one could be worth anything from £5,000 to many millions.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Today we're focusing on three names from the list.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Are they relatives of yours?
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36Matthew Balogun died on New Year's Eve in 2005.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38He lived in Lambeth and was just 59.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44If his heirs aren't found, his money will go to the government.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Or did you know Constance Marjorie Absolon,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53who came from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire?
0:23:53 > 0:23:56She died in 2000, aged 91.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00No-one's come forward to claim her estate.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Also on the list is David Beck
0:24:03 > 0:24:07who died in Margate on New Year's Day in 2009.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11So far, all efforts to trace his relatives have drawn a blank.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14If the names Matthew Balogun, Constance Absolon
0:24:14 > 0:24:17or David Beck mean anything to you or someone you know,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:24:26 > 0:24:32In 2008, a team of heir hunters were searching for relatives of Norah Jackson.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36The value in her estate came from compensation paid out
0:24:36 > 0:24:39after her husband died in a terrible factory accident.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42After sitting unclaimed for 53 years,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46this compensation was now worth a staggering £55,000,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49but could the rightful heirs be found?
0:24:49 > 0:24:53My immediate reaction when seeing the name Norah Jackson
0:24:53 > 0:24:57was that it's a common name, we're going to have problems here
0:24:57 > 0:25:00because we've got very limited information.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04And so... But we can only work with what we're given.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09So, our first task is to try and identify her death.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12If we can identify when and where she died
0:25:12 > 0:25:17then that would begin to piece together the jigsaw.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Mike and his team scoured their records
0:25:21 > 0:25:25to try and find the right death certificate for Norah Jackson.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28But, with so little information to go on, they drew a blank.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Well, after many weeks of looking for her death
0:25:31 > 0:25:35and failing to pinpoint her death record,
0:25:35 > 0:25:42I looked again at the information that we were given and...
0:25:42 > 0:25:46I was drawn to the little snippet of information
0:25:46 > 0:25:52about her next of kin given in her records.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54There was a Mrs Kirk
0:25:54 > 0:25:59and so I diverted my attention into that direction.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Didn't manage to find Mrs Kirk - she had died -
0:26:04 > 0:26:07but I managed to find her daughter
0:26:07 > 0:26:11and, as a result of that, I called Mrs Brownhill -
0:26:11 > 0:26:14as she was, her married name -
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and we had a very interesting conversation.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22And that is the point I would say was the breakthrough in this case.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26It was that conversation with Mrs Kirk's daughter.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31The phone call gave Mike two key pieces of information -
0:26:31 > 0:26:35that Norah's husband was James and that he'd died in an accident.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Armed with the information that we'd just got from Mrs Brownhill,
0:26:40 > 0:26:47the first thing to do was to find James Jackson's death.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51We needed to identify his death and then could build a picture from that.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53She only was able to tell us
0:26:53 > 0:26:56that he had died at some stage in the early '50s.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01We eventually found the correct death record for James Jackson.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Crucially, the death certificate allowed them to find
0:27:05 > 0:27:08a record of James and Norah's marriage.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11We discovered that they married in 1945, in Manchester.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Once we obtained a copy of the marriage certificate,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18that not only gave us all HIS details -
0:27:18 > 0:27:23his age, his occupation, his father's name and occupation -
0:27:23 > 0:27:28but it also gave us Norah Hargreaves, his bride's age
0:27:28 > 0:27:32and also gave us her father's name.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37And so that meant that we could start looking for her birth certificate.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39The team were now making real progress
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and, with Norah's birth details,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45they were able to begin building a family tree.
0:27:45 > 0:27:51We, first of all, eliminated her parents, who had predeceased her,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55so then we looked for brothers and sisters
0:27:55 > 0:27:57because they would be the next in line.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Because she died, obviously, she died without children.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03And we discovered she had three brothers,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07two of whom had died before her, so they were out of the frame.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12But there was on remaining brother - Arnold - who did survive her.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Norah's money would have gone to her brother Arnold
0:28:17 > 0:28:21but as he'd died it went to his wife, Phyllis.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25In her will, Phyllis left her estate to her nephew, David.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30She bequeaths to her nephew, the residue of her estate
0:28:30 > 0:28:34so the money passes from her to her nephew.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39He's no blood relation, no connection whatsoever, to Norah Jackson.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42David Hopwood lives in North Wales
0:28:42 > 0:28:47and the news that he was the sole heir to Norah's £55,000 estate
0:28:47 > 0:28:49was a real surprise.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Well, a letter came out of the blue, addressed to me.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56My wife opened it and told me, "You should read this."
0:28:56 > 0:28:58And my first thoughts, at that time,
0:28:58 > 0:29:02were that it was some advertising gimmick.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05But after speaking to Mike, he realised this was no gimmick.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09I didn't know, at this time, who the person was that had left the money.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I was quite surprised there was anybody left that,
0:29:12 > 0:29:13you know, to leave anything.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Since receiving Mike's letter,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20David's gone through family photos hoping to learn more about Norah,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24the distant relation who left him a five-figure sum.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29I've got pictures of her brother, my uncle Arnold,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32and my mother's sister, Arnold's wife.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37I can't get any further than that down that line.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41No way of knowing at all.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Just no-one to ask.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Her street, where they lived, the houses have gone
0:29:46 > 0:29:50and it's just so long ago I don't think I'll ever know...
0:29:50 > 0:29:52what she looked like.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57The sad case of Norah Jackson has been brought to a successful close
0:29:57 > 0:30:00and, for Mike, it's a poignant end to the story.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05I feel, kind of... I feel a strange feeling of satisfaction
0:30:05 > 0:30:08in having revived the memory of this Norah Jackson
0:30:08 > 0:30:11who otherwise would have been lost in the mists of time.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21In London, heir hunters Fraser & Fraser
0:30:21 > 0:30:24have been looking into the £25,000 estate of Ivy Hudson,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27who died aged 103.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31They've learnt that she was adopted by the Telford family in 1901
0:30:31 > 0:30:34and this has led them to a possible heir -
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Ivy's adoptive niece Ann Goodwin.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42Our father didn't...ever mention her at all, as far as I can remember,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45except to tell me that she was his adopted sister.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51But Ivy was adopted before adoption was made legal.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53This means, under current law,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55the Treasury doesn't recognise Ivy's adoption
0:30:55 > 0:30:58and so Ann will not be allowed to inherit
0:30:58 > 0:31:01but the heir hunters are helping her challenge this law.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02Thanks. Bye.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04They've helped her submit evidence
0:31:04 > 0:31:09showing that Ivy's adoption was as formal as was possible in 1901.
0:31:09 > 0:31:10If they're successful,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13it could change the way heir hunters look at adoption.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Good morning, Mrs Goodwin? Hello, there.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Sorry to trouble you, it's David Slee at Fraser & Fraser,
0:31:20 > 0:31:21good morning.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Well, at last I've received a letter back
0:31:24 > 0:31:27from the Treasury Solicitors Office
0:31:27 > 0:31:30and I think you can tell from the tone of my voice.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34Yeah, I'm REALLY disappointed and I...well...
0:31:34 > 0:31:36I know, I'll read your out their letter and what I will do,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I'll send you a copy of it as well.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41"The evidence that you supplied indicates that the deceased
0:31:41 > 0:31:44"was fostered by the Telford family
0:31:44 > 0:31:47"but no legal adoption can have taken place."
0:31:48 > 0:31:51The Treasury have stuck to the letter of the law
0:31:51 > 0:31:55and deemed that Ivy's adoption cannot be treated as a legal adoption.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59I have today, unfortunately,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02received a letter from the office of the Treasury solicitors
0:32:02 > 0:32:06declining our clients claim to a share in this estate
0:32:06 > 0:32:12by virtue of the fact that the deceased was not adopted
0:32:12 > 0:32:16after legal adoption has come into place on 1st January 1927.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19It's a blow for the company
0:32:19 > 0:32:22and means Ann won't inherit a share of Ivy's estate
0:32:22 > 0:32:27but she's still determined to learn more about the aunt she never knew.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31So today, husband Peter's travelled to London on a fact-finding mission.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35'We've always been curious about family history,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37'we've done a lot of research into it,'
0:32:37 > 0:32:41and, of course, Ivy was somebody who was a bit peripheral to the family.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43We don't know quite where she came from,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45we don't know quite where she went
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and now, suddenly, this has all surfaced so we're...
0:32:48 > 0:32:49We'd like to know more.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53Peter and Ann have already learnt
0:32:53 > 0:32:57that Ivy married a Robert Bowden when she was 26.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59But they've also heard reports
0:32:59 > 0:33:02that Robert died in an accident five years later,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04leaving Ivy a young widow.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09He was a civil servant, they were settled down in East London,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12they'd got a home of their own, or appear to have done,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15and then suddenly he's drowned.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18And you wonder what the circumstances were.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20So, I'm trying to find out more about that.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Peter's come to Colindale Library in North London
0:33:24 > 0:33:27which holds Britain's largest archive of newspapers.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31He's hoping to find reports of Ivy's husband's accident.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34For me, this trip is a bit of a challenge,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36it's a puzzle to be solved
0:33:36 > 0:33:39but, for Ann, it's very much about her family.
0:33:39 > 0:33:44And, I think, it's about her roots and knowing who she is
0:33:44 > 0:33:47and where she comes from.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50It doesn't take Peter long to find news of the tragedy
0:33:50 > 0:33:52that cut Ivy's marriage short.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54I found stories in two of the newspapers.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57This one's from the Sheerness Guardian.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00"Heard Drowning Men's Cries" - it's a report of the inquest.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03It wasn't just Robert, it was a friend of his,
0:34:03 > 0:34:05who was actually engaged to his sister.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11Peter's research has shown that Robert and his future brother-in-law
0:34:11 > 0:34:14had been rowing from the mainland to their yacht,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17which was anchored off the Isle of Sheppey.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21During the crossing, they got into difficulty and drowned.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26The men were missing for five days before their bodies were recovered.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Ivy became a widow at the age of just 32.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37But just a few days later, Ann and Peter are given a golden opportunity
0:34:37 > 0:34:39to find out all about Ivy.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45They've made contact with Ivy's close friend Jacqueline
0:34:45 > 0:34:47and are on their way to meet her.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53We hope to learn a bit more about what happened in the rest of her life,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56when she was pretty well detached from the family.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01The meeting is also an exciting prospect for Jacqueline,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04whose mother was Ivy's best friend.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08'It will be very emotional for me, yes.'
0:35:08 > 0:35:12To meet people who got the link with her so far back.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17And to be able to, in a way, kind of, close the circle.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22- Hello!- Hi.- You must be Anne! I'm Jacquelyn, it's nice to meet you.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24- Are you Jackie or Jacquelyn? - Jacquelyn.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Yes, Ivy called me Jackie but I'm actually Jacquelyn.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29- Yes, quite right, yes! - And you're Peter, yes?
0:35:29 > 0:35:31- That's right, hello. - Nice to meet you. Hi, I'm Jacquelyn.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33- Isn't this amazing? - It is!- It is, yes.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36For both sides, the meeting is a precious opportunity
0:35:36 > 0:35:38to learn more about Ivy's life.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44In London, the heir hunters are back at square one
0:35:44 > 0:35:46in the search for Ivy's heirs...
0:35:46 > 0:35:49There is no marriage and no '01.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53..but Dave Slee's determined to have one last throw of the dice.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- It's a headache, isn't it? - I can't... Can you think of anything?
0:35:56 > 0:35:59He's having a final look for records of Ivy's mother,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03named in the adoption letter as Gertrude Alice Hunt.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11Unbelievably, we're struggling to find
0:36:11 > 0:36:16either the marriage for Ivy's parents...
0:36:16 > 0:36:20before and after her birth, we're struggling to find them dying,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25there's no record of them on the '01 or the 1911 census.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29I just don't think... Yeah, looking at it from a financial point of view,
0:36:29 > 0:36:31from our point of view,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34if it warrants us during too much more research, really.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38The team really have run out of options...
0:36:40 > 0:36:43..so they decide to close the files once more.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52But for Pete, Ann and Jacqueline,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54the detective work is just beginning.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58I, sort of, made up this album of photographs to show you,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01kind of, going through. So, that's Ivy, there.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04- Oh, this is absolutely amazing! - Yeah!
0:37:05 > 0:37:08- Think we've got...- And there she is looking rather saucy, we thought!
0:37:08 > 0:37:10- Yes!- On her first honeymoon.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15I think she did well to break away from the Telford family!
0:37:15 > 0:37:19That was her 100th birthday.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21These are all 100th birthday pictures.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23You'll see she was on...
0:37:23 > 0:37:27She spent the afternoon on the London Eye on her 100th birthday.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31We took her out for, the group of us, you see us there.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33We took her out for lunch.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35We took her to the Sovereign of the Seas, of course,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38and she had scampi and chips and then we got in a couple of cars
0:37:38 > 0:37:41and drove up to London and took her on the London Eye.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44And when we got to the very top we all sang Happy Birthday to her
0:37:44 > 0:37:47and she just had a wonderful day, she loved it.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50I mean, she was game for anything, you know?
0:37:50 > 0:37:51As a lifelong friend,
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Jacqueline knows a huge amount about Ivy's life.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57I've got some things to show you.
0:37:57 > 0:38:03This is her Red Cross certificate that she got and this is her...
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Of course she was Ivy Bowden then, having married Bob Bowden,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09that's her medal that she got.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15Ivy received a certificate for her devoted service to the Red Cross
0:38:15 > 0:38:17in the Second World War.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20During which time she was bombed twice,
0:38:20 > 0:38:22injured and lost all her belongings.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26The certificate is signed by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30I thought you might like to have these.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31Oh, no, because you...
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Well, I'm really happy for you to have them,
0:38:34 > 0:38:38because I think it's really nice that they should now be with her...
0:38:38 > 0:38:39with Ivy's family.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I mean, the Telfords were the only family she knew.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46- They were her only family, yes. - Oh, yes, absolutely, absolutely.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49In return, Ann is able to give Jacqueline a new insight
0:38:49 > 0:38:51into the Telford family.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55- That's the earliest one, that's my grandfather.- Right, and this is...?
0:38:55 > 0:39:01- This is Ivy.- This is Ivy? - Yes.- Oh, wow! Wow.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06After coffee, Jacqueline, Ann and Peter head to the Victorian house
0:39:06 > 0:39:09where Ivy grew up with the Telfords.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11When Ivy was 95,
0:39:11 > 0:39:13she asked Jacqueline to bring her back to the house.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17She hadn't been there since her 18th birthday when she'd run away.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20So, we drove up here and looked at the front of the house
0:39:20 > 0:39:23and then drove round the side, here,
0:39:23 > 0:39:27and Ivy looked up at the back of the house and she said,
0:39:27 > 0:39:31"That's the bedroom window from which I watched the Zeppelin crashing,
0:39:31 > 0:39:33"in the First World War, in flames."
0:39:33 > 0:39:36So, that was an amazing moment, really.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38So, from that bedroom window, there.
0:39:38 > 0:39:43What Ivy had seen was the stuff of local legend.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45In September 1916,
0:39:45 > 0:39:49a German zeppelin was shot down by a British soldier on night patrol.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51It burst into flames,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54crashing down in a field near Billericay, in Essex.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57So, I mean, this, for you, is a real pilgrimage,
0:39:57 > 0:39:58in that this is where your father grew up,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02- where your grandparents lived and everything.- Yes, yes, yes.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05We've always been going to come and look at all these houses
0:40:05 > 0:40:07but we've never done it, so now we started!
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Filling in the jigsaw has been important for both Ivy's relatives
0:40:14 > 0:40:16and her friend.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19It was amazing meeting Ann and Peter today.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22I mean, I'd never dreamed that I would ever have any contact
0:40:22 > 0:40:23with Ivy's adopted family.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27I mean, they were just this remote family that she'd left at 18
0:40:27 > 0:40:30and I expected, you know, the whole story to stay there.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34I never thought it was going to come to life again in this amazing way.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39'The whole thing about turning somebody who was just a...'
0:40:39 > 0:40:42really, just a name, somebody in print,
0:40:42 > 0:40:48into a real human being with lasting friendships over so many years.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53And...I think that really completed the picture.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57We've got used to looking into the past but it's the recent past,
0:40:57 > 0:41:00you know, which has been the story today.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03But there's one final twist to this story
0:41:03 > 0:41:06because what the Heir Hunters were never told by the Treasury
0:41:06 > 0:41:09was that Ivy had in fact left a will.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13She did leave will, about three years before she died,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16and we've sent it off to probate, the solicitors copy,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20because we couldn't find the original and they wouldn't accept it
0:41:20 > 0:41:24because it wasn't the original, so she was deemed to have died intestate
0:41:24 > 0:41:27and the estate was administered by the Treasury Solicitor.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33Under probate law, only the original will can be accepted.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Without it, the authorities assume the deceased changed their mind.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38So with only a copy of Ivy's will,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42the estate was put on the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates
0:41:42 > 0:41:46but shortly after, the Treasury invited the beneficiaries named by Ivy
0:41:46 > 0:41:48to apply for discretionary grants.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53My belief is that the Treasury actually paid out the bequests
0:41:53 > 0:41:57exactly as Ivy had asked for them to paid out in that will,
0:41:57 > 0:42:03which, although they didn't accept, in the end, in fact, they did
0:42:03 > 0:42:07because they made those discretionary grants exactly along the lines,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10so I understand, that Ivy wanted.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12Although these payments were made,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15any blood relatives the heir hunters had found
0:42:15 > 0:42:18would still have been entitled to a share of the estate.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22But Ivy's most valuable legacy was an emotional one.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27'It brings all the joy, and the happiness, and the fun back again'
0:42:27 > 0:42:30and, I mean, thinking of Ivy makes me happy
0:42:30 > 0:42:32because she was such a happy, lovely person
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and such an important part of all our lives
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and so it's been a joyous day because it's been an Ivy day,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and all the Ivy days were joyous days.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48If you would like advice about building your family tree
0:42:48 > 0:42:50or making a will go to...
0:43:16 > 0:43:20Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd