Thomas/Koshevnikova Heir Hunters


Thomas/Koshevnikova

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Transcript


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Welcome to Heir Hunters.

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We follow investigators searching for living family of people who've died without leaving a will.

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Today, we search for heirs who could be in line for thousands of pounds.

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Heir Hunters earn their money tracing relatives of people who've died without leaving a will.

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They hand over thousands of pounds to family members who had no idea they would inherit.

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Could they be knocking at your door?

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Coming up on today's programme...

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Is this all of them, yeah?

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The heir hunters have a surprise in store for two long-lost nieces.

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I was very shocked to find out that I was going to be a heir,

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because things like that don't happen to people like us.

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The team have potentially struck gold in the case of a family of Russian aristocrats.

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We could be dealing with an estate worth tens of thousands of pounds,

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possibly even millions of pounds.

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And I'll be discovering more about Russia's turbulent past and about the family's rich history.

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We found out they have connections to the gold-mining industry

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in Eastern Siberia.

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Plus how you could be entitled to unclaimed estates where beneficiaries need to be found.

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Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?

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Every year in the UK, an estimated 300,000 people die without leaving a will.

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If no relatives are found,

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then any money that's left behind will go to the Government.

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And last year they made over £14 million from unclaimed estates.

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But there are over 30 specialist firms competing to stop this happening.

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They're called heir hunters, and they make it their business

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to track down missing relatives and help them claim their rightful inheritance.

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That's what I enjoy most about this -

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the personal satisfaction that I've cracked the case,

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that's maybe been unsolved for 15 or 20 years.

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Our first case today is a real puzzle for the heir hunters.

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Will the team's research prove correct

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and can they identify the right relatives?

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It's 7am on a Thursday.

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At midnight last night,

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the Treasury released their weekly list of unclaimed estates.

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And in central London,

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the list is being carefully scrutinised

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by staff at the country's largest heir hunting firm, Fraser & Fraser.

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All we know about him is that he's dead.

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I haven't been able to find his address.

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Partner Neil Fraser has already spotted a potential case.

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We're going to look at a case of Robert William Thomas.

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He's from Orpington in Kent.

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Death is not too long ago, January of 2010.

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So fingers crossed, it's quite recent,

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and there's a possibility there's going to be a property on that.

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At the moment, I haven't got any idea of the value.

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The Treasury's list is a major source of work for heir hunters.

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It shows the names of people who've died without leaving a will,

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and also lists their date and place of death.

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But it doesn't show how much money they've left behind,

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and amounts can range from £5,000 to many millions of pounds.

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Thanks, bye.

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When the values are unknown like this,

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the heir hunters usually work for a pre-agreed percentage of the estate.

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And this makes their job a real gamble.

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For us to receive a workable budget, a workable amount of money,

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we have to have a reasonable-sized pot to start with.

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The first thing the heir hunters want to find out

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is whether Robert William Thomas owned his own home.

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But they've already hit a problem.

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Robert William Thomas is a popular name, and he could have been born anywhere.

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All we know is he dies in 2010 in Orpington, so got to start there.

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The team will have their work cut out.

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Thomas is the ninth most common surname in Britain.

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Robert Thomas grew up in the 1920s.

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After serving in the Second World War,

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he returned home to marry his sweetheart Winifred.

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The couple didn't have any children,

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and according to neighbour Lily Young, Robert was passionate about two things in life -

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his wife and his car.

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His car was always immaculate. He'd come down with his bowl and go out there with his chammy leather.

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If he was going to take Winnie out,

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he made sure it was all polished before he took her.

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I think that was all part of how he felt about Winnie,

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cos he always spoke about her.

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Robert was a caring and dedicated husband,

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and in later life, he also became a keen gardener.

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His garden was immaculate. He used to grow all his own vegetables.

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He used to love to be able to say to Winnie,

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"What do you want for vegetables today?" And run down and get them.

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You wouldn't find a weed down there. Now you can't find his shed in the corner.

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I think he was quite lost without her after she...

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I think this happens in lots of cases where people have to do a lot for a person.

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When that person dies, they are really lost.

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They don't know what to do with theirself.

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Sadly, Winifred died in 1994, leaving Bob a widower

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until his own death, 16 years later, at the age of 88.

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In the office, the race is on to try and find beneficiaries to Robert Thomas's estate,

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and with rival firms competing to be the first to find and sign up heirs,

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the team must work fast.

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I'm hoping to find addresses,

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and from the addresses, trying to work out a value.

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The team is trying to find out if Robert owned his own home, and it's not looking good.

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His address belongs to a housing association,

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which suggests the estate may be low in value.

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Normally a case like this would go on the back burner,

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but today is quiet, so manager David Pacifico decides to take it one step further.

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I've got Bob Smith doing an enquiry.

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I'm hoping that enquiry will come up with

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some more definite information to help us,

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because we're dealing with very common names here.

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The company employs a network of regional heir hunters

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who are on standby from 7am every morning.

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Covering all corners of the country,

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they're ready to go wherever the search takes them.

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Whether they're speaking to neighbours or picking up certificates from register offices,

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they leave no stone unturned in the race to find and sign up heirs.

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Ex-Customs official Bob Smith enjoys life at the sharp end.

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Phone calls may glean some information,

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but it's always better for someone to be on the doorstep.

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It's a bit like a detective,

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knocking on doors, asking questions about people

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and their lifestyle, their family, information, that sort of thing.

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You know, it's just something different.

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And Bob's experience has given him a hunch about the deceased.

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I wouldn't mind betting that he probably originally came from Wales.

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Surname Thomas. Just a guess.

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If Robert is Welsh, the team will have a real headache.

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In Wales, nearly six per cent of the population has the surname Thomas.

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But Bob's first concern is to speak to Robert's neighbours.

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Did you know him as Bob?

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-Oh, yeah, they used to just call him Old Bob.

-Right.

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As Robert didn't own his own house,

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Bob Smith is looking for any other signs of wealth,

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and one of the neighbours is particularly helpful.

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-Right. But he didn't own this property?

-No, he rented it.

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-I know he had two, er, company pensions that he...

-Right.

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He phones back to the office with this new information.

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Well, they said he was quite old,

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and obviously he's drawing a pension.

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Yeah. So basically, he could have been living a comfortable lifestyle.

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Well, he's got two pensions and a state pension

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and he's just bought an £800 plasma TV.

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Well, it's certainly worthwhile...

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I don't think it's going to be a big estate,

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but it might be one of those 20, 30, 40 grand, maybe you know.

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Yeah. The question is, where was he from?

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We've got a potential birth in Shoreditch.

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We'll have to get the death day. That's the thing, isn't it?

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Bob's estimate of £20,000 to £40,000 is good news for the team.

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It means this case is worth working.

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If the person lived in rented accommodation,

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it doesn't mean to say he had nothing in the bank.

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Looks like he may have had a spare few bob or so there.

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Now it's all systems go in the office,

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as the team begins the search for relatives.

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Robert Thomas's neighbour told them he hadn't had any children,

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so the team must look to his wider family tree.

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Although Thomas is a difficult name to research,

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David decides he's willing to take a chance on the possible birth he's found in Shoreditch in 1921.

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And if this is the correct Robert Thomas,

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they have already found a brother.

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-Henry Charles Thomas.

-That's your brother, yeah?

-Still alive in Gillingham.

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This would be a significant breakthrough. Have they found the first heir?

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Noel, in searching, identifying the deceased's birth,

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found what could be a brother,

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which has the same mother's maiden name

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and born in the same district.

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Born as Thomas, mother's maiden name Dyer, born Shoreditch.

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So it looked like two brothers.

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And if that is the case,

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we think that this brother may still be alive

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and he found a probable address for him by virtue of the electoral rolls

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in Gillingham in Kent.

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The heir hunters are working on the idea

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that Bob and Henry Thomas are brothers

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because they were both born in Shoreditch,

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and have a mother with the maiden name Dyer.

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It looks promising,

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but so far they have no proof that this is the right Robert Thomas,

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let alone that he had a brother Henry.

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To confirm their research, they need Robert's death certificate,

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which will show his date and place of birth.

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So Bob is sent to Bromley Register Office.

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If they've got it right,

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this case could be sewn up before midday.

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I'd like a copy of a death certificate if I may.

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Straight away, Bob can see that one of his early fears was unfounded.

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Robert Thomas wasn't Welsh after all.

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Oh, he was born in London.

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It doesn't say where.

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-Oh, well. Thank you very much.

-OK, thank you. Bye-bye.

-Take care.

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Bob needs to pass the rest of the information on to the office.

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Hello?

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-David, hi, it's Bob.

-Hello, Bob.

-Hi.

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-I've got this death now.

-Yeah?

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-Died 16th January 2010.

-Yeah?

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Born 4th March 1921.

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London.

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London, right.

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Even though the death certificate doesn't specify where in London Robert was born,

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it's still great news for the office.

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It looks like the birth and the brother are right.

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The brother might be at this address in Gillingham.

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OK, all right, no, I'll go and do that now.

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If Henry Thomas is the brother of Robert Thomas,

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he could be the sole heir to an estate worth £20,000 to £40,000.

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It's likely that rival firms will also be looking at this case,

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so Bob must get to Gillingham as quickly as he can.

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It'll be interesting just to speak with him and, er...

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Cos he obviously is almost certainly unaware that his brother has died.

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And if the information from the neighbours is anything to go by,

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he never kept in contact with him either,

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so it'll be interesting to find out the circumstances

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as to why that is.

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Back at the office, there's been another breakthrough.

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The team has found Robert Thomas's birth certificate,

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which confirms his parents are Robert William Thomas and Rose May Dyer.

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The possible brother we thought we may have an address for,

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we've now proved it correct.

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It was a Henry Charles Thomas,

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so it looks like he's still alive, living in Gillingham in Kent,

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where Bob Smith is on his way to see him.

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From this, they've established that as well as Henry,

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Robert seems to have had a second brother.

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We'd identified one brother, Henry Charles Thomas born in 1930,

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but having gone back and checked on a different computer system,

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we found an extra brother, Albert G Thomas,

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who was born 1924 in Shoreditch.

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So very close in area and in age to the deceased,

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so the combination of names is right as well.

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On top of that,

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we've now discovered that he died in Lewisham in November 2005,

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which is the sort of area where his brother Henry Charles was too,

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so it's all looking quite good.

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But if it's been this easy

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for them to crack a potentially difficult Thomas case,

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it could have been easy for other heir hunting companies too.

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They need to stay ahead of the competition.

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So, before Bob Smith reaches the house of Robert's brother Henry,

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David gives him the latest information.

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PHONE RINGING

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Bob Smith?

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-Hi, Bob, just to let you know, it's going to be right.

-OK.

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Um, the other thing is,

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there's another brother, looks like, who died.

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-And he may have children. Died in Lewisham, 2005. Albert George.

-Yeah.

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-Might have at least four children. Maybe more, maybe less.

-OK.

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All right, thanks, Dave.

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The team now knows that Bob Thomas,

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son of Robert Thomas and Rose May Dyer

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had two brothers,

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Henry Thomas, who's alive, and Albert, who's deceased.

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Albert may have left four children,

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which would give them five possible heirs.

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But when Bob gets to Henry's house...

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Does Mr Thomas live here?

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..it's bad news.

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-Henry went on holiday this morning.

-Blimey.

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Granddaughter Jenny is looking after the house.

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Does she know about the other brother Albert and his children?

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-They obviously didn't keep in contact.

-No.

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-Were they were separated when they were younger?

-Yeah.

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What was the situation with that, then?

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Well, um, Granddad was taken to Somerset.

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Right.

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And then, Albert and Bobby, as they know him,

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was taken... They was in the army.

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-Right, OK.

-But they didn't stay in contact.

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-I don't think.

-I know...

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PHONE RINGING

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Jenny helps Bob by getting her mum on the phone.

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Do you know anything about Albert's children?

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-Lynda.

-Yeah.

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-Lynda's married.

-Oh, she is?

-To Martin.

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-To Martin. Do you know his surname?

-Do we know his surname?

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-No, she doesn't know his surname.

-OK, that's all right.

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Any of the others?

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What about any of the others? What about Iris?

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-She's not married.

-Thank you very much for that.

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Really appreciate that. Sorry to call you out of the blue.

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That's very helpful. Obviously, I'm sorry to say that Bobby's died,

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um, but as a result, your granddad and Albert's kids will benefit now.

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I don't think it's going to be a great deal of money. All right?

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-I'll leave my card with you.

-Right, thank you.

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-Thanks very much, anyway.

-Bye.

-Cheers.

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It's a frustrating setback for the team,

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who are under pressure to sign up an heir before the competition.

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He flew out to Turkey today.

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-Hah!

-He's got a home in Turkey.

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He was delayed because of the volcano.

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Right, shame it wasn't tomorrow, isn't it?

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All they can do is courier a letter out to Henry in Turkey,

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and hope they can find other heirs to Robert's £20,000 to £40,000 estate.

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-You're the daughter of Albert, is that right?

-Yeah.

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Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year

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and millions of pounds are paid out to rightful heirs. But not every case can be cracked.

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The Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates that have baffled the heir hunters and remain unclaimed.

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This could be money with your name on it.

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The Bona Vacantia unclaimed list is a list of cases

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we haven't found kin for.

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The list goes back to 1997, because that's when our case management system came online.

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The idea is to produce a list of all those solvent cases,

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so there should be at least a few pounds in there, possibly many thousands.

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Today, we're focusing on three names from the list.

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Are they relatives of yours?

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Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?

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Peter Paul McQualter died in Greenwich in 1997, aged 54

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and may have come from Ireland.

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Are you a relative of Peter's?

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If heirs aren't found, his money will go to the Government.

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Did you know Gordon Lewis Monteith Keevil from Enfield in Middlesex?

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He died on 17th May, 2008, aged 85.

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So far, no-one's come forward to claim Gordon's estate.

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Do you remember him?

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Also on our list is Michael David Geaves,

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who died on 25th February, 2011, in Ware, Hertfordshire.

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There are only around 100 people with the name Geaves in the country

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and they're most commonly in the Stevenage area.

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Was Michael part of your family?

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So far, all efforts to trace his relatives have drawn a blank.

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Remember, this is money the Government want you to inherit, if you are an entitled heir.

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My division isn't allowed to make a profit. We don't make commission,

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we don't get bonuses for passing money to the Treasury.

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In fact, the Treasury's more interested in are we finding more kin, which we are,

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and are we good value for taxpayers' money, which we are.

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If you think you may be related to the deceased on the list,

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the onus is on you to prove your family link.

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The people that are entitled

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are those that trace their relationship in a direct line

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from the deceased person's grandparents.

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So, a spouse would be entitled, children would be entitled,

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aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, first cousins.

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A reminder of today's names again -

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Peter McQualter,

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Gordon Keevil

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and Michael Geaves.

0:19:380:19:40

So, if you're a relative of someone on today's list,

0:19:400:19:44

you could have a fortune coming your way.

0:19:440:19:46

Next, an intriguing case for the heir hunters

0:19:510:19:54

that sheds light on the turbulent times of the early 20th century.

0:19:540:19:58

Later, I'll be finding out more about the family involved,

0:19:580:20:02

their adventures and connections to the Russian revolution.

0:20:020:20:05

But, first, here's how the case unfolded.

0:20:050:20:08

In 2009, the heir hunters looked into

0:20:120:20:15

the estate of a quiet lady from Buckinghamshire,

0:20:150:20:18

who seemed to have led a fairly unassuming life.

0:20:180:20:21

But little did they know they were about to uncover

0:20:210:20:24

a tale of incredible wealth, world travel,

0:20:240:20:27

and international espionage.

0:20:270:20:30

Alexandra Koshevnikova died in June 2008 in Beaconsfield.

0:20:300:20:35

She'd lived to an incredible 100 years old

0:20:350:20:38

and was fondly remembered by friends like Hazel Francis.

0:20:380:20:42

Alex was kind, loving and very friendly,

0:20:420:20:46

and everybody adored her.

0:20:460:20:48

Sometimes she used to skip along the balcony, "Hello", waving,

0:20:480:20:53

and that was it, you know.

0:20:530:20:55

But she always said hello to you.

0:20:550:20:57

Alexandra was a keen poet

0:20:570:20:59

and an accomplished pianist,

0:20:590:21:01

but she was also a very modest lady,

0:21:010:21:03

and for the most part,

0:21:030:21:05

kept herself to herself.

0:21:050:21:06

Janet Smith was Alexandra's neighbour for 44 years.

0:21:060:21:11

Alexandra lived immediately above us.

0:21:120:21:14

Um, it was just a three-bedroom maisonette.

0:21:140:21:17

When Sandra was playing the grand piano,

0:21:180:21:21

we would turn the television off, just to sit and listen,

0:21:210:21:24

because it was so beautiful and it used to come down through the floor.

0:21:240:21:28

And we did enjoy that.

0:21:280:21:30

Because Alexandra Koshevnikova died without leaving a will,

0:21:300:21:33

her estate was advertised by the Treasury in 2008.

0:21:330:21:37

Her unusual surname caught the attention of Neil Fraser,

0:21:410:21:45

partner at heir hunting firm, Fraser & Fraser.

0:21:450:21:49

On this particular case, we started looking around the surname,

0:21:490:21:54

trying to play with the surname

0:21:540:21:56

to see if there were other people in the UK records, with the same surname.

0:21:560:22:00

A rare name like Koshevnikova

0:22:000:22:02

could make the search for relatives quite easy.

0:22:020:22:05

And initially, they made quick progress.

0:22:050:22:08

We were able to identify not only the mother, but also her brother.

0:22:080:22:13

Um, so that's two hits, really.

0:22:130:22:15

It certainly helps form a family tree.

0:22:150:22:18

It's two steps in the right direction, at least.

0:22:180:22:21

Alexandra's mother Susanna

0:22:210:22:23

and her brother Vladimir

0:22:230:22:24

had both died in the UK,

0:22:240:22:26

but they were unable to find any other relatives in the country.

0:22:260:22:30

The only other information they had was that the family came from Russia.

0:22:300:22:34

One of the things which we have to do

0:22:340:22:37

is try and locate a place of birth.

0:22:370:22:40

The majority of the time, when we have someone who's born overseas,

0:22:400:22:43

the death certificate just gives the country of birth, not the place.

0:22:430:22:48

Without knowing the exact place of birth in Russia,

0:22:480:22:51

the teams had no real way of finding any family.

0:22:510:22:54

Neil had no choice but to call a halt to the research.

0:22:570:23:01

But then, something remarkable happened.

0:23:010:23:04

Although we'd stopped research on this case,

0:23:040:23:06

our feelers had already gone out to try and find a place of birth,

0:23:060:23:10

and we've had letters back from America,

0:23:100:23:12

which have indicated some more information about Alexandra.

0:23:120:23:16

Neil had ordered the family's naturalisation papers,

0:23:160:23:20

which detailed their journey from Russia to the UK.

0:23:200:23:23

Unlike a usual naturalisation which we'd find,

0:23:250:23:27

which may be two, three, four pages long,

0:23:270:23:31

this one had 50 or 60 pages in, and a very, very detailed history

0:23:310:23:36

about the life which the family had had in Russia,

0:23:360:23:40

and their journey throughout the world before they came to the UK.

0:23:400:23:44

But a significant piece of information in the records

0:23:460:23:49

was that in 1921, Alexandra, Vladimir and their mother

0:23:490:23:53

had spent several months

0:23:530:23:55

living at one of the world's most expensive hotels,

0:23:550:23:58

the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

0:23:580:24:00

An immigrant family living in, not just a hotel,

0:24:000:24:04

but the Waldorf Astoria,

0:24:040:24:06

um, you suddenly think, they must be very, very rich indeed.

0:24:060:24:10

Now the case looked very exciting.

0:24:110:24:13

It suddenly makes us see that

0:24:140:24:16

maybe we're not dealing with a small estate,

0:24:160:24:19

but we could be dealing with an estate worth tens of thousands of pounds,

0:24:190:24:23

possibly even millions of pounds.

0:24:230:24:25

And there was more good news.

0:24:260:24:28

A university in America had sent Neil letters and poetry

0:24:280:24:31

written by Alexandra.

0:24:310:24:34

When we eventually got sight of her letters,

0:24:340:24:37

they came back, and they were all in Russian,

0:24:370:24:40

for a start, which is slightly problematic

0:24:400:24:42

because I don't speak Russian.

0:24:420:24:44

Having had them translated,

0:24:440:24:46

the team noticed that Alexandra sometimes used the alias Tulunova,

0:24:460:24:50

meaning Lady from Tulun.

0:24:500:24:53

This Tulun is the place where she's actually born originally.

0:24:530:24:56

So having searched for quite a while,

0:24:560:25:00

trying to find the place of birth,

0:25:000:25:02

all the time it was staring me straight in the face, really.

0:25:020:25:06

Her alias gave me her place of birth.

0:25:060:25:08

Bit by bit,

0:25:080:25:10

they were starting to build a picture

0:25:100:25:12

of Alexandra's life in Russia.

0:25:120:25:14

She had been born into a wealthy mining family

0:25:150:25:18

in the Central Russian town of Tulun in 1907.

0:25:180:25:20

At a time when most Russians were living in poverty,

0:25:200:25:24

Alexandra and her brother Vladimir enjoyed a privileged upbringing.

0:25:240:25:29

Both brothers and sisters would go to good schools.

0:25:290:25:34

They would also have a very wide musical education,

0:25:340:25:37

they would be taken to museums,

0:25:370:25:39

they would travel.

0:25:390:25:40

But all that changed in 1917,

0:25:420:25:45

as Russia plunged into revolution and civil war.

0:25:450:25:48

GUNFIRE

0:25:480:25:51

Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by the working class population

0:25:510:25:55

who were starving to death under his oppressive regime.

0:25:550:25:59

It was a violent seizure of power.

0:25:590:26:03

There was a great deal of bloodshed,

0:26:030:26:06

there was a great deal of elimination of groups.

0:26:060:26:12

Fighting broke out between the working class Bolsheviks

0:26:130:26:17

and the aristocratic White Russians like Alexandra's family.

0:26:170:26:20

And in 1921, disaster struck.

0:26:220:26:25

Bolshevik soldiers murdered Alexandra's father,

0:26:250:26:29

leaving her mother a widow

0:26:290:26:30

in a desperate situation.

0:26:300:26:32

She would have to try and escape,

0:26:320:26:34

because otherwise, er, she could get killed,

0:26:340:26:39

the children could get killed

0:26:390:26:41

if they found themselves involved in the civil war.

0:26:410:26:45

There was really no future for her.

0:26:460:26:49

Fearing for the lives of herself and her two children,

0:26:490:26:52

Susanna had little choice but to flee her homeland.

0:26:520:26:56

It seems she grabbed all the money she could find,

0:26:560:26:59

and escaped through Asia to America,

0:26:590:27:01

finally checking in to the Waldorf Astoria.

0:27:010:27:04

Designed to be the most luxurious hotel in the world,

0:27:070:27:10

the Waldorf Astoria oozed opulence from every corner.

0:27:100:27:14

But luxury like this came at a price.

0:27:150:27:18

A suite cost thousands of dollars a year in the 1920s.

0:27:180:27:22

As Susanna's savings began to run dry,

0:27:220:27:25

the family was forced to relocate.

0:27:250:27:28

For an educated and cultured family like the Koshevnikovs,

0:27:280:27:31

the obvious destination was Berlin.

0:27:310:27:34

Berlin was certainly an attractive goal.

0:27:340:27:37

There were rather different, but still very strong cultural links.

0:27:370:27:42

Until the early '30s,

0:27:420:27:44

Russians, particularly in Berlin,

0:27:440:27:48

were quite numerous,

0:27:480:27:49

and were part of the post-war intellectual and cultural life

0:27:490:27:55

of Germany in those years, in that decade.

0:27:550:28:00

Surrounded by like-minded people,

0:28:000:28:02

Susanna and her two children settled in Germany.

0:28:020:28:05

Vladimir went to university to study journalism,

0:28:050:28:08

and Alexandra indulged in her passion for music and poetry.

0:28:080:28:13

The Koshevnikovs seemed to have found their home from home.

0:28:130:28:17

Yet, in 1951, they showed up in England.

0:28:180:28:21

The heir hunters were on the trail

0:28:210:28:23

of uncovering what happened to their fortune.

0:28:230:28:25

They were about to reveal the family's links to British espionage

0:28:250:28:30

in the middle of the Cold War.

0:28:300:28:32

They were part of a group of people

0:28:330:28:36

um, to whom this country owes its freedom.

0:28:360:28:41

It's a fascinating story and now even more information about the Koshevnikovs has come to light.

0:28:450:28:52

In order to delve deeper into Alexandra's family's exotic past,

0:28:520:28:58

'I'm meeting historian John Smeal.

0:28:580:29:00

'He's unearthed even more intriguing facts about the family's origins

0:29:000:29:04

'and their lives during the Revolution.'

0:29:040:29:06

What have you managed to find out about the Koshevnikova family?

0:29:060:29:10

We found out they have connections to the gold-mining industry

0:29:100:29:14

in Eastern Siberia,

0:29:140:29:17

in particular a large mine at the town of Bodaybo,

0:29:170:29:21

north-eastern Siberia, north of Lake Baikal.

0:29:210:29:24

And they were owners of a mine there.

0:29:240:29:28

'No wonder the family could afford expensive hotels in New York.

0:29:280:29:32

'John's research doesn't end there.

0:29:320:29:34

'The Koshevnikov family's lives were upturned by a number of dramatic world events.'

0:29:340:29:40

-So, what happened to the family after World War One broke out?

-When the war broke out,

0:29:400:29:44

apparently, the father volunteered for service with the Russian Army

0:29:440:29:49

and became a sapper in an engineering corps.

0:29:490:29:54

His wife and family then moved from Eastern Siberia back to European Russia,

0:29:540:29:59

initially to Moscow,

0:29:590:30:01

presumably to be closer to the father when he was in service.

0:30:010:30:06

It's quite possible that they had their own property.

0:30:060:30:10

In Moscow, they seem to have been a pretty wealthy family.

0:30:100:30:14

A little later, they moved for a while to the city of Kharkov,

0:30:140:30:18

which is in Eastern Ukraine,

0:30:180:30:21

and would've been just that bit closer to the front and the fighting,

0:30:210:30:25

whilst still safe.

0:30:250:30:26

It would've given them a bit more opportunity to have

0:30:260:30:30

a bit more contact with the father whilst he was in service.

0:30:300:30:35

-And what would've happened then?

-Well, Russia was relatively peaceful

0:30:350:30:39

until the beginning of 1917, but then the whole place fell to pieces.

0:30:390:30:43

This was the start of a social revolution that would change not just the family's fortunes,

0:30:430:30:48

but the whole country's history as well.

0:30:480:30:51

The Tsar abdicated, a new government was established in Petrograd, a provisional government.

0:30:510:30:57

Soldiers began deserting from the trenches, workers going on strike and so forth.

0:30:570:31:03

Over the course of 1917,

0:31:030:31:05

it became a time of really great social disruption and upheaval.

0:31:050:31:11

The family, like a lot of people of means in Russia at that time,

0:31:110:31:16

tried to shelter themselves by moving to Crimea,

0:31:160:31:19

which was where many families of means, noble families and, indeed, the Romanovs themselves,

0:31:190:31:25

had summer villas,

0:31:250:31:28

and the Crimea remained a relatively peaceful haven.

0:31:280:31:33

'This relative peace didn't last long.

0:31:330:31:37

'In the aftermath of the 1917 revolution,

0:31:370:31:39

'even the Crimea was affected.'

0:31:390:31:42

They seem to have left the Crimea and returned, initially, back to Moscow.

0:31:420:31:47

Apparently, the father, at this point, opted to join the anti-Bolshevik movement,

0:31:470:31:52

whilst his wife and children retreated into Siberia,

0:31:520:31:55

presumably back to the family home in the east.

0:31:550:31:59

'But they would've found nothing but disruption and devastation going home.

0:31:590:32:04

'In 1918 and 1919, the mining industry collapsed

0:32:040:32:09

'and John thinks it's around this time that Alexandra's father was killed by the Bolshevik rebels.

0:32:090:32:15

'It's this period when the remaining family flee

0:32:150:32:18

'to the east of the country.'

0:32:180:32:20

And when did they leave?

0:32:200:32:23

They left in 1920. They applied in the spring of 1920 for permission

0:32:230:32:27

to pass through the port of Vladivostok

0:32:270:32:30

and made their way out of the country in 1920,

0:32:300:32:33

initially across the Pacific to California,

0:32:330:32:37

along with a large number of emigrates

0:32:370:32:40

to create what was a substantial emigre community in San Francisco.

0:32:400:32:45

They stayed at one of the best hotels in San Francisco,

0:32:450:32:49

so they must have had some money with them,

0:32:490:32:52

or perhaps gold and jewels which they had converted their funds into, whilst in Russia.

0:32:520:32:57

This enabled them to survive a very, very comfortable life

0:32:570:33:01

before then moving on to New York, where they stayed at the Waldorf.

0:33:010:33:07

'A fact heir hunter Neil had already discovered.

0:33:070:33:10

'Interestingly, John speculates the reason why the family chose to stay at such an expensive hotel

0:33:100:33:16

'was because, sadly, they believed they'd be going back home,

0:33:160:33:20

'not realising they'd actually be exiles for the rest of their lives.'

0:33:200:33:25

Here are some more unsolved cases where heirs still need to be found.

0:33:330:33:37

The Government list of over 2,000 unclaimed estates is money that is owed to members of the public.

0:33:370:33:44

But you must be related by blood ties to the deceased.

0:33:440:33:48

People need to prove their entitlement

0:33:480:33:50

by producing documentary evidence, various certificates of birth, death and marriage.

0:33:500:33:56

We will tell them what's required.

0:33:560:33:59

And then they will need documents of identity.

0:33:590:34:02

If your claim looks like it has merit,

0:34:020:34:05

then the Bona Vacantia division will take it further.

0:34:050:34:08

You get two experienced people looking at each claim.

0:34:080:34:11

Ultimately, if it's a big claim, or a bit complex, it could go higher.

0:34:110:34:15

We generally find the right answer. If there isn't evidence, we can't give the money away.

0:34:150:34:20

If there is, the case is made out.

0:34:200:34:21

Let's look at some of the unclaimed estates from the list.

0:34:210:34:25

Do these names mean anything to you? Are they relatives of yours?

0:34:260:34:31

William Oates died in October 2009 in Cornwall.

0:34:310:34:35

The surname Oates is common to Cornwall and also to Sheffield.

0:34:350:34:40

Was William from a Cornish family? Could you be related to him

0:34:400:34:45

and entitled to a share of his unclaimed estate?

0:34:450:34:48

Martin Pitters died on 7th December, 2006 in Northampton.

0:34:500:34:55

Pitters is an extremely rare surname,

0:34:550:34:57

shared by just a handful of people in the UK.

0:34:570:35:01

Do you share the surname Pitters?

0:35:010:35:04

Could you be Martin's heir?

0:35:040:35:06

William Gary Sargent died in Tipton in the West Midlands

0:35:090:35:13

on Christmas Eve, 2008.

0:35:130:35:15

I've got William's death certificate,

0:35:150:35:17

which contains some more information about him.

0:35:170:35:20

It shows he was born on 8th February, 1941, in Swansea.

0:35:200:35:25

The death certificate also shows that William worked in a factory.

0:35:250:35:29

Was he a friend or colleague of yours? Did he ever talk to you about his family?

0:35:290:35:34

If you think you can prove definitively

0:35:340:35:36

that you are related to any of the names today, then the Bona Vacantia division wants to hear from you.

0:35:360:35:42

If people want further information about Bona Vacantia and what we do,

0:35:420:35:47

the first port of call would be our website,

0:35:470:35:50

which has information about who's an entitled relative,

0:35:500:35:54

how to put in a claim, how we deal with estates, and things like that.

0:35:540:35:59

A reminder of those names again...

0:35:590:36:03

William Oates,

0:36:030:36:04

Martin Pitters

0:36:040:36:06

and William Sargent.

0:36:060:36:08

If today's names are relatives of yours,

0:36:080:36:11

you could be entitled to a forgotten fortune.

0:36:110:36:14

Now back to the search for heirs to the estate of Russian exile,

0:36:200:36:23

Alexandra Koshevnikova, who died without leaving a will.

0:36:230:36:27

The heir hunters were searching for a beneficiary to Alexandra's estate.

0:36:300:36:34

She died in Buckinghamshire in 2008.

0:36:340:36:38

They'd uncovered new evidence that might finally give them a lead.

0:36:380:36:43

Alexandra Koshevnikova was from a rich family

0:36:430:36:46

who'd fled the Communist forces after the Revolution.

0:36:460:36:50

After crossing three continents and staying in luxurious hotels,

0:36:500:36:54

Alexandra and her family had settled in Germany.

0:36:540:36:57

Now the heir hunters have been sent her naturalisation papers,

0:36:570:37:01

and it seemed that Alexandra could have been very wealthy.

0:37:010:37:05

An immigrant family living in,

0:37:050:37:07

not just a hotel, but the Waldorf Astoria.

0:37:070:37:10

Um, you suddenly think they must be very, very rich indeed.

0:37:100:37:14

But did Alexandra die a wealthy woman?

0:37:140:37:17

And were there heirs to her estate?

0:37:170:37:20

To find out, the team needed to know

0:37:200:37:22

why she, her mother and her brother all came to the UK.

0:37:220:37:26

BOMBS EXPLODING

0:37:260:37:28

60 years ago, the family was living in war-torn Berlin.

0:37:280:37:31

But the money they'd brought from Russia was starting to run out.

0:37:310:37:36

They probably thought,

0:37:360:37:38

as many Russians did, that once things had settled down,

0:37:380:37:42

they would be able to go back.

0:37:420:37:43

That may be one explanation of why they spent so much money

0:37:430:37:48

so quickly,

0:37:480:37:50

and then,

0:37:500:37:52

suddenly they realised that their Russia was no longer there.

0:37:520:37:57

-They

-couldn't

-go back.

0:37:570:37:58

With their mother Susanna now in her sixties,

0:37:590:38:02

the responsibility of providing for the family fell to Vladimir.

0:38:020:38:06

In the late 1940s, he moved to England in search of work,

0:38:060:38:10

and landed a remarkable job.

0:38:100:38:12

After the Second World War, the Government needed Russian speakers

0:38:120:38:16

to train British spies.

0:38:160:38:18

There were Soviet sympathisers,

0:38:180:38:22

not just within the Civil Service,

0:38:220:38:24

but actually within the British intelligence community,

0:38:240:38:27

who were meant to protect us from the Soviets.

0:38:270:38:30

When that became clear,

0:38:300:38:32

it really did make British policy-makers understand

0:38:320:38:36

that the Soviet threat was a real threat.

0:38:360:38:39

In 1951, the Government set up the Joint Services School for Linguists,

0:38:390:38:45

and employed native Russians as language teachers.

0:38:450:38:48

They quickly recruited Vladimir,

0:38:480:38:50

who was a Russian exile opposed to the Soviet regime.

0:38:500:38:54

The purpose of the JSSL

0:38:540:38:57

was to train British servicemen

0:38:570:39:02

to speak and understand the sort of Russian

0:39:020:39:08

that was being used by Soviet tank commanders, Soviet pilots,

0:39:080:39:13

Soviet naval captains,

0:39:130:39:16

Soviet submarine commanders.

0:39:160:39:19

To listen to the wireless traffic that they generated,

0:39:190:39:23

and that intelligence was vital,

0:39:230:39:26

and it prevented the Cold War

0:39:260:39:28

from ever turning into a hot one in Europe.

0:39:280:39:32

This World War II airfield in Crail in Scotland

0:39:340:39:37

was a base for the top-secret language school

0:39:370:39:40

where Vladimir became a teacher.

0:39:400:39:42

Dave Allen was taught by Vladimir in the 1950s.

0:39:440:39:48

He's now making his first visit back in over 50 years.

0:39:480:39:52

At the time, this was a very busy roadway,

0:39:530:39:56

with soldiers, sailors and airmen

0:39:560:39:58

all going about their Russian language courses,

0:39:580:40:02

and I think there were also Polish and Czech courses

0:40:020:40:06

going on here at the same time.

0:40:060:40:08

But they were in the minority.

0:40:080:40:10

Most of the people here were learning Russian.

0:40:100:40:12

This is a typical classroom

0:40:160:40:18

that we'd have had one of the lessons with Mr Koshevnikov.

0:40:180:40:21

We'd have had the tables here,

0:40:210:40:24

and Vladimir Koshevnikov would have sat in the front,

0:40:240:40:28

usually in a fairly relaxed position, sort of leaning back.

0:40:280:40:32

He was quite a big guy and he had sort of brown, wavy hair.

0:40:320:40:36

Very good-looking man.

0:40:360:40:38

And, er, it would be really quite pleasant.

0:40:380:40:42

Dave's not the only former student with fond recollections of Vladimir.

0:40:420:40:48

The first really mad Russian

0:40:480:40:50

we'd ever met.

0:40:500:40:51

It was a sort of, I don't know,

0:40:510:40:54

a kind of concept

0:40:540:40:55

that Russians were a bit wild.

0:40:550:40:57

And that was Vladimir Koshevnikov.

0:40:570:40:59

Anyway, Vladimir Koshevnikov was thoroughly eccentric.

0:40:590:41:03

We would flop down on the grass.

0:41:030:41:06

He would put two bottles of white wine on the grass,

0:41:060:41:09

and throw down some packets of cigarettes.

0:41:090:41:12

And you had to have a glass of wine

0:41:120:41:15

before you were allowed to read or recite a poem.

0:41:150:41:19

Because he said the object of drinking wine is to liberate the soul.

0:41:190:41:23

That's what the Russians believe. They still believe it, incidentally.

0:41:230:41:27

That a bottle of vodka, you drink it to liberate the soul.

0:41:270:41:30

Vladimir's informal teaching style appealed to the trainee spies.

0:41:300:41:35

Vladimir Koshevnikov was a unique teacher,

0:41:350:41:38

and a very gifted man, very artistic.

0:41:380:41:43

And he created a very good learning environment.

0:41:430:41:45

Because his knowledge of Russian was so good,

0:41:450:41:48

we learned a lot about Russian in a kind of literary sense.

0:41:480:41:52

The Koshevnikovs had the perfect credentials for the JSSL,

0:41:520:41:57

so Vladimir's sister Alexandra was also recruited,

0:41:570:42:00

and in 1951, the whole family moved from Berlin to the UK.

0:42:000:42:05

There was a sister there, and she went on to teach in later courses.

0:42:050:42:11

But the mother must have been a burden to some extent

0:42:110:42:15

because she was an old lady

0:42:150:42:16

who had to be looked after in a foreign country.

0:42:160:42:19

This close-knit family who'd travelled across six countries

0:42:190:42:23

finally settled in Beaconsfield in 1966.

0:42:230:42:27

Immersed in their work at the JSSL,

0:42:270:42:30

neither Alexandra or Vladimir ever married or had any children.

0:42:300:42:35

Instead, they lived together with their mother Susanna

0:42:350:42:38

for another 25 years,

0:42:380:42:40

until she died in 1976.

0:42:400:42:42

Sadly, Alexandra's beloved brother Vladimir died just two years later,

0:42:420:42:47

and for the first time in her life, she was alone.

0:42:470:42:52

Sandra was on her own when her mother and brother had died,

0:42:520:42:55

yes, I would say, she was a lonely person to a certain extent,

0:42:550:42:59

although she seemed quite self-sufficient in many ways.

0:42:590:43:02

But yes, I would have said she was a lonely person.

0:43:020:43:05

Alexandra threw herself further into her work,

0:43:050:43:09

and became increasingly reclusive.

0:43:090:43:11

I gather she'd had a hard life before they came to this country,

0:43:120:43:16

and although I know she'd always worked as a translator,

0:43:160:43:20

I would have thought she'd have had some money,

0:43:200:43:23

but she always appeared not to have a lot of money,

0:43:230:43:26

and, you know, I just assumed she hadn't got a lot of money.

0:43:260:43:30

Alexandra passed away in June 2008 at the age of 100.

0:43:300:43:36

But one question remained.

0:43:370:43:39

Having been born wealthy and watched their mother's money run out,

0:43:390:43:43

had Vladimir and Alexandra earned enough

0:43:430:43:45

as spy school language teachers to leave a valuable estate?

0:43:450:43:50

They've lived this very, very exciting life,

0:43:500:43:52

and it looks as though it's a family

0:43:520:43:54

which has ended up with virtually nothing.

0:43:540:43:57

So from wealthy beginnings,

0:43:570:43:59

it turned out the Koshevnikovs had died poor.

0:43:590:44:03

And with no traces of any relatives in the UK,

0:44:030:44:07

Neil had nowhere left to go.

0:44:070:44:09

We have spent quite a lot of money.

0:44:110:44:13

We spent quite a lot of money sending researchers out,

0:44:130:44:17

sending letters to America,

0:44:170:44:18

applying for naturalisations,

0:44:180:44:20

having an awful amount of documents translated,

0:44:200:44:23

and just the research in the first point -

0:44:230:44:26

the number of staff we had on it.

0:44:260:44:29

We're never going to make that money back.

0:44:290:44:31

So this is a case which we unfortunately can't take any further.

0:44:310:44:35

Unless we suddenly find out

0:44:350:44:37

that the estate's worth a lot more than we thought.

0:44:370:44:40

But I seriously doubt that.

0:44:400:44:42

But for the heir hunters, the case of Alexandra Koshevnikova has been a memorable one.

0:44:420:44:47

It's been quite a nice journey,

0:44:470:44:50

even if we're not going to get any fees or anything out of it.

0:44:500:44:53

It's taught us a bit more about research,

0:44:530:44:56

which hopefully will come in useful next time we have to do a case.

0:44:560:45:00

While the case isn't valuable enough for the heir hunters to continue,

0:45:000:45:04

it's believed to be worth between £5,000 and £15,000,

0:45:040:45:07

and it's still unclaimed.

0:45:070:45:09

Could you be a rightful heir?

0:45:090:45:12

Finally, let's return to the story of Robert Thomas, who died without a will and with no known kin.

0:45:190:45:25

The heir hunters have discovered he'd been in the army,

0:45:250:45:28

but, sadly, not much else.

0:45:280:45:30

In order to find out more about his experiences in the Second World War,

0:45:300:45:34

I'm meeting military expert, Taff Gillingham,

0:45:340:45:37

'who's going to help me interpret Robert's war records.'

0:45:370:45:41

So, what have you found relating to Robert?

0:45:410:45:44

OK, we've got his service record from the Ministry of Defence.

0:45:440:45:48

This gives us a clear indication of what he's done and when he's done it.

0:45:480:45:52

It shows that he joins in April 1941. By this time, he's 20 years old.

0:45:520:45:57

Normally, you'd join at 18 - that's when you'd be called up.

0:45:570:46:01

There can be a number of reasons for that.

0:46:010:46:04

He was a labourer, a bricklayer by trade,

0:46:040:46:06

and my guess is that in the early part of the war, there's an enormous need for new barracks, airfields,

0:46:060:46:12

so he may well have been doing that kind of work, or, after the Blitz, it may well have been rebuilding

0:46:120:46:17

important buildings in the centre of London.

0:46:170:46:20

What regiment was he in?

0:46:200:46:21

He joins the Royal Artillery and, specifically, he joins

0:46:210:46:24

a light anti-aircraft battery

0:46:240:46:26

and stays with different light anti-aircraft batteries pretty much throughout the war.

0:46:260:46:30

The job of the light anti-aircraft,

0:46:350:46:38

obviously their job is to keep German aircraft away from important positions, airfields, factories,

0:46:380:46:44

and, being light anti-aircraft, that was all about the size of the guns.

0:46:440:46:48

They had what were called Bofors guns,

0:46:480:46:50

with a 40mm shell that they fired. They were very quick.

0:46:500:46:53

So they could do a lot of damage very quickly

0:46:550:46:58

and did a good job keeping German aircraft away from important places.

0:46:580:47:01

-What would he have done in this unit?

-What's interesting is

0:47:010:47:05

he joins in 1941 and he's promoted very rapidly.

0:47:050:47:08

Bearing in mind he's a bricklayer, not a trained soldier,

0:47:080:47:11

and he's promoted very quickly to lance bombardier, then bombardier.

0:47:110:47:16

Bombardier was the equivalent of corporal in the Army. Eventually,

0:47:160:47:20

he reaches the rank of sergeant.

0:47:200:47:22

So he must have had a way with men, been good at leadership.

0:47:220:47:26

He obviously was well thought of

0:47:260:47:30

and was an important guy in his particular battery.

0:47:300:47:34

Did he see any action abroad?

0:47:340:47:36

Yes, he does. He goes over two days after D-Day.

0:47:360:47:39

Obviously on D-Day, there's an enormous crush on the beaches.

0:47:390:47:43

You really need to get the infantry and anti-tank units ashore,

0:47:430:47:47

and the tanks themselves.

0:47:470:47:48

But a couple of days later, you then need to protect that beachhead,

0:47:480:47:52

to try and keep the Germans away from it, so you can bring supplies and everything ashore.

0:47:520:47:57

Light anti-aircraft batteries are set up to keep the German aircraft away.

0:47:570:48:01

So, obviously, this is a very dangerous part of the war.

0:48:010:48:05

Absolutely. This is the invasion of Normandy.

0:48:050:48:08

It's what everybody's been waiting for since 1940,

0:48:080:48:10

a massive, massive effort to take the whole British and American forces

0:48:100:48:14

across the Channel, into Europe, to start pushing the Germans back.

0:48:140:48:19

This is where they're trying to break in and the Germans are doing everything they can to keep them out.

0:48:190:48:25

So, what happened after D-Day? What happened after this point?

0:48:250:48:29

Eventually, they break out and start moving across Europe.

0:48:290:48:32

By this time, the battery he's attached to spends some time around Dunkirk.

0:48:320:48:36

In 1944, the Germans are very keen to hang onto it. It's a port,

0:48:360:48:39

they know how important that is. They don't want us having it, because once we've captured another port,

0:48:390:48:45

we have another place to bring supplies,

0:48:450:48:47

so the Germans are besieged there for a while

0:48:470:48:50

and his unit are part of that siege.

0:48:500:48:53

Then they carry on moving across through Europe, till they finish the war in Germany.

0:48:530:48:57

'But it was far from over for Robert and his fellow soldiers.

0:48:590:49:03

'The Allies then had to defend Germany against the Russians,

0:49:030:49:06

'who had taken control of half the country.

0:49:060:49:09

'No-one really knew what was coming next,

0:49:140:49:17

'but anti-aircraft batteries like Robert's were moved into Germany

0:49:170:49:21

'to protect the troops from the threat of the Russians.'

0:49:210:49:25

What also happens, it tells us in his records,

0:49:250:49:28

that he gets attached to the 3rd Infantry Division.

0:49:280:49:31

The 3rd Division, they've fought all across Europe, one of the elite assault divisions on D-Day,

0:49:310:49:36

and the decision has been made

0:49:360:49:38

that they'll be one of the units that go and invade mainland Japan.

0:49:380:49:42

Then the atomic bomb arrives and that's the end of that.

0:49:420:49:46

But because they've got this very highly-trained unit, they then send them to the next hot-spot.

0:49:460:49:52

At that time, that's Palestine.

0:49:520:49:54

So, when was the war over for Robert? When did he go home?

0:49:540:49:58

Finally, he goes home in February 1946.

0:49:580:50:01

He's actually been in the Army for a long time by then.

0:50:010:50:03

He joined in 1941.

0:50:030:50:05

Pretty much it was first in, first out, unless you'd got a special skill that you had,

0:50:050:50:12

that was needed in the civilian world.

0:50:120:50:15

Building labourer might not have put him too high up the list.

0:50:150:50:18

-It takes him until February 1946 to get home.

-Fascinating, thank you.

-It's a pleasure.

0:50:180:50:24

The revelation that Robert Thomas was an Army sergeant who inspired his men as they fought across Europe

0:50:260:50:31

is slightly at odds with the quiet man remembered by his friends and neighbours.

0:50:310:50:36

But, having heard his story,

0:50:360:50:38

and now, having read his military record,

0:50:380:50:40

it's clear Robert was easily capable of being both a courageous and caring man.

0:50:400:50:46

Now, to deliver Robert's final legacy, the heir hunters are searching for his surviving family.

0:50:540:51:00

The team are making gradual progress on his case,

0:51:000:51:03

despite Thomas being one of the most common surnames in the UK.

0:51:030:51:08

How many births have we got on that, Noel?

0:51:080:51:10

88-year-old Robert Thomas was a widower

0:51:100:51:14

who died without leaving a will.

0:51:140:51:16

But in a frustrating setback, the team has missed one heir,

0:51:160:51:20

Robert's brother, by just hours.

0:51:200:51:22

He flew out to Turkey today.

0:51:230:51:26

He's got a home in Turkey.

0:51:260:51:29

Shame it wasn't tomorrow, isn't it?

0:51:290:51:31

Now the team at Fraser & Fraser are racing to find other heirs.

0:51:310:51:35

Is this all of them?

0:51:350:51:37

-There might be more, but they're the ones in area.

-OK.

0:51:370:51:40

The search is focused on Robert's other brother Albert, who has died,

0:51:400:51:44

but had four children.

0:51:440:51:45

He'd married a lady, Iris D Warren,

0:51:450:51:48

and they've had several children.

0:51:480:51:51

We've identified at least four children so far.

0:51:510:51:54

Luckily, one of them is called Iris D Thomas,

0:51:540:51:56

which is the name of Albert's wife,

0:51:560:51:59

so it's all tying in quite nicely.

0:51:590:52:00

New details for the Thomas family tree

0:52:000:52:03

show Bob's brother Albert Thomas married Iris Warren in 1953.

0:52:030:52:08

The team's found they had five children,

0:52:100:52:12

but one was adopted out of the family, so will not be an heir.

0:52:120:52:17

Lynda was supposed to be married to Martin.

0:52:170:52:20

We've got that address there.

0:52:210:52:24

They quickly find an address for one of the sisters, Iris Thomas.

0:52:240:52:28

And for the second time today, Bob's off to try and meet an heir.

0:52:280:52:33

Hopefully, she will be in contact with all her brothers and sisters,

0:52:330:52:38

or sisters, there are no brothers.

0:52:380:52:41

And sign her up and get all their details.

0:52:410:52:44

Perfect day.

0:52:440:52:46

Bob missed the last heir by a matter of minutes.

0:52:490:52:51

He's hoping this time the house visit will produce results.

0:52:510:52:55

-You're the daughter of Albert.

-Yeah.

0:52:550:52:58

-Is that right?

-Albert, yeah.

0:52:580:52:59

And he had brothers Robert and Henry? Is that right?

0:52:590:53:03

Yeah, Uncle Henry, yeah.

0:53:030:53:05

Right. I don't know if you're aware,

0:53:050:53:07

but your uncle Robert, unfortunately died earlier this year.

0:53:070:53:11

He never had children. He was married to Winnie.

0:53:110:53:13

-That's right, yeah.

-Do you want to come in?

-Is that all right?

0:53:130:53:17

The news of Robert's death has come as a surprise to his niece Iris.

0:53:170:53:22

It's just a shock to me to know he'd passed away.

0:53:220:53:24

I actually thought he'd passed away before my dad

0:53:240:53:27

because we didn't see him for a long time

0:53:270:53:30

and we was all saying, even my dad kept saying,

0:53:300:53:33

"Bobby must have passed away because he hasn't been in touch."

0:53:330:53:37

You know, you do get these things happen, don't you?

0:53:370:53:40

Bob Smith fills out the paperwork, which Iris is happy to sign.

0:53:400:53:45

I'll have the £90 and you can have the £10.

0:53:450:53:47

It's a result.

0:53:470:53:49

Finally, Bob's found an heir to the Thomas estate.

0:53:490:53:53

Obviously, she was happy to sign a contract with us

0:53:530:53:57

and I've got all the details of her sisters,

0:53:570:53:59

so good day all round.

0:53:590:54:01

In the office, David Pacifico is able to contact Albert's other daughters.

0:54:010:54:06

Hello.

0:54:060:54:08

My name is David Pacifico of a company called Fraser & Fraser.

0:54:080:54:12

We've just been in contact with your sister Iris.

0:54:120:54:15

Robert Thomas's nieces will receive half of his estate.

0:54:150:54:19

Right, well, as you know,

0:54:190:54:21

we've been trying to track down the Thomas family

0:54:210:54:24

regarding an estate of an uncle of yours who unfortunately passed away.

0:54:240:54:27

While the other half of the estate,

0:54:270:54:30

estimated between £20,000 to £40,000,

0:54:300:54:33

will go to his brother Henry.

0:54:330:54:35

The big rush is that because it's a new job,

0:54:350:54:38

you know, potentially it could be competitive,

0:54:380:54:41

and I want to make sure we get all our letters out today.

0:54:410:54:45

Almost a month later, the heir hunters have learned their gamble was worth it.

0:54:520:54:57

Robert Thomas's estate is worth £20,000.

0:54:570:55:00

His nieces Iris and Lynda

0:55:000:55:02

have both had time to reflect on the unexpected windfall.

0:55:020:55:06

I was very shocked to find out that I was going to be a heir, one of the heirs,

0:55:080:55:12

because things like that don't happen to people like us.

0:55:120:55:16

And we didn't honestly think that Bob had money, did we?

0:55:160:55:20

No, as far as we know,

0:55:200:55:23

he lived in a little council maisonette in Orpington,

0:55:230:55:26

um, and, all right, he might have had a big win on the National,

0:55:260:55:31

got the bingo up, or whatever.

0:55:310:55:33

Maybe that's what happened.

0:55:330:55:35

Or the lottery.

0:55:350:55:36

Yeah, obviously, as far as I know,

0:55:360:55:39

I didn't even know he had money, to be honest.

0:55:390:55:42

The experience has brought back fond memories of Uncle Bob.

0:55:420:55:46

When the girls' parents split up and they moved in with their grandparents

0:55:460:55:50

Bob would drive round to entertain them.

0:55:500:55:53

He used to have three cars, a Morris Minor,

0:55:530:55:56

a Volkswagen Beetle,

0:55:560:55:59

and then, obviously, the Mini, and the Mini was our favourite of all.

0:55:590:56:03

And he used to take us out for a little ride,

0:56:030:56:05

every Sunday he'd come,

0:56:050:56:07

to Blackwall Tunnel and back.

0:56:070:56:09

And it was brilliant. We loved it.

0:56:090:56:11

We used to say, "Take us for a ride, Uncle Bob, take us for a ride."

0:56:110:56:15

He'd say, "All right, then."

0:56:150:56:17

And we'd all pile in the back,

0:56:170:56:18

and he'd take us all the way to the Blackwall Tunnel,

0:56:180:56:22

which is no journey, really, but when you're a kid, it was a day out.

0:56:220:56:26

We loved it, didn't we? Always through the Blackwall Tunnel.

0:56:260:56:29

Always the same place.

0:56:290:56:31

Always the same ride, yeah.

0:56:310:56:32

The sisters have dug out a treasured photo

0:56:320:56:35

of Uncle Bob and their dad Albert from the War,

0:56:350:56:38

that their grandmother treasured.

0:56:380:56:40

The story behind this was, um,

0:56:400:56:43

Dad being in the Navy and Bob being in the Army,

0:56:430:56:47

they was never home on leave at the same time.

0:56:470:56:49

And this particular time, they were both home together,

0:56:490:56:53

and Nan got a snapshot of her two lovely boys in uniform.

0:56:530:56:56

And this always sat, pride of place, on Nan's mantelpiece, remember?

0:56:560:57:01

-Always on her mantelpiece.

-In that old-fashioned frame.

0:57:010:57:04

-Yeah, it was lovely.

-They look so young, don't they?

0:57:040:57:08

Look at the lovely uniforms and that. Lovely.

0:57:080:57:12

With no children himself,

0:57:120:57:14

Bob was happy to spend some of his hard-earned cash on his nieces.

0:57:140:57:20

Quite exciting when Bob used to come down, wasn't it?

0:57:200:57:23

Yeah, always used to give us our pocket money.

0:57:230:57:26

We always used to thought he was rich, didn't we?

0:57:260:57:29

Well, we did, because he had no children, I suppose,

0:57:290:57:32

whereas our dad had to watch every penny he had.

0:57:320:57:35

And I suppose, Bob, not having children,

0:57:350:57:38

would give us sixpence here and there,

0:57:380:57:40

and we just took it for granted

0:57:400:57:42

that he was a cash cow at that point in our lives.

0:57:420:57:45

What was it? Ten shillings, wasn't it?

0:57:450:57:48

Sometimes a ten-shilling note, yeah.

0:57:480:57:50

Now almost 20 years have passed

0:57:510:57:54

since Iris and Lynda have seen Bob,

0:57:540:57:56

and they wish they'd been able to pay their respects to a much-loved uncle.

0:57:560:58:01

I miss not being able to say goodbye

0:58:010:58:03

and going to his funeral, that I do miss.

0:58:030:58:06

Yeah, definitely.

0:58:060:58:07

Because it's something you need to do to someone in the family.

0:58:070:58:12

-Yeah, it's respect, isn't it?

-But we've got good memories.

-Yeah.

0:58:120:58:16

I haven't got a tissue on me. Don't start blubbing. Come on.

0:58:200:58:23

I'm all right, Iris.

0:58:230:58:25

If you would like advice about building your family tree

0:58:290:58:33

or making a will, go to:

0:58:330:58:37

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:560:59:00

E-mail [email protected]

0:59:000:59:04

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