Walker/West Heir Hunters


Walker/West

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Walker/West. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Welcome to Heir Hunters. We follow investigators as they search for living family

0:00:020:00:06

of people who've died without leaving a will.

0:00:060:00:08

Today the team are looking for heirs who could be in line for thousands of pounds.

0:00:080:00:13

In the office, the team needs to rethink their heir-hunting tactics on a £250,000 estate.

0:00:130:00:21

Today, obviously, rule one has been broken!

0:00:210:00:24

They're trying to track down long-lost relatives who may have no idea

0:00:240:00:28

they're in line for a windfall.

0:00:280:00:31

Could they be knocking at your door?

0:00:310:00:33

Coming up on today's programme...

0:00:510:00:52

Do you believe this Huddersfield birth?

0:00:520:00:55

The estate of a professional singer causes a real headache.

0:00:550:00:59

So, things aren't looking terribly good.

0:00:590:01:02

And a case spanning 200 years

0:01:020:01:04

reveals connections to Winston Churchill

0:01:040:01:06

and a surprise inheritance.

0:01:060:01:10

How do I feel about inheriting from this family which isn't my family?

0:01:100:01:15

I feel quite pleased, actually!

0:01:150:01:17

I'll be investigating further into forgotten laws that not only mean

0:01:170:01:22

you could inherit from your most distant of ancestors,

0:01:220:01:25

they also revolutionised schooling in this country.

0:01:250:01:29

This is a way for the first time,

0:01:290:01:32

especially for the poor of the parish,

0:01:320:01:34

to receive a system of education,

0:01:340:01:36

giving them skills to cope in an industrialising society.

0:01:360:01:40

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

0:01:410:01:46

Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?

0:01:460:01:50

Every year in the UK, an estimated 300,000 people die intestate.

0:01:560:02:03

If no relatives are found, then any money that's left behind will go to the Government.

0:02:030:02:08

Last year that amounted to £14 million.

0:02:080:02:12

But there are over 30 specialist firms

0:02:140:02:17

competing to stop this happening.

0:02:170:02:19

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

0:02:190:02:24

missing relatives and help them claim their rightful inheritance.

0:02:240:02:29

I love the fact that I can put families back together.

0:02:290:02:31

I can reunite people.

0:02:310:02:33

I can tell them secret histories about their own family,

0:02:330:02:35

which they don't know about themselves.

0:02:350:02:38

In our first case today, the team investigate the estate of a talented woman from Lewisham,

0:02:450:02:50

who died without leaving a will.

0:02:500:02:52

It's first thing Thursday morning, and while most of the country thinks about breakfast,

0:02:560:03:01

heir hunters across the land are digesting the Treasury's latest list of unclaimed estates.

0:03:010:03:07

In central London, the team at Fraser and Fraser are poring over the names,

0:03:090:03:13

hoping to find a lucrative case.

0:03:130:03:16

It's a little bit early, I suppose, but let's see where we go on it.

0:03:160:03:20

The estates on the list are worth a minimum of £5,000 and could potentially be worth many millions.

0:03:200:03:27

But at the moment, none of the advertised estates has got the team excited.

0:03:270:03:32

It's not terribly encouraging.

0:03:320:03:34

The Treasury's list doesn't say how much estates are worth,

0:03:340:03:38

so the team are searching for any clues that may give them an idea of value.

0:03:380:03:43

Do you want to have a look at this?

0:03:430:03:44

Do you want to do an enquiry on that, then?

0:03:440:03:47

I can't because there's no address.

0:03:470:03:48

Rench. Irene Rench, anyone got?

0:03:480:03:51

Walker?

0:03:510:03:54

Doreen Walker?

0:03:540:03:56

Neil's keen to start research and he's spotted a name he thinks has potential.

0:03:560:04:02

We're going to have a little look at this estate of Doreen Ellen Walker.

0:04:020:04:07

The advert's a little confusing, because it's Doreen Ellen Walker, formerly Howard, nee Walker.

0:04:080:04:14

So, it means her maiden name's Walker.

0:04:140:04:16

It also says she's a single woman, which probably means she's a divorced lady.

0:04:160:04:21

Doreen Walker died in March 2010, aged just 62.

0:04:230:04:28

She had lived in Lewisham in southeast London for 10 years.

0:04:280:04:32

Friend and local lay preacher Neil Hill has fond memories of her.

0:04:320:04:37

My memories of Doreen were really very happy ones.

0:04:370:04:42

She was good company and pleasant.

0:04:420:04:45

Liked a good laugh, liked socialising.

0:04:450:04:50

Doreen was a professional singer.

0:04:500:04:53

She performed with a number of well-known choirs,

0:04:530:04:56

and her beautiful contralto voice was captured in this BBC recording.

0:04:560:05:01

OPERATIC SINGING

0:05:010:05:04

Sue Sturrock studied with Doreen at the Royal College of Music.

0:05:080:05:13

I will never forget Doreen

0:05:140:05:16

because she was a wonderfully vibrant, flamboyant character.

0:05:160:05:21

I have to say that you'd know

0:05:230:05:25

whether Doreen was or was not at the singers' table

0:05:250:05:28

the moment you stepped into the dining room,

0:05:280:05:30

because she would be the centre of attention.

0:05:300:05:34

She was funny, she was witty, she was nicely naughty,

0:05:340:05:38

nicely disrespectful.

0:05:380:05:40

But, most of all, very amusing.

0:05:400:05:42

SHE SINGS

0:05:420:05:44

Another singing friend, Judy Rees, shares similar memories.

0:05:460:05:52

Everybody knew Doreen.

0:05:520:05:54

All the orchestral players knew her as well.

0:05:540:05:56

She really was that sort of person and everybody had a word,

0:05:560:06:00

everybody had a laugh with Doreen.

0:06:000:06:04

She really was a big personality.

0:06:040:06:06

But after a successful career, Doreen suddenly gave up performing,

0:06:060:06:12

and began to live an increasingly reclusive life.

0:06:120:06:16

She lived, I would have thought, almost an isolated...

0:06:160:06:21

I mean, I don't think she went very far.

0:06:210:06:23

She went occasionally, probably, to the bank,

0:06:230:06:26

but I don't think she left the house very much at all,

0:06:260:06:29

which is dreadfully sad.

0:06:290:06:31

Having led an active and sociable life, Doreen sadly died alone.

0:06:330:06:37

In Central London,

0:06:410:06:42

the heir hunters are keen to start the search for Doreen's heirs,

0:06:420:06:46

but first they need to try and find out how much her estate is worth.

0:06:460:06:51

Heir hunters work on commission,

0:06:510:06:53

so the value of the estate means the difference between profit and loss.

0:06:530:06:57

Neil has an address for Doreen in Lewisham,

0:06:570:07:01

and because it's a London suburb, house prices are likely to be high.

0:07:010:07:05

But he needs to know if she rented her home or owned it.

0:07:050:07:09

Hi. I've got a property which is freehold in SE13,

0:07:090:07:13

but it's not available electronically.

0:07:130:07:16

What do you reckon that means?

0:07:160:07:17

They need someone on the ground who can visit the property

0:07:170:07:21

and make enquiries with the neighbours.

0:07:210:07:24

I'm going to get Bob Smith to go there.

0:07:240:07:26

Fingers crossed he can find something out.

0:07:260:07:28

The company has a network of regional heir hunters

0:07:320:07:35

spread across the country.

0:07:350:07:37

Each one is on standby from 7.00am on a Thursday morning,

0:07:390:07:42

and they can be called upon to make door-to-door enquiries,

0:07:420:07:45

collect important certificates and visit potential heirs.

0:07:450:07:49

Bob Smith is their south London man, so he's been told to hit the road,

0:07:510:07:56

to see if he can find out valuable information about Doreen.

0:07:560:07:59

Today, we are heading off to Lewisham.

0:08:000:08:04

The deceased, Doreen Walker, she died in 2010.

0:08:040:08:09

We'll be going along there, making enquiries with neighbours,

0:08:090:08:13

find out what they know about the deceased and her family.

0:08:130:08:16

A property in South London

0:08:160:08:18

is bound to have attracted interest from rival heir hunters,

0:08:180:08:22

so Bob needs to get to Lewisham fast.

0:08:220:08:24

But, frustratingly, he's hit rush hour.

0:08:250:08:28

There's a two-mile traffic queue at the moment.

0:08:280:08:31

We're about five miles away.

0:08:330:08:35

At this rate, it could be a long time before we get there.

0:08:350:08:38

'Your destination is straight ahead.'

0:08:400:08:43

Once the roads clear, Bob makes quick time

0:08:440:08:47

and he arrives at Doreen's house to be greeted by a fairly grim sight.

0:08:470:08:51

This one here.

0:08:510:08:52

Unbelievable, isn't it?

0:08:560:08:57

Incredible.

0:08:570:08:59

The house is boarded up and completely overgrown.

0:08:590:09:04

I'm making enquiries about the lady that used to live next door.

0:09:040:09:08

I don't think there's anyone in here.

0:09:110:09:13

Bob eventually speaks to a neighbour

0:09:160:09:19

and learns that Doreen did own the property.

0:09:190:09:22

He gets straight on the phone to give Neil the news.

0:09:220:09:26

Hello, Neil.

0:09:260:09:28

I tell you what, it's a lovely house, Neil, but it's a little bit derelict.

0:09:280:09:33

But it's in a lovely location, a little bit overgrown.

0:09:330:09:36

Anyway, the neighbour had known her for the last 15 or 20 years,

0:09:360:09:40

and said that she didn't have any children.

0:09:400:09:43

She was a local lady, as far as he was aware.

0:09:430:09:45

He didn't know she was born elsewhere or anything.

0:09:450:09:48

So the house itself isn't a council house?

0:09:480:09:52

No, no, it looks like...

0:09:520:09:54

He said she owned it.

0:09:540:09:55

I asked him that and he said, "No, I think she owned it."

0:09:550:09:58

Bob's also noticed a number for the company who boarded up the house.

0:09:580:10:02

That notice on the corrugated iron on the front door...

0:10:020:10:06

there's a telephone number.

0:10:060:10:09

I mean, I don't know what sort of organisation they are.

0:10:090:10:12

I can't get hold of any other neighbours.

0:10:120:10:14

There's no-one answering.

0:10:140:10:16

While Bob goes off to make further enquiries at the local church,

0:10:160:10:20

back at the office, Neil's managed to find out more about Doreen's house

0:10:200:10:25

and he's been able to pinpoint exactly when she bought the property.

0:10:250:10:29

Doreen owns the property, bought it in 2000.

0:10:290:10:32

So, it's definitely worth us pursuing it. It's a £250,000 estate.

0:10:340:10:37

It's now all systems go for the heir hunters.

0:10:370:10:42

Gareth, she definitely owns it, so pull some staff on to it as well.

0:10:420:10:47

With a £250,000 estate at stake,

0:10:500:10:53

the team must follow up any clue that could lead them to heirs.

0:10:530:10:57

Neil phones the company who boarded up Doreen's house.

0:10:570:11:01

Good morning. I wonder if you could help me.

0:11:010:11:04

I'm doing an enquiry about a property

0:11:040:11:07

which I think your shutters are on.

0:11:070:11:10

I'm basically trying to find out who is paying you for them,

0:11:100:11:14

or who asked you to put them up.

0:11:140:11:16

Neil's wondering if they've been in touch

0:11:160:11:18

with one of Doreen's relatives.

0:11:180:11:21

That was put up because of the police.

0:11:210:11:23

The police broke into the property on 4th March,

0:11:230:11:26

which is exactly the same date of death we have for Doreen.

0:11:260:11:29

So, obviously, she was found dead.

0:11:290:11:32

They broke in as part of a welfare enquiry.

0:11:320:11:34

So, obviously, no-one's heard anything and no sign of anything, so they went in there.

0:11:340:11:39

The case has taken a sad turn. Doreen was found dead in her flat.

0:11:400:11:44

Thank you. Bye-bye.

0:11:460:11:47

Bob has now spoken to the vicar at the local church,

0:11:490:11:52

and a picture of Doreen's later years is starting to emerge.

0:11:520:11:56

Neil, hi, it's Bob. I actually spoke with the Reverend.

0:11:570:12:00

She phoned someone that she thought might have known the deceased, and he did, he remembered her.

0:12:000:12:06

Apparently, her husband was the church organist,

0:12:060:12:10

but ten years ago he just left a note to say that he was leaving her, and he went to South Africa.

0:12:100:12:16

They're not sure whether there was actually a divorce.

0:12:160:12:19

This information could be crucial for the team.

0:12:210:12:24

If Doreen did not get divorced,

0:12:240:12:26

her husband will be the sole heir to her estate.

0:12:260:12:29

It seems the sudden end of her marriage in 2001

0:12:300:12:34

affected Doreen very deeply.

0:12:340:12:36

She was devastated.

0:12:360:12:38

I don't think the decline set in then,

0:12:380:12:41

but I think it contributed to her

0:12:410:12:45

withdrawing from...

0:12:450:12:47

socialising and meeting up with friends.

0:12:470:12:52

I rarely saw her over the last ten years.

0:12:530:12:56

The state of the house was really quite shocking.

0:12:560:13:00

No idea what the inside looked like. I was never going to be invited in.

0:13:000:13:04

But outside, as I said before, completely overgrown,

0:13:040:13:08

and it was like that while she was living there.

0:13:080:13:10

It's just rather distressing.

0:13:100:13:13

In the office, the search for Doreen's heirs is gathering pace.

0:13:140:13:19

The team's first priority is to find out

0:13:190:13:21

if she and her husband got divorced.

0:13:210:13:24

-Emily, are you doing probate?

-Yeah.

-I've got a divorce for you to do.

0:13:240:13:28

-Are they the first years you want?

-We want it 1995 to 2005.

-Yeah.

0:13:280:13:34

The first three years first, do you want?

0:13:340:13:36

Emily will try and find records of a divorce,

0:13:360:13:39

but the team can't afford to wait for the results.

0:13:390:13:42

They start the search for any other living relatives.

0:13:420:13:46

But, first, they need to find records for the right Doreen Walker,

0:13:460:13:50

and they've found a possible birth for her in Yorkshire.

0:13:500:13:53

We've got a date of birth, 23rd February, 1948.

0:13:530:13:56

There's only one birth of a Doreen Ellen Walker, which was her maiden name.

0:13:560:14:00

It's in Huddersfield, which is completely out of area.

0:14:000:14:03

If this birth is right,

0:14:040:14:06

Doreen was the only child of Eric and Doris Walker

0:14:060:14:09

and came from somewhere near Huddersfield.

0:14:090:14:12

But the neighbours in Lewisham thought Doreen was from London

0:14:130:14:18

and the team are split.

0:14:180:14:19

Where are you up to? Do you believe this Huddersfield birth?

0:14:190:14:23

At the moment, yeah.

0:14:230:14:24

If we confirm this date of birth is correct, there is only one Doreen E.

0:14:240:14:29

She looks like she's an only child.

0:14:290:14:31

Coming up, the search for heirs goes nationwide.

0:14:310:14:34

I'm now trying to move all my guys back up to South Yorkshire.

0:14:340:14:37

And it turns out Doreen was no ordinary singer.

0:14:370:14:42

She was one of the absolute stars. It was obviously considered that she had real potential.

0:14:420:14:47

Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year

0:14:530:14:56

and millions of pounds are paid out to rightful heirs,

0:14:560:15:00

but not every case can be cracked.

0:15:000:15:02

The Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates which baffle the heir hunters and remain unsolved.

0:15:020:15:08

Bona vacantia is the Latin for "ownerless goods"

0:15:080:15:13

and we deal with the estates of people who die intestate

0:15:130:15:16

and without known kin.

0:15:160:15:18

This could be money with your name on it,

0:15:180:15:21

as long as you are correctly related to the deceased.

0:15:210:15:24

So, the people that are entitled are those that trace their relationship in a direct line,

0:15:240:15:29

from the deceased person's grandparents.

0:15:290:15:31

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

0:15:310:15:36

aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, first cousins.

0:15:360:15:39

So, could you be in line for a windfall worth hundreds,

0:15:410:15:44

thousands or even millions of pounds?

0:15:440:15:46

Today we're focusing on three names. Are they relatives of yours?

0:15:470:15:52

Sandor Alex Kiss died in Chertsey, Surrey,

0:15:540:15:58

on 22nd February 2005, aged 65.

0:15:580:16:02

Did you know Sandor?

0:16:040:16:06

Was he a friend or colleague of yours back in the day?

0:16:060:16:09

Gertrude Augusta Kite died in Bath back in May 2001.

0:16:110:16:15

Kite is a rare surname, shared by less than 40 people in a million.

0:16:150:16:20

Was Gertrude a member of your family?

0:16:220:16:24

Could you be entitled to her unclaimed estate?

0:16:240:16:26

Also on our list is Crystal Hephzibah Gardner,

0:16:290:16:33

who was from Marsham in Norfolk.

0:16:330:16:35

She died in 2008, aged 71.

0:16:350:16:38

While the surname Gardner is quite common,

0:16:380:16:41

the name Hephzibah is Hebrew, meaning "my delight is in her".

0:16:410:16:45

All efforts to trace heirs have drawn a blank.

0:16:470:16:50

Could you help solve Crystal's case?

0:16:500:16:53

If Crystal was a relative of yours,

0:16:530:16:55

the Treasury wants this money to go to you, its rightful owner.

0:16:550:17:00

My division isn't allowed to make a profit.

0:17:000:17:02

We don't make commission, or huge bonuses

0:17:020:17:05

for passing money to the Treasury. The Treasury is more interested in finding more kin,

0:17:050:17:09

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

0:17:090:17:13

Remember, it's up to you to prove how you're related to a name on the unclaimed list.

0:17:150:17:19

The bona vacantia division will ask for family trees

0:17:190:17:23

and the relevant certificates showing the link to the deceased.

0:17:230:17:27

A reminder of those names again...

0:17:270:17:30

Sandor Kiss, Gertrude Kite,

0:17:300:17:33

and, finally, Crystal Gardner.

0:17:330:17:36

So, if any of the names on today's list are relatives of yours,

0:17:360:17:40

you could have a windfall coming your way.

0:17:400:17:43

Next, a case for the heir hunters reveals an unusual estate,

0:17:500:17:54

and an even more unusual family.

0:17:540:17:56

Most heir-hunting cases involve people who have died in the last 20 years,

0:17:580:18:02

but the estate of 19th-century nobleman, Frederick West,

0:18:020:18:06

was a very different story.

0:18:060:18:09

The search for his heirs would span six generations

0:18:090:18:13

and unearth links with the Royal Family and a rather famous politician.

0:18:130:18:18

The heir hunters picked up the case after spotting an article in the paper

0:18:200:18:24

and partner Charles got straight to work.'

0:18:240:18:26

The article stated that they were looking for

0:18:280:18:31

the beneficiaries of Frederick West,

0:18:310:18:34

who was the donor, he gave land away for the purpose of a school.

0:18:340:18:39

Frederick West lived at Ruthin Castle in Wales

0:18:390:18:43

and was a wealthy MP and landowner.

0:18:430:18:45

In 1844, he decided to donate a small piece of land

0:18:450:18:51

so the local church could build a school.

0:18:510:18:53

In the middle Victorian period, there was a great philanthropic process

0:18:530:18:58

where they were trying to educate the masses.

0:18:580:19:02

In order to do that, schools were being created.

0:19:020:19:04

But thanks to the School Sites Act of 1841,

0:19:060:19:09

Frederick West's gift to the Church came with a catch.

0:19:090:19:12

If the school closed, then the land would go back to the original donor.

0:19:140:19:19

I think it was a belt and braces approach to try and prevent people

0:19:190:19:23

just giving land away for the school,

0:19:230:19:25

the school closing immediately and then the land being sold off.

0:19:250:19:29

This significant piece of small print was largely irrelevant until 2008,

0:19:290:19:34

when the school that had been built on the land closed down.

0:19:340:19:38

The plot was put up for sale and by law the proceeds would have to go to heirs of Frederick West.

0:19:380:19:44

The land originally given away would have been less than an acre

0:19:440:19:47

in order to comply with the legislation,

0:19:470:19:50

It's, hopefully, being sold for somewhere in the region of £375,000.

0:19:500:19:56

This meant it could be a very profitable case for the heir hunters.

0:19:570:20:02

The team needed to find Frederick West's heirs,

0:20:060:20:09

whoever and wherever they were.

0:20:090:20:12

The first step was to find a copy of Frederick's will.

0:20:120:20:15

The finding of the will isn't always the most difficult part.

0:20:150:20:19

It's actual interpreting the will, which can be very difficult to read,

0:20:190:20:23

to decipher and then to interpret.

0:20:230:20:25

The will showed that Frederick West had left his entire estate

0:20:250:20:29

to his daughter, Charlotte Louisa West.

0:20:290:20:33

She in turn passed the estate down to her nephew, William,

0:20:330:20:36

and nieces Georgina and Florence.

0:20:360:20:39

Both Georgina and Florence died without children,

0:20:390:20:43

so the entire estate went to their brother.

0:20:430:20:47

William Cornwallis-West was now a very wealthy man

0:20:470:20:50

and in 1872 he married flamboyant socialite Mary Fitzpatrick.

0:20:500:20:57

They set up home in Ruthin Castle and began hosting parties for their influential friends,

0:20:570:21:02

who included the future King Edward VII.

0:21:020:21:06

They were known for

0:21:060:21:08

their high class parties, if you like.

0:21:080:21:10

And because Prince Edward Albert, the future Edward VII,

0:21:100:21:14

used it as one of his secret haunts,

0:21:140:21:18

he used to bring many of his lady friends here, including

0:21:180:21:23

Lillie Langtry, the actress, Alice Keppel, many of his mistresses,

0:21:230:21:27

who may well have included members of the West family themselves.

0:21:270:21:33

Their parties were absolutely legendary.

0:21:330:21:36

The future king of England, Edward VII,

0:21:360:21:39

was one of many high-society guests at Ruthin Castle.

0:21:390:21:42

Fun-loving aristocrats travelled across the country to enjoy Mary and William's hospitality,

0:21:420:21:47

which earned them the nickname the Wild Wests.

0:21:470:21:51

Mary Cornwallis-West, her party trick was sliding down the huge banisters in the main hall

0:21:510:21:57

on a tea tray, which apparently Edward Albert loved.

0:21:570:22:02

Hence the Wild West Show, the nickname that he gave them.

0:22:020:22:06

In between the parties, William and Mary also raised a family.

0:22:080:22:12

They had three children, Daisy, Constance and George

0:22:120:22:16

and they were next in line to inherit the West estate.

0:22:160:22:20

But, surprisingly, George was written out of the will.

0:22:200:22:24

George was the middle one. He was the boy.

0:22:240:22:27

He had quite a hard life

0:22:270:22:30

in his early days.

0:22:300:22:32

But, eventually, of course, he started enjoying himself

0:22:320:22:36

and he really spent all the money.

0:22:360:22:38

He squandered all the proceedings of the family.

0:22:380:22:43

Having blown most of the family's fortune,

0:22:430:22:46

the 17-year-old George then caused further scandal

0:22:460:22:50

by embarking on affair with an American divorcee who was more than twice his age.

0:22:500:22:56

He became involved with Jennie Churchill.

0:22:570:23:02

This was reckoned to be scandalous, firstly, because of the age gap,

0:23:020:23:06

and the two families also had really broken down their friendship.

0:23:060:23:11

And this, at the end of the day, did not go down well.

0:23:110:23:14

What's more, Jennie had a son the same age as George

0:23:150:23:19

and her son was none other than future Prime Minister,

0:23:190:23:22

Winston Churchill.

0:23:220:23:23

Despite the controversy surrounding their relationship,

0:23:230:23:28

George and Jennie married in 1895.

0:23:280:23:30

Both families were very much against this and he was sent off to the Boer War,

0:23:310:23:37

where he met his future stepson, Winston.

0:23:370:23:42

Still to come, George's connection with Winston Churchill

0:23:430:23:46

comes in very handy for his family during the Second World War.

0:23:460:23:50

I believe Churchill stepped in because of the family connection.

0:23:500:23:55

And the search continues for living relatives of talented singer Doreen Walker.

0:23:550:23:59

All we've got to play with on this case is one maternal aunt.

0:23:590:24:04

So, things aren't looking very good.

0:24:040:24:06

Well, the Wests certainly were an extraordinary family.

0:24:100:24:13

I want understand why Frederick donated the land for a school in the first place.

0:24:130:24:17

I'm meeting Alex Windscheffel, who can tell me more about the need for land

0:24:200:24:24

on which to build schools during the Victorian period.

0:24:240:24:27

So, Alex, why in Victorian times did people give away land for schools?

0:24:290:24:33

In Victorian Britain you don't have a national education system.

0:24:330:24:37

The education system is voluntary

0:24:370:24:41

and so donation of land by local philanthropists, or benefactors, is one of the only ways

0:24:410:24:47

in which a school can be set up for the poor of a certain area.

0:24:470:24:51

And what was the School Sites' Act?

0:24:510:24:53

The School Sites' Act was an Act of Parliament introduced in 1841.

0:24:530:24:59

It provided a legal framework

0:24:590:25:03

in order to allow, and encourage, benefactors to donate areas

0:25:030:25:08

of lands and sites of land, explicitly for the purposes of education.

0:25:080:25:14

The Act meant that the land could only be used for the purpose it was given.

0:25:150:25:20

As we've seen in Frederick West's case, the Act stopped schools

0:25:200:25:23

from being immediately closed down and the land sold for profit.

0:25:230:25:27

Frederick left his acre of land to his local church in 1844,

0:25:290:25:33

just three years after the School Sites' Act came into being.

0:25:330:25:37

But what was West's motivation to give away the plot?

0:25:370:25:41

The West family were the local landowners in Ruthin.

0:25:420:25:45

They had Ruthin Castle in Wales.

0:25:450:25:48

Two purposes...

0:25:480:25:51

Firstly, it's to provide education, which is Anglican.

0:25:510:25:55

The school can be run by the local vicars and the churchwardens

0:25:550:25:59

to provide an Anglican education for the young children of the parish.

0:25:590:26:05

For the family themselves, it was something which is expected of them in their role as local landowners.

0:26:050:26:11

It's also a way of restoring, if you like, and establishing,

0:26:110:26:15

their local authority in an area.

0:26:150:26:18

So, would this small school in rural Wales have made a big difference to the lives of the local people?

0:26:180:26:24

Oh, undoubtedly.

0:26:240:26:25

Before this time, provision is very partial across the country

0:26:250:26:31

and so this is a way, for the first time, especially for the poor of the parish,

0:26:310:26:35

to receive a system of education, giving them some of the skills to cope in an industrialising society.

0:26:350:26:42

The Wests' donation was one of many across England and Wales.

0:26:450:26:49

These donations didn't just apply to schools.

0:26:490:26:53

Another piece of legislation, the 1873 Places of Worship Act,

0:26:530:26:58

meant the same rules could be applied for people who wanted

0:26:580:27:01

to donate land for a church, chapel or burial place.

0:27:010:27:05

It seemed during this period, a changing society,

0:27:050:27:08

combined with a change in the laws, was changing things for the better.

0:27:080:27:14

So, was the School Sites' Act a part of the greater revolution in educating Britain?

0:27:140:27:19

Yes, very much so. It's part of a wider Victorian move towards a more national education system.

0:27:190:27:27

The 1841 Act provides the legal framework.

0:27:270:27:30

Something like 17,000 Church of England schools had been created before 1870.

0:27:300:27:36

In 1870, you have, for the first time, a national system of education in England and Wales

0:27:360:27:42

which is paid for out of the local rates, paid for, therefore, by the local community,

0:27:420:27:47

establishing primary education up to the age of 12 in England and Wales.

0:27:470:27:53

The School Sites' Act worked.

0:27:540:27:56

It allowed philanthropists, like Frederick West, to donate land for much-needed schools.

0:27:560:28:02

They knew that if the schools ever closed, the money would come back to the family.

0:28:020:28:07

In the West case, it may have taken six generations to do so,

0:28:070:28:10

but the legislation is still in place for it to happen.

0:28:100:28:14

All the heir hunters need to do now, is find the family.

0:28:140:28:17

Here's some more names of unclaimed estates from the Treasury Solicitor's list.

0:28:280:28:33

Could you be in line for a forgotten fortune?

0:28:330:28:35

The list of unclaimed estates is money that is owed to members of the public

0:28:360:28:41

and new names are added all the time.

0:28:410:28:43

The bona vacantia unclaimed list

0:28:430:28:45

is a list of cases that we haven't found kin for.

0:28:450:28:50

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

0:28:500:28:54

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

0:28:540:28:58

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

0:28:580:29:02

There is no plan to change the list going forward in a major way,

0:29:020:29:05

but we continue to review what we do.

0:29:050:29:09

It's something that'll be there for the foreseeable future

0:29:090:29:12

and, hopefully, reduce in numbers as further kin are found.

0:29:120:29:15

And this is money that you could be entitled to.

0:29:150:29:19

Monies raised through bona vacantia

0:29:190:29:21

ultimately goes to the general Exchequer to benefit the country as a whole.

0:29:210:29:24

But it's important to note that the Crown doesn't want all estates at all costs.

0:29:240:29:29

It's not how it operates. It wants kin to be found, and that's what we work very hard to do.

0:29:290:29:35

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

0:29:360:29:39

Do these names mean anything to you?

0:29:400:29:43

Are they relatives of yours?

0:29:430:29:44

Henry Potter died in Carlisle back on 19th September, 1997.

0:29:460:29:50

Can you help solve Henry's case?

0:29:530:29:54

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

0:29:540:29:57

Marion Schumann died in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, back in November 2001.

0:30:000:30:05

The name Schumann is rare in the UK, more common in Germany.

0:30:050:30:10

It literally translates as "shoemaker" or "cobbler".

0:30:100:30:13

Did you know Marion? Did she ever talk to you about her family?

0:30:150:30:18

Wladislaw Graf died on 17th May, 2007, in Bradford.

0:30:200:30:25

I've got Wladislaw's death certificate. It shows that he was

0:30:270:30:30

born on 22nd August, 1922, in Poland.

0:30:300:30:34

The death certificate also states that his wife was called Stefania Graf.

0:30:340:30:38

Do you remember a Stefania Graf?

0:30:380:30:41

If you think you can prove you're related to any of the names today,

0:30:420:30:46

you could have a fortune waiting for you.

0:30:460:30:49

If people want further information

0:30:490:30:51

about bona vacantia and what we do,

0:30:510:30:54

the first port of call would be our website

0:30:540:30:57

which has information about who's an entitled relative,

0:30:570:31:01

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

0:31:010:31:06

But, remember, unless the Treasury approve your claim,

0:31:060:31:09

there's no way of discovering how much an estate is potentially worth.

0:31:090:31:14

We never released details of the estate or anything about the deceased

0:31:140:31:18

until a claim has been admitted and we will only then release it to the person

0:31:180:31:23

whose claim we have admitted.

0:31:230:31:25

A reminder of those names again...

0:31:250:31:28

Henry Potter, Marion Schumann

0:31:280:31:31

or Wladislaw Graf.

0:31:310:31:34

If today's names are relatives of yours,

0:31:340:31:36

you could have a windfall coming your way.

0:31:360:31:38

Now back to the case of Doreen Walker.

0:31:430:31:46

Join me later when I'll be finding out more about the life of a professional singer.

0:31:460:31:51

# Thinking that he

0:31:510:31:55

# Was a trusty tree... #

0:31:550:31:59

But first, can the team find any living family members entitled to her money?

0:32:000:32:05

At the offices of Britain's largest heir-hunting firm,

0:32:080:32:11

the team are racing to find heirs to Doreen's estate.

0:32:110:32:15

She died in Lewisham in 2010.

0:32:150:32:18

Gareth, she definitely owns it, so pull some staff on to it as well.

0:32:180:32:23

The case is worth an estimated £250,000,

0:32:230:32:27

but the team is struggling to make much progress.

0:32:270:32:31

They've only found one potential birth for Doreen

0:32:310:32:33

and it's 200 miles away in Huddersfield.

0:32:330:32:37

Huddersfield to Lewisham is a hugely long way.

0:32:370:32:39

I don't particularly like that. I think the birth is in London somewhere.

0:32:390:32:43

Doreen died alone in her south London home in March, 2010.

0:32:430:32:49

Having separated from her husband in 2001,

0:32:490:32:53

it seems she went from being the life and soul of the party

0:32:530:32:56

to a virtual recluse.

0:32:560:32:58

Doreen was very sociable and amusing

0:33:000:33:04

and liked a good laugh.

0:33:040:33:06

Went round to parties, liked mixing, all those sort of things.

0:33:080:33:11

This is why it was so sad about what happened, that she just withdrew.

0:33:110:33:16

But this was a far cry from Doreen's earlier years.

0:33:160:33:20

She had worked as a professional singer and had sung at some of the country's most prestigious venues,

0:33:200:33:27

including the Royal Albert Hall.

0:33:270:33:29

In 1966, she was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Music,

0:33:290:33:34

a prize that was only awarded to those with exceptional talent.

0:33:340:33:37

Sue Sturrock was a fellow student.

0:33:370:33:40

To get into the Royal College in 1968 was probably

0:33:400:33:43

one of the most difficult things a singer could try to do,

0:33:430:33:46

so to be offered a place was a huge achievement,

0:33:460:33:52

but as Doreen was given a full scholarship, a full open scholarship,

0:33:520:33:55

that was a real accolade.

0:33:550:33:57

She was one of the absolute stars.

0:33:570:33:59

Doreen graduated from the Royal College of Music in 1970

0:33:590:34:04

and seemed destined for great things.

0:34:040:34:06

She had a lovely, warm, dark sound

0:34:080:34:14

and it could have been a stunning voice.

0:34:140:34:18

She could have been a great singer, with her personality.

0:34:180:34:22

It just didn't work out as it should have done.

0:34:220:34:26

Her potential was not fulfilled.

0:34:260:34:28

Although she never became a full-blown solo performer,

0:34:290:34:33

Doreen carved out a successful career singing

0:34:330:34:36

with the BBC Orchestra and choir London Voices.

0:34:360:34:42

Once she appeared in our lives, she was...

0:34:420:34:45

I can only say, the life and soul of the party.

0:34:450:34:48

She had a very broad Yorkshire dialect

0:34:480:34:53

and she was always in the middle of all the fun.

0:34:530:34:58

She was a very, very great girl to know.

0:34:580:35:02

Back in the office, the team desperately need more information

0:35:070:35:10

if they are to have any chance of finding Doreen's heirs.

0:35:100:35:14

Case manager Tony Pledger has been given a number for one of Doreen's closest friends.

0:35:140:35:19

Could this be the breakthrough they need?

0:35:190:35:22

I'm ringing you with regard to the late Doreen Walker.

0:35:220:35:25

She was married, but I understand that her husband upped and left her.

0:35:250:35:29

Yeah. Do you know when they divorced, at all?

0:35:290:35:33

Well, no, I assumed that he was dead, but...

0:35:330:35:37

Right, OK.

0:35:390:35:40

And it was definitely a village in Huddersfield-ish was it, not Huddersfield town, so to speak?

0:35:400:35:46

Tony's confirmed Doreen's place of birth and that she was divorced.

0:35:460:35:51

He told me that the deceased husband had returned to South Africa,

0:35:520:35:57

remarried and had died in South Africa.

0:35:570:35:59

He told me roughly when the divorce was.

0:35:590:36:02

He told me a little bit of information about the parents

0:36:020:36:05

and confirmed that the deceased was an only child,

0:36:050:36:07

so there's a little bit of headway.

0:36:070:36:09

Armed with this new information,

0:36:100:36:12

the team can finally start building Doreen's family tree,

0:36:120:36:16

but Neil is still surprised about the Huddersfield birth.

0:36:160:36:20

The first rule is that the deceased was probably born near where they passed away,

0:36:200:36:25

unless it's the south coast, but we still expect them to come from the southeast.

0:36:250:36:30

Today, rule one has been broken,

0:36:300:36:32

which means now that I'm trying to move all my guys back up to South Yorkshire.

0:36:320:36:36

Neil has sent one of his northern based travelling researchers

0:36:360:36:41

to pick up Doreen's birth certificate.

0:36:410:36:44

Here you go.

0:36:440:36:46

And, in the meantime, the team in the office are building

0:36:460:36:49

a family tree from information they've found online.

0:36:490:36:52

-This tree is getting a bit crowded.

-Yeah, I know.

0:36:520:36:55

-That's why I started a new one.

-Ben Charles...

0:36:550:36:57

What are we looking at here?

0:36:570:37:00

They soon build a picture of Doreen's family.

0:37:000:37:03

Her parents were Eric Walker and Doris Charlesworth.

0:37:030:37:07

Doreen was an only child and so was her father, Eric,

0:37:070:37:10

which mean all eyes are on Doreen's mother, Doris.

0:37:100:37:15

Her parents were Ben and Ellen Charlesworth and the team are hoping

0:37:150:37:18

they had other children who may lead them to heirs.

0:37:180:37:22

The family on the Charlesworth side come from a small village called Honley near Huddersfield.

0:37:220:37:28

We know that Ben, the grandfather deceased on the Charlesworth side,

0:37:280:37:33

was certainly living in that village in 1911,

0:37:330:37:36

and then when he died he was still living there,

0:37:360:37:38

so there's a potential chance that some family are still living in the village.

0:37:380:37:42

These are simply some telephone numbers of Charlesworths living in that village.

0:37:420:37:46

There may be Charlesworths living in the right village, but are they the same family?

0:37:460:37:52

If they are, they could be Doreen's cousins and heirs to her £250,000 estate.

0:37:520:37:59

Hello, sorry to trouble you. My name is Tony Pledger.

0:37:590:38:01

We specialise in tracing missing heirs

0:38:010:38:04

and we're researching into the family of somebody who died recently in London

0:38:040:38:08

who was born in the village of Honley

0:38:080:38:10

and their mother was a Doris Charlesworth.

0:38:100:38:15

If nobody in your Charlesworth family has ever heard of a Doris Charlesworth

0:38:150:38:21

who married an Eric Walker, then I'm sorry to have troubled you.

0:38:210:38:24

OK, then. That's OK. Thanks ever so. Thanks, bye.

0:38:240:38:28

Tony speaks to all the Charlesworths he can

0:38:310:38:33

and not a single one of them has heard of Doreen's mother, Doris.

0:38:330:38:38

So, things aren't looking terribly good.

0:38:390:38:42

As Doreen had no children herself, the team are running out of options.

0:38:420:38:49

Then the researchers make a breakthrough.

0:38:490:38:51

They find that Doris had a sister called Annie who is Doreen's paternal aunt.

0:38:510:38:58

If Annie had children, they'll be the cousins the team have been searching for.

0:38:580:39:03

But Gareth is doubtful.

0:39:030:39:05

All we've got to play with on this case is one maternal aunt

0:39:050:39:08

who, unfortunately from our point of view, she did get married,

0:39:080:39:13

but she didn't have any children that we know of, at the moment,

0:39:130:39:16

so our last hope is that maybe she adopted a child.

0:39:160:39:20

We're waiting for a probate to come back.

0:39:220:39:25

When that comes back, that should tell us, but no heirs as yet.

0:39:250:39:29

It doesn't look like Annie had children, but Gareth's refusing to give up.

0:39:290:39:36

He's asked for a copy of Annie's will to see if it mentions

0:39:360:39:39

any children or other relatives that the team haven't found.

0:39:390:39:44

We've just seen the will of Annie Oldham who, in her will,

0:39:440:39:49

she's mentioned the deceased, so we know it's the right family,

0:39:490:39:52

but she's also mentioned an Anne, who she's described as a niece.

0:39:520:39:56

We need to work out where she fits in.

0:39:560:39:59

This could be the last roll of the dice.

0:39:590:40:01

Is Anne the daughter of an aunt or uncle they don't know about

0:40:010:40:05

and the last remaining blood relative of Doreen Walker?

0:40:050:40:10

She, as I said, describes her niece as Anne.

0:40:100:40:13

Her parents, no matter what we do, are always going to come from him.

0:40:130:40:18

It's a disaster for the team.

0:40:180:40:20

Anne is a niece through Annie's husband.

0:40:200:40:24

She's no relation to Doreen and cannot inherit her estate.

0:40:240:40:28

The team have exhausted every avenue of research, and must admit defeat.

0:40:280:40:33

Unfortunately, it looks as though we're not really going to be able

0:40:330:40:37

to make much progress on this estate.

0:40:370:40:39

Not through lack of trying, I don't think,

0:40:390:40:42

but really through lack of family, as from what we've found,

0:40:420:40:47

the father was an only child,

0:40:470:40:49

the mother had a single sister who got married,

0:40:490:40:51

but it doesn't look like they had any children,

0:40:510:40:54

so as far as we're concerned, it's a dead case.

0:40:540:40:58

It's a case with no living beneficiaries on it.

0:40:580:41:01

Obviously, if this case came from Scotland,

0:41:010:41:03

we could have gone a generation further back

0:41:030:41:05

before we came down and foreign beneficiaries, but we can't,

0:41:050:41:08

it's an English estate, so it's money which is going to the Treasury.

0:41:080:41:12

Doreen may not have any heirs,

0:41:140:41:16

but her larger-than-life personality and remarkable voice

0:41:160:41:20

have left a lasting legacy.

0:41:200:41:22

I think she'd want us all to remember the best of her singing,

0:41:220:41:26

and the very best of her performances,

0:41:260:41:28

and the happy memories her friends have

0:41:280:41:30

and those of us who remember her from more of a distance

0:41:300:41:36

have of her as such a vibrant and huge human being.

0:41:360:41:40

As the team's drawn a blank,

0:41:400:41:42

it seems unlikely anyone will ever come forward

0:41:420:41:45

to claim Doreen's estate, estimated at a quarter of a million pounds.

0:41:450:41:49

And if it's not claimed by 2040, the money will go to the Government.

0:41:490:41:54

So unfortunately, it appears there are no heirs to Doreen's estate,

0:41:570:42:01

but I'm intrigued by her life as a singer.

0:42:010:42:04

SHE SINGS OPERATICALLY

0:42:070:42:10

I'm here at Burr House to meet Emma Curtis,

0:42:120:42:15

one of the only professional contraltos around,

0:42:150:42:18

who can tell me all about Doreen's voice

0:42:180:42:20

and the challenges she would have faced

0:42:200:42:23

trying to make it in a competitive world.

0:42:230:42:25

Emma, that was fantastic. It was beautiful. Thank you.

0:42:300:42:34

So Doreen was a contralto like you,

0:42:340:42:36

but for those of us who can't sing a note, what does that actually mean?

0:42:360:42:41

Well, I think first thing to say is Doreen was definitely contralto,

0:42:410:42:44

and we're both contraltos,

0:42:440:42:47

but each voice is unique and it differs according to personality,

0:42:470:42:50

so to say that we're like each other, I don't know.

0:42:500:42:55

I don't know.

0:42:550:42:56

But the categories of female voice are, from high to low,

0:42:560:43:02

soprano, mezzo soprano and contralto,

0:43:020:43:04

so the contralto is the lowest of the female voices.

0:43:040:43:07

But Doreen trained at the Royal College of Music.

0:43:070:43:10

Clearly, it takes years of training to be a professional singer.

0:43:100:43:13

It does.

0:43:130:43:14

There's a lot more to becoming a professional singer

0:43:140:43:18

than many people might imagine.

0:43:180:43:19

We see people so often singing with microphones,

0:43:190:43:23

but a classical singer has to learn to balance the resonances

0:43:230:43:27

within their own bodies in order to be that microphone themself,

0:43:270:43:31

so you can be heard at the back of a hall.

0:43:310:43:33

And balancing how your sound reflects around your own head and body

0:43:330:43:38

is something that takes many years to get really right,

0:43:380:43:42

and to get a beautiful purity of sound,

0:43:420:43:46

and also, we have to sing operas in French, Italian, German,

0:43:460:43:49

sometimes Russian, sometimes Spanish, so we learn languages,

0:43:490:43:53

lots of us speak other languages,

0:43:530:43:55

and there's also all the musical training

0:43:550:43:58

that you need to be at the top of the musical profession.

0:43:580:44:01

Which Doreen's friends and colleagues speculate she could have been.

0:44:010:44:06

Listening to Emma, I get the impression

0:44:110:44:14

it takes a lot of hard work to be at the top of your game

0:44:140:44:18

in the world of professional singing.

0:44:180:44:20

We know that Doreen sang for the BBC Orchestra,

0:44:200:44:23

but what about the jobs treading the boards?

0:44:230:44:25

What are the traditional roles for a contralto, then?

0:44:250:44:29

In opera, the contraltos tend to be...

0:44:290:44:34

some people say witches and bitches.

0:44:340:44:36

It's a fabulous alliteration, but it's not just all cackling.

0:44:360:44:41

We tend to sing the earth mothers and the prophetesses and seers.

0:44:410:44:48

Basically, the wiser characters most of the time

0:44:480:44:51

tend to be contraltos,

0:44:510:44:52

so there's something about the colour and earthiness of the voice

0:44:520:44:56

that composers like as portraying that kind of information or role.

0:44:560:45:00

So there's less roles for a young contralto.

0:45:000:45:02

-The older you get, the more roles there are.

-Absolutely, yes.

0:45:020:45:05

Very much so.

0:45:050:45:06

For a young contralto, the repertoire is really quite limited.

0:45:060:45:11

There's not so much to sing.

0:45:110:45:12

You're waiting until you're growing into these motherly and wise roles.

0:45:120:45:19

That's great.

0:45:190:45:20

As an actress, you're always dreading getting older.

0:45:200:45:24

Contraltos are waiting to get older!

0:45:240:45:26

So why did Doreen never pursue the big roles?

0:45:330:45:37

Sadly, we will never know.

0:45:370:45:39

She was obviously a very big personality,

0:45:390:45:42

but maybe it just wasn't the life for her.

0:45:420:45:45

I think that it's quite a challenge to make a career

0:45:450:45:48

when there are so many different factors involved.

0:45:480:45:52

There's not just the technical work,

0:45:520:45:54

there's not just the beauty of the voice,

0:45:540:45:57

but there's how one withstands the travelling

0:45:570:46:00

and the very curious hours.

0:46:000:46:03

-Sometimes, we work 12, 14-hour days...

-Yeah.

0:46:030:46:05

..on a regular basis, and seven-day weeks quite a lot,

0:46:050:46:12

so you have to be prepared to really work

0:46:120:46:15

and not worry too much about your social life.

0:46:150:46:18

-So you've got to really love it, then?

-If you don't love it, you're in the wrong job.

0:46:180:46:23

You've got to love it, because also,

0:46:230:46:25

loving it is partly what enables you to go through the long hours

0:46:250:46:29

and the travel and all those other things.

0:46:290:46:32

-Loving it is very deeply important.

-Thank you.

0:46:320:46:34

I don't think anyone can doubt Doreen loved what she did,

0:46:380:46:42

and during her career, singing as a contralto,

0:46:420:46:45

this vivacious, outgoing woman

0:46:450:46:47

made a deep impression on everyone who knew her.

0:46:470:46:50

Lastly, it's back to the story of the West family,

0:47:020:47:05

and the search for living family members entitled to inherit money

0:47:050:47:09

from land donated over 160 years ago.

0:47:090:47:12

In 2008, heir hunter Charles Fraser began the search

0:47:160:47:20

for heirs to a former school site worth an estimated £375,000.

0:47:200:47:25

The school was to be demolished,

0:47:250:47:29

and an 1841 law meant the land it was built on

0:47:290:47:32

had to be returned to the family of its original owner,

0:47:320:47:35

19th-century nobleman Frederick West.

0:47:350:47:37

By tracing his descendants,

0:47:390:47:41

the heir hunters had already uncovered a story

0:47:410:47:44

of extraordinary wealth and royal connections.

0:47:440:47:46

These types of cases are often very exciting.

0:47:460:47:49

The families we're dealing with are often quite different to the ordinary intestacy cases.

0:47:490:47:53

Frederick's great-great-grandson, George Cornwallis-West,

0:47:530:47:58

had caused a scandal and been written out of the family will,

0:47:580:48:02

so the heir hunters were now focused on his sisters, Constance and Daisy.

0:48:020:48:07

Mary leaves her estate to her two daughters.

0:48:080:48:13

She leaves her property in Cannes to her daughter Constance,

0:48:130:48:16

in order that she may have a residence near to her sister,

0:48:160:48:20

Mary Theresa Olivia, Princess of Pless.

0:48:200:48:23

So at that stage we knew that

0:48:230:48:25

not only had one daughter married well, into the Westminster family,

0:48:250:48:29

the other daughter had also married into royalty of some sort.

0:48:290:48:33

It was obvious we were now dealing with quite wealthy families,

0:48:330:48:38

of certainly upper and higher class in British society

0:48:380:48:42

and, indeed, German nobility and royalty, so it was very exciting.

0:48:420:48:47

We didn't know where we were going to end up.

0:48:470:48:50

First, they turned to Daisy,

0:48:500:48:52

and her story was yet another remarkable chapter

0:48:520:48:56

in the West family history.

0:48:560:48:58

We didn't know much about her initially,

0:48:580:49:01

so we had to do quite a lot of research

0:49:010:49:03

to establish who she was and what happened to her,

0:49:030:49:06

and then the story of her life was quite fascinating, but tragic.

0:49:060:49:11

Because Daisy's brother George had squandered the family fortune,

0:49:120:49:16

her mother Mary, also known as Patsy,

0:49:160:49:18

was keen to find a wealthy suitor,

0:49:180:49:21

and who better than a German prince?

0:49:210:49:23

Patsy wanted to make sure that her daughter married well,

0:49:250:49:29

and she was on the lookout on the Continent,

0:49:290:49:32

and the Prince of Pless came along

0:49:320:49:34

and she decided he would be the one,

0:49:340:49:36

and he was not very pleased with this

0:49:360:49:39

because he came to London to meet another young lady,

0:49:390:49:41

who in fact he lost, but at the end of the day, he did marry Daisy.

0:49:410:49:48

The newlyweds moved to the enormous Furstenstein Castle

0:49:490:49:53

in the Prussian town of Pless.

0:49:530:49:55

The castle look like the setting of a fairytale,

0:49:550:49:59

but Daisy and the Prince of Pless had married for convenience,

0:49:590:50:03

and there was no happy ending.

0:50:030:50:05

As far as the marriage was concerned,

0:50:050:50:09

neither Daisy or the Prince of Pless really, really wanted to be together.

0:50:090:50:13

It was really forced on them, but friends and family

0:50:130:50:17

and the Royal family did in fact try to help it out.

0:50:170:50:20

They gradually got to know each other a bit better.

0:50:200:50:25

Things got worse when the Pless family fell on hard times.

0:50:250:50:29

Daisy moved from the castle to the gatehouse,

0:50:290:50:31

and the couple eventually divorced.

0:50:310:50:34

Daisy, the Princess of Pless, died in 1943.

0:50:360:50:40

The Pless family money went

0:50:400:50:44

because of the way the governments of both Poland and Germany

0:50:440:50:49

took over the companies after the war.

0:50:490:50:52

The money went, the money went, she became ill and by that time,

0:50:520:50:58

there was no money left to look after her and she depended on friends.

0:50:580:51:02

Unfortunately, she developed MS

0:51:020:51:05

and that really brought on a slow, slow death to her.

0:51:050:51:10

In London,

0:51:100:51:11

the heir hunters were trying to find the rightful beneficiaries

0:51:110:51:14

of a piece of land donated to make a school

0:51:140:51:17

by Daisy's great-grandfather, Frederick West.

0:51:170:51:21

Charles's next move was to see if Daisy had left a will.

0:51:210:51:24

Finding the will for the Princess was difficult

0:51:240:51:28

for a whole host of reasons.

0:51:280:51:30

There were obviously the boundary changes from Germany and Poland,

0:51:300:51:36

and also the fact that she died in poverty.

0:51:360:51:39

It was actually so difficult.

0:51:390:51:41

We haven't been able to trace any will for her at all.

0:51:410:51:45

This meant looking for Daisy's blood relatives.

0:51:450:51:49

They quickly learnt that Daisy and the Prince of Pless

0:51:490:51:52

had had three sons, Hansel, Alexander and Bolko.

0:51:520:51:56

The oldest, Hansel, who was also known as Henry, had died,

0:51:560:52:01

but in his will, the only beneficiary was an ex-wife who was still alive.

0:52:010:52:07

The team had found their first heir through a long line of inheritants.

0:52:070:52:11

He left the entirety of his estate to his ex-wife, Lady Ashdown.

0:52:110:52:16

In relation to the Honourable Frederick West,

0:52:160:52:20

Lady Ashdown has no blood relationship at all.

0:52:200:52:24

She's the ex-wife of a very distant relative of his.

0:52:240:52:29

Lady Ashton lives in London, and was stunned to hear she was in line

0:52:310:52:35

to inherit from her ex-husband's great-great-grandfather.

0:52:350:52:40

I knew there was a lot of land or had been a lot of land in Wales,

0:52:400:52:44

but I didn't know much about it.

0:52:440:52:47

We never talked about it.

0:52:470:52:49

Um...

0:52:490:52:51

So I didn't really expect it to come back, as it were.

0:52:510:52:55

Funny how things happen so many years later, isn't it?

0:52:550:53:00

Although Lady Ashdown and Henry Pless divorced,

0:53:000:53:03

they remained on good terms.

0:53:030:53:07

He was one of the kindest people I've ever known. He never...

0:53:070:53:11

I never, in 30-plus years, I never saw him irritated or bad-tempered.

0:53:110:53:17

What more can I say? He was a saint, I think.

0:53:170:53:21

Henry had come to England from Prussia in the 1930s,

0:53:210:53:26

but when war broke out,

0:53:260:53:28

he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

0:53:280:53:31

Because he was German,

0:53:310:53:32

and...although he was living in England and had English relations,

0:53:320:53:38

like the Duke of Westminster was his uncle,

0:53:380:53:41

he was popped into Brixton Prison

0:53:410:53:45

and there they kept him for... I think it was nearly three years.

0:53:450:53:51

And then one day, the prison governor came and said,

0:53:510:53:55

"I am so sorry, this has been a frightful mistake,

0:53:550:53:58

"you should never have been here, you must leave as soon as possible."

0:53:580:54:02

It seems that Henry was released from prison

0:54:020:54:06

because Winston Churchill was the stepson of George Cornwallis-West,

0:54:060:54:09

Henry's uncle.

0:54:090:54:10

I believe Churchill stepped in because of the family connections.

0:54:100:54:15

He brought the matter... He had tried other ways, but eventually,

0:54:150:54:19

he asked a question in Parliament.

0:54:190:54:23

Soon afterwards, Hansel was released.

0:54:230:54:26

For Charles and his team,

0:54:260:54:29

the search for heirs to a £375,000 plot of land

0:54:290:54:32

was starting to come good.

0:54:320:54:35

They found that another of Daisy's sons, Bolko,

0:54:350:54:39

had three children, who were also heirs.

0:54:390:54:42

They now turned their attention to Daisy's sister, Constance,

0:54:420:54:46

the Duchess of Westminster.

0:54:460:54:48

Would her branch of the family lead to even more heirs?

0:54:480:54:52

Initially, I found it quite surprising

0:54:520:54:54

that she had left her estate to her companion,

0:54:540:54:57

and not to any of her children,

0:54:570:54:59

which in 1970 amounted to just under £30,000.

0:54:590:55:03

Quite a lot of money at the time.

0:55:030:55:04

The beneficiary named in Constance's will was Nora Gillespie,

0:55:040:55:10

and she had worked for the Duchess for over 40 years.

0:55:100:55:14

Nora's godson, Peter Sykes,

0:55:140:55:17

has letters from the Duchess which date back to 1928,

0:55:170:55:20

when she was looking for someone to manage her estate.

0:55:200:55:23

"Dear Miss Wills," and this is July 4, 1928,

0:55:240:55:29

"Dear Miss Wills, I am writing to ask you to do me a favour.

0:55:290:55:32

"If by chance you hear of a nice lady," with a capital L,

0:55:320:55:35

"who wants a comfortable home and is a really capable manager,

0:55:350:55:40

"do let me know as I am looking out for one

0:55:400:55:43

"to entirely run this house for me. Someone about 28 or 30,

0:55:430:55:48

"but she must be a lady.

0:55:480:55:50

"Also, she must have had some experience of the type,"

0:55:500:55:53

with a capital T, "of work required."

0:55:530:55:56

At just 22 years of age,

0:55:560:55:59

Nora Gillespie wasn't the ideal candidate.

0:55:590:56:02

The Duchess was very doubtful that such a young person

0:56:020:56:07

could rule the household in the way that she wanted,

0:56:070:56:12

but evidently she convinced her,

0:56:120:56:15

and in 1928, she took the job

0:56:150:56:19

and was there until the Duchess died in 1970.

0:56:190:56:24

Constance rewarded Nora's loyalty

0:56:240:56:26

by naming her as the sole beneficiary to her estate.

0:56:260:56:30

Nora died 22 years later, in 1992, and she left half of her estate,

0:56:300:56:36

which had come from the West family, to her godson, Peter.

0:56:360:56:40

It's sort of started me delving back into the history

0:56:420:56:47

and discovering, if you like, the Cornwallis-Wests of Ruthin,

0:56:470:56:51

and some of it has been quite fascinating.

0:56:510:56:54

The parties they used to go to, and...yes, and also, the Plesses.

0:56:560:57:03

Princess Daisy, from what I've read since,

0:57:030:57:08

it would make the eyes water, really.

0:57:080:57:10

Although Peter has no blood link to the West family,

0:57:100:57:14

he was now an heir to a piece of land donated in 1844,

0:57:140:57:18

and now worth an estimated £375,000.

0:57:180:57:23

How do I feel about inheriting from this family which isn't my family?

0:57:230:57:29

I feel quite pleased, actually.

0:57:290:57:32

After an epic heir hunt that has spanned six generations,

0:57:320:57:37

Charles Fraser is pleased to be able to wrap up a truly remarkable case.

0:57:370:57:43

We've established that the majority of the heirs

0:57:430:57:45

aren't blood relatives,

0:57:450:57:46

and we've also gained a delightful insight into some of these families,

0:57:460:57:52

these quite wealthy families, and how they lead their lives.

0:57:520:57:56

Some of the details in their wills

0:57:560:57:59

just don't appear in ordinary people's wills.

0:57:590:58:01

Fraser and Fraser managed to trace nine heirs

0:58:010:58:06

who will all share in the six-figure proceeds

0:58:060:58:09

from the sale of the school.

0:58:090:58:11

Join me next time on Heir Hunters

0:58:110:58:13

for more family secrets and long-forgotten fortunes.

0:58:130:58:16

If you would like advice about building your family tree

0:58:160:58:21

or making a will, go to:

0:58:210:58:24

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:450:58:47

E-mail [email protected]

0:58:470:58:49

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS