Tunstall/Konigk Heir Hunters


Tunstall/Konigk

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Today, the heir hunters are looking into an estate

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worth a life-changing £90,000.

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Somewhere out there are some long-lost relatives who have

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no idea they're in line for a windfall.

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Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?

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On today's show, the team are on the hunt for a long-lost brother -

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but where is he?

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HE KNOCKS

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We ain't got nowhere, OK? That's it. That's where we're at.

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And a hunt for heirs to a possible £800,000 estate

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begins in the English countryside and ends 6,000 miles away.

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I was phoning South Africa constantly for the next two days.

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Plus, how you may be entitled to inherit an unclaimed estate

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held by the Treasury.

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Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?

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Every year in the UK,

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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 left behind goes to the Government.

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Last year, they made £14 million from unclaimed estates.

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That's where the heir hunters come in.

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They make it their business to track down missing relatives

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and help them claim their inheritance.

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Heir hunting is about reuniting people with what's rightfully theirs.

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It's 7.00am at the offices of heir-hunting company

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Fraser & Fraser and the work's already started.

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The Treasury list of people who've died without a will has just

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been released and partner Neil and the team are checking through it.

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Really I know very little about it.

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The surname Tunstall doesn't sound too common a name,

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so we may be able to break onto it quite quickly.

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If someone dies without leaving a will, with no known next of kin,

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and their estate is worth £5,000 or more,

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then it will appear on this list.

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Couple of things for you.

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The company earn their money by taking a percentage of the estate's value.

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The team need to establish where the deceased lived.

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If he owned his own property, they know the estate will be worth money.

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John Barry Tunstall was 78 when he died in Birmingham

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on December 7, 2010, without leaving a will.

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He lived in these flats, where he became friends with Pearl

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and Louis Sega.

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-He lived upstairs. Top floor.

-He lived in flat number six.

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And it was just sort of gradually we got talking.

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We knew the same sort of big bands that he used to like

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and I liked them.

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From the early '40s - that sort of era. Woody Herman and...

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-Louis Armstrong.

-Louis Armstrong and Harry James.

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All those sort of bands, really. All the big bands.

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But I thought it a very touching sort of gesture really,

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he gave me this book.

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It's almost like an encyclopaedia of all the jazz greats of the past

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and he signed his name in it.

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Although they were never introduced, John told them about

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his long-term female companion

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and when she died, it hit him hard.

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Once his lady friend died,

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he didn't seem to have anything to live for, really.

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-There was no incentive for him.

-There was nothing.

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I think they used to go out, maybe -

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trips together or something like that.

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Or they'd go out to have a meal and things and obviously

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when that sort of thing happens, when that person who you're

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so close to passes away, it's going to have an effect on you, really.

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Yes, really. It was quite sad. Quite sad.

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Who's best bet to get to Birmingham, Tone?

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Paul Matthews, isn't it?

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The heir hunters have already found a date of birth and address

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for John Tunstall in Birmingham.

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It's a good start.

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Tony Pledger is the case manager.

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We know the deceased owned the flat that he was of when he died.

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So, it does have a definite value to it.

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I don't know how much, but it's obviously worthwhile looking at.

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With property involved, this could be a lucrative case,

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so they need to find the heirs fast, before the competition.

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The team makes a start on John's family tree.

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From John's birth certificate, they've discovered that his parents

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were Alfred Tunstall and Elizabeth Reece, who married in 1930.

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Next, they need to establish if the deceased had any children

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and if he had any siblings.

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-There's no way of knowing, I think.

-There's no way.

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They quickly find out that John never married or had children.

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But he had a brother Keith, born in 1936.

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If he's still alive, he will be the sole heir to his estate.

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But it's unusual to find close kin on a case who don't know

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their relative has passed away.

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There's something a little strange - we shouldn't really be finding

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a brother of the deceased as quickly as we have - less than 20 minutes.

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There may be something wrong with it.

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It may be the brother has passed away.

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It may be that it's not actually a brother,

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but just a coincidence of surname and mother's maiden name.

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But it won't take them long to find out.

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-The research team have come up trumps.

-Yes, that's him.

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That brother, because he's the only Keith Tunstall born in 1936.

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This chap is born...'36.

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Ergo, assuming these two are brothers, then that is him.

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-That address goes with that.

-It's a real breakthrough.

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They think they have the number for the deceased's brother.

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If they can get hold of him,

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they'll have wrapped the case up in record time.

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And it's only eight o'clock!

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My name is Tony Pledger of a company in London called Fraser & Fraser.

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If you could possibly give me a call back.

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It sounds like it's an answerphone that's clicking on

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and it sounds like the tape is filled up,

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so I've left a message that might come out the other end.

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I don't know.

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It's frustrating, but researcher Dominic has another lead.

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-There's the neighbours for the brother.

-Brilliant.

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-How do we know it's the brother?

-We don't.

-Ah!

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-Here's the neighbours for the POSSIBLE brother.

-Just checking!

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It's time to see if a neighbour's in.

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I'm trying to contact a neighbour of yours,

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I don't know if you know them - it's the people at number 49.

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I assume you do. I think it's Keith Tunstall.

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Could you tell me if they're at home or are they on holiday or anything? Oh.

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The neighbour is reluctant to give out any information.

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I understand.

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She's not going to tell a complete stranger that the neighbour

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has gone off on holiday, is she?

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With no joy on the phone, it's time for a new plan.

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I'm going to send someone there now, to have a knock

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on the door and see what the actual situation is with that.

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While most of the research is done by the office staff,

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they rely on frontline investigators like Paul Matthews

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to follow their leads, find the heirs and sign them up

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before the competition.

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If the team's research is right, Paul is on his way to try

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and make contact with the brother of the deceased - the sole heir to his £90,000 fortune.

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In effect, it's a death message, so I've no idea how close he was

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to his brother, so it's not a very pleasant side of the job,

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but obviously they didn't keep in touch very much.

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So we're going to be breaking bad news, I'm afraid.

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Back in the office, they're still getting no answer at Keith's house.

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Is he still alive,

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or do the competition know something they don't?

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It's time to look for other relatives, fast.

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What we're doing by doing this is taking away some of the risks and dangers.

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We're actually double, triple checking.

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We think we've found the beneficiary, but we're actually going to go back

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and look for further-removed beneficiaries, in case they end up being entitled.

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The team are using the Census to try and find other potential heirs.

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The first modern Census was carried out in 1801.

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Since then, it has been taken every ten years.

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It gives a record of all people and households across the country.

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But these records are confidential for 100 years,

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so they're relying on information from 1911.

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If John's brother is no longer alive, but he had children,

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they would be the beneficiaries.

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If not, and his parents had siblings,

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they, or their children - John's cousins - would be next in line.

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The researchers start with the deceased's mother - Elizabeth Reece.

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But the Census information is far from clear.

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We found her on the 1911 Census, with four siblings.

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She is living with her mum and her mum's brother.

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Now, her mother's brother is called Frank Reece,

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her mother is Mary Ann Reece and they're all called Reece.

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This implies they're all illegitimate births,

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which is going to make it all a little bit more complicated.

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With no father's name listed,

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it is impossible to prove that any of the children

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living in the house are full blood relatives of the deceased.

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Without the facts, the team are wasting valuable time.

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Another researcher, Alan,

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is looking into the paternal side of John's family tree.

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-He's also puzzled.

-It's a Census like I've never seen before.

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On the 1911 Census, the head of the household is aged 26,

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his wife is 31 and on the Census, everyone who lives in the household

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is described in relation to the head of the household.

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So this 26-year-old is claiming he has a daughter aged 22,

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a brother aged 20 and another sister aged 17 and a daughter aged 11.

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They're going round in circles. It's a frustrating search.

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Really looking at this, I'd have to say

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we'd be hoping that the brother of the deceased is alive and well

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and we can contact him, thus making these cousins irrelevant.

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Out on the road, Paul is about to find out.

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He's arrived in Birmingham, hoping to meet the brother of the deceased.

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HE KNOCKS

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That's a good start to the day - there's no reply.

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So there's no answer on the phone or at the door.

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Do the neighbours know where he is?

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HE KNOCKS

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But Paul is not giving up that easily.

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HE KNOCKS

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Will it be fourth time lucky for Paul?

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HE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR

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Back at the office, they've put together an enormous family tree.

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But with commission on £90,000 at stake,

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they need to be sure the information is correct.

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Jesus Christ.

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So obviously, judging by the size of this,

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we really do hope that the brother turns out to be...

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There it is. Anywhere between four and ten siblings on the paternal side.

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Because the Census is again really wobbly,

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because they're living with the grandparents and nieces and nephews,

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rather than sons and daughters and it's all a bit muddled.

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Tony is not a happy man.

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We ain't got nowhere, OK? That's it.

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That's where we're at.

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Coming up, will the heir hunters track down the elusive Keith Tunstall?

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We'll only know he's alive when we've seen him.

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And will he turn out to be the true heir to John's £90,000 estate?

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In 2009, the heir hunters began looking into the case

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of a retired accountant from Oxfordshire.

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Little did they know, their hunt for beneficiaries would take them

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on an exciting journey from the sleepy English countryside

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all the way to 19th-century South Africa.

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Philip Konigk died in a small Oxfordshire village in February 2009, without leaving a will.

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He left an estate worth a whopping £800,000.

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Charlie Hall first met Philip when they were both in their 20s,

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working at the Inland Revenue in Oxfordshire.

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Phil would breeze into our management meetings

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with his collar loosened and his shirt sleeves rolled up,

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totally unprepared, yet he'd always get away with it - people liked him.

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He seemed to have a new, flashy sports car every week.

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And a new, very beautiful girlfriend every other week.

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As his career took off, Philip chose to stay

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and make his home in the Oxfordshire countryside.

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He joined a local firm of accountants.

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I knew that firm very well, so I met up with him a few times -

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he was a partner in that firm - and I met up with him a few times after that.

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He had the same old style, same breezy confidence.

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Nothing seemed to trouble him.

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Philip Konigk was born in South Africa in 1949.

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Phil, from Celtic Research, was also South African,

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so he was the perfect heir hunter to take on the case.

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The first step was to check for immediate family.

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He did marry, but had no children from his first marriage.

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He then never married again.

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Philip did however have a common-law partner,

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who shared a home with him for many years.

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But the inheritance laws are very different for married

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and unmarried couples, so she is not immediately entitled.

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Lots of people talk about a common-law partner -

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a common-law wife or husband -

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and it's worth saying very clearly that that term has no legal meaning.

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Now, in terms of a partner leaving no will,

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dies intestate, as we say,

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a cohabitant doesn't haven't any automatic inheritance rights at all.

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The intestacy rules don't provide for that partner.

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Without a will,

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married couples still automatically inherit from their husband or wife,

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but cohabiting couples have to argue their case.

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He or she can apply to the court

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for what's known as family provision,

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under the Inheritance Act, 1975,

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if someone is willing to go to court, if they have the resources

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to do so and if they can stand the emotional pain of doing so -

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an awful lot of people can't.

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My advice to everyone is make a will.

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Philip Konigk's partner co-owned their property

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and is pursuing her own claim to the enormous £800,000 estate.

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But it's likely that it will be shared with his surviving heirs.

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To find them, Phil began trying to piece together Philip's family tree.

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He discovered that Philip's mother, Doris Bint,

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had travelled from her home in England to South Africa

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in the late 1930s and married his father, Philip Konigk -

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a South African.

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They only had one child.

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She had returned to the UK in 1950, we believe on holiday.

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Most probably to show her new child off to the family over in the UK.

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But the father died in 1953.

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After his death, she decided to stay in the UK.

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As Philip had no siblings,

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Phil needed to search back through previous generations for heirs.

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From his office in Wales, he began his research.

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The deceased's rare surname was a great help.

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Kooer-neck is the way it's pronounced.

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It's K-O-N-I-G-K. It isn't necessarily a South African name.

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But if it was, it would be unusual, even in South Africa,

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on that spelling.

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On the initial research that I did, using my own resources, I found

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possible brothers and sisters of his father, which I couldn't prove.

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Phil called one of his own family in South Africa

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and he had a lucky break.

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I got hold of a cousin in Johannesburg who checked some

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details out for me there and we found a name of a person who had put in

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a paper while doing his university studies and had the name Konigk.

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He had an e-mail address and telephone number, so I contacted him.

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Amazingly, he turned out to be a relative

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and he had some very useful information.

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He told me that the Pretoria University had done

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the history of the Konigk family, so he gave me the link to

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the University website where it was published and I downloaded that.

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It was in Afrikaans, but I managed to translate it and work out the tree.

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It was a major breakthrough.

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The normal way would have been to find the birth, the deaths,

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the marriages, if it was in the UK, get a certificate, find out

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whether you've got the right people.

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In South Africa, you can't do that.

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To order a birth certificate or marriage certificate

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will literally take you four to six months.

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The University study revealed that the Konigks had been

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a prominent family in South Africa, with a fascinating story.

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Philip's great-grandfather,

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Johann Ernst Konigk, was born in Breslau, Prussia, in 1859.

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He became a minister in the Lutheran Church

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and a member of the Berlin Missionary Society.

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The Berlin Missionary Society that Johann Ernst Konigk was from

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was really the largest

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and most prestigious in a way in the late 19th century.

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Johann travelled to South Africa as a missionary in the 1880s.

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What they were eager to do was to spread the Christian Gospel

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and to convert the heathen.

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Konigk arrives at a time when the Berlin Mission is really expanding,

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setting up a number of stations and Lutherans as a whole are

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providing something like half the missionaries across South Africa.

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As well as converting Africans to Christianity,

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the missionaries also provided pastoral care for German settlers.

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There were in fact 40,000 Germans who immigrated to South Africa

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in the 19th century, particularly to this area that Konigk ended up in.

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Johann Konigk, Philip's great-grandfather, decided to make

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South Africa his home and worked as a minister for many years.

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He married a local German girl who had been born in the Eastern Cape

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and then moved later to work with a German-speaking congregation in Johannesburg.

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So he certainly became one of the lifelong figures in the German community.

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Phil discovered that the deceased's great-grandparents had a son -

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Johann Ernst Herman Konigk.

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He and his wife had four children - Yvonne, Raymond, Reinhold

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and Philip - the father of the deceased.

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The aunts and uncles would no longer be alive, but if they had children,

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they would be Philip's cousins and beneficiaries of his estate.

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Phil got a number for one of them.

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At first, they thought it was some sort of scam.

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I then explained to him what we do etc,

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and he said all right,

0:22:350:22:38

he'll make some enquiries and he'll come back to me.

0:22:380:22:41

Within about an hour, he phoned me back. He was Afrikaans,

0:22:410:22:43

so I was speaking to him in Afrikaans, at the time.

0:22:430:22:47

He then came to like what I was saying and respected what

0:22:470:22:50

I was saying and put me in touch with these brothers and sisters.

0:22:500:22:53

There were ten cousins in total.

0:22:530:22:56

Phil was going to have his work cut out.

0:22:560:22:59

I was phoning South Africa constantly for the next two days,

0:22:590:23:03

into the evening, late into the evening as well as early mornings.

0:23:030:23:07

Despite relying on the phone rather than face-to-face chats,

0:23:090:23:12

Phil was fairly sure the cousins would sign with him.

0:23:120:23:15

A couple of them had actually gone to school in the same area where

0:23:160:23:20

I'd gone to school, they had grown up in the same area that I grew up in

0:23:200:23:25

and so we had commonality and a link

0:23:250:23:29

and they felt comfortable with me.

0:23:290:23:32

But then there was a snag.

0:23:320:23:34

By the second day, I'd say,

0:23:340:23:36

we realised we were in competition with another heir-hunting firm.

0:23:360:23:41

Coming up, would Phil seal the deal?

0:23:430:23:46

They'd had a phone call from this other firm

0:23:460:23:50

and a chap was on his way to see them.

0:23:500:23:52

Or was a rival researcher in South Africa going to beat him to it?

0:23:520:23:57

Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year and millions of pounds

0:24:040:24:08

are paid out to rightful heirs, but not every case can be cracked.

0:24:080:24:13

The Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates that have baffled

0:24:130:24:17

heir hunters and remain unsolved.

0:24:170:24:19

Could you be the heir they've been searching for?

0:24:190:24:22

Could you be in line for a windfall worth hundreds, thousands,

0:24:220:24:26

or even millions of pounds?

0:24:260:24:28

Estates stay on the list for up to 30 years and today,

0:24:290:24:32

we're focusing on three names.

0:24:320:24:35

Are they relatives of yours?

0:24:350:24:37

George Batho died in Macclesfield, Cheshire in July 2004.

0:24:370:24:42

The name Batho originates in Wales,

0:24:420:24:45

but the highest concentration is in Shrewsbury.

0:24:450:24:48

Do you remember him? Did he live on your street?

0:24:480:24:51

Graham Sansom-Piggins died in Bournemouth, Dorset in July 2009.

0:24:530:24:57

This is a distinctive double-barrelled name.

0:24:580:25:02

Does that name mean anything to you? Could you be related?

0:25:020:25:06

Florence Esther Keir died in Epsom, Surrey in March 1991.

0:25:090:25:13

This name derives from the village of Keir in Stirlingshire, Scotland.

0:25:160:25:20

If no heirs are found, her money will go to the Government.

0:25:210:25:25

If the names George Batho, Graham Sansom-Piggins

0:25:270:25:30

or Florence Keir mean anything to you or someone you know,

0:25:300:25:34

you could have a fortune coming your way.

0:25:340:25:36

In 2010, Phil from Celtic Research

0:25:470:25:49

was looking into the case of Oxfordshire accountant Philip Konigk,

0:25:490:25:53

who had died without leaving a will.

0:25:530:25:54

From his office in the UK, he had traced Philip's South African family

0:25:540:25:58

and found ten cousins who all had claim to his estate.

0:25:580:26:04

He had spoken to them on the phone

0:26:040:26:06

and was hopeful they would sign his agreement.

0:26:060:26:08

But then, a rival firm in South Africa threatened to steal

0:26:080:26:11

the job from him.

0:26:110:26:12

-All Phil could do was cross his fingers.

-It was a tense wait.

0:26:120:26:17

I have had assurances in the past on other cases, by people

0:26:170:26:21

when I've spoken to them on the phone and they've totally done a U-turn.

0:26:210:26:25

Finally, Phil's main contact, a cousin of the deceased,

0:26:290:26:33

got in touch.

0:26:330:26:35

By the third day, I think it was, I had a call from the eldest of

0:26:350:26:40

the cousins and said that the family has decided they're going with me

0:26:400:26:45

and when this guy arrives,

0:26:450:26:48

they'll let him know that his services aren't needed.

0:26:480:26:54

Phil's hard work had paid off and ten heirs on the father's side

0:26:540:26:59

had been found in South Africa.

0:26:590:27:01

But one cousin wanted to find out more about his English relatives.

0:27:010:27:05

Quentin phoned me up out of the blue and introduced himself.

0:27:050:27:10

We had a long chat.

0:27:100:27:11

He then said he's coming over to see his grandson,

0:27:110:27:14

who recently arrived, and he would like to meet up.

0:27:140:27:19

After meeting his new grandson in London, Quentin is looking forward

0:27:250:27:29

to finding out more about his cousin's past.

0:27:290:27:32

I never over the years - as a child growing up, or in my adult life -

0:27:320:27:38

did I know that there were any family members living in the UK.

0:27:380:27:41

I would really like to find out more about him.

0:27:410:27:45

It would give us an insight into other family members,

0:27:450:27:49

how he lived and where he lived and what he did.

0:27:490:27:52

Quentin is hoping that heir hunter Phil can give him some answers.

0:27:530:27:57

-I take it you must be Quentin.

-Yes.

-Nice to see you at last.

0:27:570:28:01

-Nice to meet you.

-Find it all right?

-No problem.

-Shall we go in?

0:28:010:28:06

Wonderful, thank you. I'll follow you.

0:28:060:28:08

Quentin stands to inherit part of his cousin's estate,

0:28:090:28:12

which he'll share with nine other heirs.

0:28:120:28:15

He's keen to find out as much as possible about his life.

0:28:150:28:19

I found that Philip, his father, Doris, his mother and him as a child

0:28:190:28:23

-of one year old, were travelling from Durban...

-South Africa.

0:28:230:28:29

..on the... Part of the Union-Castle Line,

0:28:290:28:34

-actually travelling on the Stirling Castle.

-OK.

0:28:340:28:38

There she is, departing Durban, South Africa,

0:28:380:28:43

and she arrives in Southampton on 3 March, 1950.

0:28:430:28:48

That shows Philip, the husband, as well as Philip the son.

0:28:480:28:54

Three years later, the father died and I believe from other

0:28:540:28:58

family members that I spoke to, he died of some sort of cancer.

0:28:580:29:03

Doris didn't settle in South Africa,

0:29:030:29:06

so she came back to England with her son, Philip.

0:29:060:29:12

There were uncles that kept in touch with her. Once they died off

0:29:120:29:17

and she died, then the link sort of faded away.

0:29:170:29:20

Do you have any information on what Philip actually did?

0:29:200:29:24

I actually have his death certificate here.

0:29:240:29:26

-We can see he was born 10 July, 1949. He was an accountant.

-Oh, OK.

0:29:280:29:33

Having learned more about his English cousin, Quentin

0:29:350:29:37

and his wife Shannon are doing some research of their own.

0:29:370:29:42

They're exploring the Oxfordshire community where Philip Konigk

0:29:420:29:45

lived and worked.

0:29:450:29:47

-Everything is laid out so well.

-Yes. It's very nice.

0:29:470:29:51

Around every corner is a new surprise.

0:29:510:29:54

Just driving through the little winding roads, you just see

0:29:540:29:57

the beautiful green trees and the fields and the sheep grazing -

0:29:570:30:01

it's the kind of place you would move into and never want to leave.

0:30:010:30:06

He must have been blessed.

0:30:060:30:07

Who wants to move from a little piece of heaven?

0:30:070:30:10

They have discovered that Philip's maternal grandfather

0:30:120:30:16

-ran a pub in the village of Standlake.

-It's incredible to...

0:30:160:30:19

The history involved here, to think back through the generations

0:30:190:30:24

that somebody that Quentin didn't know has actually been

0:30:240:30:29

involved in this whole community and owned this pub.

0:30:290:30:33

-Totally.

-Quite interesting. Quite fascinating.

0:30:330:30:36

And for Quentin, his trip has made him feel

0:30:370:30:40

a little closer to the cousin he never knew.

0:30:400:30:43

If I'd known about this in previous years,

0:30:430:30:46

we'd have tried to visit sooner than we did.

0:30:460:30:50

It would have been nice to meet the man, get to know him.

0:30:500:30:55

But there is a bond, I think.

0:30:550:30:57

There is a feeling of knowing somebody that was family.

0:30:570:31:01

In the end, nine of Philip's ten cousins from South Africa

0:31:040:31:08

signed with Phil.

0:31:080:31:11

English beneficiaries on the mother's side

0:31:110:31:13

signed with another company in this complicated case.

0:31:130:31:16

A settlement on the estimated £800,000 estate

0:31:160:31:20

isn't expected until 2015.

0:31:200:31:23

Heir hunters Fraser & Fraser

0:31:290:31:32

are investigating the case of John Barry Tunstall.

0:31:320:31:35

He died in Birmingham in 2010, without a will,

0:31:350:31:39

leaving an estate thought to be worth around £90,000.

0:31:390:31:43

Amazingly, in less than 20 minutes, the team made an unusual discovery.

0:31:430:31:48

There's something a little strange -

0:31:480:31:50

we shouldn't really be finding a brother of the deceased

0:31:500:31:53

as quickly as we have.

0:31:530:31:54

Was he really John's brother? And was he still alive?

0:31:540:31:58

Tracking him down was proving difficult.

0:31:580:32:01

KNOCKING

0:32:010:32:03

John Tunstall left school at 15.

0:32:120:32:15

In the early 1950s, he went to work at Gaskell & Chambers,

0:32:150:32:19

one of Birmingham's oldest manufacturing companies.

0:32:190:32:22

It made fixtures and fittings for pubs and bars.

0:32:220:32:25

In the '50s, Gaskell & Chambers would have been a hive of activity.

0:32:250:32:31

They were not only busy manufacturing products for the UK,

0:32:310:32:34

they had a lot of overseas business.

0:32:340:32:37

The company's archives reveal that it prided itself on entertaining its workforce.

0:32:390:32:44

The social side of the business was just as important as the work side.

0:32:440:32:47

They took their employees to seaside breaks for the day.

0:32:470:32:53

They held sort of major annual sports days

0:32:570:33:00

and those events would actually draw celebrities of the day.

0:33:000:33:05

Still in his teens, John enjoyed the social side of work,

0:33:070:33:11

particularly the sport.

0:33:110:33:14

I found reference to a Johnnie Tunstall

0:33:140:33:17

in a social magazine from 1951.

0:33:170:33:19

It would appear that he was quite a demon bowler.

0:33:210:33:24

There is mention of him actually taking five wickets in one innings.

0:33:240:33:28

Back on the hunt for John's brother Keith,

0:33:300:33:32

researcher Paul has had a breakthrough.

0:33:320:33:35

We eventually got a neighbour who has answered the door,

0:33:350:33:38

about six doors away.

0:33:380:33:41

Yes, he does know Mr Tunstall.

0:33:410:33:43

He knows he's retired,

0:33:430:33:44

no idea whether he's home or not, or gone away.

0:33:440:33:47

He does know Keith's son, Neil.

0:33:480:33:51

He told me where he works, so that might be the next port of call.

0:33:510:33:54

So he is alive. The office will be very pleased with this news.

0:33:550:34:00

I know he's got a son, I know where Neil works.

0:34:000:34:04

-'See him at work then, can you?'

-I'll tell you if I get to see him,

0:34:040:34:07

cos he works for a roofing company, but I'll give it a try.

0:34:070:34:10

-'You never know.'

-You never know. I'm on my bike.

-'OK, bye.'

0:34:100:34:15

At least we've got somewhere to go to try and track down, if nothing else,

0:34:150:34:18

find out if his dad is going to be available later on

0:34:180:34:23

and he'll hopefully have a mobile for his dad where we can chase him up.

0:34:230:34:26

Obviously, we don't want to be hanging around all day

0:34:260:34:29

and the longer it takes to get him, there's more opportunity for our competition.

0:34:290:34:33

The chase is on. Paul hotfoots it over to the son's place of work.

0:34:330:34:37

Been to where Mr Tunstall's son works.

0:34:390:34:41

His son is out and about at the moment, no surprise there.

0:34:410:34:45

I've now got his business card and his mobile number, so I'll go

0:34:450:34:49

back to the car and give him a call and hopefully track down his dad.

0:34:490:34:52

He wastes no time and gets straight on the phone to son Neil.

0:34:520:34:56

I'm trying to get hold of your dad.

0:34:560:34:59

I've been round to his house, but they're out at the moment.

0:34:590:35:02

Oh, right, I'll go there!

0:35:090:35:11

Basically, I need to speak to your dad.

0:35:150:35:18

It's a family member somewhere who's passed away,

0:35:180:35:21

but have you got a contact phone number for your dad?

0:35:210:35:24

So it's another setback. Keith is out of the country.

0:35:260:35:30

His son Neil will ask him to call the office.

0:35:300:35:33

-OK, that's great. Thank you very much, Neil.

-'Thank you, Paul.'

0:35:340:35:38

-OK, cheers - thank you.

-'Bye-bye.'

-Bye.

0:35:380:35:41

Only when the office speak to him will they know

0:35:420:35:44

if they've been hunting the right man.

0:35:440:35:47

They didn't have to wait long.

0:35:520:35:53

I've had a telephone conversation with the brother.

0:35:530:35:57

I told him who it is, I've told him it's his brother

0:35:570:36:00

that's passed away, which obviously saddened him quite a bit.

0:36:000:36:03

Tony calls Paul to tell him the news.

0:36:040:36:07

'Had a nice little chat with him.'

0:36:070:36:10

And he explained that he'll be back in England I think next week.

0:36:100:36:15

He confirmed that as far as he is aware, the deceased hadn't married or anything.

0:36:150:36:19

Yes.

0:36:190:36:20

So hopefully, it will all come together

0:36:200:36:23

and he will be the only person entitled.

0:36:230:36:27

One week later, Keith Tunstall, younger brother

0:36:270:36:31

and sole living heir to John's £90,000 estate, returned to the UK.

0:36:310:36:37

I had a phone call saying that we believe you could be

0:36:370:36:42

the brother of John Barry Tunstall.

0:36:420:36:44

Sorry to have to tell you that your brother passed away in November.

0:36:440:36:49

Keith and his brother were virtual strangers.

0:36:500:36:53

Following their parents' divorce, they were separated

0:36:530:36:56

as young children and only saw each other rarely.

0:36:560:37:00

I was three, four, at the time.

0:37:000:37:04

My recollection is that my mother went to Worcester with John.

0:37:040:37:08

I stayed with my father.

0:37:100:37:12

There is no recollection of me playing with my brother when we were children.

0:37:120:37:16

In the late 1940s, when John was a teenager,

0:37:160:37:19

he did come and live with Keith and their father for a few years.

0:37:190:37:23

My father came back with John and it was almost a case

0:37:230:37:26

of introducing one another - "this is your brother" type of thing.

0:37:260:37:32

Um, and we got on quite well, John and I.

0:37:320:37:36

We never argued or as brothers do, fight.

0:37:360:37:40

Um, we got on quite well.

0:37:400:37:44

But... A lot of years had elapsed.

0:37:440:37:48

After a short time together as brothers,

0:37:500:37:52

John left home at 18 to join the RAF and he and Keith lost touch again.

0:37:520:37:58

In the years that followed, despite living close to one another

0:37:580:38:02

in the Birmingham area, they met occasionally, but only by chance.

0:38:020:38:06

Got married in 1958, January '58.

0:38:070:38:10

Pat and I acquired a flat and lo and behold, my brother John,

0:38:110:38:18

who I hadn't really had much contact with, had got a shop

0:38:180:38:22

which was about half a mile from where my wife and I lived.

0:38:220:38:26

Periodically I'd see him in the shop - I'd go in and say hello, how're things.

0:38:260:38:31

Then I really didn't have much to do with my brother John

0:38:310:38:34

in the sense that we had a drink together or whatever,

0:38:340:38:38

until 1993, at my father's funeral.

0:38:380:38:45

Unfortunately, I didn't see him again after that.

0:38:450:38:48

Keith admits he now has some regrets that he and his brother weren't closer.

0:38:490:38:54

It was just circumstances, you know.

0:38:540:38:56

You're busy building your own life and...

0:38:560:39:00

..battling to buy a house, pay the bills, raise children.

0:39:010:39:06

It's sad and it shouldn't happen.

0:39:070:39:10

To try and find more about John's recent past,

0:39:140:39:18

Keith is meeting up with his friends Louis and Pearl.

0:39:180:39:21

I'm looking forward to meeting them,

0:39:210:39:24

because it will help to fill in many years, actually.

0:39:240:39:28

1993 was the last time I seen John.

0:39:280:39:32

Of course, apparently these people have been friends of John's

0:39:320:39:35

and so there will be many things that will fill in some gaps, I hope.

0:39:350:39:41

-You must be Lou.

-Yes. And you must be Keith.

-I'm Keith, John's brother.

0:39:410:39:45

-And this must be Pearl, my wife!

-Very nice to meet you.

0:39:450:39:48

-I've been looking forward to meeting you.

-I've heard so much about you.

0:39:480:39:52

-You're nothing like him though, to look at.

-I know.

0:39:520:39:56

-I'm very much like my father.

-John was very tall and slim.

0:39:560:39:59

-John was over six foot, yes. I'm five foot nine and chunky.

-Yeah.

0:39:590:40:04

We were brothers, but we were brothers separated by mothers

0:40:050:40:09

and fathers going different ways, the war.

0:40:090:40:11

-If I get a little bit emotional...

-No, of course. I would expect that.

0:40:110:40:15

-It's natural, yes.

-It's because, um...

0:40:150:40:19

It's such a waste... Of years and years.

0:40:190:40:22

There wasn't any particular reason why you stopped seeing,

0:40:220:40:25

-just life, really.

-You just drifted.

0:40:250:40:29

-I mean, I've got a family now. I've got grandchildren.

-Yes.

0:40:290:40:33

-I've had a lovely life, you know. I'm going to get upset here, now.

-Yes.

-Because...

0:40:330:40:37

-I just...hoped he was happy, you know.

-I think he was.

-Oh, I think he was.

0:40:390:40:44

When Keith received the news about his brother's death, he decided

0:40:460:40:49

not to sign with the heir hunters, but to deal with the estate himself.

0:40:490:40:54

He began by finding out how John had died.

0:40:540:40:57

He phoned the doctor on the morning, feeling not very well.

0:40:570:41:01

Said to the doctor, I'll leave the door on the latch

0:41:010:41:03

so you can gain access, then when the doctor got there,

0:41:030:41:07

at midday-ish, one o'clock, John had died.

0:41:070:41:11

So that was a comfort to me, to think that he hadn't died,

0:41:110:41:15

or been left, if you like, for any period of time.

0:41:150:41:18

So the actual funeral itself, were there many people there?

0:41:220:41:28

-About 12, 14 neighbours, wasn't there?

-From the flats, yes.

0:41:280:41:34

-And was the service a nice service?

-It was lovely.

-Beautiful service.

0:41:340:41:37

-The guy spoke of John?

-Very well.

-He did.

0:41:370:41:40

-He gave a beautiful sermon about him.

-Oh, good.

0:41:400:41:43

Having missed his brother's send-off, Keith plans to go

0:41:490:41:52

and pay his last respects to John privately.

0:41:520:41:55

I've found out now where he was cremated, I've established that.

0:41:550:42:01

We found out where his ashes were scattered.

0:42:010:42:04

I shall go up...

0:42:040:42:05

..and leave him some flowers,

0:42:070:42:08

wish him all the best and...see you soon, mate.

0:42:080:42:13

You know...

0:42:130:42:15

That's it.

0:42:150:42:17

But Keith hopes his brother would approve of how his money will be spent.

0:42:180:42:24

I'm going to give it to the children. I've told them that.

0:42:240:42:27

My son runs his own business - a roofing business.

0:42:270:42:31

Like all businesses at the moment, they're having a lean, lean time.

0:42:310:42:35

My daughter has just finished putting her daughter through university.

0:42:350:42:38

Anyone who's done that knows it's not cheap.

0:42:380:42:41

So whatever money accrues from this, Pat and I will treat ourselves,

0:42:410:42:46

I don't know to what, but I'll give them a sizeable piece

0:42:460:42:50

and say, you do what you like with it.

0:42:500:42:53

I think John would be delighted if he felt

0:42:530:42:55

I was giving any benefits that accrue from this to my children.

0:42:550:43:01

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