0:00:02 > 0:00:04Today, the Heir Hunters are looking into an estate
0:00:04 > 0:00:07worth a possible £200,000.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Did you know the gentleman that lived there?
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Somewhere out there are some long-lost relatives
0:00:15 > 0:00:18who have no idea they're in line for a windfall.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Could the Heir Hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39On today's show,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43it's a confusing start with a case of double identity.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Strangely, there are two Ernest G Wrights,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49both living on Canvey Island.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54And the team uncover the emotional story of the Cold War submariner
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and the desperate efforts to find him.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00We both ended up in floods of tears. It was quite incredible.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Plus, how you may be entitled to inherit an unclaimed estate
0:01:05 > 0:01:07held by the Treasury.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Every year in the UK,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24an estimated 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28If no relatives are found,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33then any money that's left behind goes to the Government.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Last year, they made £14 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42That's where the Heir Hunters come in.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45They make it their business to track down missing relatives
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The whole thing is a jigsaw with great rewards.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04It's 7am at the offices of heir-hunting company Fraser & Fraser
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and the work's already started.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11The Treasury's list of people who have died without a will
0:02:11 > 0:02:14has just been released and the team are checking through it.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19We've got a nice short list today,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22so there are probably about four cases we will have a look at.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Hopefully, from there,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28we'll work out which ones have some value and concentrate on those first.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33If someone dies without leaving a will with no known next of kin
0:02:33 > 0:02:38and their estate is worth £5,000 or more, it will appear on this list.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Partner Charles likes the look of one particular case in Essex.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49We're looking at the case of Ernest George Wright this morning.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52He died in October 2010.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Obviously, we need to work out
0:02:54 > 0:02:56whether there is any value of the estate,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58otherwise we spend time looking for family,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01only to find there is no money at the end of the day
0:03:01 > 0:03:03and so we don't even cover our costs.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07The company earn their money by taking a percentage
0:03:07 > 0:03:08of the estate's final value.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12The team need to establish quickly where the deceased lived.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16If he owned his property, they know the estate will be worth money.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Ernest George Wright died on October 2nd 2010 in Essex.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27He was 85 years old.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33He lived in the small, seaside community of Canvey Island.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It was here he became friends with neighbour Cathy Thompson.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40But she admits he wasn't the easiest person to get to know.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48When we first moved down here, he used to come out and cut his grass
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and never say anything to anybody.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52He wouldn't talk to anybody. The neighbours walked past,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54he wouldn't say hello.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57I made a point of saying good morning to him once.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59He went, "Morning."
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Then carried on what he was doing.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09He had nobody to talk to.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14He didn't have any family come there to see him.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15He preferred his own company.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18He said, "Been like that for a long time, girl."
0:04:18 > 0:04:21He said, "Too late to change now."
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I said to him, "Rubbish, Ernie, you need company,
0:04:24 > 0:04:25"you need people to talk to."
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Nobody should go through life on their own.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36As they became friends, Cathy found out more about his life.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40He used to build cupboards everywhere.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44You go in his house and it would be full of cupboards.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45I would say, "Who built these?"
0:04:45 > 0:04:48"I did," he said. That's what he used to do.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52He's a carpenter. And worked for the council.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55And do other odd jobs, that's what he told me.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00In the office,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03they've found an address where they believe Ernest last lived.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Now they need on-the-road Heir Hunter Dave Hadley to check it out.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Morning, Dave, um, Canvey Island,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14fancy a trip down there?
0:05:16 > 0:05:20While most of the research is done by the office team,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22they rely on the front-line investigators like Dave
0:05:22 > 0:05:27to follow their leads, find the heirs and sign them up before the competition.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Hi, we're trying to trace the relatives of the guy that used to live at number 21.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42We've got a possible address where he was living
0:05:42 > 0:05:45prior to his death on Canvey Island in Essex.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50So I'm going to make my way there via the Dartford Tunnel.
0:05:50 > 0:05:56It's a last-known address that the guys in the office have come up with.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00It looks like it's probably going to be either sheltered accommodation,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02or an old people's home.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06It's crucial to discover if Ernest owned his own home.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09If so, this could be a valuable estate.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11It's Dave's job to find out.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15The on-site manager has a record of Ernest Wright living here,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18but Dave needs to dig a bit deeper.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20It's a little bit confusing at the moment.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26I've confirmed that Mr Wright did live here with his wife, er, Lesley Wright.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32Um, but they've got no record in the office of him passing away.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35They've got a next of kin, which looks like a daughter,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37with a telephone number.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41As far as they were concerned, the place is still occupied.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So, basically, I'm going to go knock on the door.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48I'm going to knock on the door and see what the situation is.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50If there's somebody living there, see if they're related
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and see what the score is in relation to this.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Dave's taken to the address by the site managers.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03And there's a fishing lake, is that right?
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Is it just coarse fish?
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- Or do they stock it with trout, or things like that?- No.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Just coarse fish.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16It doesn't look empty to me.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Dave's hoping to find some of Ernest Wright's relatives at home.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Right.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Can I just confirm your name?
0:07:31 > 0:07:33There's someone at home.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37And, unbelievably, he says his name is Ernest George Wright.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Right.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40HE LAUGHS
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Well, you're very much alive, aren't you?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Um, Ernest George Wright?
0:07:45 > 0:07:46OK.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Um, well I'm a bit confused, then.
0:07:52 > 0:07:53It's a bit of a surprise.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Dave's found Ernest G Wright, all right,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but, far from being dead, he's answered the door.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Back at the office, case manager David Milchard,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07known as Grimble, admits it was a coincidence.
0:08:07 > 0:08:13Strangely, there are two Ernest G Wrights, both living on Canvey Island.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Um, Canvey Island,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19not that big a place,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22and to get two people with exactly the same name,
0:08:22 > 0:08:23um, confused it a bit.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27So, obviously, the one on the caravan site is not our one,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29because he's very much alive!
0:08:29 > 0:08:31- HE CHUCKLES - To Dave Hadley's horror,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35he spoke to the deceased, as it were!
0:08:35 > 0:08:38So their first lead was a dead end, or, in this case,
0:08:38 > 0:08:39very much a living one.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44But now the team have found an address for the other Ernest G Wright.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47We've got the address now. It's not that address.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50We've got a different address in Canvey Island.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Er, which we think he owned his own property,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55so it's important this one.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00If it's the right one this time, and Ernest did own his own house,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03there could be serious money involved.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07They need to move fast to keep ahead of any competing heir hunters.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Just hope the competition don't decide to muscle in on this.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15We haven't seen any sign of them yet,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18but, it doesn't mean to say they're not going to do it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Having wasted time on the wrong Mr Wright, Dave's keen to catch up.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26It turns out there is a second Ernest George Wright,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30who also lived on Canvey Island, that passed away last year,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and we've got a possible address for him.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37So I'm making my way there now to see what I can find out about him.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42While Dave hurries to the address, researchers back in the office
0:09:42 > 0:09:46try to find Ernest's birth certificate.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49With a common name like Wright, it could take some time,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53but only by finding out who his parents are can they begin to hunt for heirs.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56We're a bit stuck at the moment,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00because we don't know how old he is and there is a list
0:10:00 > 0:10:07of ten or so Ernest G Wright birth records,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09so we don't know which is the right one yet.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14Got one West Ham, 1923, he died 1991.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16So that leaves that guy.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The one in Romford, in D16, died in '87.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Back in Canvey Island, Dave checks with a neighbour
0:10:23 > 0:10:26to see if they have the right address this time.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30- Was it Ernest who lived over there? - Yes, Ernest Wright, yes.- OK.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32- Did he live on his own?- Yeah, yeah.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Any idea how old Ernest was?
0:10:36 > 0:10:38He was 85.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43So it looks like they've found where the right Ernest Wright lived this time
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and Dave's information ties up with the research in the office.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51We've just found a birth of a deceased on June, 1925, in Holborn.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Mother's maiden name is Matthewman,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58which is quite an uncommon maiden name.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03So his mother's unusual maiden name means they quickly find
0:11:03 > 0:11:07the marriage certificate for Mary Matthewman and Ernest Wright,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10married in 1919 in Mile End, East London.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16There is no other marriage of a male Wright
0:11:16 > 0:11:19marrying a female Matthewman anywhere in the country.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23They're making good progress. But, to find out if there's big money in the estate,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27the team still need to know if Ernest owned his own property.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Dave's on the case.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- And did he own that house?- Yes.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36- And lived there for many years, presumably?- Yes.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37It's great news.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40The team's hunch is confirmed.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Ernest definitely owned his bungalow
0:11:42 > 0:11:45and it could be worth up to £150,000.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- This one is the important case. - Which one's that?- Wright.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58This is the only one that we know has got value.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Now they know there's real worth to the estate
0:12:01 > 0:12:04and the chase is on to find the heirs.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- Do you know whether he was married or...?- No, not married.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11You say he was never married. You know that for sure, do you?
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- Yeah, never married. - Always a single guy, no children?- No.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Dave's done a brilliant job
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and gathered vital information for the team back in the office.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23He's found out that Ernest never had a family of his own
0:12:23 > 0:12:26who would've inherited his money.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29So now the researchers focus on the siblings.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32They quickly discover that Ernest had four sisters -
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Emily, Irene, Victoria and Gladys.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40As the closest blood relatives,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43they are the rightful heirs to Ernest's estate.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Coming up, the pressure's on to find Ernest's four sisters.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54- Irene's born March 21. Are you doing that?- Yeah.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57If any of them are still alive,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01they will share an estate worth at least £150,000.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Every now and then, a case turns up that has a lasting effect
0:13:11 > 0:13:15on even the most experienced heir hunter.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19When Saul Marks, at Celtic Research,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22came across the estate of Howard Soberg,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25he was about to uncover a story of bravery, excitement
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and heartbreak.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Howard Martin Soberg died without a will
0:13:32 > 0:13:36in Bradford on 7th July 2009.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41He was 64 and he left behind an estate worth £9,000.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45It was the name Soberg that caught Saul's eye
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and led him to start the investigation.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54This name first came to my attention on the weekly release list,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58because the surname ends in "berg"
0:13:58 > 0:14:01and that's a very common ending to Jewish surnames.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03I specialise in Jewish cases,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05so I immediately wondered whether it was a Jewish case.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08I did a little bit more investigation on it
0:14:08 > 0:14:12and I found that his father's name was Tormod.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17That really made me think this is probably Scandinavian.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22The name Soberg is very rare in Britain,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24which helped speed up Saul's research.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28There were only, literally, a handful of Sobergs
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and it seems they were all related to each other.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Saul discovered that Howard's father was from Norway.
0:14:35 > 0:14:42He moved to England and married Miriam Martin, in Leeds, in 1943.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45They had two children - Howard and a daughter.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Next, he checked records to see
0:14:48 > 0:14:50if Howard had a wife or children himself.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I established that the deceased had actually been married twice
0:14:55 > 0:14:59and that he'd had a daughter by his first wife
0:14:59 > 0:15:00and her name was Victoria.
0:15:00 > 0:15:06Um, I couldn't find any listings for the wife or the daughter.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Saul discovered that Howard had been divorced twice.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12His ex-wives were not entitled to his money,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17but if his daughter Victoria was still alive, or had children,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20they would be the beneficiaries of his estate.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24If not, his only hope of finding an heir would be through Howard's sister.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26She died in 2005.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28But if she had any children,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30they would be next in line to inherit.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36A good trick I find, with unusual names, whether it's a surname,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40or a name combination, is to throw it into Google and see what happens.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Saul's research led him to a submariners' website,
0:15:45 > 0:15:52where he discovered Howard had gone to sea in 1963 at just 18 years old.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54He had played a vital role as a radar plotter
0:15:54 > 0:15:58in one of the most important periods of naval history.
0:15:58 > 0:16:04- SERVICEMEN:- The main gate open, sir. - Roger. Diving now, diving now.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09Early in his career, he served on board the warship HMS Plymouth,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12alongside Paul Hartley, who remembers Howard,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14or Harry, as he knew him, very well.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Harry and I were both able seaman.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24We spent the whole two years on there going all the way all over the place,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26like the Med and the Far East.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Up to Hong Kong. HE LAUGHS
0:16:29 > 0:16:33It was a good commission and it was a good ship.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40We were both in the same mess, so...that's the living quarters,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44so we just became friends.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47We were best oppos as we called it in the Navy.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50You know, I had other oppos, but he was like your best oppo.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54It's like friends, you've got a best friend you can tell anything to
0:16:54 > 0:16:57and that's how it was with us.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59He had a good sense of humour.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04And, he wouldn't let you down, sort of, you could rely on him
0:17:04 > 0:17:08and, yes, he was an all-round good ant. He was.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15Sadly, Paul lost touch with Howard when they both joined new ships.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16I never saw Harry again.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19In fact, most of the people I was in the Navy with I never saw again.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22It's not like, I suppose, being in the Army,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25where you are in the same battalion the whole time and you get to know everybody.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28It was just ships that pass in the night, literally.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36In the years that followed, Howard became a submariner
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and played a vital role in the Cold War.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44The Cuban Missile Crisis had brought the world closer to nuclear conflict
0:17:44 > 0:17:47than ever before.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49US intelligence picked up on a suspicious increase
0:17:49 > 0:17:53in shipping traffic between Russia and Cuba.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58- NEWSREEL:- Is a breakneck Soviet build-up of personnel and military equipment under way?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02A bland Khrushchev denies supplying offensive weapons to Cuba.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05His foreign minister, Andre Gromyko,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07tells President Kennedy that the Soviet government
0:18:07 > 0:18:10would never become involved in rendering such assistance.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15Spy planes located nuclear weapons stockpiled on the island,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18just 90 miles off the coast of America.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20It shall be the policy of this nation
0:18:20 > 0:18:24to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba
0:18:24 > 0:18:27against any nation in the Western Hemisphere
0:18:27 > 0:18:31as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34In the tense years that followed,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Howard served as a radar plotter
0:18:37 > 0:18:40on board the nuclear submarine HMS Courageous,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43now open to the public as a museum.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53Former colleague Michael Pitkeathly remembers working with him.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57And it was from this room that they tracked the enemy's every move.
0:18:58 > 0:19:06Our principal function was to gather in the sonar information and plot it.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10You would plot the range and get a feel for what the target was doing.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14- Chapel, 320.- 320.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Harry was an exceptional operator, much better than me,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22and he would bowl out a solution relatively quickly.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25He always sort of had the knack.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Where I really had to work at it,
0:19:27 > 0:19:31he seemed to come in here, "Oh, it's obviously doing that."
0:19:31 > 0:19:33HE LAUGHS Very annoying!
0:19:33 > 0:19:37On here, he was very, very neat and pedantic with his plotting.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41So, yeah, Harry was a good member of the team to have.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47The work that Courageous was doing during the Cold War was critical
0:19:47 > 0:19:49in that we were gaining intelligence
0:19:49 > 0:19:53on what the Soviets were doing and their expanding fleet at the time.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02As a submariner, Howard spent months at a time underwater
0:20:02 > 0:20:06and had no contact with anyone, not even his family.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09A lot of people just blanked it out,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13because there is nothing you can do about it, absolutely nothing.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16And there is a busy, busy environment working,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19so your whole focus on life is getting the job done.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22"A nuclear submarine is an undersea home."
0:20:22 > 0:20:24"It stays submerged for a couple of months at a time.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28"That's the real difference for the crew.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30"The word 'submarine' now means what it says."
0:20:32 > 0:20:36And Howard, and the crew of Courageous,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39known as a hunter-killer sub, were always on alert.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41I remember once
0:20:41 > 0:20:44we were about to conduct an underwater look on a Soviet.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Now, an underwater look is where you creep up on to the Soviets,
0:20:49 > 0:20:56get underneath, so that your periscopes can see all his hull fittings.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01So you've got to be very, very close to these possible hostile units.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05And I remember that we were under this unit
0:21:05 > 0:21:11and, all of a sudden, we heard three very loud bangs, very close to us.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15They'd obviously sussed we were out underneath
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and done the gentlemanly thing and thrown three grenades over the side
0:21:19 > 0:21:23just to let us know that they knew we were down there.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27So we hoiked away fairly rapidly.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32It was Howard's naval career
0:21:32 > 0:21:35that led Saul to make a remarkable discovery.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42There was a forum in which this lady named Victoria was actually searching for her father
0:21:42 > 0:21:44and this was an absolute goldmine.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47It was an exciting breakthrough.
0:21:47 > 0:21:53Was this really Howard's daughter, the sole heir to his £9,000 estate?
0:21:53 > 0:21:55And would Saul be able to find her?
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Coming up, the heir hunt turns emotional.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02I think this is the only case,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05certainly to date, where I found myself in tears.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and millions of pounds are paid out to rightful heirs.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19But not every case can be cracked.
0:22:19 > 0:22:26The Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates that have baffled heir hunters and remain unsolved.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Could you be the heir they've been searching for?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Could you be in line for a windfall worth hundreds,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35thousands, or even millions of pounds?
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Estates stay on the list for up to 30 years and, today,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42we're focusing on three names.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Are they relatives of yours?
0:22:45 > 0:22:50Roman Augustyn Hachulski died in December 2000 in Leicester.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Hachulski is most commonly a Polish surname.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Does that name mean anything to you?
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Semek Binti Smith died in Bristol in 1997.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Smith is the most common surname in the UK,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08but Semek is a very rare first name.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Do you have a Semek in your family?
0:23:13 > 0:23:18Kathleen Mary Waddon died in Taunton, Somerset, in May 2007.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22By far the highest concentration of the surname is in Somerset.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Were you a friend or neighbour of Kathleen?
0:23:27 > 0:23:31If no heirs are found, her money will go to the Government.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37If the names Roman Hachulski, Semek Smith or Kathleen Waddon
0:23:37 > 0:23:39mean anything to you or someone you know,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:23:50 > 0:23:56Heir hunters Fraser & Fraser are investigating the case of Ernest George Wright.
0:23:56 > 0:24:02He died in Essex, in October 2010, without leaving a will.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05The investigation got off to a shaky start...
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Ernest George Wright? OK.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14..when on-the-road researcher Dave came face to face with a man he thought was dead.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Um... Well, I'm a bit confused, then.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19But they were soon back on track.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Right, we've got the address. It's not that address,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25we've got a different address in Canvey Island.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27They have discovered that he owned his bungalow,
0:24:27 > 0:24:32which could be worth up to £150,000. This could be a valuable estate.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41The team have been researching Ernest's family tree.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46They have established that his parents, Ernest Wright and Mary Matthewman,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49were married in 1919, and that he had four sisters.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Ernest was a bachelor all his life and did not have children.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00As his parents had passed away, his sisters were the next heirs in line.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03But, sadly, the team have found that not one of them is still alive.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Emily's marriage certificate, however, led them to a daughter.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11They found Ernest's first living heir and Grimble has spoken to her.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Apparently, there was a lot of contact with the deceased
0:25:16 > 0:25:18up until about four years ago.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21It seems he wrote to them,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25got a bit uptight and said he didn't want to know the family any more.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29To me, that strikes of somebody getting old and getting a bit funny.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32So that seems to be the sole reason this has become a case.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Basically, old age has crept in
0:25:35 > 0:25:39and the poor guy didn't want to know the rest of the family.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44But along with the sad story of how Ernest lost touch with his relatives,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Grimble has some more positive news about his estate.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52We learned from the niece that he was a bit funny with banks.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54He didn't like putting money in the bank.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58So, the age-old thing, he stacked money all over the house, particularly the loft.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Well, the house has been empty for two years.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03- HE CHUCKLES - Hopefully it's still there.
0:26:03 > 0:26:09Even into his 80s, Ernest was an active and independent character.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13His neighbour Cathy remembers how he used to cycle to the supermarket.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17Every week, he'd go down to the shops and come back laden
0:26:17 > 0:26:21and I often wondered how he pushed the bike along, let alone ride it.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26He didn't look physically strong, but he must've been.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30He was always up and down ladders and doing things around the house.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37But, then, Ernest was taken ill and Cathy raised the alarm.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42I was calling through the letterbox, "Ernie, Ernie, it's me."
0:26:42 > 0:26:44"It's Cathy. open up the door, Ernie."
0:26:44 > 0:26:46"It's Cathy, open up the door."
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Oh, about ten minutes.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52And I couldn't get any answer and I got worried, so I phoned the police.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And they came down and they went into the back,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00broke open the back door, and they found him lying on the floor.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04I'm not sure whether it was the passage or the front room.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06They called the doctor and an ambulance
0:27:06 > 0:27:09and they took him to Southend Hospital.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Ernest never returned to his bungalow
0:27:14 > 0:27:19and was moved to a series of residential care homes.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23But he remained friends with Cathy and she often went to visit him.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30All of a sudden, he'd got people to talk to and he was a changed...
0:27:30 > 0:27:33He was changed. He'd sort of...
0:27:33 > 0:27:35I mean, he was laughing with us.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39There's me telling my sister he's a bit quiet and a bit shy
0:27:39 > 0:27:43and, all of a sudden, he was joking around with us.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45My sister said, "He's a bit of a gay old boy!"
0:27:45 > 0:27:50I said, "No, not normally. He must've changed since he came here!"
0:27:50 > 0:27:55So he introduced us to this woman. He said, "This is my girlfriend."
0:27:55 > 0:28:00It made me feel good that, at last,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04he'd got somebody to talk to him.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Because he shouldn't be on his own.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14And for the team hunting Ernest's heirs,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16things are looking positive, too.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19His niece has told them of two more heirs -
0:28:19 > 0:28:22another niece, daughter of his sister Victoria,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and a nephew, the son of his sister Irene.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30All three heirs are entitled to a share of Ernest's estate
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and the team quickly identify his nephew.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36She's got a cousin. A Michael Allen.
0:28:36 > 0:28:42And Michael is the son of Irene Linda Wright,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46who married Robert Allen in 1943, in Edmonton.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52Now the hunt is on to contact nephew Michael before the competition.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Right, that's...
0:28:55 > 0:29:01The guys downstairs traced the address for the nephew, Michael Allen.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05And he's living in Woodford.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Dave needs to get there as quickly as possible
0:29:08 > 0:29:10and see if he can sign him up.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15They've managed to get an address for Michael,
0:29:15 > 0:29:16which is in E18.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20I've tried ringing the telephone number, but there's no reply.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24It's frustrating news. But then there's better luck at the office.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Hello, Dave? Right, that Michael Allen just phoned in the office,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32only I missed the call.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34So it looks like he must be at home.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39In Woodford, East London,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Dave delivers the news to Ernest's nephew.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45I represent a company called Fraser & Fraser
0:29:45 > 0:29:50and we trace missing heirs and beneficiaries in unclaimed estates.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53It's predominantly where people die without leaving a will.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55Um, we're working on a case at the moment
0:29:55 > 0:29:59where a gentleman passed away last year
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and we believe that you were his nephew.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Er, and that he was related to you through your mother.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Ernest Wright, you must be talking about.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13- That's the man.- He was my uncle. I haven't seen him for 40 years.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20I know Mum used to go down to visit him at Canvey.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25- Yeah.- Like, in the late '80s, early '90s.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Then she suffered from bronchitis and things
0:30:28 > 0:30:31- and it was just too much of a journey for her.- Yeah.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37Um, he, um, he was taken ill over the last couple of years
0:30:37 > 0:30:39and, eventually, had to move into a care home.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43- I see. - He passed away in February last year.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Um, he didn't have any children, he was never married.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48No, he was a single man.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50And because he didn't leave a will,
0:30:50 > 0:30:55- any of his estate must pass to a blood relative.- Mm-hm.
0:30:55 > 0:31:01- Now, your mother, as I understand it, was Irene, was it?- Yes.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- She was his sister.- Yes.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07And because Irene has sadly passed away,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11then any entitlement she would have had passes to her children.
0:31:11 > 0:31:12Which I'm the only one.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17You're the only one, so whatever she would have got will now go to you.
0:31:17 > 0:31:18OK.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Although he hadn't seen him for years,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Michael has fond childhood memories of his uncle.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27He was a very quiet man. He was a carpenter.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29He was, yeah, worked for the council.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31He made me a cricket bat when I was five years old.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33- Did he really?- It was very good.
0:31:34 > 0:31:35Michael remembers
0:31:35 > 0:31:38how he and his parents once shared a home with Ernest.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43It was a big, old house in Haringey, where you had...
0:31:43 > 0:31:47Er, it was only a two-storey house.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49But then you had...
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Downstairs, it was the old scullery and the kitchen,
0:31:52 > 0:31:56where Nan used to have... Her bedroom was on the ground floor.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58You came up one flight of stairs,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01and that was my uncle's bedroom and the bathroom and toilet.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Then, up another flight, and that was our little flat with me, Mum and Dad.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08The years went by, the family sort of moved apart.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11I'm not really sure of the exact reasons.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15But I married in 1970 and we moved over here
0:32:15 > 0:32:18and I've not seen that side of the family since.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Despite the sad news of his uncle's death,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Michael plans to put the money he left to good use.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33My son is just buying a house and, if there is anything,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36it will take 18 months, or whatever,
0:32:36 > 0:32:40I think he'll be very happy to get a lump off his mortgage.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42- 'Hello?'- Hello. David.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- 'Hello, mate, how you going?' - I've just signed up Mr Allen.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Oh, lovely.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49- 'Did you really?'- Yeah.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51What's he say about his uncle?
0:32:51 > 0:32:56Um, last had any contact with him over 40 years ago.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58'Oh.'
0:32:58 > 0:33:02Um, and he's going to give the money to his son.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07That's a nice result then. Yeah, lovely.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10OK, well you're doing well, Dave. I'm really grateful.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12- Cheers then, mate. - 'Cheers.'- Bye.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18They've signed up Ernest's nephew with no sign of the competition
0:33:18 > 0:33:20and Dave's a happy man.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23It's been a really good day today. Apart from a shaky start,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26everything's gone pretty smoothly, really.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31In total, the heir hunters found two nieces and nephew Michael.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33They will all share in Ernest's estate.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Made up of his property and savings,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39it's estimated to be worth £200,000.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52Heir hunters Celtic Research were investigating the estate of Howard Martin Soberg.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57He died in Bradford, aged 64,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00leaving an estate worth £9,000.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Heir hunter Saul Marks made quick progress with the case.
0:34:04 > 0:34:09There was only one Howard Martin Soberg who ever lived in this country.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14Um, you know, it makes it much easier,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17but you've still got to make sure that you've got the right family.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Saul discovered that Howard had a daughter, Victoria,
0:34:25 > 0:34:27from his first marriage.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31If he could find her, she would be the sole heir.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34On a submariners' website, he came across a woman looking
0:34:34 > 0:34:37for Howard Soberg, who she said was her father.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Could this be the missing daughter Saul was looking for?
0:34:41 > 0:34:45Her screen name on this forum was the Vicky T.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50And I was thinking, "I can't find her under the name Soberg."
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Then, the light bulbs went in my head and I realised
0:34:54 > 0:35:00that the deceased's first wife had remarried a gentleman named Tilson.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02And that led me to think,
0:35:02 > 0:35:07"Right, maybe Victoria took her stepfather's name of Tilson."
0:35:07 > 0:35:10So I looked her up under Tilson and there she was in Barnsley.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Saul prepared himself to deliver the sad news to Victoria.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Close-kin cases are always difficult in terms of sensitivity and emotion,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24because you often have to break the news to people
0:35:24 > 0:35:26that a very close family member has died.
0:35:26 > 0:35:32He hadn't died particularly long before his case was released,
0:35:32 > 0:35:36so I figured the chances were probably that she didn't know he'd died.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40At his Liverpool office,
0:35:40 > 0:35:45Saul had found an address for Victoria in Yorkshire, but no phone number.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47So he decided to drive to her house.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51But it was December and there was heavy snow.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53It took me, in the end,
0:35:53 > 0:35:563½ hours to drive 23 miles
0:35:56 > 0:35:59just to get out of Merseyside.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02I was sitting in the car the whole time, thinking
0:36:02 > 0:36:04this was a fairly easy case for me to solve,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07which means it was probably easy for the competition, as well.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12In total, his journey took him five hours.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15But, finally, he arrived Victoria's house.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Her partner was there and he told me,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20incredibly frustratingly,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24that she was three quarters of the way to Shropshire
0:36:24 > 0:36:28on a...to go to a business meeting.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32So what he kindly did was ring her up on her mobile.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36That left me with the heart-wrenching job of having
0:36:36 > 0:36:41to tell this lady, over the phone, in a car,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44that her father, who she had been searching for,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48had passed away and she had failed in her quest.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52And she pulled the car over and she cried and she cried.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00What Victoria revealed is a heartbreaking story
0:37:00 > 0:37:03of how a daughter and father lost touch.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09He was away at sea for most of my early childhood.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12I remember him coming home in his uniform.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15He was always very smart, very handsome.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Um...
0:37:17 > 0:37:21But, really, I don't know what happened on those boats,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23I have no idea.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27When Howard was posted to Plymouth, his wife refused to relocate
0:37:27 > 0:37:30and leave her family in Yorkshire behind.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33He bought himself out of the Navy in 1976,
0:37:33 > 0:37:35when Victoria was just nine.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41My mum, she spent an inordinate amount of time by herself.
0:37:41 > 0:37:47She was only a young woman and to be sort of home alone,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51raising a child by yourself, couldn't have been easy.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54I think that was the reason he came out of the Navy,
0:37:54 > 0:37:57so that he could be with his family.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01But family life wasn't easy and, shortly afterwards,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03Victoria's parents divorced
0:38:03 > 0:38:05and her mother married again.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Howard found it hard to adjust to life after the Navy.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10He moved away and remarried
0:38:10 > 0:38:12and Victoria hardly ever saw him.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16The last time I saw my dad was when I was around 20 years of age
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and he came round to my house.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22He'd got me a cooker and a gas fire
0:38:22 > 0:38:25and he fitted those for me.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29Um, that was a nice day to remember.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33But, after that, I think,
0:38:33 > 0:38:38with him being remarried, we just didn't have that much contact.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45It wasn't until I was pregnant with my first child, Amy,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49that I thought maybe I should look for him.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53Because I thought he had the right to know that he had some grandchildren,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55but I just couldn't find him.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Six years ago, Victoria thought she was making progress
0:39:00 > 0:39:04when an online tracing company thought they'd found him.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08I found an address for him, which was down in Gloucestershire.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13Sort of a boarding house, where my father was staying.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17The landlady told me that he'd left two years since,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21that he'd been very poorly, he'd got throat cancer.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25He'd had a lot of treatment for it, but he had been very ill.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29She thought he'd ended up in the Cheshire area.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33So I switched my searching from Gloucestershire to Cheshire,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37but I couldn't find anything, no addresses, no nothing.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47I'd say that I was looking for my father for over ten years.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56After hearing the news that her father had died,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Victoria arranged to meet Saul.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03We sat together in her kitchen and she told me in detail
0:40:03 > 0:40:05all about her search for her father.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10And we both ended up in floods of tears. It was quite incredible.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14You don't get cases that touch you emotionally very often.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16You do have to be sensitive
0:40:16 > 0:40:19to people who have just lost a very close relative.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22But I think this is the only case, certainly to date,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26where I've found myself in tears with an heir in their house.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Um, it was just incredible to hear the heartache
0:40:30 > 0:40:34of her having gone through all these different resources,
0:40:34 > 0:40:35all over the country,
0:40:35 > 0:40:40online, off-line, to try and find her father.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42And then to find...
0:40:42 > 0:40:46Ultimately, to have a phone call to say that she'd been unsuccessful.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50It felt very strange to be told by a complete stranger
0:40:50 > 0:40:53what had happened to my dad.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56You don't expect that.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59It was very upsetting and distressing, as you can imagine.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01But it was also interesting.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05At least it gave some closure as to what had happened.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11Perhaps the most heartbreaking twist of the story for Victoria
0:41:11 > 0:41:14was to find out that her father had been living in a nursing home
0:41:14 > 0:41:17within easy reach of where she lived.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22When I found out my dad had spent probably three years living in Bradford,
0:41:22 > 0:41:27bearing in mind I'm about three quarters of an hour away from Bradford,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29from where I live,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31I just found it so ironic.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34It was... That was...
0:41:34 > 0:41:37I think that was the most unbelievable thing, really.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39To think that he was so close.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43I actually went to the nursing home
0:41:43 > 0:41:47where he spent the last two years of his life.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50And the staff there were friendly. They told me lots about him.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55I met some of his friends that he used to like to go to the pub with.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59That was nice, actually, finding out people who had looked after him.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01That gave me some comfort.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08They told me that they'd scattered his ashes at Scholemoor Cemetery in Bradford,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12so I went there and put some flowers.
0:42:12 > 0:42:13SHE SNIFFS
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Despite eight other heir hunters contacting her,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Victoria signed Saul's agreement
0:42:21 > 0:42:26as the sole surviving heir of Howard's £9,000 estate.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28I think the most important thing for me
0:42:28 > 0:42:33was actually finding out what had happened to him.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38Um, that was... It's more valuable than any sum of money.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Um, as for that,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I haven't really made my mind up what I'm going to do with it,
0:42:44 > 0:42:48but I think probably the most fitting thing to do would be
0:42:48 > 0:42:50to set up trust funds for the children.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Um, I think that would be nice.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd