0:00:02 > 0:00:04Welcome to Heir Hunters where we uncover long forgotten family
0:00:04 > 0:00:09secrets and help unite people with family money they never knew was theirs.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15A team of heir hunters are scouring the suburbs of Birmingham trying to find
0:00:15 > 0:00:19heirs for an estate that could be worth as much as £175,000.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24- We won't get that death until 10 o'clock.- They're looking for long-lost relatives
0:00:24 > 0:00:28who have no idea they could be in line for a windfall.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Coming up on today's programme:
0:00:52 > 0:00:58The heir hunters are chasing a high-value case of £175,000.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01But have they been barking up the wrong family tree?
0:01:01 > 0:01:04That was a total false start for us on Mason.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08When a Hull-based heir hunter investigates a case of a
0:01:08 > 0:01:13former radar-base worker, her journey takes her from the Cold War
0:01:13 > 0:01:15to family tragedy.
0:01:15 > 0:01:21They'd seen my dad in the water with a gash on his head so he didn't stand a chance.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26And I'll be talking to the experts to discover what the Cold War
0:01:26 > 0:01:29really meant to everyday people.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Britain in the early '80s almost put
0:01:31 > 0:01:38itself on a war footing. Britain was really getting itself ready for the Third World War.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Plus, how you could be entitled to unclaimed estates where heirs still
0:01:42 > 0:01:47need to be found. Could you be in line for a cash payout?
0:01:53 > 0:01:59Every year in the UK over 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03If no relatives are found, any money they've left behind will go to the
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Government. Last year, that was a staggering £14 million.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13But there are over 30 specialist firms competing to stop this
0:02:13 > 0:02:17happening. They are the heir hunters and they make it their business to
0:02:17 > 0:02:21track down missing relatives and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Bringing together family that hadn't met each other
0:02:24 > 0:02:29or didn't know about each other. It gives us pleasure, more so than the financial side.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41The heir hunters sometimes take risks, working cases before they can
0:02:41 > 0:02:44establish the value of an estate.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47On their first case today, will their gamble pay off?
0:02:52 > 0:02:56It's Thursday morning and overnight the Treasury has advertised a new
0:02:56 > 0:02:57list of unclaimed estates.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07In the offices of Fraser & Fraser, partner Neil and case manager Tony
0:03:07 > 0:03:10are up against it.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15- That's just a total mistake. - Not much on the list has promise.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18At the present moment, it's just confusion.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22There is one case that looks like it might have value.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28It is Rita Mason, in the West Midlands. Value-wise it could be as high as £175,000.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40Rita Mason was 79 when she passed away. She had never married. She had
0:03:40 > 0:03:45learning difficulties. For most of her life, she lived in this rented
0:03:45 > 0:03:47house with her mum and dad.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52When her mother died 22 years ago, she moved into
0:03:52 > 0:03:59sheltered accommodation. She arrived at Holly Grange care home 14 years ago.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Jenny Harley was Rita's housing support officer. She remembers Rita
0:04:03 > 0:04:06as being a complex character.
0:04:06 > 0:04:12Rita was a lady that had to befriend you first.
0:04:12 > 0:04:18She used to weigh up what type of person you was before she would let
0:04:18 > 0:04:21you come into her world.
0:04:21 > 0:04:28Took a few months probably, couple of years, before she completely trusted
0:04:28 > 0:04:30me but we got there in the end.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35But once Rita did feel comfortable, she was always ready for a natter.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38She used to spend quite a lot of time as
0:04:38 > 0:04:42she passed the office popping in on a daily basis.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45She was always up for a bit of banter.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Always a bit of banter and a bit of fun.
0:04:50 > 0:04:56She'd got a really meanful laugh. A little giggle and was always doing
0:04:56 > 0:05:00the da-da-da, as she was walking along.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05No-one ever visited Rita at Holly Grange and when she passed away,
0:05:05 > 0:05:10no family came forward so Rita's name was put onto the Treasury's list.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18At this stage, the heir hunters don't know anything about Rita
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- other than her date and place of birth.- We still don't have any idea about the
0:05:23 > 0:05:28value, if she's got £1,000 sat in a bank or £1 million sat in the bank.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31No idea what type of lady she is at all.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Neil found a property which is registered to a Rita Mason. It's
0:05:35 > 0:05:39valued at £175,000.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42A house is the most expensive thing you will ever own
0:05:42 > 0:05:45so heir hunters use this to judge the value of a case.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50But they don't know for sure whether the house they found is registered
0:05:50 > 0:05:54to the deceased Rita Mason or to someone else with the same name.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58- Neil thinks it's worth taking the risk.- It's better for us to start
0:05:58 > 0:06:02rolling on something and it proves to be wrong.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Heir hunters work on commission, taking a percentage of the money received by each heir they sign.
0:06:07 > 0:06:14They need a good sized estate to cover costs so taking on a case like this is a leap of faith.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Yes, there is a risk we are doing this work and none will pay off,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21there's also a risk we don't do any work, someone else does that,
0:06:21 > 0:06:27takes a gamble and those gambles pay off because they get to the beneficiaries first.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Neil has given the Rita Mason case to Dave Slee.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34He's got more than 30 years' experience in heir hunting.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39- Rita Moran Mason.- I've checked Scotland, not checked Ireland.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44To try and stay one step ahead of the competition, Dave has decided to take a chance.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Have we got neighbours?
0:06:47 > 0:06:52Using the address they think is Rita Mason's, he is using the telephone
0:06:52 > 0:06:54directories to find neighbours.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01We are struggling to locate the birth for Rita Mason so I'm going to try
0:07:01 > 0:07:08to phone some neighbours, just in an attempt to get a rough idea of her age, if nothing else,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12which might help track down the exact birth.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Good morning, I'm very sorry to trouble you...
0:07:17 > 0:07:22It may be like looking for a needle in a haystack but Dave knows from experience that
0:07:22 > 0:07:25phoning neighbours can pay off.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29One good phone call can break a whole case sometimes.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30So, it's worth doing.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35Hello, I apologise for troubling you so early. I just wondered
0:07:35 > 0:07:39if you knew Rita Mason at all? Lovely. Allow me to explain
0:07:39 > 0:07:40who I am and why I am phoning.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46And it seems Dave has struck gold. He's found a neighbour that recognises the name.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Well, Rita Mason, we weren't sure if she was a married lady or not.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56But has this heir hunter just put his foot right in it?
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Right, and she is still alive, is she? I am so sorry to trouble you.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05Just pure coincidence then. So kind of you to let me know. Bye-bye.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Well, we've been working the wrong address. Oh, dear.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Dave is mortified. And now they're back to square one.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Debbie, she's alive, that woman at that address.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23- Husband, Philip. - But there's another problem.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- If the team had the wrong address for Rita Mason...- Wrong address.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32That means that Neil's valuation of her house at £175,000
0:08:32 > 0:08:34could be way off the mark.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38- Right now, they have no idea where she lived.- It could be a nursing
0:08:38 > 0:08:42home. It might not be an estate with any value. The surname is
0:08:42 > 0:08:47common. It's in a large urban area of Birmingham. There's going to be
0:08:47 > 0:08:49more than one of them.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Dave thinks Rita Mason's case is a risky prospect
0:08:52 > 0:08:57but Neil is sticking to his guns. With nothing better on the list,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59he still wants to work it up.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03That was a total false start for us on Mason.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07It sometimes happens. As it stands, we haven't got anything
0:09:07 > 0:09:11better to work so we are going to slowly tick over on it
0:09:11 > 0:09:16because a dozen jobs and none of them are producing anything with any value.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20So, it's nose back to the grindstone...
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Do you want to spin back on it?
0:09:22 > 0:09:26..in the hunt to find records of Rita Moran Mason ahead of
0:09:26 > 0:09:28competing firms.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Rita is trawling through birth registers.
0:09:32 > 0:09:38Right, how many Rita M births are there in Birmingham?
0:09:38 > 0:09:41On here just now there is three.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Out of the three, Dave's decided to go for the one
0:09:44 > 0:09:48closest to the date of birth they think is Rita's.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Debbie is running with a birth that hopefully is the right one.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59They've decided to take a chance and draw up a family tree.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03Heir hunters use these documents to map out families, taking them back
0:10:03 > 0:10:09generation by generation until they find someone entitled to inherit.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14The Rita Mason registered in 1931 had a father called Charles Mason
0:10:14 > 0:10:19and her mother was Violet Louisa Holding. They have a possible family
0:10:19 > 0:10:23but they still don't know how much this estate is worth.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I've got a feeling this hasn't got value.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31An estate of £5,000 is the minimum to make it onto the Treasury list.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36It's really difficult to ever be able to determine the value of
0:10:36 > 0:10:39the state if they don't have property.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43To try and find out how wealthy this family was, Dave and Debbie have got
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- hold of Charles Mason and Violet Holding's wills.- What type of money
0:10:47 > 0:10:53- did they leave?- The dad only leaves £1,505 in '74.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58£1,505 in 1974 equals around £17,000 in today's money.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04It's not much and they still don't know if they have the right Rita Mason.
0:11:05 > 0:11:11- We're speculating.- The death certificate will confirm the right
0:11:11 > 0:11:14place and date of birth. Dave gets on the blower to travelling heir
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- hunter Bob Barrett. - Morning, it's Dave Slee.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett is one of a group of highly experienced
0:11:24 > 0:11:28probate researchers who spend Thursdays hunting for clues. They
0:11:28 > 0:11:33- talk to neighbours...- Can I ask you a couple of questions?
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- ..chase certificates and visit the heirs.- I've got my sister in here.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- That's all right.- Often it is their dogged determination that gives them
0:11:41 > 0:11:46the edge when it comes to reaching the heirs before the competition.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49We desperately need a death certificate from West Bromwich RO.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53It is the deceased death of Rita Mason.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58The second name Moran. M-O-R-A-N.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04We can't locate residence at time of death. So, it's crucial to know
0:12:04 > 0:12:08- where we are going with this job, really.- Okey-dokey. Speak to you later.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10- All right, Bob.- Goodbye.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Up in Birmingham, travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett is also having a
0:12:19 > 0:12:23- frustrating morning.- Yeah, plans keep changing this morning.
0:12:23 > 0:12:29He's already travelled 120 miles from Sussex on another job and it's only 10am.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33While Bob makes a beeline to get the certificate, in the office the team
0:12:33 > 0:12:36are crossing their fingers they've got the right family tree.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Rita Mason's father Charles has a common name but Violet Holding,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45the person they believe is her mother, is easy to find.
0:12:45 > 0:12:51I managed to find death for the mother of the deceased in 1977 in Sandwell.
0:12:51 > 0:12:57From that, we are getting a tree which has a sister,
0:12:57 > 0:13:02a Rose Holding, who has three children.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Violet had a sister called Rose. She had some children who would be first
0:13:06 > 0:13:10cousins and therefore heirs to Rita Mason's estate. One of them is
0:13:10 > 0:13:15living in Somerset. This could be the break they need. Dave has the
0:13:15 > 0:13:19number and he's about to find out if he has the right family.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Is this Rita Mason our Rita Mason?
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Hopefully this phone call will
0:13:27 > 0:13:31determine if that is the case or not.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Knowing my luck today, there will be no answer!
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Coming up: Have the heir hunters bitten off more than they can chew?
0:13:45 > 0:13:50- It's going to come back in the end to haunt us.- And the sad story of how
0:13:50 > 0:13:57- Rita was left alone.- I felt that she needed somebody. To me, she came over quite vulnerable.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year and millions of pounds
0:14:12 > 0:14:16are paid out to rightful heirs but not every case can be cracked.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The Treasury has a database of over 2,000 names
0:14:19 > 0:14:23which have baffled the heir hunters and remain unsolved.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26This is known as the Bona Vacantia list.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31Bona Vacantia is Latin for ownerless goods and we deal with the estates
0:14:31 > 0:14:35of people who die intestate and without known kin.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38This unclaimed money could belong to you, not the Government,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42but you'll have to show them you're the rightful heir.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45If they write to us enclosing a simple family tree,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49just showing how they are related to the deceased person,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51then we can have a look at it,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55make sure that we're talking about the same family, before we go off
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and ask them to supply various certificates of birth, death
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and marriage to actually substantiate the claim.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04So, are you in line for a windfall
0:15:04 > 0:15:09worth hundreds, thousands or even millions of pounds?
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Today, we're focusing on three names.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Are they relatives of yours?
0:15:15 > 0:15:22John Archer Hydes died in Sheffield, South Yorkshire on 8th December, 2002.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27The surname Hydes is historically associated with landowners.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Do you remember John? If no heirs are found for his estate,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33his money will go to the Government.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Does the name Violet May Priddle sound familiar?
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Violet died in December 1998 in Hammersmith, London.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44The highest concentration of Priddles is in Devonshire
0:15:44 > 0:15:47and Somerset.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Do you share the surname Priddle? Are you related to Violet
0:15:50 > 0:15:53and entitled to her unclaimed estate?
0:15:53 > 0:15:59Richard Barnes died on January 1st, 2000 in Lambeth, London.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03So far, all efforts to trace any heirs have failed.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Do you know Richard and can you help solve this case?
0:16:06 > 0:16:09But these estates will not be around for ever.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13It will stay on the list as long as it's claimable
0:16:13 > 0:16:17and actually under the Limitation Act, people have 12 years
0:16:17 > 0:16:19to come forward and claim.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24Here are the names again. John Hydes, Violet Priddle
0:16:24 > 0:16:26and Richard Barnes.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32So if any of the names on today's lists of relatives are yours
0:16:32 > 0:16:35then you could have a windfall coming your way.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Next the case of a life long Yorkshireman who died
0:16:42 > 0:16:45without leaving a will. Can the heir hunters find living family
0:16:45 > 0:16:49entitled to inherit his quarter of a million pound estate?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Sometimes, in the hunt for heirs,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57the researchers uncover tragic stories buried for decades
0:16:57 > 0:17:02and reunite families that have been ripped apart by circumstance.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06And that's something Anna Dunn of DS Researchers encountered
0:17:06 > 0:17:09when she took on a case centred around North Yorkshire.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12I mainly look at cases that cover the North of England
0:17:12 > 0:17:14where the death has occurred.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Keith Bryant lived in this bungalow
0:17:18 > 0:17:22in the village of Cayton Bay near Scarborough.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27He was 78 when he passed away and left a substantial estate
0:17:27 > 0:17:30of £250,000 but no will.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35When Keith's estate was advertised on the Treasury's list last year,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37it caught Anna's eye.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40He had died in Scarborough, which isn't too far
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and I thought it would be an ideal one to start off with
0:17:43 > 0:17:45on that Thursday morning.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Keith was a Yorkshire lad
0:17:48 > 0:17:52who'd stayed close to his roots all his life.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54His neighbour of 17 years, Peter Hargreaves,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59remembers him going off for daily walks in his beloved countryside.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03You talk about any part of Yorkshire and Keith
0:18:03 > 0:18:06had either been there or he was going there.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Some of the locals thought Keith was a bit odd but to Peter,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11he was a good sort.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14People misread the type of man he was.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19Cos round home, he was a very, very private person.
0:18:19 > 0:18:26Once he was outside his own area, he was very, very light-hearted,
0:18:26 > 0:18:31always happy, spoke to most people he met on the bus
0:18:31 > 0:18:33or whilst walking around.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38He was a very, very likeable man and a very good neighbour.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41In fact, we miss him quite a lot now.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48With no obvious relatives, every penny of Keith's whopping £250,000
0:18:48 > 0:18:51estate could go to the Government.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56Probate researcher Anna Dunn was determined to find Keith's heirs
0:18:56 > 0:19:00and her first step was to look at his date of birth
0:19:00 > 0:19:03taken from his death certificate.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08So I checked the birth records for Keith Bryant and I found three.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12I picked one that was sort of in Yorkshire, a birth in Yorkshire
0:19:12 > 0:19:17for Keith Bryant whereas some of the others were further away.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Usually, you know, if he was a Yorkshire lad,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23he would have stayed around the Yorkshire area.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Now she could check Keith's birth certificate
0:19:26 > 0:19:30to find out who his parents were and start building a family tree.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36Keith's dad was Donald Bryant and his mum was Agnes Morris.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Looking at the marriage of the parents, I noticed
0:19:40 > 0:19:45that they were married later on in life. They were in their 30s.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51Also, Keith's father died when he was only ten-years-old.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Anna wasn't able to find any record of siblings for Keith
0:19:54 > 0:19:56or any marriages.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Keith may not have had a wife and children but he was very busy
0:20:00 > 0:20:03working in national security.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I do know about him working in Staxton Wold
0:20:05 > 0:20:07for a period of eight and a half years.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Near Scarborough, on the Yorkshire coast, Staxton Wold
0:20:11 > 0:20:15is the oldest radar station in Britain.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Keith was part of an immensely important time in British history -
0:20:18 > 0:20:21the Cold War.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25The RAF Radar Museum in Norfolk houses the sort of equipment
0:20:25 > 0:20:29that was found in Staxton Wold in the 1960s.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32His role was to feed in the radar picture of aircraft operating
0:20:32 > 0:20:36over the North Sea including incoming raids from the Soviet Union
0:20:36 > 0:20:37should they take place.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42A radar network was set up to protect Britain.
0:20:42 > 0:20:4720 miles to the north of Staxton Wold was RAF Fylingdales.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53It's almost certain that Keith also worked there. This was a specialist
0:20:53 > 0:20:57long-range radar set up by the Americans.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01In the '60s and '70s, it was at the cutting edge of defence.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06The Sputnik launch in 1957 heralded a completely new way of delivering weapons,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09the intercontinental ballistic missile.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13That required a whole new system of detection to protect
0:21:13 > 0:21:18the United States and Fylingdales was built to provide part
0:21:18 > 0:21:22of that protection along with other radar stations in Greenland
0:21:22 > 0:21:24and Alaska.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28During the Cold War, the tensions between the West and the Soviet Union
0:21:28 > 0:21:31were balanced on a knife edge.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34There was always the possibility during the 1970s and '80s
0:21:34 > 0:21:38of the Soviet Union launching a nuclear attack against the West.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Radar stations like Fylingdales were crucial in maintaining a status quo.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It made it pointless for the Soviet Union to actually launch an attack
0:21:46 > 0:21:49because with the warning provided by Fylingdales, we were able to launch
0:21:49 > 0:21:53a counterstrike against the Soviet Union before the missile reached us
0:21:53 > 0:21:57and therefore, it wasn't in the interests of the Soviet Union
0:21:57 > 0:22:00to actually launch any attack against the West.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04At Staxton Wold, Keith worked in the supply department where he was a
0:22:04 > 0:22:08small cog in a very important wheel.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Jeff Bridgeman worked with him.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Keith would have been working at Fylingdales as a civilian
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and also Staxton Wold at the height of the Cold War
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and I suspect whatever job you did, you would have come across
0:22:22 > 0:22:26classified items. Not top secret, but classified,
0:22:26 > 0:22:31and he would have had a fair idea what this information was about.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33When Jeff worked with him,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Keith was in his 40s and lived with his mother Agnes in Scarborough.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41He didn't mention his mother very often but may do occasionally
0:22:41 > 0:22:46if she wasn't very well. But very private and kept himself to himself.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55And in Hull, heir hunter Anna Dunn is still trying to track down heirs
0:22:55 > 0:22:59to Keith's quarter of a million pound estate.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04Anna knew that Keith's mum Agnes would hold the key to unlocking
0:23:04 > 0:23:09the case. So she decided to focus on Agnes's side of the family first.
0:23:09 > 0:23:16On his mother's side, the Morris', I was able to locate seven siblings.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It was a real coup because if Keith had lots of aunts and uncles
0:23:20 > 0:23:24on his mum's side, then he might have cousins who could inherit.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Anna first looked at Agnes's brother, James,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31who was Keith's uncle and using the birth register,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33she made a discovery.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37I found one of the uncles, James Leo Morris, had married
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and had a daughter Patricia.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Patricia would be Keith's cousin and one of his heirs
0:23:43 > 0:23:46to his quarter of a million pound estate.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Anna was elated to have found her first heir
0:23:50 > 0:23:52but it soon became clear that Patricia wouldn't be able
0:23:52 > 0:23:55to fill in any blanks on the family tree.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00She was quite taken aback at first because she explained to me
0:24:00 > 0:24:04that her father had died when she was only six weeks old
0:24:04 > 0:24:12and therefore, she had no real contact with any of her father's family.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Any hopes Anna had of shortcutting the research were dashed.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30Keith Bryant worked at radar bases in the UK from the 1970s onwards
0:24:30 > 0:24:34and this was a time of great tension between the West and the Soviet Union.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40I've come to Royal Holloway University, London to meet historian
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Tim Stanley to find out more about the Cold War
0:24:44 > 0:24:50and what it meant to the everyday people of the UK, USA and USSR.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Keith worked in UK radar bases during the 1970s and 1980s.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57What was the political mood at the time?
0:24:57 > 0:24:58The mood was incredibly tense.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03America had just elected Ronald Reagan who was determined not only to fight the Cold War
0:25:03 > 0:25:06but actually to win it and after his election,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10the Soviet Union was terrified America might actually strike
0:25:10 > 0:25:12so in a sense, the Cold War had turned hot.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15'Diving now, diving now.'
0:25:15 > 0:25:20Keith would have been feeling the heat at both the radar bases he's suspected of having worked in -
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Staxton Wold and Fylingdales.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Why was the radar station, RAF Fylingdales,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28particularly crucial at the time?
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Fylingdales was part of the ballistic missile early warning system
0:25:32 > 0:25:35which meant it was really on the front line of the Cold War.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40It was rather like a tripwire system. The idea was that if the Soviet Union
0:25:40 > 0:25:43fired a bomb at America, Fylingdales would pick it up,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46warn the Americans, and that would give them time to respond.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50And this put us on the front line because it made us a target if there
0:25:50 > 0:25:55were a Soviet attack. Now, over time, the radar system - because it gave
0:25:55 > 0:26:00America that advantage, arguably, evolved from being a defensive system
0:26:00 > 0:26:05to an offensive system, and that's why some people targeted Fylingdales
0:26:05 > 0:26:08when they campaigned during the Cold War against nuclear weapons
0:26:08 > 0:26:12because they thought it actually put Britain closer to war
0:26:12 > 0:26:14rather than making us more secure.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17So if the Cold War was due to frosty relations
0:26:17 > 0:26:21between the US and the USSR, what was the UK's political position?
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The United Kingdom was an ally of America and after Margaret Thatcher
0:26:25 > 0:26:28was elected, that relationship became even closer
0:26:28 > 0:26:32and Britain in the early '80s almost put itself on a war footing
0:26:32 > 0:26:35so it sent lots of material to ordinary people
0:26:35 > 0:26:38telling them what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43Britain was really getting itself ready for the Third World War.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46This was a threat that was very real for the population
0:26:46 > 0:26:50of Britain at the time. Leaflets were posted through doors about the
0:26:50 > 0:26:54four-minute warning and what to do in the event of a nuclear strike
0:26:54 > 0:26:55by the Soviets.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59People were told to store food and where to hide should a bomb drop.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03What's the closest we came to war?
0:27:03 > 0:27:04The closest was 1983
0:27:04 > 0:27:08when Ronald Reagan ordered an exercise of American troops
0:27:08 > 0:27:10called Able Archer.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13The Soviet Union thought that America was actually getting ready
0:27:13 > 0:27:17for an attack and the Soviet people were put on a war footing as well.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21It really is the closest we came to the 20th century apocalypse.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23How did the public react during this time?
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The British public were split on the issue of nuclear weapons.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Some people thought they put us on the front line
0:27:29 > 0:27:30and so put us at risk.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Other people felt that nuclear weapons actually kept us safe
0:27:33 > 0:27:38and prevented a conventional war so you ended up with a bizarre situation
0:27:38 > 0:27:41where people like my grandparents, who always voted Conservative,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45actually built a nuclear bunker under their house, in the foundations
0:27:45 > 0:27:50of their house, and stored beans there and stored gas masks there,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54in the prospect and in the terror of the Cold War
0:27:54 > 0:27:57but they still did actually support the fact that Britain
0:27:57 > 0:27:59had this defence system.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04'But luckily, it was the defence system that was never needed.'
0:28:04 > 0:28:08The Cold War was brought to an end by Ronald Reagan when he announced
0:28:08 > 0:28:12he wanted to develop something he called Star Wars,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15which was a missile system potentially fired from space
0:28:15 > 0:28:18that would destroy any incoming Soviet weaponry.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22The problem was that the Soviets couldn't afford
0:28:22 > 0:28:26this kind of technology themselves and in their effort to do so,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28ended up bankrupting their economy.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34It's estimated that the US spent in the region of 8 trillion
0:28:34 > 0:28:36during the Cold War years.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40After the tensions, Russia cut its military spending dramatically,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42leaving millions unemployed.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46The Cold War's legacy was misery and terrible living conditions
0:28:46 > 0:28:51for the people of the former Soviet Union.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Back on the heir hunt, Anna may have found the first heir
0:28:58 > 0:29:01to Keith's estate, but yet again, she discovers war has played
0:29:01 > 0:29:05a major part in the family's history.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09It just seems a void in my life, not having a father.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13It turns out Keith's uncle was involved in one of the most tragic
0:29:13 > 0:29:15secrets of World War Two.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18It was all kept quiet for about three years
0:29:18 > 0:29:21because they didn't want the Germans to find out.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Now, it's back to the case of Rita Mason. Can the team find any
0:29:30 > 0:29:33relatives entitled to inherit? And is
0:29:33 > 0:29:35there any money in Rita's estate?
0:29:37 > 0:29:39The heir hunters have so
0:29:39 > 0:29:42far spent the morning searching for her heirs. She
0:29:42 > 0:29:45died in Birmingham, in June 2010...
0:29:45 > 0:29:48See what is happening on that.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52..leaving anywhere between £5,000 and £175,000.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56The heir hunters don't yet know that
0:29:56 > 0:30:02Rita died in a nursing home. Rita had learning difficulties
0:30:02 > 0:30:03and had lived
0:30:03 > 0:30:07in residential care since her mum and dad passed away 22 years ago.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Jenny Harley was a housing support officer at Holly Grange, where Rita
0:30:14 > 0:30:18lived for the last 14 years. She admired Rita's spirit.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22She did her own thing. She was an independent lady.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28She would go and jump on a bus outside and go to different places.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32The hairdresser's. Always used to think she was the bee's knees when she
0:30:32 > 0:30:38- had her hair done.- It took a while but Jenny got to know Rita well.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40The office door was always open.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44She used to stand outside and I invited her to
0:30:44 > 0:30:50come in. "Come on in, Rita." And it was from there, really, that she used
0:30:50 > 0:30:54to sit and tell me little bit about her past.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00And Rita had suffered more than her fair share of shocking experiences.
0:31:00 > 0:31:06- She was 29 when her father died.- She actually found her father in bed, he
0:31:06 > 0:31:13had passed away. So she lived with her mother thereon after, for how
0:31:13 > 0:31:18many years, I really don't know. But there must have been a reason. She
0:31:18 > 0:31:24perhaps didn't cope after losing her mother. She went into residential care.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29Because of her sad past, Jenny felt that she needed more
0:31:29 > 0:31:33- support.- To me, she came over quite vulnerable.
0:31:34 > 0:31:41I felt that she needed somebody. Somebody to be there for her.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Because no family had visited Rita,
0:31:44 > 0:31:49when she passed away the care home did not know
0:31:49 > 0:31:52who to contact. So her name went on to the Treasury's list.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01In London, Fraser's case manager, Dave Slee,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03has spent the morning working
0:32:03 > 0:32:08up a family tree for Rita Mason. But without the death certificate it is
0:32:08 > 0:32:13- all based on educated guesswork.- I have got to determine, is my girl
0:32:13 > 0:32:16our deceased? Soon find out.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19- Good luck with that. - Yes! Thank you!
0:32:19 > 0:32:24According to the family tree, they have drawn up Rita Mason's parents as being
0:32:24 > 0:32:29Charles Mason and Violet Holding. From this they have found three cousins
0:32:29 > 0:32:35who could be potential heirs. Dave is on the phone to one of the cousins now.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38We are trying to trace the next of
0:32:38 > 0:32:41kin of a lady who was born Rita Mason.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Could this be the break they are looking for?
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Yes, that is right.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52Dave can breathe a sigh of relief. He has found their first heir.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55So, we did have the right birth after all.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58The cousin was able to fill in all the
0:32:58 > 0:33:02blanks on Rita's mother's side of the tree. And some on the father's side too.
0:33:02 > 0:33:08Yes, one phone call like that and then you speak to a lady who has
0:33:08 > 0:33:14a wealth of information, it can save hours and hours of research.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18- But she has also confirmed Dave's fears.- It does not look like it is
0:33:18 > 0:33:19going to be a vast estate.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31- Up in Birmingham...- Death certificate for Rita Mason... - ..travelling heir hunter
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Bob Barrett has finally got Rita Mason's death certificate.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36'Bob Barrett on two for Dave, please.'
0:33:36 > 0:33:41- I've got this death for you. - Go on.- Just Rita Mason on the
0:33:41 > 0:33:46- certificate.- 'Yes.' - Born August 6th, 1932.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Address, Holly Grange, which
0:33:50 > 0:33:55- does sound a bit like a nursing home, doesn't it?- Yes. I managed to
0:33:55 > 0:33:59speak to a maternal first cousin, the cousin even knew her date of birth
0:33:59 > 0:34:01and it tied in. She knew the middle
0:34:01 > 0:34:03name as well. Moran.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06Supposed to be from a silent
0:34:06 > 0:34:11- film star.- That is before our day, Dave!- I thought you would
0:34:11 > 0:34:15- have remembered that one!- Thank you for that!- Trying to catch
0:34:15 > 0:34:17you out there!
0:34:17 > 0:34:21Whilst Dave has been on the phone to Bob, boss Neil has been
0:34:21 > 0:34:24looking at the census for Rita's father's family. And it is
0:34:24 > 0:34:26not good news.
0:34:26 > 0:34:32If the census is right, there are six stems on the paternal side.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35This is a real blow. Rita's father's
0:34:35 > 0:34:38family tree has opened a huge can of worms.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43- It is going to cost the heir hunters many man hours to research. - I think we are
0:34:43 > 0:34:47in a catch-22 situation now, where I have already contacted heirs.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52We feel obliged to continue to research the whole estate and all the
0:34:52 > 0:34:56potential heirs that that would be entitled.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59But then the unexpected happens.
0:34:59 > 0:35:05- OK.- Rita's cousin has just called Dave back and given him
0:35:05 > 0:35:08details of another cousin on Rita's father's side.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10We could be in holy land.
0:35:10 > 0:35:16Joyce Holyland. Charles Mason had a brother called George and his
0:35:16 > 0:35:20- daughter, Joyce, is an heir.- It is an address and phone number.
0:35:21 > 0:35:29- Joe, you are superb, mate.- It is the break they need. Joyce will know
0:35:29 > 0:35:34other family members and save them hours of research.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35Bob Barrett has arrived at
0:35:35 > 0:35:39her house in West Bromwich. The office have phoned ahead and they
0:35:39 > 0:35:41are expecting him.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47Hello, my name is Bob... Ah, this is Holyland? Is it
0:35:47 > 0:35:50possible to come in and have a word with you? Thanks very much.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57Bob runs through the details with Joyce and her husband.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59Joyce is 89. She doesn't remember her Uncle Charles
0:35:59 > 0:36:01or her cousin Rita.
0:36:01 > 0:36:06We think that your father had a brother, Charles.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11I didn't know... I don't remember that.
0:36:11 > 0:36:19That is the one whose daughter died, whose estate we're talking about.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22- They had one daughter, Rita. - I see.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25While Joyce does not remember
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Rita, she is able to fill in the blanks on the family tree.
0:36:29 > 0:36:30A husband.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32We are doing well.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36- Thank you very much.- Bob Barrett reads the paperwork with them.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40Amazingly, Joyce and her husband, Stanley, live just a few minutes from
0:36:40 > 0:36:46the care home where Rita lived. But they never knew she existed.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48Cheerio.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Joyce is stunned by the news of her inheritance.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54Yes, it is quite a surprise.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59- Husband, Stanley, is also amazed. - At our age we do not expect
0:36:59 > 0:37:04things like that to happen. But it is interesting.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19In the office, case manager Dave is pleased that a second heir has been
0:37:19 > 0:37:24- contacted.- We are fairly happy that it completes another stem. With a bit
0:37:24 > 0:37:29of luck, tomorrow we should conclude most of the other research, so we're
0:37:29 > 0:37:36- very pleased.- Rita Mason's estate was valued at £16,000. But with so
0:37:36 > 0:37:40- many heirs to process, this case has been difficult for Neil.- It is going
0:37:40 > 0:37:45to come back to haunt us in the end. Fraser and Fraser are going to make a
0:37:45 > 0:37:52- fairly sizeable loss on a case like this.- But for the heir hunters, the
0:37:52 > 0:37:56ultimate consolation is that Rita's money will go to her family
0:37:56 > 0:37:58and not the Government.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07And to the residents of Holly Grange, Rita was much more than a name on
0:38:07 > 0:38:12the Treasury list. She was part of the family. Jenny helped to organise
0:38:12 > 0:38:16her funeral, complete with music from the Lion King.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Rita would have loved
0:38:18 > 0:38:21it. If she was looking down, she would have, I am almost certain,
0:38:21 > 0:38:29loved what was done. Yes. Probably had a little giggle. The support that
0:38:29 > 0:38:35was given to Rita on her final journey, it was very emotional.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39I think we all came away feeling proud
0:38:39 > 0:38:43to have known Rita. She was very
0:38:43 > 0:38:49close to my heart. I hope I was close to hers as well.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04Now it is back to the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates. Here are some
0:39:04 > 0:39:08more unsolved cases where heirs still need to be found. The list of
0:39:08 > 0:39:12unclaimed estates is money that is owed to members of the public. And
0:39:12 > 0:39:15new names are added all the time.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18Money raised through Bona Vacantia ultimately
0:39:18 > 0:39:22goes to the General Exchequer to benefit the country as a whole.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25But it is important to note that the Crown does not want all estates at
0:39:25 > 0:39:30all costs. It is not how it operates. It wants kin to be found and that is
0:39:30 > 0:39:32what we work very hard to do.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Do these names mean anything to you?
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Are they relatives of yours?
0:39:40 > 0:39:45Doreen Wilde died on January 23, 2010 in Northfield.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Was Doreen a member of
0:39:48 > 0:39:52your family? So far, all efforts to trace her heirs have drawn a blank.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01Christine Lynch died in Keighly, West Yorkshire, in March 2009. Lynch
0:40:01 > 0:40:07is originally a Celtic name from Ireland. Do you remember Christine?
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Could you be an heir to her unclaimed estate?
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Samir Zaki Rizk died in Earls Court,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18London, 19th October 1998.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23I have got Samir's death certificate here which contains
0:40:23 > 0:40:28more information about him. It shows that he was born in April 1942, in
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Cairo, Egypt.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35The death certificate also reveals his occupation. It says that he was
0:40:35 > 0:40:39an accountant. Was he a colleague of yours? Did he ever talk to you
0:40:39 > 0:40:44about family here or in Egypt? If you think you are related to Samir or
0:40:44 > 0:40:49any of the names today then follow the Bona Vacantia Division's advice.
0:40:49 > 0:40:55If people want to find out information about Bona Vacantia Division the first port of call
0:40:55 > 0:41:00is our website. We have a dedicated website and there is information on
0:41:00 > 0:41:05there to find out about what we do and how to make a claim.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08- But remember... - We never release details of
0:41:08 > 0:41:11the estate or anything about the deceased until
0:41:11 > 0:41:15a claim has been admitted. We will only then release it to the person
0:41:15 > 0:41:18whose claim we have admitted.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21A reminder of those names again:
0:41:28 > 0:41:31If today's names are relatives of yours then you could be an heir
0:41:31 > 0:41:33entitled to a long lost fortune.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46Let's return to the case of Keith Bryant from North Yorkshire who died
0:41:46 > 0:41:52without leaving a will. The heir hunters already discovered that he worked in
0:41:52 > 0:41:58RAF Fylingdales but that was only part of his history.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01More information
0:42:01 > 0:42:04on Keith's life has now come to light. It turns out that before
0:42:04 > 0:42:10working at radar bases he was in the Army for many years. His army records
0:42:10 > 0:42:15have been studied by military expert Taff Gillingham.
0:42:15 > 0:42:21- Hello.- Hi, Lisa.- What have you found relating to Keith? - This is Keith's service record. It is
0:42:21 > 0:42:28very interesting. It shows that he joined in 1955. That makes him 23
0:42:28 > 0:42:32when he joined. This is the height of national service. Normally everybody
0:42:32 > 0:42:35gets called when they're 18, unless they have a very good reason not to be
0:42:35 > 0:42:39called up. Or to be deferred. And normally that is because you are
0:42:39 > 0:42:43doing an apprenticeship, or something like that. So it may well be that he
0:42:43 > 0:42:48had an apprenticeship then he has joined up. Normally at this time you
0:42:48 > 0:42:52do two years. But he has actually signed up for three. That was an
0:42:52 > 0:42:55option. If you signed up for three years you tended to get better
0:42:55 > 0:42:59treatment, career prospects were better, and at the end, what the Army
0:42:59 > 0:43:02really wanted you to do was stay on and become a regular soldier.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Because obviously they put a lot of time and effort into training you.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08All these young lads doing national service would just come along for two
0:43:08 > 0:43:12years and then disappear again, taking whatever they'd learnt
0:43:12 > 0:43:15- with them.- Was it usual for men to sign up for so long?- A lot of people
0:43:15 > 0:43:18did, the majority didn't, the majority just did two years,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21"Thank you very much, never really wanted to do that anyway", and off
0:43:21 > 0:43:24they would go. But obviously quite a lot of them did decide to make a
0:43:24 > 0:43:27career of it. What this actually shows us, when we go through his
0:43:27 > 0:43:31record, it shows that when his three years are almost up, he has made a
0:43:31 > 0:43:35decision, "I am not going to extend it, I am only going to do these three years."
0:43:35 > 0:43:38But then almost immediately after that, within a few months,
0:43:38 > 0:43:43while he is still on what they call reserve, so they can call you back,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47if anything blew up in the meantime, anywhere in the world. But he then
0:43:47 > 0:43:51decides a few months after leaving that he wants to go back. So he then
0:43:51 > 0:43:58- signs on again. He stays on, in the end, for 22 years.- That is amazing.
0:43:58 > 0:44:03From looking deeper into the records, it shows that despite his initial
0:44:03 > 0:44:07misgivings about army life, Keith went back to join the military
0:44:07 > 0:44:10police. But for reasons that we will never know,
0:44:10 > 0:44:12he changed his mind again.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16He then becomes a clerk and joins the Royal Army Pay Corps, and eventually
0:44:16 > 0:44:20via the Royal Army Service Corps and into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23And he spends the rest of his time sorting out pay issues and things like that.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27It's not the most glamorous of roles but at the same time, somebody has to do it.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31- So, did he get to travel?- Yes, he did. I mean, he spent some time in
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Malta, he's in Cyprus and while he's in Cyprus, that's the time when
0:44:35 > 0:44:40the Turks and Greeks come to blows over Cyprus and the British are there
0:44:40 > 0:44:43as part of the United Nations effort to keep them apart.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46He's also in Germany for a very long time. In fact, he's in Germany
0:44:46 > 0:44:51twice and the second time he's there, from 1959 to 1963, that's at
0:44:51 > 0:44:55the time when the threat from the Russians is increasing. The Berlin
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Wall is built so it's deliberate provocation. Towards the end of his
0:45:00 > 0:45:04time there, is the Cuban Missile Crisis at the point at which even all
0:45:04 > 0:45:07those people who haven't taken any notice of the Cold War so far...
0:45:07 > 0:45:10That really starts to focus your mind when the Russians start moving
0:45:10 > 0:45:12nuclear weapons around.
0:45:13 > 0:45:18The Cuban Missile Crisis was a key event in the Cold War and started in
0:45:18 > 0:45:23October 1962. After failed attempts by the US to overthrow the Cuban
0:45:23 > 0:45:28regime, both the Cuban and Soviet governments started secretly moving
0:45:28 > 0:45:31nuclear weapons onto the island.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35This activity was spotted by a US spy plane and the crisis as we know
0:45:35 > 0:45:39it began. It's said that this stand-off was the closest the world
0:45:39 > 0:45:42has come to nuclear apocalypse.
0:45:42 > 0:45:47It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile
0:45:47 > 0:45:51launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere
0:45:51 > 0:45:55as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00Fortunately, Kennedy and the Russian premier, Khrushchev, came to
0:46:00 > 0:46:03agreement both publicly and privately that managed to resolve
0:46:03 > 0:46:08the dispute. The US would never invade Cuba and the Russians
0:46:08 > 0:46:09removed the missiles.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16So you can't say that he's involved in these really exciting things and
0:46:16 > 0:46:21goings-on but he's there. He's part of the experience and obviously he'd
0:46:21 > 0:46:24have been very well aware of it at the time because the threat levels
0:46:24 > 0:46:30increased and the Army are on full stand by because any moment,
0:46:30 > 0:46:33the worry was that the Red Army could come crashing through West Germany
0:46:33 > 0:46:36and the British Army and the Rhine are the only thing
0:46:36 > 0:46:38- standing in their way.- Absolutely.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42So even before Keith worked on the frontline of Britain's defence
0:46:42 > 0:46:45against the Soviet nuclear regime, he had already been posted in other
0:46:45 > 0:46:50areas perceived to be under threat from the Russians. But it wasn't all
0:46:50 > 0:46:52doom and gloom.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Did he go anywhere further afield?
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Yes, he gets to British Honduras in the 1960s.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00He's there for two years which must have been a dreadful posting,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03I should think, being in the Caribbean for two years(!)
0:47:03 > 0:47:05- Hard life(!)- Absolutely.
0:47:05 > 0:47:10So is it unsurprising that he went on then to work in a military radar base?
0:47:10 > 0:47:13I think the thing is because he's done 22 and a bit years, in a way
0:47:13 > 0:47:16it's almost becoming institutionalised
0:47:16 > 0:47:18so I should imagine what he'd have been looking for
0:47:18 > 0:47:21was some other environment where he could find himself
0:47:21 > 0:47:25amongst other people who were very similar to himself. A lot of
0:47:25 > 0:47:28civilians working for MoD establishments were people who had
0:47:28 > 0:47:31served in the military before, so actually it was quite a natural
0:47:31 > 0:47:33progression for him.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35So the military look after their own. They're not left.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Yes, definitely.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42It sounds like Keith Bryant was an Army man through and through,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46choosing military careers that may not have always been glamorous but
0:47:46 > 0:47:49were still a crucial part of our country's national security.
0:47:55 > 0:48:01Now let's find out how Keith's case was finally solved. In 2010, probate
0:48:01 > 0:48:07researcher Anna Dunn was searching for heirs to his £250,000 estate.
0:48:07 > 0:48:13Keith died in 2010 with no known family but all that was about to change.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18After looking at Keith's mother's family, Anna managed to trace one
0:48:18 > 0:48:21heir to Keith's estate, Patricia Docherill.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24She's Keith's cousin on his mother's side.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28When Anna contacted Patricia, she was bowled over.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32It was a very big shock and it was a long lost cousin
0:48:32 > 0:48:35that I never knew. It was a big surprise that I might be
0:48:35 > 0:48:40in line for some inheritance. I wasn't expecting anything.
0:48:40 > 0:48:46Patricia's father, James Leo Morris, had been Keith's uncle. But Patricia
0:48:46 > 0:48:49never knew anything about her father's side of the family because
0:48:49 > 0:48:52she was a tiny baby when he went off to war.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59My dad worked for the National Health Service as a civil servant and he was
0:48:59 > 0:49:04a trainee accountant. He volunteered for the Navy when the war started.
0:49:06 > 0:49:11After James did his training, he was assigned a post on the HMS Curacoa
0:49:11 > 0:49:17a C-class light cruiser carrying around 439 men.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20On the ship, my dad was on the guns
0:49:20 > 0:49:25and he was also in charge of the stores, so I've been told.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Patricia was born in 1942
0:49:28 > 0:49:32and her father came to see her when he was on leave.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36My mum has told me that he was a nice, kind, gentle man.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39He was proud of me when he saw me as a tiny baby.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Little did he know when he went back to sea,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46that it would be the last time he saw his daughter.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52James's ship, the Curacoa, was sent to escort the Queen Mary on a
0:49:52 > 0:49:54dangerous mission.
0:49:54 > 0:50:01We've been forced to call out what we in the United States would call the sheriff's posse.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03The Americans had just joined
0:50:03 > 0:50:08the Allies in the battle against Hitler and the civilian superliner
0:50:08 > 0:50:12the Queen Mary was charged with carrying 20,000 American troops
0:50:12 > 0:50:14across the Atlantic to the UK.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19Queen Mary's main protection against submarine attack was her very high
0:50:19 > 0:50:22speed. It was very difficult for a submarine to draw a bead on her but
0:50:22 > 0:50:27to make it even more difficult, she zigzagged from side to side so her
0:50:27 > 0:50:28position was unpredictable.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32But although the Queen Mary was fast, the Curacoa wasn't.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36As the ships were zigzagging, the unthinkable happened.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44The Curacoa strayed into the path of the Queen Mary and she
0:50:44 > 0:50:48sliced right through her as shown in this photograph of the actual crash.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Curacoa was cut in half and neither of those halves could float
0:50:54 > 0:50:57on its own and so she did go down extremely quickly.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03The Curacoa sank in just five minutes and hundreds of her crew
0:51:03 > 0:51:08were left in the North Sea in freezing October temperatures.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11But the Queen Mary couldn't stop because if she did,
0:51:11 > 0:51:15she'd be a sitting duck for submarines and Hitler had in fact
0:51:15 > 0:51:19put a price on the Queen Mary's head. So stopping would have been suicidal.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24She slowed down but she couldn't stop. Some of the other warships in
0:51:24 > 0:51:28the vicinity were ordered to help but by that time, the sailors had been in
0:51:28 > 0:51:32the water for a long time and as usual, it's not drowning so much,
0:51:32 > 0:51:36it's the exposure of people in cold water which causes them to die.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Of the 439 men on board, 338 perished.
0:51:46 > 0:51:51Sadly, Patricia's father was amongst the dead.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56A survivor told my mum that my dad had been on duty, he had
0:51:56 > 0:51:59just come off duty and was going down below.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Whether he ever got down below, I don't know.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09Another survivor said he had seen my dad in the water, with a gash on his
0:52:09 > 0:52:14head and blood coming from it and he was too weak to survive, plus the
0:52:14 > 0:52:16water was icy cold.
0:52:18 > 0:52:19So he didn't stand a chance.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26But waiting at home, back in Britain, Patricia's mother, Edna,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29had no idea what had happened.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32The first idea that my mum knew of the collision
0:52:32 > 0:52:37and what had happened was her brother had sent her an American
0:52:37 > 0:52:43paper with the details in. He said that this could be the Curacoa...
0:52:45 > 0:52:52..that my dad was on at the time but it wasn't made official until 1945.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57It was all kept quiet because they didn't want to let the Germans know
0:52:57 > 0:53:00that the Americans were helping us out.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07The tragedy of the Curacoa would impact on the rest of Patricia's
0:53:07 > 0:53:12life. Because her father died when she was so young, she never really
0:53:12 > 0:53:14had anything to do with his family.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17I'd like to know more about my dad's
0:53:17 > 0:53:24family, see what they look like, meet them. I'm quite interested. I've been
0:53:24 > 0:53:28trying to do it. But I haven't been able to get anywhere because I didn't
0:53:28 > 0:53:32know where they were all living. So I'm quite interested in meeting them.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45And tracking down these other family members is just what heir hunter Anna was trying to do
0:53:45 > 0:53:47in order to solve the case of Keith Bryant.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54After contacting Patricia, she began to trace other cousins of Keith.
0:53:54 > 0:53:59Another of Keith's maternal aunts was Gladys, who went on to marry and
0:53:59 > 0:54:03had three children. I was able to track them down and spoke to Lesley.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09Lesley is the daughter of Gladys and is a cousin of Keith, and therefore
0:54:09 > 0:54:12an heir to his £250,000 estate.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Unlike Patricia, Lesley did remember her much older cousin, Keith,
0:54:18 > 0:54:21and his mother, Agnes.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25Because his mum was from Scarborough and Scarborough to me
0:54:25 > 0:54:29was somewhere sort of quite posh really. It was somewhere where you
0:54:29 > 0:54:33went on holiday. We were quite poor, when we were young, so we didn't have
0:54:33 > 0:54:37any holidays. I had this vision of them being quite rich which I don't
0:54:37 > 0:54:39think was the case.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44He was 22 years older than Lesley and they didn't really gel.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49I last saw Keith 11 years ago. He came to my mum's funeral.
0:54:49 > 0:54:55What I really remember about him was he had a huge duffle coat on
0:54:55 > 0:55:01and he came through the living room with big muddy prints from his boots.
0:55:02 > 0:55:07Lesley also knew all about Patricia's father, James, through family folklore.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10The Curacoa, I never forgot this name.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12The Curacoa, it stayed with me.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Lesley was completely astonished when she found out that Patricia
0:55:18 > 0:55:21is living just 15 miles away in Humberside.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28So the two cousins have arranged to meet. Patricia and her husband,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31Jeff, are on their way to Lesley's house in Hull.
0:55:32 > 0:55:37I'm feeling nervous, excited, got butterflies in my stomach but I'm
0:55:37 > 0:55:40looking forward to meeting Lesley for the first time.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45It seems strange meeting someone that lives so close that I didn't
0:55:45 > 0:55:50know. I'm hoping that she can tell me a bit more about the family
0:55:50 > 0:55:52that I never knew.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56BELL RINGS
0:56:03 > 0:56:06- Hello.- Now then.- Now then.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09Lovely. At last.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- How strange!- A cousin I didn't know about!
0:56:15 > 0:56:18- Yes, this is Jeff. Come on, Jeff. - Hello.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22It's an intensely emotional moment.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26These two cousins have a lifetime of memories to share.
0:56:26 > 0:56:27I've got loads to tell you.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29A lot of catching up to do, haven't we?
0:56:29 > 0:56:32- We have.- All these years. - Yeah, yeah.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37- You were just living round the corner.- I know. So close.- Yeah.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Patricia had lost her father, James, when she was a tiny baby. She's
0:56:41 > 0:56:44hoping Lesley can tell her more about him.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46My mum never forgot your dad.
0:56:46 > 0:56:51She was just so... To be honest, it just ruled their life, really.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54She talked about him... I don't think she ever really believed that he had
0:56:54 > 0:56:56died. You know?
0:56:58 > 0:57:02They've got so much past to catch up on.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04Got some photos to show you.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06There's my dad.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09- Is that the same as you've got? - No, it's a different one. Yeah.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11That's the only coloured one.
0:57:13 > 0:57:19That's your mum. I think these two at the back were off the ship.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23He was the best man. But they went down with the ship as well.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25Yeah. Dear, oh dear.
0:57:27 > 0:57:31Lesley has the only photo Patricia has seen of her father as a little boy.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35- Well, that would have been my dad then, wouldn't it?- Yeah.
0:57:35 > 0:57:40- That was your mum.- I know that's definitely my mum.- So that could be
0:57:40 > 0:57:44- my dad.- Have you got any other photos of your dad?- No.
0:57:46 > 0:57:50Ironically, after losing touch, their parents had tried to find one
0:57:50 > 0:57:51another but didn't succeed.
0:57:51 > 0:57:56- And my mum had been searching for you.- My mum had tried to find your mum.- Yeah.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00And if it hadn't been for the death of their cousin, Keith,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03they would never have found each other at all.
0:58:04 > 0:58:10Keith Bryant's death has not been in vain. Two cousins have rediscovered each other.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14- Well, at least we've met. - Yes.- Like you said before, it's
0:58:14 > 0:58:16- the one good thing that's come out. - Yeah, yeah.
0:58:16 > 0:58:18It's sad that Keith's died
0:58:18 > 0:58:21- but at least we've got to meet, haven't we?- Yeah, yeah.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd