0:00:02 > 0:00:06Today, the heir hunters are chasing an estate with a potential value
0:00:06 > 0:00:08running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Their job now is to beat the competing companies
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and be the first to find the long-lost relatives
0:00:15 > 0:00:19who have no idea they could be in line for a windfall.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22Could they be coming to your door?
0:00:40 > 0:00:43On today's programme -
0:00:43 > 0:00:46a family so large the office takes drastic action
0:00:46 > 0:00:48in the hunt for heirs.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Don't you think that's art?
0:00:51 > 0:00:55The tragic story of a mysterious Ukrainian soldier
0:00:55 > 0:01:00whose death in the UK came as a massive shock to his heirs,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03who'd thought him dead a long time ago.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07My husband told me he was shot in Hungary.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12And how you could be entitled to unclaimed inheritance
0:01:12 > 0:01:14where heirs need to be found.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Could you be in line for a cash payout?
0:01:24 > 0:01:30Every year in the UK, over 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32If no relatives are found,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36then any money that's left behind will go to the government.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41And last year they kept £14 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44But there are over 30 specialist firms
0:01:44 > 0:01:48competing to stop this happening. They're the heir hunters.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52And they make it their business to track down missing relatives
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00It's all about finding the family and the money that is rightfully theirs.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12It's early Thursday morning in London,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17and overnight the Treasury has advertised a new list of names of unclaimed estates.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21One name in particular has caught the attention of the heir hunters,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and they've already started their research.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Do you know how to get this intranet to work?
0:02:26 > 0:02:30- Partner Charles and case manager David Pacifico...- OK, bye-bye.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33..are some of the first in the office,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and they let everyone know the state of play.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37- We'll work Wingrove.- Yes.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Wanting to get ahead of any other competing heir hunting companies,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43they've been hard at work for hours
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and have already conducted a lot of basic research.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52We're looking at the case of Daisy Wingrove, who died in 2008.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56She was a spinster, so she died without ever having been married.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00We've managed to work out where Daisy used to live.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04From there, we've obviously been able to find out when she was born
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and who her parents we think would have been.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11All this initial educated guesswork is essential
0:03:11 > 0:03:15if they want to get ahead of the competition.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Especially if what Charles has discovered from the probate records proves correct.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24We've managed to identify that she did have two sisters,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28who have both died already.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31The last to die, died only about a year before her,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36leaving about £80,000 to the deceased.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37Yes, yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41So the heir hunters have evidence this early in the day
0:03:41 > 0:03:44that there could be good money in Daisy Ellen Wingrove's estate...
0:03:44 > 0:03:47- Did you know that?- No.- There you go.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52..and have already accounted for the majority of her close kin.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Two of her sisters died leaving no children,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59but the third sister, Ivy, is an unknown quantity at this stage.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04It's a year out, but it could be the right court.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07If Daisy's sister, Ivy, is deceased,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09the team knows they'll be hunting her cousins.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13With tens of thousands of pounds potentially at stake,
0:04:13 > 0:04:18David Pacifico decides to draft in multiple travelling heir hunters.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21They will be his eyes and ears out on the road.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Morning, Bob, David. Have you been asked to go anywhere this morning?
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Right. In that case, we want you to go to Richmond.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37Morning, Ewart.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42We need you to go to Royston on a case called Wingrove.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45OK, thank you.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49- Crawley. - Crawley, right, OK.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54David has sent some of the travellers
0:04:54 > 0:04:57to collect vital paperwork from register offices
0:04:57 > 0:05:00to help with the hunt, and to head to areas of the country
0:05:00 > 0:05:04where the research suggests potential heirs may crop up.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06He can now get back to the important job
0:05:06 > 0:05:10of finding out what has become of the unaccounted for sister, Ivy.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22Daisy Ellen Wingrove died aged 92 in a nursing home in Chichester.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27She passed away back in 2008 and left no will and no known relatives.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Despite spending the last few years of her life in a home,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35for most of her later years, she'd lived independently
0:05:35 > 0:05:38with her late sister, Joan.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Their neighbour, Sheila Harrison, had known the sisters for decades
0:05:41 > 0:05:45but knew the deceased by a different name.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49She hated the name Daisy.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52She wouldn't even recognise the name Daisy.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56It wasn't till she went into the nursing home
0:05:56 > 0:05:59that I found out that she was called Daisy.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04Sheila had known Daisy by her middle name of Ellen.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And over the years, as the sisters got older,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10she helped the pair out with shopping and general chores.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13It was help she didn't mind giving.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Ellen, she was a real sweet person. She really was.
0:06:17 > 0:06:23She was an absolute sweetie and you couldn't help but like her.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Daisy Ellen and her sister were private people.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32But over time, Sheila was told bits and pieces from their past.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35I knew there were four girls.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I knew their mother died at a very early age.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42So I don't think it was easy for them.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47I didn't think they got any help from the family.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52They never saw any of the family any more after that.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58A family that the team's research is showing is a large one.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Yeah, it's quite a big family.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03But their research could be in vain,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06as sister Ivy is still unaccounted for.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11And what worries David Pacifico is if they find Ivy dead,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Gareth's work into the census records
0:07:13 > 0:07:17suggest there could be in excess of 20 aunts and uncles on this case.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Thank goodness David made the decision to send four travellers
0:07:20 > 0:07:22out on the road.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26But first things first, they need to find out what happened to Ivy.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- So there's no death of an Ivy Maddox. - Not on our set list.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36It's all we've got. And that is just Ivy Maddox.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42Debbie has found a phone number for a potential daughter of Ivy's.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45It's very speculative, but this could be the phone call
0:07:45 > 0:07:47that decides which way this hunt is going to go -
0:07:47 > 0:07:51close kin or countless cousins.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56I just want to make sure we've got the right Ivy Wingrove.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Wrong Ivy.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08But it proves irrelevant anyway.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11While David was on the phone, the team made a vital discovery
0:08:11 > 0:08:15and now know they have a huge hunt on their hands.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20We've managed to establish that Ivy probably was a sister
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and that she's died a spinster.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27The team brace themselves for the big hunt.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31All this and it's still only 7:50 AM.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35David and Gareth inspect the tree and debate their next move.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- We need some information on that side.- Yes.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42- I think we need the other census really, don't we?- The 1911.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- All of them.- Yeah.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Census records are a great tool,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and Gareth knows they're going to need them today.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54If you've got a big family, they're having children for a long time.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57So we need to go further back.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01And the grandparents were born in 1846, 1847.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02They probably married young
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and started having children straightaway.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The team that are in the office
0:09:08 > 0:09:13start to check the 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16to try and find every single aunt and uncle of Daisy's
0:09:16 > 0:09:19on both the paternal and maternal sides.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21They're coming thick and fast.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27- Yeah. Albert is... - Born in Chichester.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30On the '11 census. He's single.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33The father had eight brothers and sisters.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37We're looking at all of those at the moment.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Charles may be laughing but Gareth probably feels like crying.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45The family tree is more than one man can hold.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51It's still very early in the morning,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and the rest of the company's researchers
0:09:53 > 0:09:56have arrived in the offices.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Straightaway they're put to work,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02tackling the family trees Gareth and David have so far compiled.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I'm working on the paternal side of the tree at the moment.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09I'm working on the maternal side.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11At the moment I'm looking at the maternal side.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I'm working on the paternal side.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Partner Charles has good reason to dedicate over 20 of his staff
0:10:17 > 0:10:20to just this one case.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Through their research, the team have made a significant discovery.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27OK, bye.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32The fact that she sold her own house in 2007 for 200 grand...
0:10:35 > 0:10:38You know, there's going to be some money left over.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44The value of the house plus the money that was left to Daisy by her sister
0:10:44 > 0:10:48could potentially mean an estate worth hundreds of thousands.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Oh, that's good.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57But if the team have found this out, so perhaps have the competition.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Luckily, David has some promising leads.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Potentially we've got a couple of cousins once removed
0:11:03 > 0:11:06on the paternal side of the family.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13It seems throwing manpower at this case is already bringing results.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Plus the team's gamble on sending four travelling heir hunters out
0:11:16 > 0:11:18for this one estate has paid off.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23We've got Ewart going to one of the registry offices
0:11:23 > 0:11:27to try and obtain some birth certificates for us.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34- Bob Barrett to Richmond registry office.- OK, Cheers then.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Dave Hadley to go and see a possible heir.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42And Bob Smith, we've sent to Crawley to see a possible heir as well.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49The travelling heir hunters are some of the company's squadron of senior researchers
0:11:49 > 0:11:52who are willing to go wherever a case takes them
0:11:52 > 0:11:54in the hunt for heirs.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Their goal is to retrieve vital certificates and research,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and ultimately meet face-to-face with long lost relatives
0:12:00 > 0:12:04and hopefully get them to sign up with the company.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I've been doing this job for about 17 years now.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16A long time. But I love it, I still love it.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21In the office, the team have made remarkable progress.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Having thoroughly scoured decades of Census records,
0:12:24 > 0:12:29they are now certain all of the paternal line of aunts and uncles are accounted for.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Daisy's father was one of 10, and his brothers and sisters
0:12:33 > 0:12:36are already leading the team to potential heirs.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40It's a fantastic result this early on in the day.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43But the maternal line is proving more troublesome.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52- Got three children missing. - No, it was there.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Surprisingly, they've had 16 children,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59four of which have died and 12 are still living.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01On our tree we've only got nine children,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05so we're missing three children on the top line.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Gareth again returns to the census records.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10This time the one from 1881,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13in a bid to track down the three missing aunts and uncles
0:13:13 > 0:13:15from Daisy's mother's line.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20Case manager David has mixed feelings about Gareth's hard work.
0:13:22 > 0:13:29What Gareth is doing, he's adding on several pages onto the maternal side.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34You are talking well over 20 aunts and uncles.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38But I'm hoping not everybody had children.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Unfortunately, you don't always get what you wish for.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46The descendants of the Walters keep coming.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50I'm working on the stem of Agnes Mary Young.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52She seems to have had about six children.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56With a family tree beginning to resemble a forest,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58David Pacifico makes a suggestion.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Shall we split it?
0:14:01 > 0:14:03I've already, well...
0:14:03 > 0:14:05The only thing is I've already spoken to people
0:14:05 > 0:14:07on the other side of the family.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12It's now 9am, and senior case manager David Milchard,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15known in the office as Grimble, has joined the fray.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16But he's not keen on straight away
0:14:16 > 0:14:19being lumped with the maternal line of Walters.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22It's something he and David will have to discuss further.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26We said he's got to be born after '11.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Trying to palm me off with 16 stems!
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Later in the programme, two senior case managers
0:14:34 > 0:14:38go head-to-head in the hunt for Daisy's heirs.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42We're not lagging behind. Oh, I can be cruel when I want!
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Every Thursday morning, the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates
0:14:53 > 0:14:56is advertised to the heir hunting companies,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and they scramble to be the first to find the beneficiaries to an estate.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04But despite the initial rush, some cases baffle the researchers
0:15:04 > 0:15:07and sit unclaimed for years.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16Mykola Lotocky died aged 76 in January 1992.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19He passed away in Mansfield, leaving no will
0:15:19 > 0:15:23and no known relatives to inherit his £63,000 estate.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Mykola was Ukrainian by birth, and according to neighbour,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Duncan Gillett, he was a friendly but private man,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37who he knew by a different name.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42Nicholas was his name, Nicky. He couldn't speak very good English.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46And of course, every time you used to see him, well,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50and he would go, oh, oh... You know, that business.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54And I never got into deep conversation with him,
0:15:54 > 0:15:59but as far as I know, you know, he kept himself to himself.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Mykola's language barrier may have caused his private nature,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05but he was one of many Ukrainians
0:16:05 > 0:16:09who settled in the area after the Second World War.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14Majority of them that were around here, as we know around here,
0:16:14 > 0:16:19are decent, hard-working chaps and they were a credit to the community.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Mykola Lotocky passed away in a community that respected him,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27but didn't really know him.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30And his private lifestyle meant people were at a loss
0:16:30 > 0:16:33to find his relatives after his death.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38His £63,000 estate was advertised on the Treasury's list,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40but sat there for years.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43His Ukrainian roots made it an extremely complex case
0:16:43 > 0:16:45for the heir hunters to solve.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50That's until Hector Birchwood from Celtic research got involved.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57We have a very good agent in the Ukraine and I felt that this
0:16:57 > 0:17:02case just really needed an extra push in order to get it resolved.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05And Hector's first push
0:17:05 > 0:17:08was to look at the details on Mykola's death certificate.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12The best starting point for any heir hunt.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Well, once we had his death, we knew his age and
0:17:16 > 0:17:20so we started to look for marriages by the time he ought to be marrying.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24And we weren't able to find anything for him.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25So, we also looked at births
0:17:25 > 0:17:29that could potentially be illegitimate births.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33He doesn't have to marry to have children. But we couldn't find any.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37So, according to the records, Mykola had led the life of a bachelor.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Well, all we knew from his death certificate was that the
0:17:40 > 0:17:43deceased was a coal miner.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49After the Second World War, Britain was suffering a labour shortage
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and there was work for immigrants like Mykola in heavy industry.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57And in his case, down the coal mines.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02It would been hard graft, working up to 1,000 feet underground.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Dr Ivor Brown, a coalmining expert,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08can recall his own days down the pit.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12They would have been very similar to Mykola's.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17We had to get down the pit in our own time, that is, if you were due
0:18:17 > 0:18:21to start at 7:00, if you weren't there at 7:00, no work for you.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25When you got down the pit, you then had to walk to your
0:18:25 > 0:18:29place of work, which could be three quarters of an hour journey away.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33It was a tough job, but the pay could be very good.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36And the migrant work ethic impressed the locals.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41The Eastern European's were excellent workers.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44They often learnt English very quickly.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48And they were generally well accepted.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51They didn't always stay long.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56They did often five, 10 years, and then,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59they moved off to other jobs or even back home.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03But Mykola stayed in the UK.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06And it was now Hector who was heading back
0:19:06 > 0:19:09to the Ukraine in the hunt for his heirs.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14The first step after having done the research here in the UK
0:19:14 > 0:19:17is to identify his baptismal record,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21and for that we needed our agent in the Ukraine to locate it.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Which their agent promptly did.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28And it came back to the UK with a sting in the tail for Hector.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31The deceased was born illegitimately,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35so, although we expected his name Lotocky or Lotosky to be
0:19:35 > 0:19:40the name of his father, it's actually the name of his mother.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45His father was not listed on the birth certificate.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49With Mykola having been born out of wedlock,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Hector's search for his heirs didn't look promising.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56In the UK, this means the heir hunters can only look into
0:19:56 > 0:19:57the mother's side of the family.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01But the laws of the Ukraine are very different.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Well, according to a very obscure point in Ukrainian law,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10it's called the article number 135,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13where a woman is not married,
0:20:13 > 0:20:19she must put down a masculine version of her maiden name
0:20:19 > 0:20:22under the father's surname.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26And Lotocky was that masculine version
0:20:26 > 0:20:29of his mother's maiden name, Lotocka.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31But that wasn't the end of it.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36According to article 135, an element of the father's first names
0:20:36 > 0:20:40should also be included in the illegitimate child's name.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44In this case, Mykola's full name was Mykola Ilkovych Lotocky.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51And this inferred that there would be somebody
0:20:51 > 0:20:54by the name of Ilko as his father.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Hector then discovered Mykola's mother had married
0:20:58 > 0:21:03an Ilko Mykolaiovuch Kisil six years after his birth.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07For Hector, the father's first names were too similar to Mykola's
0:21:07 > 0:21:10to be just a coincidence.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13Using details on the marriage certificate,
0:21:13 > 0:21:14he furthered his research
0:21:14 > 0:21:19and found three children born to Ilko and Paraskovia.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23At that point, we realised that at the very least,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27they are half-brothers and half-sisters of the deceased.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Hector had a lead and ran with it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34He now got stuck into tracking the siblings down.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39In the early 20th century, Mykola and his family
0:21:39 > 0:21:41lived in Western Ukraine,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45during an extremely turbulent time in the country's history.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47From the year he was born,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Mykola's homeland was a constantly changing entity.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53At the time of his birth,
0:21:53 > 0:22:00the land that he was born on was under Austro-Hungarian rule.
0:22:00 > 0:22:07By the time he had reached the age of three, that land then became
0:22:07 > 0:22:14part of Poland and was under Polish rule from 1918 to 1939.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Mykola and his family lived in the west of the country,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23but those living in the East came under the Soviet Union.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27During the emerging decades of the 20th century,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31they were victims of Stalin's brutal campaign to keep the Soviet Union
0:22:31 > 0:22:37together by crushing the Ukrainian people's call for independence.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38There were three man-made famines
0:22:38 > 0:22:42inflicted on the Ukrainian people by Stalin,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45collectively called the Holodomor.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48The literal translation is death by hunger.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And the worst one of the three was between 1932 to 1933.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Under this campaign, whole villages were ordered to give
0:22:57 > 0:23:00all their food and crops away to the government.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05The people were then forcibly starved to death to hand over their
0:23:05 > 0:23:10foodstuffs and there are various estimates on the number of people
0:23:10 > 0:23:14that were killed in the Soviet Union during the 1920s, during the 1930s.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17It was quite literally in the millions.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21The Holodomor, now considered an act of genocide,
0:23:21 > 0:23:26is estimated to have starved to death more than 7.5 million people.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28It was an experience that would shake Mykola
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and his family's lives for ever.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Later in the programme,
0:23:37 > 0:23:43Mykola's life in the UK is a revelation to his surviving family.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48My husband saw him being shot in Hungary.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?
0:23:56 > 0:24:01In the UK, the Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates that over
0:24:01 > 0:24:05the years have baffled the heir hunters and still remain unclaimed.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08This is money that could have your name on it.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13These estates can stay on the list for up to 30 years
0:24:13 > 0:24:19and each could be worth anything from £5,000 to millions of pounds.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Today, we're focusing on three names from the list.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Could they be relatives of yours?
0:24:26 > 0:24:31Ellie Sexton Barling died in Edmonton, London, in April 2004.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Her middle name of Sexton is usually a surname.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Is it possible it was her mother's maiden name?
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Or did you know George Barry Pizzy,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47who died in 1999 in Middlesex?
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Pizzy is an extremely rare surname in the UK. Do you recognise it?
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Are you George's heir?
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Or, finally, Gladys Frogley.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03She died in November 2001 in Kingston upon Thames.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09Gladys was born in 1900, meaning she reached the age of 101.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12If no heirs are found to her estate,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15the money will go to the government.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17If the names Ellie Sexton Barling,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21George Barry Pizzy or Gladys Frogley mean anything to you,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23then you could have a windfall on its way.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Daisy Ellen Wingrove died in September 2008 aged 92.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Leaving no will and no known relatives,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42her estate ended up on the Treasury's list.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46She spent her elderly years living in Chichester
0:25:46 > 0:25:48with her late sister, Joan.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Her friend and neighbour, Sheila, got to know Daisy over the years.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56I like to think back when we used to sort of walk out in her garden,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59potter in her garden, you know, me there making sure she's all right
0:25:59 > 0:26:05down the steps and when we would have something to laugh about.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It was always nice to go up in the home.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Both Daisy and her sister Joan spent the final
0:26:12 > 0:26:14few years of their lives in a nursing home.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Joan died a year before Daisy.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20You know, she thought the world of Joan.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24They had always been together, and now she was on her own.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27And she was absolutely devastated.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Heir-hunting company Fraser & Fraser
0:26:37 > 0:26:40have picked up Daisy's estate from the list.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Very early on, they knew her case had value from a house sale
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and inheritance.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52Wanting to beat competing companies to the long-lost relatives,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Charles has thrown everything at the hunt.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57We've got 20-odd people in the office working on it.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01And throwing such resources at the case is paying off.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06They found early on that Daisy's three sisters had all died
0:27:06 > 0:27:07leaving no children.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12And this meant looking for cousins and cousins once removed.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15The team has now accounted for all nine of the Wingrove family's
0:27:15 > 0:27:17aunts and uncles.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21This has already led them to finding heirs on the father's side.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25The maternal line of Walters has proved trickier, but the team
0:27:25 > 0:27:29has now confirmed all 12 aunts and uncles that may have produced heirs.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Case manager David Pacifico has made an executive decision.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41He and Grimble will split the tree, but neither is keen to take
0:27:41 > 0:27:44the maternal side with its 12 aunts and uncles.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49Grimble and David come to an agreement.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53- Can you walk around there?- But it's an agreement that favours Grimble.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Look at this! Don't you think that's art? Look! Art!
0:27:58 > 0:28:01He's ended up with the smaller paternal family.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05It's a family that has already produced heirs.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07And the travellers are already
0:28:07 > 0:28:10out on the road on their way to meet them.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Just about to go into the tunnel.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19In the office, David is coming to terms with the arrangement.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23In all fairness, he's volunteered to take the larger side of the family.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26At the moment, we don't have any heirs on that side,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28but I'm hoping we might do soon.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32And David doesn't have to wait long.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Gareth's hard work is paying dividends.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40The maternal side, the Walters side, we have now got
0:28:40 > 0:28:43an address of somebody that might have been entitled if his mother
0:28:43 > 0:28:47is still alive, but there's still a lot of work to do on this side.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52But the team are doing it and pass David their latest leads.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55I'm going to go and make a couple of phone calls.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00It's a good sign when the case managers start heading upstairs.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04It means there's potential heirs to call and arrange meetings with.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Maybe David stands a chance of catching up with Grimble after all.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13- Hello, Tone.- Hello, Dave.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Some in the office are having it easier than others,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18and partner, Neil, has arrived into work,
0:29:18 > 0:29:23glad his cousin Charles is having to finish this case off.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25It's been a frantic morning,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29with research happening all over the place.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31We've identified it's got value.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34I expect a lot of other people will be able to identify it's got value,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38so it's going to be a competitive case, so we want to be there first.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43And the travelling heir hunters are key to that happening.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Bob Smith, Dave Hadley and Bob Barrett are all on their way
0:29:47 > 0:29:50to meetings with heirs on the paternal line Grimble is working.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Things are falling into place nicely for a relaxed Grimble.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Speak to you later. Goodbye.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03David Pacifico is keen to discover how all of the hard work
0:30:03 > 0:30:06he put in on Daisy's father's side of the tree
0:30:06 > 0:30:07is paying off for Grimble.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Are you finished all your work on the paternal side then?
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Almost finished, David. We're not lagging behind.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16We're not trying to palm off any of our work
0:30:16 > 0:30:18to anybody else in the company.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20I volunteered to have that side of the case.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22I could've easily have said, look, Grimble,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25I've already spoken to people on the paternal side,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28it makes more sense for you to take the maternal side.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31- Did I say that? No, I didn't. - Oh, I can be cruel when I want!
0:30:32 > 0:30:35And to add insult to David Pacifico's injury,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Bob Barrett has made it to a paternal heir's house.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43Yvonne Collins is a cousin once removed whose grandmother Nelly
0:30:43 > 0:30:45was Daisy's aunt.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47She was one of nine.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Yeah, we were trying to work out this the other day.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Bob goes through what he knows with Yvonne,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57and after the meeting, gives the cheerful Grimble a call.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00She's signed an agreement on her own behalf
0:31:00 > 0:31:02and on behalf of her late brother.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04That's marvellous.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07- Good news.- OK, bye now.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11Cheers, goodbye. Ah, Mr Bob Barrett has done it again!
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Bob Barrett is on fire.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18As quickly as Grimble is contacting heirs, Bob is meeting up with them.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21- Hello, Mr Whittingham?- Yes.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Robert Whittingham is another descendant of Daisy's aunt Nelly.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Whereabouts were you born?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- Grandmother Nelly or Ellen...- Yes.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33..was one of nine, we believe.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36And the paternal heirs keep coming.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39Traveller Bob Smith has just arrived at his meeting.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41Well, this is very nice.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43He's meeting Bob Bevan,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46a cousin once removed through Daisy's paternal aunt,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Rosa Wingrove.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50OK, what was your father's name?
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Bob Smith gets down to business.
0:31:53 > 0:31:54Bob Barrett has wrapped his up.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58The news comes as a big relief to Grimble.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00- He's signed an agreement with us. - Oh, good.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04I'm glad about that, because I can now run off and go for a wee wee.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07But he'd better not take too long, as downstairs,
0:32:07 > 0:32:11David Pacifico and Gareth are finally making some headway.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14We've got quite a few names to play with
0:32:14 > 0:32:18and we've got a current address on two of those stems.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21David is fighting back.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24He puts his decades of experience to good use
0:32:24 > 0:32:28and passes the addresses straight to his travellers.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32- It's time for Ewart Lindsay to get in on the action.- Thanks, yeah.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34Bye, bye.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37With Ewart hot-footing it to one Walters heir,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41David Pacifico has got Dave Hadley to go to another.
0:32:41 > 0:32:42Mrs Davy?
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Barbara Davy is a cousin of Daisy's through her uncle Arthur Walters.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Dave gets down to business.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Meanwhile, Ewart is just beginning his.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Hello, hi, how are you?
0:32:56 > 0:33:00- Goodbye.- Back with Dave Hadley, and he's a happy man.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03She signed the agreement, I'm pleased to say,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06so, it's a job well done, so it's on to the next one now.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10Another agreement for David Pacifico's team.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Ewart brings heir, Lynne Burling, up to speed on what they know.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Lynne is happy to sign an agreement with the company.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19She's an amateur genealogist
0:33:19 > 0:33:23and this addition to her knowledge about her family tree is priceless.
0:33:26 > 0:33:27I'm hoping that they'll let me
0:33:27 > 0:33:30have copies of all of the documents that they've taken,
0:33:30 > 0:33:33or gathered themselves, so that I can add to my records.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37It's just, I'm not even thinking about the money! Honestly!
0:33:37 > 0:33:41It's just come out of the blue this! So it's just so exciting!
0:33:41 > 0:33:47As exciting as the hot competition between the two case managers.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Despite Dave Hadley meeting
0:33:50 > 0:33:53and signing yet another heir on the maternal line, in the office,
0:33:53 > 0:33:58partner Neil knows which horse crossed the line first.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02It looks as though David Milchard has beaten David Pacifico
0:34:02 > 0:34:06quite hands down today. He certainly had the agreements first.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12And the side of the family looks pretty well wrapped up,
0:34:12 > 0:34:18and until we get the certificates back, then, it's looking fairly good.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Grimble had a family of nine to trace the heirs to,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25with a lot of work already done.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28And David Pacifico had to track the heirs from an un-researched
0:34:28 > 0:34:34family of 12. And a family tree of about 12 foot.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37That'll teach you a lesson, trying to fob it off on me!
0:34:37 > 0:34:40Did I fob it off to you?!
0:34:40 > 0:34:42I volunteered to have this side of the case!
0:34:42 > 0:34:47In the end, the estate was worth a lot less than the initial estimate.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52But the team have shown they can handle such a large case.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56- Thank you very much, goodbye. - Take care, goodbye.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58I'm now looking forward to going home.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03None more so than an exhausted, but exhilarated David Pacifico.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06It may have been a day of head-to-head
0:35:06 > 0:35:08competition with Grimble,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12but everything these guys do is for the greater good of the company.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16At the end of the day, you know, we're sort of the same team,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20and importantly, we have now come up with agreements,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22so we have ended the day even, I think.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26And partner Neil couldn't be happier with his team.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28We've worked it very, very hard.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30The reason we had to work it very, very hard
0:35:30 > 0:35:32is because of the size of the family.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37The family is absolutely huge. Certainly a top-level line.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40That's whittled down to not as many heirs
0:35:40 > 0:35:43as it possibly looked like first thing this morning.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46I think some of the guys were probably
0:35:46 > 0:35:49saying 50 to 100 beneficiaries. We'll probably have 50,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52but I don't think we'll get near the 100 beneficiaries stage.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54But it's got value, it's been a good day.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Mykola Lotocky died in Mansfield in Nottinghamshire
0:36:04 > 0:36:07without leaving a will, and with no known relatives.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10According to his neighbour, Duncan Gillett,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13he led a very solitary life.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16I never got into deep conversation with him,
0:36:16 > 0:36:20but as far as I know, he kept himself to himself.
0:36:20 > 0:36:27Ukrainian born Mykola was 76 years old when he passed away in 1992.
0:36:27 > 0:36:33And his £63,000 estate was advertised on the Treasury's list.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36But because the heir hunt needed to go all the way back to the Ukraine,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40for years it proved too tough a nut to crack for the heir hunters.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44This is until Hector Birchwood from Celtic Research
0:36:44 > 0:36:46took up the estate.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50This case just really needed an extra push in order to get it resolved.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Despite Mykola being registered
0:36:52 > 0:36:55as an illegitimate birth in the Ukraine,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58his mother went on to marry six years later
0:36:58 > 0:37:01and have a further three children.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Hector couldn't be 100% certain but there was a chance
0:37:04 > 0:37:07the father of these children, Ilko Kisil,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09was also the father of Mykola.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17Well, once we had located the names of potential brothers and sisters,
0:37:17 > 0:37:22really, the next step was to see if they were still alive or not.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25And hopefully, then, they may be alive, and if they're not alive,
0:37:25 > 0:37:29then we looked for marriages and then look for potential children.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Using a Ukrainian agent to help with his hunt,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Hector researched further into a brother and sister
0:37:35 > 0:37:39who had stayed in the Ukraine.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41The team found the sister alive
0:37:41 > 0:37:46and she was now an heir to Mykola's £63,000 estate.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50The brother had died but left two surviving children.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53These were Mykola's second and third heirs.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57But Hector's hunt was far from over.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00There was, however, also a third brother.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03And we didn't know where he was
0:38:03 > 0:38:06because he no longer resided in the Ukraine.
0:38:06 > 0:38:11Hector moved his research on and discovered his hunt
0:38:11 > 0:38:13would now bring him back to the UK.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18Using the recognisable surname of Kisil, he found his man.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20But there was a big shock in store.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25What we found was that his brother Teodor had settled
0:38:25 > 0:38:27here in the United Kingdom in Leicester,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30only a few miles from where the deceased died in Mansfield.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36He married in the 1950s to Gratzia Cicatiello,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39and he died some nine years after the deceased,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41not knowing that, actually,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45his brother was only living a few miles apart.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49It was a mystery Hector could only wonder at,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53as according to the Ukrainian family,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55the brothers had always been close.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58They had even gone away to war together
0:38:58 > 0:39:00to fight for the Germans against Stalin.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07They had seen their fellow countrymen
0:39:07 > 0:39:13being starved to death in the millions by Stalin's Soviet regime.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17So it's no wonder they may have been willing
0:39:17 > 0:39:19to take up arms against the Red Army.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24After the war had ended, people who were conscripted by the Nazis
0:39:24 > 0:39:29found themselves in Germany in displaced persons camps.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35They had the option of whether to go back home or to stay in the West.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40People that fought in German and Polish uniforms settled in this country
0:39:40 > 0:39:43and Mykola and Teodor were obviously two people
0:39:43 > 0:39:45that fitted that category.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49So, both brothers came to the UK unbeknown to each other.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53And, seemingly, never tried to make contact again.
0:39:53 > 0:39:59Unfortunately, this tragic separation was all too common.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Mykola, like many Ukrainians, would not have contacted his family,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06simply because he feared for their lives.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10He knew that if he got in touch with his family,
0:40:10 > 0:40:14that the Soviets may view him as an enemy of the state
0:40:14 > 0:40:17and that his family could suffer as a consequence.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21With this hanging over him,
0:40:21 > 0:40:25it's no wonder Mykola chose to live a solitary life in the UK.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Never being able to discover what had happened to his brother
0:40:29 > 0:40:31or family back in the Ukraine.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34It's a tragic life story
0:40:34 > 0:40:38and especially sad for his surviving heir in the UK.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41An heir Hector was now contacting.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44He put in a call to Mykola's brother Teodor's wife
0:40:44 > 0:40:48who would now also inherit.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51As Teodor had died after Mykola,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54he had what is known as a vested interest.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58This means his widow Gratzia is considered the next of kin.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02But Hector's news about Mykola's close whereabouts in the UK
0:41:02 > 0:41:04wasn't her biggest shock.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08For me, it was really confusing.
0:41:08 > 0:41:14My husband saw him being shot in Hungary.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Teodor had spent his adult life
0:41:18 > 0:41:21believing his older brother was dead.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23He'd been convinced he'd seen him shot
0:41:23 > 0:41:27on the battlefield in Hungary in 1944.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31The whole family had been convinced of Mykola's death.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Even erecting a headstone for him
0:41:33 > 0:41:37above an empty grave back in the Ukraine.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40We went to a visit the grave
0:41:40 > 0:41:44and I also made a photograph of some of them.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48You'd never think that he had survived,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51and it really was a big surprise for me.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53A sort of a mystery.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01Mykola's decision to leave the past behind is understandable,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04given the circumstances.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06But it's still a bitter blow for the surviving family,
0:42:06 > 0:42:10knowing he'd lived just 50 miles away for all of that time.
0:42:10 > 0:42:16For Gratzia, Mykola's lonely existence in the UK is a sad memory
0:42:16 > 0:42:21and despite being an heir to his £63,000 estate,
0:42:21 > 0:42:25she knows what she and her late husband would rather have had.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29I would have loved to have known what sort of person he was.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Instead of money.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34Mykola Lotocky's estate
0:42:34 > 0:42:37will be divided up between the four heirs
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Hector Birchwood discovered from the Ukraine to the UK.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44But it's going to four people who would have preferred to have
0:42:44 > 0:42:49known the whereabouts decades earlier of the long-lost Mykola.
0:43:05 > 0:43:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd