0:00:02 > 0:00:06A team of heir hunters are scouring the suburbs of Birmingham,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09trying to find heirs for an estate that could be worth as much as £175,000.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13We won't get that death till 10 o'clock.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14They're looking for long-lost relatives
0:00:14 > 0:00:18who have no idea they could be in line for a windfall.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39On today's programme,
0:00:39 > 0:00:45the heir hunters are chasing a high-value case of £175,000.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49But have they been barking up the wrong family tree?
0:00:49 > 0:00:51That was a total false start for us on Mason.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And when an heir hunter investigates the case
0:00:55 > 0:00:58of a former radar base worker,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01her journey takes her from the Cold War to family tragedy.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05He'd seen my dad in the water with a gash on his head,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08so he didn't stand a chance.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Plus, how you could be entitled to unclaimed estates
0:01:11 > 0:01:13where heirs still need to be found.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Could you be in line for a cash payout?
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Every year in the UK over 300,000 people die without leaving a will.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30If no relatives are found,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34then any money they've left behind will go to the government.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38And last year, that was a staggering £14 million.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42But there are over 30 specialist firms
0:01:42 > 0:01:44competing to stop this happening.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46They're the heir hunters,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50and they make it their business to track down missing relatives
0:01:50 > 0:01:52and help them claim their rightful inheritance.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Bringing together family that haven't met each other
0:01:54 > 0:01:56or didn't know about each other,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59it gives us pleasure, more so than the financial side.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14It's Thursday morning,
0:02:14 > 0:02:19and overnight the Treasury has advertised a new list of unclaimed estates.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24In the offices at Fraser and Fraser...
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Is that right or wrong?
0:02:26 > 0:02:27..partner, Neil Fraser
0:02:27 > 0:02:30and case manager Tony Pledger are up against it.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32That's just a total mistake.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Not much on the list has promise.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38At the present moment it's just confusion.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42There is one case that looks like it might have value.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45So, it's Rita Mason, it's in the West Midlands,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49value wise it could be as high as £175,000.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Rita Mason was 79 when she passed away, she had never married,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02she had learning difficulties.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05For most of her life she lived in this rented house
0:03:05 > 0:03:06with her mum and dad.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10When her mother died 22 years ago,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13she moved in to sheltered accommodation.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18She arrived at Holly Grange care home 14 years ago.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Jenny Harley was Rita's housing support officer,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24she remembers Rita as being a complex character.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32Rita was a lady that had to befriend you first.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36She used to weigh what type of person you was
0:03:36 > 0:03:40before she'd let you come into her world.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45It took a few months, probably, a couple of years, really,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48before she completely trusted me.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50But we got there in the end.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55But once Rita did feel comfortable, she was always ready for a natter.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58She used to spend quite a lot of time,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02as she passed the office, popping in on a daily basis.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04She was always up for a little bit of banter,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08always a little bit of banter, and a bit of fun.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14She got a really meaningful laugh, a little giggle,
0:04:14 > 0:04:20and was always doing the de, de, de, de, as she was walking along.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23No-one ever visited Rita at Holly Grange,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and when she passed away, no family came forward,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30so Rita's name was put onto the Treasury's list.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38At this stage, the heir hunters don't know anything about Rita,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41other than her date and place of birth.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43We still don't know any idea about the value,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45if she's got £1,000 sat in the bank
0:04:45 > 0:04:47or if she's got a million pounds sat in the bank.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49No idea what type of lady she is at all.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Neil found a property which is registered to a Rita Mason,
0:04:53 > 0:04:58it's valued at £175,000.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01A house is the most expensive thing you'll ever own,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06so heir hunters use this to judge the value of the case.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08But they don't know for sure whether the house they found
0:05:08 > 0:05:11is registered to the deceased Rita Mason,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13or to someone else with the same name.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Neil thinks it's worth taking the risk.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's better for us to start rolling on something,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and then, obviously, it prove to be wrong.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Heir hunters work on commission,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27taking a percentage of the money received by each heir they sign.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30They need a good sized estate to cover costs,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33so, taking on a case like this is a leap of faith.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Yes, there's a risk, we're doing all this work and none of them are going to pay off.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39There's also a risk that we don't do any work,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42someone else does that, takes a gamble,
0:05:42 > 0:05:43and those gambles pay off for them
0:05:43 > 0:05:45because they get to the beneficiaries first.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Neil's given the veto Mason case to Dave Slee,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53he's got more than 30 years experience in heir hunting.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Rita Moran Mason.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58I've checked Scotland, I've not checked Ireland.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02To try and stay one step ahead of the competition,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Dave has decided to take a chance.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Have we got neighbours?
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Using the address they think is Rita Mason's,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13he's using the telephone directories to find neighbours.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20We're struggling to locate the birth for Rita Mason.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22So, I'm going to try to phone some neighbours,
0:06:22 > 0:06:27just in an attempt to get a rough idea of her age, if nothing else.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32Which might help, obviously, track down the exact birth.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Good morning, I'm very sorry to trouble you.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40It may be like looking for a needle in a haystack,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44but Dave Slee knows from experience that phoning neighbours can pay off.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48One good phone call can break the whole case sometimes.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51So, it's worth doing.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Hello, good morning, I do apologise for troubling you so early,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56I was just wondering if you knew Rita Mason at all?
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Oh, lovely, allow me to explain who I am and why I'm phoning.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03And it seems Dave has struck gold.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05He's found a neighbour that recognises the name.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Well, Rita Mason, we weren't sure if she was a married lady or not?
0:07:12 > 0:07:16But has this heir hunter just put his foot right in it?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Ah, right, and she's still alive, is she?
0:07:18 > 0:07:22I'm so sorry to have troubled you, obviously, just pure coincidence,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25that's so kind of you to let me know, thank you, bye bye.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32Well, we've been working the wrong address. Oh, dear.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Dave's mortified, and now they're back to square one.
0:07:35 > 0:07:41Debbie, she's alive that woman at that address, husband, Philip.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43But there's another problem,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46if the team had the wrong address for Rita Mason...
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Wrong address.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52..that means that Neil's valuation of her house at £175,000
0:07:52 > 0:07:54could be way off the mark.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Right now, they have no idea where she lived.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Could be a nursing home, might not be an estate with any value.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I think, because the surname is common
0:08:03 > 0:08:05and it's in a large urban area, like Birmingham,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08there's going to be more than one of them.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Dave thinks Rita Mason's case is a risky prospect,
0:08:13 > 0:08:14but Neil's sticking to his guns.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19With nothing better on the list, he still wants to work it up.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24That was a total false start for us on Mason, sometimes happens.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27As it stands at the moment, we haven't got anything better to work,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30so, we are going to slowly tick over on it,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32because there's a dozen jobs,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and none of them are producing anything with any value.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39So, it's nose back to the grindstone.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Right, do you want to spin back on it?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45In the hunt to find records for Rita Moran Mason
0:08:45 > 0:08:46ahead of competing firms.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Researcher, Debbie, is trawling through birth registers.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56Right, so, how many Rita M births are there?
0:08:56 > 0:08:57In Birmingham?
0:08:57 > 0:09:01On here just now, there is three.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Out of the three, Dave has decided to go to the one
0:09:03 > 0:09:06that's closest to the date of birth they think is Rita's.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Debbie is running now with a birth that, hopefully, is the right one.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19They've decided to take a chance and draw up a family tree.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Heir hunters use these documents to map out families.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Taking them back generation by generation,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28until they find someone entitled to inherit.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34The Rita Mason registered in 1931 had a father called Charles Mason,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and her mother was Violet Louisa Holding.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39They have a possible family,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43but they still don't know how much this estate is worth.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46I've just got a feeling this hasn't got value, you know.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51An estate of £5,000 is the minimum to make it onto the Treasury list.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54It's really difficult to ever be able to determine
0:09:54 > 0:09:58the value of someone's estate if they don't have property.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02To try and find out how wealthy this family was,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Dave and Debbie have got hold of Charles Mason
0:10:04 > 0:10:06and Violet Holding's wills.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11- What type of money did they leave? - The dad only leaves £1,505 in 74.
0:10:11 > 0:10:18£1,505 in 1974 equals around £17,000 in today's money.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20It's not much,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24and they still don't know if they have the right Rita Mason.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27We're, we're speculating.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32The death certificate will confirm the right place and date of birth.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Dave gets on the blower to travelling heir hunter, Bob Barrett.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Yeah, Bob, morning, it's Dave Slee.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Travelling heir hunter, Bob Barrett,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46is one of a group of highly experienced probate researchers,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48who spend Thursdays hunting for clues.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49They took to neighbours...
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- Is it all right if I ask you a couple of questions?- Yes.- Thank you.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56..chase certificates, and visit the heirs.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57Yeah, I've got my sister on here.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59That's all right.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Often, it's their dogged determination
0:11:01 > 0:11:02that gives them the edge
0:11:02 > 0:11:05when it comes to reaching the heirs before the competition.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10- We desperately need a death certificate from West Bromwich. - Yeah.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14it's the deceased death of Rita Mason,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17second name Moran, M-O-R-A-N.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21We can't locate residence or time of death,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25so, it's obviously crucial to know where we're going
0:11:25 > 0:11:26with this job, really.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Okey-doke, speak to you later.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30All right, Bob.
0:11:30 > 0:11:31- Cheers. Bye-bye.- Bye.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Up in Birmingham, travelling heir Hunter, Bob Barrett,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40is also having a frustrating morning.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Yes, plans keep changing this morning.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47He's already travelled 120 miles from Sussex on another job,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49and it's only 10am.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52While Bob makes a beeline to get the certificate,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56in the office, the team are crossing their fingers that they've got the right family tree.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Rita Mason's father, Charles, has a common name,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03but Violet Holding, the person they believe is her mother,
0:12:03 > 0:12:04is easier to find.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08We've managed to find a death for the mother of the deceased
0:12:08 > 0:12:09in 1977 in Sandwell.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13From that we're getting a tree
0:12:13 > 0:12:16which has a sister,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20a Rose Holding, who has three children.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Violet had a sister called Rose,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27she had some children who would be first cousins,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29and therefore, heirs to Rita Masons' estate.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31One of them is living in Somerset.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34This could be the break they need,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Dave has the number
0:12:36 > 0:12:39and he's about to find out if he has the right family.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Is this Rita Mason our Rita Mason?
0:12:43 > 0:12:50Hopefully, this phone-call will determine if that is the case or not.
0:12:50 > 0:12:56Knowing my luck today, there will be no answer.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Coming up: Have the Heir Hunters bitten off more than they can chew?
0:13:05 > 0:13:08It's going to come back in the end, I think, to haunt us.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11And the sad story of how Rita was left alone.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17I felt that she needed somebody. To me, she came over quite vulnerable.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Sometimes in the hunt for heirs, the researchers
0:13:30 > 0:13:33uncover the tragic stories buried for decades
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and reunite families that have been ripped apart by circumstance.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41And that's something Anna Donne of DS Researchers encountered
0:13:41 > 0:13:45when she took on a case centred around North Yorkshire.
0:13:45 > 0:13:52I mainly look at cases that cover the North of England where the death has occurred.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Keith Bryant lived in this bungalow in the village of Cayton Bay near Scarborough.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00He was 78 when he passed away
0:14:00 > 0:14:05and left a substantial estate of £250,000 but no will.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12When Keith's estate was advertised on the Treasury List last year, it caught Anna's eye.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16He had died in Scarborough, which isn't too far and I thought
0:14:16 > 0:14:20it would be an ideal one to start off with on that Thursday morning.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Keith was a Yorkshire lad who had stayed close to his roots all his life.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32His neighbour of 17 years, Peter Hargreaves, remembers him
0:14:32 > 0:14:35going off for daily walks in his beloved countryside.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37You would talk about any part of Yorkshire
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and Keith had either been there or he was going there.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Some of the locals thought Keith was a bit odd but to Peter,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46he was a good sort.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50People misread the type of man he was.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Round home he was a very, very private person.
0:14:54 > 0:15:01Once he was outside his own area, he was very, very light hearted,
0:15:01 > 0:15:06always happy, spoke to most people he met on the bus
0:15:06 > 0:15:09or whilst walking around.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12He was a very, very likeable man and a very good neighbour.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17In fact, we miss him quite a lot now.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22With no obvious relatives, every penny of Keith's whopping
0:15:22 > 0:15:26£250,000 estate could go to the government.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31Probate researcher Anna Donne was determined to find Keith's heirs.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Her first step was to look at his date of birth,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39taken from his death certificate.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44I checked the birth records for Keith Bryant and I found three.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48I picked one that was sort of in Yorkshire, a birth in Yorkshire
0:15:48 > 0:15:52for a Keith Bryant whereas I think some of the others were further away.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Usually, you know, if he was a Yorkshire lad,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58he would have stayed around Yorkshire area.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Now she could check Keith's birth certificate to find out
0:16:03 > 0:16:06who his parents were and start building a family tree.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10Keith's dad was Donald Bryant and his mum was Agnes Morris.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Looking at the marriages of the parents,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19I noticed that they were married later on in life.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23They were in their 30s and also that Keith's father died
0:16:23 > 0:16:25when he was only 10 years old.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Anna wasn't able to find any record of siblings for Keith
0:16:30 > 0:16:32or any marriages.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Keith may not have had a wife or children
0:16:34 > 0:16:37but he was very busy working in national security.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43I do know about him working in Staxton Wold for a period of 8 1/2 years.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Near Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast,
0:16:46 > 0:16:51Staxton Wold is the oldest radar station in Britain.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Keith was part of an immensely important time in British history, the Cold War.
0:16:57 > 0:16:58The RAF Radar Museum in Norfolk
0:16:58 > 0:17:03houses the sort of equipment that was found in Staxton Wold in the 1960s.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Its role was to feed in the radar picture of aircraft operating
0:17:08 > 0:17:10over the North Sea, including incoming raids
0:17:10 > 0:17:13from the Soviet Union, should they take place.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18A radar network was set up to protect Britain.
0:17:18 > 0:17:2320 miles to the north of Staxton Wold was RAF Fylingdales.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28It's almost certain that Keith also worked there.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33This was a specialist long-range radar set up by the Americans.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37In the 60s and 70s, it was at the cutting edge of Defence.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41The Sputnik launch in 1957 heralded a completely new
0:17:41 > 0:17:44way of delivering weapons, the intercontinental ballistic missile.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48That required a whole new system of detection
0:17:48 > 0:17:50to protect the United States,
0:17:50 > 0:17:56and Fylingdales was built to provide part of that protection,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59along with other radar stations in Greenland and Alaska.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03During the Cold War, the tensions between the West
0:18:03 > 0:18:07and the Soviet Union were balanced on a knife-edge.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10There was always the possibility during the 1970s and '80s
0:18:10 > 0:18:13of the Soviet Union launching a nuclear attack against the West.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18Radar stations like Fylingdales were crucial in maintaining a status quo.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21It made it pointless for the Soviet Union to actually launch an attack
0:18:21 > 0:18:24because with the warning provided by Fylingdales,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27we were able to launch a counter-strike against the Soviet Union
0:18:27 > 0:18:31before the missiles reached us so therefore, it wasn't in the interest
0:18:31 > 0:18:36of the Soviet Union to actually launch any attack against the West.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39At Staxton Wold, Keith worked in the supply department,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43where he was a small cog in a very important wheel.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Geoff Bridgeman worked with him.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Keith would have been working at Fylingdales as a civilian,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54and also Staxton Wold, at the height of the Cold War.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57I suspect that whatever job you did,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59you would have come across classified items.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Not top-secret but classified.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06And he would have had a fair idea of what this information was about.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10When Geoff worked with him, Keith was in his 40s
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and lived with his mother, Agnes, in Scarborough.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15He didn't mention his mother very often
0:19:15 > 0:19:18but may do occasionally if she wasn't very well.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22But very private and kept himself to himself.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31And in Hull, heir hunter Anna Donne is still trying to track down heirs
0:19:31 > 0:19:35to Keith's quarter of a million pound estate.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Anna knew that Keith's mum, Agnes, would hold the key to unlocking the case.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44So she decided to focus on Agnes's side of the family first.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51On his mother's side, the Morrises, I was able to locate seven siblings.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56It was a real coup because if Keith had lots of aunts and uncles
0:19:56 > 0:20:00on his mum's side, he might have cousins who could inherit.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04Anna first looked at Agnes' brother James, who was Keith's uncle.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Using the birth register, she made a discovery.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12I found one of the uncles, James Leo Morris,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15had married and had a daughter, Patricia.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Patricia would be Keith's cousin
0:20:17 > 0:20:21and one of the heirs to his quarter of a million pound estate.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Anna was elated to have found her first heir
0:20:25 > 0:20:28but it soon became clear that Patricia wouldn't be able to
0:20:28 > 0:20:31fill in any blanks on the family tree.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35She was quite taken aback at first because she explained to me
0:20:35 > 0:20:41that her father had died when she was only six weeks old and therefore,
0:20:41 > 0:20:46she had no real contact with any of her father's family.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Any hopes Anna had of short cutting the research were dashed,
0:20:51 > 0:20:56but that paled into insignificance when she heard the tale that Patricia had to tell.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Coming up, the harrowing tale of a father's disappearance.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10It just seems a void in my life. Not having a father.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13And how he played a part in one of the most
0:21:13 > 0:21:16tragic secrets of World War II.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It was all kept quiet for about three years
0:21:19 > 0:21:22because they didn't want the Germans to find out.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Heir hunters solve thousands of cases a year
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and millions of pounds are paid out to the rightful heirs.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38But not every case can be cracked.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The Treasury has a list of over 2,000 estates that have
0:21:41 > 0:21:44baffled heir hunters and remain unsolved.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Could you be the heir they've been searching for?
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Could you be in line for a windfall worth hundreds,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52thousands or even millions of pounds?
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Estates stay on the list for up to 30 years and today,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00we are focusing on three names.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Are they relatives of yours?
0:22:04 > 0:22:08John Archer Hydes died in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
0:22:08 > 0:22:10on 8th December, 2002.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14The surname Hydes is often associated with landowners.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16If no heirs are found for his estate,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20his money will go to the government. Could you be his heir?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Richard Barnes died on the first day of the new millennium
0:22:26 > 0:22:28in Lambeth, London.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31So far, all efforts to trace any heirs have failed.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Did you know Richard?
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Could you be entitled to his cash?
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Does the name Violet May Priddle sound familiar?
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Violet died in December 1998 in Hammersmith, London.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Violet's last name, Priddle, comes from the West Country.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Could you be related?
0:22:51 > 0:22:53If the names John Archer Hydes,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Violet May Priddle or Richard Barnes mean anything to you,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00then you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12The heir hunters are searching for heirs on the estate of Rita Mason.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15She died in Birmingham in June 2010...
0:23:15 > 0:23:18See what's happening on that Mason job.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22..leaving anywhere between 5,000 to £175,000.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26The heir hunters don't yet know that Rita died in a nursing home.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Rita had learning difficulties and had lived in residential care
0:23:33 > 0:23:36since her mum and dad passed away 22 years ago.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Jenny Harley was a housing support officer at Holly Grange,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45where Rita lived for her last 14 years.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49- She admired Rita's spirit. - She did her own thing.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51She was an independent lady.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55She would go and jump on a bus outside
0:23:55 > 0:23:59and go to different places, her hairdresser's.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Always used to think she was the bees knees once she'd had her hair done.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07It took a while, but Jenny got to know Rita well.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10The office door was always open.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15She'd stand outside and I invited her to come in. "Come on in, Rita."
0:24:15 > 0:24:20And it was from there, really, that she used to sit and tell me
0:24:20 > 0:24:23little bits about her past.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29And Rita had suffered more than her fair share of shocking experiences.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32She was 29 when her father died.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36She actually found her father in bed, that had passed away.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41So she lived with her mother thereon after,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44for how many years, I really don't know,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48but then there must be a reason that she perhaps didn't cope after,
0:24:48 > 0:24:53perhaps losing her mother, that she went into residential care.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Because of her sad past, Jenny felt that she needed more support.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02To me, she came over quite vulnerable.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07I felt that, erm, she needed somebody,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10somebody to be there for her.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Because no family had visited Rita when she passed away,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18the care home didn't know who to contact.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Her name went on to the Treasury's list.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31In London, Frasier's case manager, Dave Slee,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34has spent the morning working up a family tree for Rita Mason.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37But without the death certificate,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39it's all based on educated guesswork.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44So I've got to determine is my girl our deceased?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46- Soon find out. - Good luck with that.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Thank you.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52According to the family tree, they've drawn up Rita Mason's
0:25:52 > 0:25:55parents as being Charles Mason and Violet Holding.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00From this, they found three cousins who could be potential heirs.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Dave is on the phone to one of the cousins now.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07We are trying to trace the next-of-kin of a lady
0:26:07 > 0:26:11who was born Rita Mason.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Could this be the break they are looking for?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Yes, that's right. Ah!
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Dave can breathe a sigh of relief. He has found their first heir.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24So we did have the right birth after all.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28The cousin was able to fill in all the blanks on Rita's mother's
0:26:28 > 0:26:31side of the tree and some on the father's side, too.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Yeah, one phone call like that and then you speak to a lady who
0:26:35 > 0:26:43has a wealth of information, can save hours and hours of research.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46But she has also confirmed Dave's fears.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48It doesn't look like it is going to be a vast estate.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58- Up in Birmingham... - Death Certificate for Rita Mason.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01..travelling heir hunter, Bob Barrett,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03has got Rita Mason's death certificate.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08- Bob Barrett on two for Dave. - I've got this death for you.- Go on.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12- Just Rita Mason on the certificate. - Yeah.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Born 6th August 1932.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22Address, Holly Grange. Does sound a bit like a nursing home, doesn't it?
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Yes. I have managed to speak to her maternal first cousin.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28The cousin even knew her date of birth
0:27:28 > 0:27:32and it tied in and she knew the middle name as well, Moran.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37Supposed to be from a silent film star.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40That's before our day, Dave.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44- I thought you would have remembered that, Bob.- Thank you for that.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Trying to catch you out, there.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49While Dave's been on the phone to Bob, partner Neil Fraser
0:27:49 > 0:27:53has been looking at the census for Rita's father's family.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54And it's not good news.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59If the census is right, there's six stems on the paternal side.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03This is a real blow.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Rita's father's family tree has opened a huge can of worms.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11It's going to cost the heir hunters many man-hours to research.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14I think we are in a catch 22 situation, now.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16We have already contacted heirs
0:28:16 > 0:28:20so we feel obliged to continue to research the whole estate
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and locate all the potential heirs that would be entitled.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30- But then the unexpected happens.- OK.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Rita's cousin has just called Dave back and given him
0:28:33 > 0:28:37details of another cousin on Rita's father's side.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40- We could be in Holy Land. - Joyce Holyland.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Charles Mason had a brother called George and his daughter,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Joyce, is an heir.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Here is an address and phone number for Joyce.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Jo, you are superb, mate.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56It's the break they need.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Joyce will know other family members and save them hours of research.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Bob Barrett arrived at her house in West Bromwich.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10The office had phoned ahead and they are expecting him.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Hello, my name is Bob... Ah, Mrs Holyland.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Is it possible to come in and have a word with you. Thanks very much.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Bob runs through the details with Joyce and her husband.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30Joyce is 89 and doesn't remember her uncle Charles or her cousin Rita.
0:29:30 > 0:29:36- We think that your father had a brother, Charles.- Father.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41- I didn't know, I don't remember that. - No.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44That's the one whose daughter died,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48whose estate that we are talking about.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52- I see.- They had one daughter, Rita.- I see.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55While Joyce doesn't remember Rita,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58she is able to fill in other blanks on the family tree.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01- Her husband...- Doing well!
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Thank you very much.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Bob Barrett leaves the paperwork with them.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Amazingly, Joyce and her husband, Stanley, lived just a few minutes
0:30:09 > 0:30:13from the care home where Rita lived but they never knew she existed.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16Bye-bye, now. Cheerio.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Joyce is stunned by the news of her inheritance.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Yes, it is quite a surprise. Yes.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Her husband, Stanley, is also amazed.
0:30:27 > 0:30:33Of course, at our age, we don't expect things like that to happen but it's, it's interesting.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46In the office, case manager Dave Slee is pleased
0:30:46 > 0:30:49that a second heir has been contacted.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53We are fairly happy that completes another stem.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55With a bit of luck, tomorrow we should conclude
0:30:55 > 0:30:58most of the other research, so I'm very pleased.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Rita Mason's estate was valued at £16,000,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06but with so many heirs to process,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08this case has been difficult for Neil.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12It's going to come back in the end, I think, to haunt us.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17Fraser and Fraser are going to make a fairly sizable loss on a case like this.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22But for the Heir Hunters, the ultimate consolation
0:31:22 > 0:31:26is that Rita's money will go to her family and not the government.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35And to the residents of Holly Grange,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Rita was much more than a name on the Treasury list.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40She was part of the family.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Jenny helped to organise her funeral
0:31:42 > 0:31:45complete with music from The Lion King.
0:31:45 > 0:31:46Rita would have loved it.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49If she was looking down,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52she would, have I'm almost certain, loved what was done.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Yeah, yeah. Probably had a little giggle.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01The support that has given to Rita on her final journey,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04it was very emotional.
0:32:04 > 0:32:09I think we all came away feeling proud to have known Rita.
0:32:10 > 0:32:17She was very close to my heart. I hope I was close to hers as well.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33In 2010, Hull-based probate researcher Anna Dunn
0:32:33 > 0:32:39was searching for heirs to the quarter of a million pound estate of Keith Bryant.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Former radar station worker Keith died in 2010
0:32:43 > 0:32:48but with no known family, every penny of his money could go to the Treasury.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53After looking at Keith's mother's family,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58Anna managed to trace one heir to Keith's estate - Patricia Dockerill.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01She's Keith's cousin on his mother's side.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05When Anna contacted Patricia, she was bowled over.
0:33:05 > 0:33:06It was a very big shock.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09He was a long-lost cousin that I never knew.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14It was a big surprise that I might be in line for some inheritance.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16I wasn't expecting anything.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21Patricia's father, James Leo Morris, had been Keith's uncle
0:33:21 > 0:33:22but Patricia never knew anything
0:33:22 > 0:33:26about her father's side of the family
0:33:26 > 0:33:29because he was a tiny baby when he went off to war.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35My dad worked for the National Health Service as a civil servant
0:33:35 > 0:33:37and he was a trainee accountant.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41He volunteered for the Navy when the war started.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47After James did his training, he was assigned a post on the HMS Curacoa -
0:33:47 > 0:33:53a C-class light cruiser carrying around 439 men.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56On the ship, my dad was on the guns
0:33:56 > 0:34:01and he was also in charge of the stores, so I've been told.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Patricia was born in 1942
0:34:03 > 0:34:07and her father came to see her when he was on leave.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11My mum always told me that he was a nice, kind, gentle man
0:34:11 > 0:34:16and that he was proud of me when he saw me as a tiny baby.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Little did he know when he went back to sea
0:34:20 > 0:34:23that it would be the last time he saw his daughter.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26James's ship, the Curacoa,
0:34:26 > 0:34:31was sent to escort the Queen Mary on a dangerous mission.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34We have been forced to call out
0:34:34 > 0:34:39what we in the United States would call a sheriff's posse.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42The Americans had just joined the Allies in the battle against Hitler
0:34:42 > 0:34:44and the civilian superliner, the Queen Mary,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48was charged with carrying 20,000 American troops
0:34:48 > 0:34:50across the Atlantic to the UK.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Queen Mary's main protection against submarine attack was her very high speed.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59It was very difficult for a submarine to draw a bead on her.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02But to make it even more difficult, she zig-zagged from side to side
0:35:02 > 0:35:04so her position was unpredictable.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Although the Queen Mary was fast, the Curacoa wasn't
0:35:09 > 0:35:13and as the ships were zig-zagging, the unthinkable happened.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20The Curacoa strayed into the path of the Queen Mary
0:35:20 > 0:35:22and she sliced right through her
0:35:22 > 0:35:26as shown in this photograph of the actual crash.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30The Curacoa was cut in half and neither of those halves
0:35:30 > 0:35:34could float on its own so she did go down extremely quickly.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39The Curacoa sank in just five minutes and hundreds of her crew
0:35:39 > 0:35:43were left in the North Sea in freezing October temperatures.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47The Queen Mary couldn't stop, because if she did,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50she'd be a sitting duck for submarines
0:35:50 > 0:35:53and Hitler had in fact put a price on the Queen Mary's head.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Stopping would have been suicidal.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59She slowed down but she couldn't stop.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Some of the other warships in the vicinity were ordered to help
0:36:02 > 0:36:05but by that time, the sailors had been in the water for a long time
0:36:05 > 0:36:08and as usual, it's not drowning so much,
0:36:08 > 0:36:12it's the exposure of people in cold water which causes them to die.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24Of the 439 men on board, 338 perished.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28Sadly, Patricia's father was amongst the dead.
0:36:28 > 0:36:33A survivor told my mum that my dad had been on duty.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36He'd just come off duty and was going down below.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Whether he ever got down below, I don't know.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44Another survivor said he'd seen my dad in the water
0:36:44 > 0:36:48with a gash on his head and blood coming from it
0:36:48 > 0:36:53and he was too weak to survive plus the water was icy cold.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56He didn't stand a chance.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01But waiting at home back in Britain,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Patricia's mother Edna had no idea what had happened.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11The first idea that my mum knew of the collision and what had happened
0:37:11 > 0:37:16was her brother had sent her an American paper with the details in.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21He said that this could be the Curacoa
0:37:21 > 0:37:24that my dad was on at the time.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29But it wasn't made official until 1945.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33It was all kept quiet because they didn't want to let the Germans know
0:37:33 > 0:37:36that the Americans were helping us out.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45The tragedy of the Curacoa would impact on the rest of Patricia's life.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Because her father died when she was so young,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51she never really had anything to do with his family.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55I'd like to know more about my dad's family.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58See what they look like, meet them.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01I'm quite interested and I've been trying to do it
0:38:01 > 0:38:03but I haven't been able to get anywhere
0:38:03 > 0:38:06because I didn't know where they were living.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08I'm quite interested in meeting them.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18And tracking down these other family members
0:38:18 > 0:38:22is just what heir hunter Anna was trying to do
0:38:22 > 0:38:24in order to solve the case of Keith Bryant.
0:38:26 > 0:38:32After contacting Patricia, she began to trace other cousins of Keith.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34Another of Keith's maternal aunts was Gladys
0:38:34 > 0:38:37who went on to marry and had three children.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40I was able to track them down and spoke to Lesley.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Lesley is the daughter of Gladys and is a cousin of Keith
0:38:45 > 0:38:49and therefore, an heir to his £250,000 estate.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55Unlike Patricia, Lesley did remember her much older cousin Keith
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and his mother, Agnes.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01His mum was from Scarborough and Scarborough to me
0:39:01 > 0:39:04was somewhere really quite posh, really.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08Somewhere you went on holiday and we were quite poor
0:39:08 > 0:39:11when we were young so didn't have many holidays.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13I had this vision of them being quite rich
0:39:13 > 0:39:15which I don't think was the case.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22He was 22 years older than Lesley and they didn't really gel.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26I last saw Keith 11 years ago. He came to my mum's funeral.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30What I really remember about him was he had a huge dufflecoat on
0:39:30 > 0:39:33and he came all through the living room
0:39:33 > 0:39:38with big muddy prints all over from his boots.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Lesley also knew all about Patricia's father James
0:39:42 > 0:39:45through family folklore.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49The Curacoa. Never forgot this name, the Curacoa. It stayed with me.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55Lesley was completely astonished when she found out that Patricia
0:39:55 > 0:39:58is living just 15 miles away in Humberside.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02So the two cousins have arranged to meet.
0:40:03 > 0:40:09Patricia and her husband Geoff are on their way to Lesley's house in Hull.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13I'm feeling nervous, excited. I've got butterflies in my stomach.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17I'm looking forward to meeting Lesley for the first time.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21It seems strange meeting someone that lives so close I didn't know.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27I'm hoping she can tell me a bit more about the family that I never knew.
0:40:32 > 0:40:33DOORBELL RINGS
0:40:39 > 0:40:47- Hello.- Hello.- At last!- How strange!
0:40:47 > 0:40:53I've got a cousin that I didn't know about. Yes, this is Geoff.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58- Pleased to meet you. - It's an intensely emotional moment.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02These two cousins have a lifetime of memories to share.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- I've got loads to tell you.- Got a lot of catching up to do anyway.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11- We have.- All these years.- You were just living around the corner.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13I know, so close.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Patricia had lost her father James when she was a tiny baby.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20She's hoping Lesley can tell her more about him.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24My mum never forgot your dad. She was just sort of...
0:41:24 > 0:41:28To be honest, it just filled her life, really. She talked about him.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32I don't think she ever really believed that he'd died.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38They've got so much past to catch up on.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42I've got some photos to show you. There's my dad.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46- Is that the same as you've got? - No, it's a different one.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49That's the only coloured one.
0:41:49 > 0:41:55- That's my mum.- I think these two at the back were off the ship.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59He was the best man but they went down with the ship as well.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Dear, oh dear.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Lesley has the only photo Patricia has seen
0:42:05 > 0:42:08of her father as a little boy.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11- That would have been my dad then, wouldn't it?- Yeah.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16- If that was your mum. - I know that definitely was my mum.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18So that could be my dad.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22- So have you got any other photos of your dad when he was little?- No.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Ironically, after losing touch,
0:42:24 > 0:42:28their parents had tried to find one another but didn't succeed.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33- My mum had been searching for you. - My mum had tried to find your mum.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And if it hadn't been for the death of their cousin Keith,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39they would never have found each other at all.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Keith Bryant's death has not been in vain.
0:42:43 > 0:42:49- Two cousins have rediscovered each other.- At least we have met.- Yes.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53- Like you said before, it's the one good thing that's come out.- Yeah.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58- I'm sad that Keith's died but at least we've got to meet, haven't we? - Yeah.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd