0:00:02 > 0:00:05Heir hunters specialise in tracking down people
0:00:05 > 0:00:08who are in line to inherit money from relatives who have passed away.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14Often the family members they find have no idea they're entitled.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19We didn't know anything about it. It was a shock as well.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Their work involves expert research.
0:00:22 > 0:00:28Each one had numerous possible marriages, numerous possible deaths, numerous possible births.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33And can often uncover fascinating family secrets.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36You even wonder if he could have been possibly a spy.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39But most of all, it's about giving news of an unexpected windfall.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:47 > 0:00:52Coming up... The heir hunters attempt to unlock the secrets of one man's mysterious career.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56He was like a James Bond. He was like a millionaire's lifestyle.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00But nobody actually where... How he got that money.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04- Hello!- And one heir takes an emotional journey.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06They did everything to make her happy,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08and if she wasn't happy, she'd let you know.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11That's really nice to know, you know, that she was all right.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16Plus, how you could be entitled to inherit unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?
0:01:24 > 0:01:29It's Wednesday morning, and in the offices of heir-hunting company Fraser & Fraser,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33case manager Dave Slee and the team are working on a private tip-off.
0:01:33 > 0:01:40I have this... I like to think of as little Miss Marple lady that finds out about estates for us,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and a couple of days ago I received a call from this lady
0:01:43 > 0:01:49to inform me that a resident had died by the name of William Wilcock.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58William Maxwell Nasmyth Wilcock died on the 18th of December 2011 in West London.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01He was 90 years old.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04His friend Ian Johnston knew him in his later years.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09He was the kind of old-style Englishman that you don't get any more.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11The kind of old-style gentleman.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Extremely tall, extremely pukka and extremely mannerly.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And when you were saying goodbye to him,
0:02:18 > 0:02:23he would always go, "I wish you good day" in an extremely sort of pukka English accent.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Ian got the impression that his friend came from a privileged background...
0:02:31 > 0:02:33..and was always an enigmatic figure.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37It was a mystery exactly what job he did.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39He would suggest that the job he had
0:02:39 > 0:02:43enabled him to have periods of time of study, which I think was paid for.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45He would talk about going to Lima,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49he would talk about going to Tubingen, I think they pronounce it in Germany.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51And also Heidelberg.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54And, of course, he'd been to Oxford and Cambridge.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Since William passed away, Ian has been left with one lingering question.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03What did he do for a living?
0:03:03 > 0:03:10There was always a degree of mystery, and he wouldn't really tell me, but he knew I wanted to know.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14And then one day he said he was... a negotiator.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18And I didn't quite know what he meant by that.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23But I gather he did travel and represented the Government and negotiated things.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25He claimed to have met Stalin.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Which, if he was working for the Government, meeting Government people,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32it's not far-fetched.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35You even wonder if he could have been possibly a spy,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39but who knows? As I say, he'll always be a bit of a mystery man.
0:03:41 > 0:03:47William's last known address was a sheltered accommodation flat in Fitzrovia, West London.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54Because he didn't own any property, the company don't know if the case will be high-value,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57but from the wild stories he'd been told of William's life,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Dave is already intrigued by this mysterious figure.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05He seems a real larger-than-life character.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08How much of it is truth and how much is fabrication, I don't know.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14He's supposed to have been an explorer and a doctor and all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19Um...there may be an estate there. So it's certainly worth investigating.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Since the case of William Maxwell Nasmyth Wilcock came in two days ago,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27the team have been making steady progress in the hunt for heirs.
0:04:27 > 0:04:33They've already got hold of his death certificate, and it's revealed some vital information.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35When the death cert came back,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39it was actually William Maxwell Nasmyth Wilcock, otherwise Maxwell,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42so he was actually born with the first name Maxwell.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48And the death cert has also revealed that the man they know as Maxwell was a widower.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54We've been able to establish that the deceased married late in life, and he married a portrait painter.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59And she was actually originally from...born in Toronto in Canada.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01A search of the records has revealed
0:05:01 > 0:05:03that Maxwell married
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Moira Audrey Featherston Haugh on the 7th of November 1982.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13At the time of the marriage, he was 61 and she was 73.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Due to their ages, they had no children,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and Moira sadly passed away in 1999.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Having ruled out children, the team have checked to see if Maxwell had any siblings.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31We've also been able to discover that the deceased was an only child,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34both his parents having been born in Preston.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Maxwell's mother, Gertrude Maudsley, married Charles Harold Wilcock in Preston
0:05:41 > 0:05:43in 1919.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47As searches revealed Maxwell was an only child,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49the team are now looking for aunts and uncles
0:05:49 > 0:05:53whose children, Maxwell's cousins, could be rightful heirs.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58On the father's family, the Wilcock family,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02our research leads us to believe that the deceased's father had four siblings.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Two of his siblings, unfortunately, died as young men killed on active service
0:06:07 > 0:06:09during the First World War.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Maxwell's father, Charles, had two brothers and two sisters.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17As the brothers, Edwin and Frank, died before they had children,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21the focus has turned to Charles's sisters, Nellie and Elizabeth.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26They've learned that Elizabeth married a Robert Sumner
0:06:26 > 0:06:27and had two sons, Frank and Charlie,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31who would be Maxwell's cousins and heirs to his estate.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Charlie passed away in 1990
0:06:35 > 0:06:40and research has shown that he had four children who would inherit his share of the estate.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45But Roger is still trying to track down Charlie's older brother, Frank,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48who would also be an heir, if he's still alive.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53I've just found his birth in December '13 in Preston
0:06:53 > 0:06:55He appears to have died...
0:06:55 > 0:06:58May 1984 in Preston.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Sadly doesn't leave a will, so I've got no address there to go from.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Because Frank has passed away,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Roger needs to find out if he was married and had children who could be entitled.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14I'm just seeing now whether...
0:07:14 > 0:07:17there's a Frank Sumner married in Preston,
0:07:17 > 0:07:23but because it's an area name, I have a choice of about four possibles.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Sumner is a common surname in Preston
0:07:26 > 0:07:31and Roger is finding it hard to establish which of the possible marriages is the right one.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38Of the Franks I've got, one is a little young - he'll be 17, 18 - so it's not the most likely.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42But the other three are within ten years of each other.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Between 25 and 35, so they're all of marriageable age,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49so I haven't really got a favourite at the moment.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54The only way Roger can be sure which of the four Frank Sumners is the right one,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57is by ordering all four marriage certificates
0:07:57 > 0:08:01to see which if any of them tallies up with the other information they have.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06The company work on a commission basis,
0:08:06 > 0:08:12but as this case is a private referral, the team are not competing against rival firms to solve it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18So Roger can afford to order the certificates online and wait a few days for them to arrive by post.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Until then, there's nothing more he can do.
0:08:21 > 0:08:27Roger and the team are hanging on the certificates, but will they prove his research right or wrong?
0:08:28 > 0:08:30We hope one of them comes back correct.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And his death should also come back today,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37which hopefully will confirm one of the marriages is correct.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40But until we see the certs, I'm not 100% sure.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43And as their investigation into the case continues,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45the mystery of Maxwell Wilcock deepens.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49It sounded, as a kid, he like he was a James Bond.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Every Thursday, a list is published of unclaimed estates
0:08:58 > 0:09:01where, if no relative is found, the money goes to the Treasury.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05One list included the name Prudence Bone,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09and probate researcher Saul Marks was immediately drawn to it.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Based in Liverpool, Saul works for Celtic Research,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16which is run by father and son team Peter and Hector Birchwood
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and has offices in Wales and London.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23This case particularly stood out because the deceased died in Chester.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26It's very much in our area in the northwest of England,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28which we cover here.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31And it also happens to be the city where I went to school
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and I really consider my home town.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40Prudence May Bone died in Chester on the 28th of November 2011.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42She was 91 years old.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Prudence spent the last 17 years of her life at the Curzon residential care home,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51where staff like Andrea Stanton grew very fond of her.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Prue was an enjoyable, lovely lady.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58She had lots and lots of interests.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02The rapport she had with the staff... They all loved her, they all spoilt her.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Despite needing specialist care,
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Prue lived life to the full.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12Prue had a learning disability, which meant that she had the mental age of a child,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15which we took to be around the age of eight to ten.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17She couldn't read, she couldn't write.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21But this wasn't anything that affected her or bothered her.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25She was totally fulfilled with the fact that she could do her knitting,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28she could do her colouring, and she could watch the television.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33And her bright, colourful personality made its mark on those around her.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35She's still missed today.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39And the girls will still call Room 16 "Prue's room".
0:10:39 > 0:10:42The home never knew of any living family for Prue.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Finding them was a job for Saul.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47When we started the work on this case,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49quite early on in the morning,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54we had established from the list that the deceased's name was Prudence May Bone,
0:10:54 > 0:10:59and she died on the 28th of November 2011 in Chester.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04There was one other piece of information on the list which was vital to his research.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10In this case, it said, "Prudence May Bone - spinster", so we knew immediately there were no children,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12there was going to be no husband.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14So the first place we had to look was for siblings.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19In order to do that, he first needed to trace Prudence's birth records.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Prudence M Bone is not a particularly common name,
0:11:23 > 0:11:29so I looked her up on the birth index, and there she was, listed in the first quarter of 1920.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34This index listing also revealed that Prudence was born in Chester
0:11:34 > 0:11:36and that her mother's maiden name was Roberts.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41Using this information, Saul could now look for a marriage record
0:11:41 > 0:11:44and uncover her parents' full names -
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Florrie May Roberts and Ernest Sidney Bone.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53With this, Saul was able to establish that Prudence was an only child.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57That meant that he now needed to find cousins who might be entitled.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02As Roberts was an extremely common name,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04and could potentially involve a lot of work,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Saul hoped he might be able to find heirs on the Bone side more quickly.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11But initial research suggested otherwise.
0:12:12 > 0:12:19We used the censuses to track down the basis of the Bone family - 1891, 1901, 1911.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23We established that the deceased's father was actually one of nine children,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26so there were quite a lot of Bones to look for.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31It was at this point that Saul decided that it would be better to divide and conquer.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38The paternal heirs were all down south. The family were very much based in and around Tunbridge Wells
0:12:38 > 0:12:40and some of them had moved to Sussex.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43They weren't people I was going to be able to visit.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47However, the maternal side of the family, the Roberts family,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52were all based in Chester, certainly for a couple of generations,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57and it was much more sensible for me to work on the maternal side,
0:12:57 > 0:13:05so I contacted my colleague Peter and asked him to take on the rest of the work on the Bone side,
0:13:05 > 0:13:06and I focused on Roberts.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08It seemed like a brilliant idea.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12But Saul soon realised that he might have drawn the short straw.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18It was great to get my teeth into a very local case on very much my own turf.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20The sad part about this was the name was Roberts,
0:13:20 > 0:13:26so I was back in the realm of cases where there are a million John Roberts and James Roberts
0:13:26 > 0:13:28and which is the right one?
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Saul didn't know it at the time,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35but Prudence's maternal grandfather was, in fact, a Joseph Roberts,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37born in Chester in 1872.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Whilst his name might be a common one,
0:13:41 > 0:13:47the role that he played in the industrialisation of the British Empire certainly wasn't.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54After the first ever passenger train from Stockton to Darlington in 1825,
0:13:54 > 0:14:00Britain's railway network went on to develop at a remarkable pace.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Joseph's home town of Chester was no exception.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09The railways expanded very quickly in and around Chester.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12It took less than one year
0:14:12 > 0:14:14from the cutting of the first sod
0:14:14 > 0:14:16to the opening of the railway station here
0:14:16 > 0:14:19on the 1st of August 1848.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24And the coming of the railway brought with it fantastic employment opportunities
0:14:24 > 0:14:26for people like Prue's grandfather.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30In addition to the people that worked looking after the locomotives,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34cleaning, firing and driving,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36then there were significant numbers of people
0:14:36 > 0:14:41working in the goods shed and also on the railway platforms themselves.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Joseph Roberts began his working life cleaning the trains
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and rose steadily up the ranks until he was able to drive them.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Throughout the 19th and the 20th century,
0:14:54 > 0:15:00to be a locomotive driver was always the ultimate ambition
0:15:00 > 0:15:03of many young boys and men.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07But his career didn't end there.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Joseph went on to become a mechanical engineer
0:15:09 > 0:15:13and after five years gaining expertise in England,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15he then left to work in Nigeria,
0:15:15 > 0:15:20where a new dawn of industrialisation meant his skills were in great demand.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28As the British Empire expanded during the second half of the 19th century,
0:15:28 > 0:15:34there was an expansion also of infrastructure in the colonial countries.
0:15:34 > 0:15:41And I suppose, in many ways, it was quite natural for engineering firms to exploit the potential
0:15:41 > 0:15:46in exporting railway tracks, locomotives,
0:15:46 > 0:15:51carriages and coaches to those new countries of the Empire.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Sadly, whilst he was there, Joseph caught blackwater fever and passed away.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02But it wasn't long before his son Stanley followed in his father's footsteps
0:16:02 > 0:16:05and began his own career in the railway industry.
0:16:05 > 0:16:11I suspect that the father was greatly admired by the son
0:16:11 > 0:16:14for the things that he had achieved during his lifetime.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Back in the office,
0:16:16 > 0:16:21Saul seemed to be getting off to a flying start tracking down the Roberts side of the family.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I looked on the census of 1911
0:16:24 > 0:16:28and there was a Florrie M Roberts living in Chester, of about the right age
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and I thought, "Fantastic, great, no problem".
0:16:30 > 0:16:32But as his search continued,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35he came to realise he might have made a wrong turn.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40All that work had been for nothing, and we were back to square one.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Heir hunters trace thousands of rightful beneficiaries every year.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51But not all cases can be cracked.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55There are thousands of estates on the Treasury's bona vacantia list
0:16:55 > 0:16:58that have eluded the heir hunters and remain unsolved.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03The bona vacantia unclaimed list is a list that we publish on our website
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and it's a list of all the cases we've never managed to solve
0:17:07 > 0:17:08since 1997.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Today we are focusing on two cases yet to be solved by heir hunters.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Could you be the beneficiary they're looking for?
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Could you be about to inherit some money from a long-lost relative?
0:17:23 > 0:17:25First...
0:17:32 > 0:17:35There are fewer than 100 people in the UK with the surname Barovitch,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39which is likely to have originated from eastern Europe.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Are you a Barovitch who may be related to Michael?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Next, can you shed any light on this case?
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Did you know Florence?
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Perhaps you're a relation of hers.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Both Michael and Florence's estates remain unclaimed
0:18:05 > 0:18:09and if no-one comes forward, their money will go to the Government.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12The monies that bona vacantia raises
0:18:12 > 0:18:13go to the General Exchequer
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and they just help with the general running of the country.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Do you have any clues that could help solve the cases
0:18:19 > 0:18:22of Michael Barovitch or Florence Kisil?
0:18:22 > 0:18:27If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34In Liverpool, heir hunter Saul Marks from Celtic Research
0:18:34 > 0:18:39was working the case of Prudence Bone, and had made good progress.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44After establishing that she was unmarried, had no children
0:18:44 > 0:18:45and was an only child,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48the search was now on for Prudence's cousins.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Saul had established that Prudence's father, Ernest Sidney Bone,
0:18:54 > 0:18:56had eight brothers and sisters.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01As this was going to be a potentially huge family tree,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and this family all seemed to be based down in the south of England,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Saul decided to pass this side to his colleague, Peter Birchwood,
0:19:08 > 0:19:13and concentrate his search on the Roberts family that were much more local to him.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Doing this, he hoped to be able to visit the heirs in person
0:19:19 > 0:19:20and sign them up that way.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22But he had to find them first.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Prudence May Bone died on the 28th of November 2011 in Chester.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31She was 91 years old.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Prue, as she was known, had a severe learning disability
0:19:35 > 0:19:38and the mental age of around ten years old.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42She spent the last years of her life in a residential care home,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46where staff such as Andrea Stanton remember her always smiling.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51I remember every Christmas with Prue, we always, always, um...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53wrap lots of presents up for her.
0:19:53 > 0:19:59And somebody would dress up as Father Christmas, and Prue absolutely adored that
0:19:59 > 0:20:01and you'd see her face light up.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03She loved everything about Christmas.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07And, again, on her birthday, she'd have presents. No matter how little it was,
0:20:07 > 0:20:12she loved it and she would show it off to everybody.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17For the majority of her life, Prue was cared for entirely by her mother, Flo.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21But as Flo got older, she found it difficult to cope
0:20:21 > 0:20:23and they moved into residential care together.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Prue arrived here in August 1993.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32When she first came, she came with her mum.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Um...
0:20:33 > 0:20:37I think it must have been because her mum wasn't feeling very well at the time,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39so she'd come for a little bit of a rest.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43From what I remember about when Flo and Prue arrived,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48Flo obviously loved Prue to bits, and very, very protective of her.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Prue absolutely adored her mum.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52They were inseparable. They were together all the time.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58Prue's mother, Florrie May Roberts, was born in Chester in 1898.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Using the 1911 census, Saul had found a match that showed her having six siblings.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10If Florrie's brothers and sisters had children,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12they would be heirs to Prue's estate,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14still yet to be valued.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18But Roberts is a very common name
0:21:18 > 0:21:21and tracing what happened to them was proving a tough task.
0:21:23 > 0:21:29Each one had numerous possible marriages, numerous possible deaths, numerous possible births.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32I managed to find a few births, but it was very hard going.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36After a lot of work, Saul finally had a breakthrough
0:21:36 > 0:21:38and managed to get hold of a potential heir.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43It seemed like a great result, until alarm bells started to ring.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49The information that she was giving me really didn't tie in with what I thought was the case.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53So much so that I felt I had to go back to the register office and do some more work on it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59The Florrie M Roberts that Saul had traced via the census had a father called Edward,
0:21:59 > 0:22:04so he needed to see if that name matched up on Prue's parents' marriage certificate.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09To my utter disappointment and frustration,
0:22:09 > 0:22:14the marriage certificate showed that the bride's father was Joseph Roberts, deceased.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17So all that work had been for nothing
0:22:17 > 0:22:19and we were back to square one.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21And it was now midday, and I was very worried
0:22:21 > 0:22:25that the competition would have got on to the right family quite quickly.
0:22:25 > 0:22:26It was a devastating blow,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30but Saul was determined not to be defeated.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I found a listing on the 1911 census
0:22:33 > 0:22:39of a Florence Roberts, whose father was Joseph Roberts, an engineer.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44She was the only other Florence Roberts in the right area, of the right age.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49Her father's name matched up with the marriage certificate. This had to be the right woman.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52This Florence Roberts had five brothers and sisters.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Searches revealed that one of them, Joseph Stanley Roberts,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59had three children.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Using the Electoral Roll, Saul tracked one of them down.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08I found the right man - I was fairly certain it was the right man -
0:23:08 > 0:23:10living in North Wales.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Unfortunately, he had no phone number listed,
0:23:12 > 0:23:18so I thought to myself, "Right, well, I've got to take a chance, hope it's the right gentleman,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20"and go out to North Wales and see him."
0:23:20 > 0:23:22So I jumped in the car and off I went.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25It turned out to be a trip worth making.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32At last, after all the hard work, I'd have a beautiful drive up into the North Wales hills,
0:23:32 > 0:23:37found an heir who was definitely an heir, who had not been contacted by any other companies
0:23:37 > 0:23:41and was very happy to sign with us. And it was a great relief!
0:23:41 > 0:23:43And it seemed Saul was on a roll.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46I went to see his brother and his wife,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49and they knew quite a bit about the family.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53They were able to confirm which aunts and uncles had not had children
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and they put me in touch with another cousin, named Jean,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01and she was obviously a cousin of theirs and a cousin of Prue's,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03and she knew even more.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08For heir Jean Hill, her visit from Saul was an emotional experience.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13I was very sad at first to hear that Prudence had died
0:24:13 > 0:24:16and we didn't know anything about it.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19And it was a shock as well.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21When Jean was ten years old,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23she'd known her cousin Prue well.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Prudence was quite tall
0:24:26 > 0:24:28and very, very slim.
0:24:28 > 0:24:29She liked her hair long -
0:24:29 > 0:24:31plaits with ribbons.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33She used to love ribbons.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36She used to come over to Chester for a holiday
0:24:36 > 0:24:39and meet me outside school with her auntie
0:24:39 > 0:24:43and they'd take me back, and I used to spend the weekend with her.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45And Mum said it was company for her.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49And we just used to do little puzzles together.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Despite being in regular contact as a child,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56as Jean grew older, the family seemed to drift apart.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01And when Prue's mother, Florrie, passed away,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Jean's own mother made an important decision.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08My mother said she couldn't go visit her,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10because it would be too upsetting...
0:25:10 > 0:25:13and that Prue might get upset as well.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17So she decided that, you know, we'd just leave it at that.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19So I went along with her...
0:25:19 > 0:25:21what my mother said.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Looking back on it now,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Jean wishes things had been different.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30I do regret that I didn't find out how she was going on in the nursing home.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32I wish, you know...
0:25:32 > 0:25:35I'd made the effort, I suppose, to go and see her
0:25:35 > 0:25:37or find out how she was going on.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42But whilst she can't change the past,
0:25:42 > 0:25:47Jean is keen to find out more about Prudence and her life after they lost touch.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52All I'd like to know, really, is how she got on in the home -
0:25:52 > 0:25:54if she was all right, and...
0:25:56 > 0:25:58..you know, she was happy there.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00That's the main thing.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05In the hope of learning more about her cousin's last years,
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Jean has come today to meet and share memories with carer Andrea Stanton,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12at the residential home where Prue lived.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Prue's main activity and her main hobby,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19and what she loved more than anything in this world, was knitting.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24- Knitting.- She loved being taken out and going to a wool shop and picking all the different wools.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28What she'd do then is she'd come back and she'd knit...
0:26:28 > 0:26:34eight to ten rows, maybe, and there'd be holes in there, but she'd knit it
0:26:34 > 0:26:36and then she'd unpick it and start again!
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Surprised, really, how much she took an interest in things,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44because when I knew her, she...
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- Never really showed an interest in things?- No.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49It was when she was at home with her mum.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51She loved...she loved things.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54She wouldn't sit there and do nothing, ever. Ever.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58She'd always be colouring, or watching something, or singing.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59She'd never just sit there.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Or knitting.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Even if she fell asleep, she'd fall asleep like that, with her...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- Did she?- In between her knitting.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08All the time.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10She was really, really happy here.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13The staff really did, they did everything
0:27:13 > 0:27:15to make her happy.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19And if she wasn't happy, you'd know she wasn't happy. She'd let you know.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23- She'd always let you know.- It's really nice to know, you know, that she was all right.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26- She certainly was.- Especially after her mum dying, you know.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30- Yeah.- I wondered how she'd get on, really, with being with her all her life.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32It took some time, but she adjusted.
0:27:32 > 0:27:33And she was...
0:27:33 > 0:27:38well loved by all the staff here, and she's missed by all the staff.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44After her visit, Jean feels she can rest easy with her cousin's memory.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And Prudence's modest estate, still yet to be valued,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50will be divided amongst the heirs.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54All in all, there were 15 heirs to this estate
0:27:54 > 0:27:57on the paternal and maternal sides combined.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01We actually only signed four heirs, but those four heirs
0:28:01 > 0:28:05comprise 40% of the estate.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Despite the twists and turns of the case,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10heir hunter Saul is pleased with his work.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14It's very satisfying at the end to get a good result.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22In the offices of heir-hunting company Fraser & Fraser in London,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26case manager Dave Slee and the team are busy trying to track down heirs
0:28:26 > 0:28:29to the estate of William Maxwell Nasmyth Wilcock.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34After establishing he died a widower, had no children, and was an only child,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38their hunt has focused on tracing uncles, aunts and cousins.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42On Maxwell's father's side of the family,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44Roger has been trying to track down Frank,
0:28:44 > 0:28:46the son of Maxwell's aunt, Elizabeth.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Several days ago, he ordered certificates
0:28:49 > 0:28:52which would make or break his research on this stem.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54I'm expecting...
0:28:54 > 0:28:57some marriages back for Frank Sumner.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58Um...
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Sumner being a very, very area name.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05We're looking for marriages in Preston initially.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08And I put four or five in last week
0:29:08 > 0:29:11that are possibles for him. Just hope one of them comes back correct.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16William Maxwell Nasmyth Wilcock
0:29:16 > 0:29:19died on the 18th of December 2011 in London.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24For friends such as Michael Plomer, who knew him as Bill,
0:29:24 > 0:29:25he was a baffling figure.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30I find it very difficult to sum up Bill,
0:29:30 > 0:29:32because he was an enigmatic character.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37There are so many bits and pieces which appear to be very...
0:29:37 > 0:29:41They're very interesting, but I never had the complete picture of Bill,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43only bits of the jigsaw.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48The little he did give away about himself created a fascinating picture.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54He'd been out to the Far East to buy a lot of monkeys
0:29:54 > 0:29:57for medical research in this country
0:29:57 > 0:30:04and fly them back, which I gather was not a very comfortable flight back.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07And he had many an extraordinary story.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10I think, at one stage in the '50s or the '60s,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13Bill worked for Bernard Docker
0:30:13 > 0:30:18and I gather it was a matter of transporting large suitcases of money, or something like that.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Whether that's one of Bill's exaggerations or not, I don't know.
0:30:22 > 0:30:28Bernard Docker was a millionaire businessman who, in the late 1950s, made headlines
0:30:28 > 0:30:31in the national press for openly flaunting his wealth.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37I didn't think there was any percentage in Bill trying to impress me,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40so I just accepted what he said.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Friend Ian Johnston, however, found some of Maxwell's stories harder to believe.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49He would talk about meeting very well-known people.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52One person he talked about meeting was Aristotle Onassis.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54This was through his work.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56And I think he actually met him on his boat.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00And I thought... I'll try and catch him out here.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Because I didn't know much about Aristotle Onassis, but I knew he was five foot three.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07So I said, "Well, I'll see if I can catch him out here."
0:31:07 > 0:31:11I says, "Aristotle Onassis - was he a big guy?"
0:31:11 > 0:31:16And it was, "No, no, very small man." And I thought, "I've not got one over on him!"
0:31:16 > 0:31:20I think he'll always be a mystery character.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24He'll always be somebody we'll never quite know the truth about
0:31:24 > 0:31:27but what we will know is that the stories he told
0:31:27 > 0:31:30will have had a basis of truth in it.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33And quite considerable truth in it.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37But what the ultimate truth is about him, about the total truth of his life,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39I don't think we'll ever really fully know.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43After an anxious wait,
0:31:43 > 0:31:45Roger's certificates have finally arrived
0:31:45 > 0:31:51and it looks like one of them might match the info he has on Maxwell's cousin, Frank Sumner.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54He's right on age, right on father.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57And Charlie, his brother, is one of the witnesses.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59This is a brilliant breakthrough.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03And Roger is now one step closer to tracking down an heir.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07The next step now is to look for children of that marriage.
0:32:07 > 0:32:13Because he's now been confirmed dead, so, hopefully, the children will still be alive.
0:32:13 > 0:32:18And a quick search of birth records reveals that Frank and his wife did have children.
0:32:18 > 0:32:23It looks like there's one son, which will be useful.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26All Roger has to do now is find a current address for him.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30It looks like he may have moved to Scotland.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38They've got a guy with the right initial and the right, er...quarter of birth
0:32:38 > 0:32:41up in Scotland.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45This is great news. It looks like Roger's found an heir,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48so it's time to update case manager Dave.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51Mr Slee.
0:32:53 > 0:32:54News, sir.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00Until they can speak to the heir, they can't confirm it's the right person,
0:33:00 > 0:33:02so Dave gets straight on the phone.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Good afternoon. Very sorry to trouble you.
0:33:06 > 0:33:07It looks like he might be in luck.
0:33:09 > 0:33:10That's you, sir, is it?
0:33:10 > 0:33:14We're trying to trace the next of kin of a gentleman who died in London
0:33:14 > 0:33:17by the name of William or Maxwell Wilcock.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Dave explains that, as a cousin once removed,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23he's entitled to a share of Maxwell's estate.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I've got to be perfectly honest. At this stage,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30we're completely unaware of the value of this gentleman's estate.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Lovely. I'll get the letter in the post to you today.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Bye-bye, now.
0:33:36 > 0:33:42It's been a successful call, and Dave and the team have now got some vital information to work from.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47And it's not long before the search for Maxwell's heirs can be wrapped up.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52There's at least five heirs entitled at this moment on the paternal family.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54And on the maternal family...
0:33:54 > 0:33:58we have an exact figure of three heirs.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00But solving the puzzle of Maxwell's life
0:34:00 > 0:34:02is proving more of a struggle.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07I've spoken so far to a paternal first cousin,
0:34:07 > 0:34:13who knew very little about her cousin, the deceased.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17And I've also spoken to a cousin once removed on the maternal family,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20who, unusually, even though he's a generation further down,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24knew the deceased a little better.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29But again, I also understand from my conversations with him that the deceased was a real mystery.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32And...this real Walter Mitty character
0:34:32 > 0:34:35that kind of came in and out of their lives all the time.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38with these fabulous stories of travelling the world.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42How much of it's true and how much of it's bluff, I don't know.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Dave and the team have discovered that Maxwell's mother, Gertrude Maudsley,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48was one of four children.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Her brother William had three children of his own,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55two of whom are now heirs to the estate.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Because William's son Norman Eric Maudsley passed away in 2004,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04his son, Robin, is now also an heir.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09For Robin, growing up in working-class Preston,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Maxwell was a fascinating figure.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18My grandfather, when I was a kid, used to say about the stories of Max, where he'd been.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21He'd sent him a postcard or a letter.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25And he'd been to Tibet, he'd been to Russia, he'd been to America.
0:35:25 > 0:35:31And, you know, it sounded as a kid, he was like a James Bond.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33He was like a millionaire's lifestyle.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36But nobody actually knew where... How he got that money.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Nobody knew how Max earned his money.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Even after years passed,
0:35:42 > 0:35:46his cousin remained a darkly mysterious character.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51On one of the occasions when Max first came to our house in the '80s,
0:35:51 > 0:35:58my eldest son then and my second son, Philip, he was playing with Max's walking stick
0:35:58 > 0:36:01and Max sort of said, "Get off that! Leave it alone!"
0:36:01 > 0:36:06And they said, "Why?" He said, "It's dangerous, that" and he got hold of the handle
0:36:06 > 0:36:09and moved it up a bit and you could see it was a knife.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14As to the truth about Max's job, there are many conflicting theories.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18He did tell me he was the chief constable of Hong Kong police,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22but how long or where he stayed, I don't know.
0:36:22 > 0:36:27The...rumours that went through the family from early background
0:36:27 > 0:36:31is that...possibilities of him working for the Government.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36Um...because of the amount of times that he went all over the world.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41Recently I've been told that he might have been a photographer.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45But Robin has always thought one thing more likely than the others.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I believe the background of what Max possibly did was to work
0:36:49 > 0:36:52somewhere within the Government services.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54To what extent, I don't know.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58It's something that, as a kid, I've always been itching to find out.
0:36:58 > 0:37:04Was Max Maudsley/Wilcock 007?
0:37:04 > 0:37:09Becoming an heir means that he might finally be able to separate fact from fiction.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Our family have always thought, "Was he a Walter Mitty type of character?"
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Or...was there some truth in it?
0:37:16 > 0:37:21I'd like to hope there's some truth in it, and I'd like to hope, you know, the story comes out.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Dave might have located all the heirs to Maxwell's estate,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28but his work on the case is far from over.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31As Maxwell died in sheltered accommodation,
0:37:31 > 0:37:36Dave's been in touch with the local council, regarding the contents of Maxwell's home
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and has had an intriguing message back.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44As far as I'm aware from...from my...
0:37:44 > 0:37:45colleague's scrawl...
0:37:45 > 0:37:49um...that the estate...
0:37:49 > 0:37:54has assets of £60,000 in bank accounts.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57They found £13,000 in cash at the property.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01They took away a number of items - jewellery and gold.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05We're probably looking at an estate in excess of £70,000.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Fantastic news.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09His next task is to arrange access to the property.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Not only will this establish the true value of the estate,
0:38:12 > 0:38:18but both Dave and Robin want to get to the bottom of some of the mysteries of Maxwell's life.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Not least what his real job was
0:38:20 > 0:38:22and where he got his money from.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26The deceased's estate is in a form of limbo at this moment.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29His house, his flat, hasn't been cleared.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32There could be documentation in the flat
0:38:32 > 0:38:37which is crucial to our research and to the administration of the estate.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42It would also be really helpful for the next of kin, this documentation,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46because it might give some background as to whatever happened to the deceased
0:38:46 > 0:38:48during he lifetime.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Finally, they might be able to discover some truth about Maxwell.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Was he actually a spy,
0:38:53 > 0:38:56a world traveller, or just a fantasist?
0:38:58 > 0:39:02A few days later, and partner Andrew Fraser is headed to Maxwell's home
0:39:02 > 0:39:05to look for evidence of wealth and paperwork
0:39:05 > 0:39:07which may help solve the mystery.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Today's task is to assess what we have and how we're going to deal with it.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17It's not long before he gets his first clue about what Maxwell did.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22This is a certificate from the Royal Geographical Society
0:39:22 > 0:39:27to say he's been appointed as a fellow
0:39:27 > 0:39:28in 1949.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32But as more pieces of the puzzle emerge...
0:39:32 > 0:39:34We have here a number of fencing foils,
0:39:34 > 0:39:36walking sticks and parade batons.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39..the waters become even more muddied.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44This is a passport from 1965.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49One occupation has been crossed out, to become a "professional hunter".
0:39:50 > 0:39:52I expect this is from his hunting days.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56It's been a worthwhile day
0:39:56 > 0:39:59and Andrew has been able to delve deep into Maxwell's belongings.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04But the conundrum of his life is still far from solved.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08He certainly appears to have done something in his life.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10The question is...what?
0:40:10 > 0:40:16No-one knows, so I think, over the years, the truth has been bent,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20moved slightly... But he probably was a very interesting character.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Ever since Robert Maudsley heard the news that he was an heir to Maxwell's estate,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28he's been keen to know the truth about his enigmatic relative.
0:40:30 > 0:40:36I'd like to have a bit more closure, in as much as know something about what Max did.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41Um...try and find something of his life, you know, see what he did.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Now that various documents have been found,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47he's headed down to London to meet Dave Slee
0:40:47 > 0:40:51to see if between them they can make sense of any mysteries of Max's life.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Here's a series of passports,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58which we found in Max's possessions.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02You go through these... He's literally been around the world.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05From the late '40s, he's in Europe - France and Germany.
0:41:05 > 0:41:11And then from the early '50s, he starts to branch out, from Belgrade to Greece
0:41:11 > 0:41:14to Istanbul... Then on into Syria.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16Six foot eight inches. I said he was nearly seven foot.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Six foot eight inches? Six foot six here.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21He's short there!
0:41:22 > 0:41:24He got taller when he was older!
0:41:24 > 0:41:27I think some of the stories got taller when he got older, as well.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31- I think he was a good story-teller.- I think he could spin a yarn, no doubt about that.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34But...this doesn't tell any lies, does it?
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Well, the stories that I've been told as a kid,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42I can now honestly say that those stories ARE true.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46You've showed me the pictures. Whereas, when you're a kid, you think, "Is this a fairytale?"
0:41:46 > 0:41:48- The passports don't lie.- No.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51The documentation that Dave has uncovered
0:41:51 > 0:41:56shows clearly that Maxwell's tales of exotic trips to far-flung places were true.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02But there is very little that explains why, or how he funded his worldwide travels.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08It's amazing, really, when you think... We're talking here of the late '40s, early '50s...
0:42:08 > 0:42:13People weren't travelling Europe and studying like they do today.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15- Where did the money come from?- I don't know.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18- It's crazy!- He never seemed to be without money...
0:42:18 > 0:42:23- and the door doesn't shut.- No, the mystery's still on, isn't it?
0:42:24 > 0:42:26For Robin, it's been a lot to take in.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32Answering one set of questions has now made it more plausible
0:42:32 > 0:42:34that...was Max a spy?
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Who was paying for him? Who was paying for all the education
0:42:37 > 0:42:39and all the different exams he was doing?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42And Dave has still got work to do.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Once the family have submitted their claim to the Treasury,
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Maxwell's estate, now valued at between £50,000 and £70,000,
0:42:49 > 0:42:53will then be divided between all eight heirs.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55But the memory of such a fascinating case
0:42:55 > 0:42:57will live on.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Max! Who was Max? You know, an incredible character.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Um...you don't get many estates like that, that's for sure.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd