0:00:01 > 0:00:04Heir hunters specialise in tracing the relatives
0:00:04 > 0:00:06of people who have died without leaving a will.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Their work involves painstaking investigation.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13I'm hoping we can find someone who knew him
0:00:13 > 0:00:14and perhaps knew where he moved to.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18They inform family members about relatives they may never have known.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22These kids could all be right, all be wrong, or half and half!
0:00:22 > 0:00:26And sometimes they give people a whole new perspective on their past.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We've got family we didn't even know we had. Why?
0:00:30 > 0:00:34But most of all, they tell people of an unexpected windfall.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Coming up: the two-year search for an elusive heir
0:00:46 > 0:00:48build to a climax.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51He exists! He's alive! He's in Manchester!
0:00:51 > 0:00:53A huge family tree
0:00:53 > 0:00:56means the search for heirs reaches far and wide.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01We either interviewed or sent out over 70 family questionnaires.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07Plus how you could be entitled to inherit unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Could a fortune be coming your way?
0:01:14 > 0:01:16It's a Wednesday morning,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and the team at Celtic Research are desperately trying to complete a case
0:01:20 > 0:01:22that's preoccupied them for over two years.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Case manager Saul Marks is on a mission
0:01:25 > 0:01:30to track down one final heir who has remained elusive throughout this investigation.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33We've now managed to sign up all the heirs
0:01:33 > 0:01:35on this estate, bar one.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37There's one gentleman left to find.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Having exhausted all other options,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Saul's only hope rests on a visit to the Manchester street
0:01:44 > 0:01:47where the heir, David Squirell, lived some time ago.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50We don't know when he was living at this address in Manchester.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54But it appears that there are actually two addresses
0:01:54 > 0:01:57on the same street, where this gentleman may have lived.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00And we are now on that street
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and hopefully going to try and establish
0:02:04 > 0:02:06whether he still lives at either of them or not.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17He's probably not here now, so I'm hoping that we can find someone who knew him
0:02:17 > 0:02:18and perhaps knew where he moved to.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22The case Saul and the team have been working so hard to solve
0:02:22 > 0:02:24is that of Harold Squirell.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28While Squirell is a name usually associated with Suffolk,
0:02:28 > 0:02:33Harold died in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 2002 without leaving a will.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37The case was advertised with a value of £50,000,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and as the team are working for a percentage of the estate,
0:02:40 > 0:02:42they need to get the case wrapped up.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Harold died at the relatively young age of 53,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52and with no known relatives,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54his details were published on the Treasury solicitor's list
0:02:54 > 0:02:56of unclaimed estates
0:02:56 > 0:02:59where it sat unsolved for eight years.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Harold lived in the village of Gawsworth, near Macclesfield.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06No photographs remain of Harold,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10but neighbour Joan Massey knew him and his family for many years.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14He was always, it seemed to us, a bit of a loner.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19I think Harold went working in the butcher's shop when he left school.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21But I think Harold would have preferred
0:03:21 > 0:03:26to have gone into more technical things.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28The passing of Harold's mother, Hilda,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30some years after that of his father,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33had a profound impact on him.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It was really tragic how Harold went.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40He went just like a hermit after his mother died.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42He started going into himself
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and into a recluse, then.
0:03:44 > 0:03:51But the heartbroken Harold developed a passion that took Joan and other locals by surprise.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Harold started keeping these big birds,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56these macaws and things.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59He equipped the bedroom to have them in.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04But he was very happy, Harold was, with these birds, yes.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07And then he had his first dog.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10I think that was called Bruce.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11He loved his dogs.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14They were his companions, then. Yes.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Should heirs be found, Harold's £50,000 estate
0:04:20 > 0:04:23could make a huge difference to their lives.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27But Saul sensed from the outset that tracking down living relatives
0:04:27 > 0:04:29would be no easy task.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31You'd have thought with an unusual name like Squirell,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33that it would be a fairly easy case to solve.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38But the fact that the deceased died ten years ago
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and it was clearly worth quite a bit of money,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45suggested that there were likely to be problems with the research.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47It wasn't going to be straightforward from the beginning.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52When Saul and the team began working this case in 2010,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54they quickly established that Harold was unmarried
0:04:54 > 0:04:56and had no children.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58As his parents had also passed away,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01the team would need to look to the wider family
0:05:01 > 0:05:03if they were to find living descendants.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05The deceased's mother, Hilda Farrar,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07only had one brother, Thomas Farrar.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10But he died as a bachelor
0:05:10 > 0:05:14so we could immediately rule out the chance of any maternal heirs on this case at all.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18This meant that if the team were to find heirs,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20they would come from Harold's father's side of the family.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Saul had established that Harold's father was Alfred Harry Squirell.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26But then he hit a brick wall.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Although we'd found Alfred Harry Squirell's birth,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32we couldn't really go any further than that.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34We knew his mother's maiden name was Smith,
0:05:34 > 0:05:38but we couldn't find a marriage of a Squirell to a Smith.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40That stumped us for quite a while.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42What we actually did,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45was we got hold of a copy of his birth certificate
0:05:45 > 0:05:48and that showed us that his parents
0:05:48 > 0:05:50were George Squirell and Nellie Smith.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53However, there was still no marriage for these people.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55This was a blow.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57If the team were to find heirs,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01the marriage certificate would be crucial in proving their connection to the deceased.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Unbowed, Saul turned to the 1911 census.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07I didn't find a George and a Nellie,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09but I found a George and an Ellen.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Nellie is an old-fashioned diminutive for Ellen.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Given that these people were the right age,
0:06:15 > 0:06:16living in the right place,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and they were the only George and Ellen Squirell together,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I figured they must be the deceased's grandparents.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Discovering Ellen was a breakthrough of sorts,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29but there was more bad news in store for Saul and the team.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34One thing the census said was that George and Ellen had been married for 11 years.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39And yet still we couldn't find any marriage listing for them at all.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42At this point, I got a bit desperate,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and I threw the Squirell family into a search engine
0:06:45 > 0:06:47to see what might come of it.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Which is always a good last resort, sometimes.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52What I found surprised me greatly.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56There was a group of people
0:06:56 > 0:07:01researching the Squirell family and Squirell surname in Essex and Suffolk
0:07:01 > 0:07:06who were, by all accounts, very distantly related to the deceased.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10But there were so many of them that had looked into the Squirell ancestry,
0:07:10 > 0:07:15they'd formed an online group and forum called The Squirell research group.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Having reached a dead end,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Saul's chance discovery of the Squirell research group
0:07:19 > 0:07:22was an extraordinary stroke of luck
0:07:22 > 0:07:25that could help kick-start the team's search for Squirell heirs.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28One member of this group is Martin York,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31who started looking into his family history 30 years ago.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34After a family reunion in 1998,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37the Squirell research group was born.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41He's connected to the Squirells through his maternal family.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46The aims of the Squirell research group are to try and document and link
0:07:46 > 0:07:50everybody with the name Squirell that's ever lived
0:07:50 > 0:07:52that's of English origin.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57I was quite surprised but also very pleased to hear from Saul Marks.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00We consider ourselves decent amateurs
0:08:00 > 0:08:03but none of us have actually done it for a living.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08And so it was quite a pleasant surprise to find that you could help somebody in these circumstances.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12But would the scope of this amateur genealogy group
0:08:12 > 0:08:15live up to the team's heir-hunting requirements?
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Saul Marks had found Harold Squirell's grandparents
0:08:19 > 0:08:24and they were supposedly George Squirell and Ellen Squirell.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Nee Smith.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29But there was no marriage for this couple
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and so without a marriage,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35he had no idea if any siblings
0:08:35 > 0:08:37existed at all.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39From our own researches on the Squirell research group,
0:08:39 > 0:08:45we knew that there was a couple called George Squirell and Ellen
0:08:45 > 0:08:47and they had several children
0:08:47 > 0:08:52but the mother's maiden name at birth registrations
0:08:52 > 0:08:55was given under various names.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59This fresh perspective opened up some intriguing possibilities
0:08:59 > 0:09:00for Saul and the team.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04If Alfred did have siblings, who would be Harold's aunts and uncles,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06then either they or their descendants
0:09:06 > 0:09:09would be heir to Harold's £50,000 estate.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12But there were still big question marks hanging over the research,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15not least why Harold's grandmother Ellen
0:09:15 > 0:09:17went by several different surnames.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21The problems of researching when people change their names
0:09:21 > 0:09:23is always difficult.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25And when we were dealing with this family,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29we had the same problems that Saul faced,
0:09:29 > 0:09:37to a degree, in that we couldn't prove anything categorically.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Martin knew that the deceased's father appeared to have several siblings.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45But that their mother Ellen was registering them using different maiden names.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50Saul would need a good explanation if any future application to the Treasury solicitor
0:09:50 > 0:09:52was to be successful.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55As amateur genealogists doing a one name study,
0:09:55 > 0:10:00our approach was different to that which Saul would have undertaken
0:10:00 > 0:10:05because we were looking at a family name in total.
0:10:05 > 0:10:11Which meant that we were comparing birth registrations, marriage registrations, death registrations
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and trying to fit these together,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16for whole groups of people.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19With this unique perspective over the Squirell family,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22the Squirell research group could play a key role
0:10:22 > 0:10:23in the success of this case.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26What was their take on the family?
0:10:26 > 0:10:30We believe that the siblings of Alfred Harry
0:10:30 > 0:10:35were indeed siblings because having such an overview
0:10:35 > 0:10:36of the whole Squirell name,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38we had no other candidates
0:10:38 > 0:10:40who could possibly be the parents.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45So even though the family were using different maiden names
0:10:45 > 0:10:47on birth registrations,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50we felt that they must be the same couple.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53And it was interesting to note that three or four of the children
0:10:53 > 0:10:58were registered with the maiden name of the mother as Stowe.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Which, indeed, was actually the maiden name of Ellen's mother.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08So that gave a clue as to the real identity of these children.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11In the absence of George and Ellen's marriage certificate,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Martin's explanation would hopefully enable Saul and the team
0:11:15 > 0:11:17to prove any claim to the Treasury solicitor.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23Once we had confirmation that this was the right family as far as we could prove it,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27we started working the case as we would do our normal cases.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31With Martin's help, the team could now see that Alfred
0:11:31 > 0:11:32was, in fact, one of nine.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35But six of his siblings died without children.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39That meant all hope rested on Alfred's oldest brothers,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41James and George.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43And fortunately, they were in luck.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Their research showed 12 potential heirs on James's stem
0:11:47 > 0:11:49and a further two descended from George.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Today, Saul's in Manchester,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58trying to track down one of those potential heirs, David Squirell.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02He's a grandson of George and Alfred's first cousin once removed.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06My name's Saul Marks. I work for a company called Celtic Research.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09We trace the next of kin of people who have died without leaving a will.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13I'm looking for a gentleman who used to live in Flat 3, David Squirell.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14He's not here now.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18The new tenant confirms that David no longer lives here.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22But will he be able to help Saul further the investigation?
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Do you know where he's gone? Have you heard of him?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I haven't heard from him at all, no.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Do you have any forwarding address for him or number?
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Do you know anything about him? I'm trying to get hold of him.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Wonderful. You're a star. Thank you so much. Cheers.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40He's obtained a phone number for the company who lets out the flat,
0:12:40 > 0:12:41and calls straightaway,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45hoping they'll have information about David's whereabouts.
0:12:45 > 0:12:51I'm trying to trace a gentleman who used to live in two of your properties
0:12:51 > 0:12:53up to just a few years ago.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Now, this gentleman, a cousin of his has passed away
0:12:56 > 0:13:02and he would stand to inherit a portion of his cousin's estate.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05So we're keen to speak to him.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10But will they be willing to help Saul trace this long-lost Squirell heir?
0:13:13 > 0:13:16As the hunt continues, things are looking up for Saul.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20He exists! He's alive! He's in Manchester!
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Senior case manager Tony Pledger's illustrious career
0:13:31 > 0:13:33at probate research firm Fraser & Fraser
0:13:33 > 0:13:36has spanned 42 long years.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38But all good things must end.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41We're going to miss Tony.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42We're all going to miss Tony.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It's very hard when you've had staff who've been around as long as Tony.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Of course we're going to miss him.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51There's a new style of cases
0:13:51 > 0:13:53and we work now on computers.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Everything seems to fall out very easy.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58But when you do get stuck, this is when the old hands really come in.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01It's stuff like that which is irreplaceable, really.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06One of the last cases Tony was around for
0:14:06 > 0:14:08was that of Josephine Stewart.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Her death in 2008 gave little hint of the enormous challenges
0:14:12 > 0:14:17the team would face finding heirs to this £77,000 estate.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20You're probably looking for four or five different surnames
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and someone called Jim, James, Jimmy.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28And he could be anywhere. England, Scotland, Wales or America.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Almost an impossible task.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Josephine Stewart, also known as Jo,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37died on 21 March 2008
0:14:37 > 0:14:39at the Royal Infirmary in Glasgow.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41She was 86 years old.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Neighbour of many years Joan Gilfilen
0:14:44 > 0:14:47remembers Jo and her husband fondly.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Good neighbours. They're missed.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Good neighbours.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I have good memories of them.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01When I first met Josephine, she would be in her 50s.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06She was a very slim person.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10And Bill was very slim.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Very handsome couple, actually.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Josephine and Bill were particularly keen gardeners
0:15:18 > 0:15:21and that's how Joan came to know them better in the early years.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27Josephine had a nice plot of roses.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Beautiful roses.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Bill was so particular
0:15:33 > 0:15:36about his hedge.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37Dead flat.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41The hedges were cut perfectly
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and they had to go a certain way.
0:15:45 > 0:15:51While house proud, this didn't stop them getting away to enjoy exciting holidays together.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56They used to love going down to the south coast of England.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00And various places in England on holiday.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03They had no children, no family,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07so they were free to do whatever they wanted.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09And that's what they did.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13And we used to compare notes
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and I used to say, "Where are you going this year?"
0:16:16 > 0:16:20"Have you booked up?" "Yes, we've booked up." "Where are you going?"
0:16:23 > 0:16:25As Josephine passed away in Scotland,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28senior researcher Tony Pledger
0:16:28 > 0:16:31discovered the case through a historic Scottish body
0:16:31 > 0:16:32created in 1837.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38The QLTR is the Queen Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer department
0:16:38 > 0:16:39of the Scottish parliament.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44They advertise the equivalent of Bona Vacantia matters in Scotland.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48Unlike the Treasury's Bona Vacantia list, which is published weekly,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51QLTR cases are released quarterly.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56There are some benefits to this system for heir hunters like Tony.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59The QLTR give much more initial information,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02including the home address of the deceased
0:17:02 > 0:17:05so you can go straight to enquiring of neighbours
0:17:05 > 0:17:06for family information.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12As opposed to an English matter where you have to figure out where the person was living.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17The advertised value of this case was a lucrative £77,000.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22So Tony knew he'd have to move fast to stay ahead of the competition.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26We sent somebody to Glasgow to get the initial certificates.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30And our researcher in Edinburgh was researching the Scottish records
0:17:30 > 0:17:32so we're liaising between the two.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35We're receiving information from our Scottish agent
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and we're passing it on to our researcher in Glasgow.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42So it's a sort of three-way communication.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Josephine's parents were John McLaren and Mary Casey.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48The couple had three other children.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52This was welcome news, because if these siblings were alive,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54They would be heirs to Josephine's estate.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58But the team quickly realised they were out of luck.
0:17:58 > 0:18:06Unfortunately, we established that there were no living brothers or sisters
0:18:06 > 0:18:08or their descendants.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11With Josephine's siblings having passed on,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14the team would need to turn their attention to the wider family.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16As this involves tracing aunts and uncles,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20this is a development that almost always means a lot of work for the team.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23But on this case, they faced even greater challenges,
0:18:23 > 0:18:28because the name McLaren was not an easy one to research.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32The father of the deceased, the name that he had when he was born,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35or the name given at birth,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39is recorded differently to the spelling on the marriage record
0:18:39 > 0:18:44and other members of his family have been variously recorded as different spellings
0:18:44 > 0:18:46of McLaren.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49McLaren and McLernon,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51there are many different ways you can write the name.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54He could have used any one of those throughout his life
0:18:54 > 0:18:56so we have several possibilities.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Although it seems the spelling of his surname varied,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03on Josephine's birth certificate her father is listed as John McLaren.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08The certificate also records his profession as a motor car driver.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10An intriguing title from an era
0:19:10 > 0:19:12when the motor car was still in its infancy.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15By the early 20th century,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17the age of the motor car had well and truly arrived.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19And drivers, or chauffeurs,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22were needed to pilot these new-fangled machines.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25John, whose father had worked as a coachman,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28was one of the men who entered this brave new world.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30In one generation,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32the careers of this father and son
0:19:32 > 0:19:35would reflect just how this transportation would evolve
0:19:35 > 0:19:38and eventually rule the road.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The coach had been going for centuries.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Coaches transported people to China
0:19:45 > 0:19:47or right across Europe.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52And certainly in the Americas, North America,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Wells Fargo, the stage coaches were famous for delivering the mail.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01In this country, the path to becoming a coachman
0:20:01 > 0:20:02was a more humble journey.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08You'd suspect that coachmen started off working for maybe a company delivering something.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Delivering beer, or delivering coal or furniture.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16They would have learned the trade then and gained a reputation.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19The world was very much a smaller place, I suppose.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25Someone's name was very important. That's why they put their name on the coach side.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27If you were with a big estate,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31you'd probably spend a long period working for a large estate
0:20:31 > 0:20:34certainly if your boss,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38the lord of the manor, was good to you,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40there would be a loyalty there.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43But while the McLaren family certificates
0:20:43 > 0:20:45might suggest a switch from coach to car,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48the reality was rather more haphazard.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53The transition from horse-drawn vehicles
0:20:53 > 0:20:56where coachmen were in charge
0:20:56 > 0:21:01to the motor vehicle took a long time to develop. It didn't happen overnight.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05And there was a great confusion on the roads
0:21:05 > 0:21:09where there were horse-drawn vehicles, whether it was one person driving a horse and trap,
0:21:09 > 0:21:16or a coach delivering items, or people on a journey,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20they were on the same road with the early motor vehicles.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23And there weren't many rules or regulations.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25There wasn't a highway code, for example,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28so they had to make it work.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Of course, there wasn't a lot of traffic.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31So it was complicated.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36By the time our deceased Josephine Stewart was born in 1921,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39her father John and other motor car drivers
0:21:39 > 0:21:42were well on their way to dominating our roads for good.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Back in London, it was all hands on deck
0:21:47 > 0:21:53as the team were looking to the wider family for heirs to Josephine's £77,000 estate.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Various spellings of the McLaren surname were making life difficult for them.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Once you discover that there is a misspelling,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04you've got to cover those and any others that might not have been thought of.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07It's down to the fact that if it has O or A or E in it,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11they can be misread, mis-written and mis-indexed.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14However, the team were about to make a surprising discovery
0:22:14 > 0:22:17that could have profound implications for the hunt.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20It turned out that the mother of the deceased had been married twice
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and that the deceased was from her second marriage
0:22:23 > 0:22:26and so the children of her first marriage
0:22:26 > 0:22:30would be half-brothers of the deceased but therefore entitled.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Having thought that the immediate family were eliminated from the hunt,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39the existence of five half-siblings from Josephine's mother's first marriage
0:22:39 > 0:22:40changed everything.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43If alive, these family members would be heirs,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47not relatives from the wider family they were working so hard to trace.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Tony knew only too well
0:22:49 > 0:22:53how important it was to trace these potential heirs.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56We don't want to carry out a load of research,
0:22:56 > 0:23:01find a load of cousins, only to find out that way back in the research,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05we'd missed an illegitimate child of the mother
0:23:05 > 0:23:07as a half-sibling of the deceased.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11You want to try and get all the births, look at the dates,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14make sure there's no room for anyone else to fit in there
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and to try and cover the whole of the person's life.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21This unexpected development may have opened up the possibility
0:23:21 > 0:23:23of immediate family after all.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26But having wasted valuable time in the hunt for the wider family,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29would the competition have got to them first?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Having so far struggled to find any living relatives whatsoever,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36there are surprises in store for Tony.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40It went along very well, but because of the size of the family,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42you can't do everything at once.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Heir hunters use their specialist skills
0:23:50 > 0:23:53to track down thousands of rightful beneficiaries every year.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55But not all cases can be cracked
0:23:55 > 0:23:59and thousands sit unsolved on the Treasury Solicitor's list.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Cases will stay on the unclaimed list
0:24:02 > 0:24:07for a period of 12 years from the date the administration has been completed.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11That's the period of time that people still can come forward
0:24:11 > 0:24:13and claim the estate.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16Today we're focusing on two cases
0:24:16 > 0:24:19that have so far eluded the heir hunters.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Could you be the beneficiary they've been looking for?
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Sidney Thomas Capel died on 29 April 2003 in Bristol.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31So far, the heir hunters have struggled
0:24:31 > 0:24:34to find out any more information about Sidney or his family.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Could you be related to Sidney?
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Could you be in line to inherit a share of his estate?
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Next is the case of Maria Bridget Howling.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49She died on 18 September 2000
0:24:49 > 0:24:51in the district of Canterbury with Swale, Kent.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Did you know Maria?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Could you be due a share of her legacy?
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Both Sidney and Maria's estates remain unclaimed.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03If no-one comes forward,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05their money will go to the government.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Money raised through Bona Vacantia ultimately goes to the general Exchequer.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12To benefit the country as a whole.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14But it's important to remember that the Crown
0:25:14 > 0:25:16doesn't want to grab all the estates it possibly can.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18It wants kin to be found
0:25:18 > 0:25:20and that's what we work very hard to do.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Here are those names once again.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29If you're one of their long-lost relatives,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31you could have a windfall coming your way.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40The team at Celtic Research
0:25:40 > 0:25:43are looking for heirs to the £50,000 estate of Harold Squirell,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46still unclaimed after eight years.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51It's hard work. Everything on this case is hard work
0:25:51 > 0:25:53but we're going to get this guy if it kills us!
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Harold died in 2002 in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01aged just 53.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03No photographs remain of Harold,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06but villager Joan Massey knew him for many years.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11She recalls how Harold reacted to his mother's failing health.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15He left his job at the butcher's to be with his mother.
0:26:15 > 0:26:22And gradually, Hilda got a bit too... She needed more care.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27So eventually, she came into Trinity where I worked.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Despite being deeply affected by the death of his parents,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Joan remembers him as a transformed character later in life.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Harold enjoyed his freedom.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43A sense of looking after his parents had gone.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Harold was free to do what he liked.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Harold had a train. He had a track in the garden.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53This train set.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57And he used to go to the meetings, I believe, sometimes.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05With help from amateur genealogists, the Squirell Research Group,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09the team discovered 17 potential heirs to Harold's estate.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Today, case manager Saul Marks is in Manchester
0:27:12 > 0:27:15in a last-ditch bid to contact one of them, David Squirell.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17He's proved difficult to trace,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20but finally, Saul's making some progress.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Lovely lady at the property letting company.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26She confirmed he's not at either of these two properties any more,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28which is what we'd suspected right from the off.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34She confirmed that he's not a tenant of theirs any longer.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37But they do have a file for him
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and she's going to give him a call
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and hopefully pass our details on.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44All I have to do is sit and wait.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48For Saul, this breakthrough has made him ever eager
0:27:48 > 0:27:51to sign up this heir, and after just one hour of waiting,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53the suspense proves too much.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Right. I'm going to ring this lady back.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Hi. It's Saul Marks. We spoke a little earlier on.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05So the number you have for him was accurate
0:28:05 > 0:28:07and you were able to...
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Wow. That's...
0:28:10 > 0:28:14That really is above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you so much.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I'm going to push the boundaries here.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Is it local to Manchester?
0:28:19 > 0:28:22OK. Fine. So I won't leave the area, then.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26My colleague and I will go for lunch and hope he rings me this afternoon or evening.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29She spoke to him! He exists!
0:28:29 > 0:28:31He's alive! He's in Manchester!
0:28:31 > 0:28:33The man Saul is looking for
0:28:33 > 0:28:35is a grandson of Harold's uncle George.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37As one of 17 potential heirs,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40he would be entitled to a share of Harold's estate
0:28:40 > 0:28:42which is estimated at £50,000.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45But unless the team can track him down,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48there'll be no inheritance and the case won't be finished.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50After a long wait in the car in Manchester,
0:28:50 > 0:28:52things aren't looking good.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55It's been four and a half hours now
0:28:55 > 0:29:00since I spoke to the lady at the property letting company
0:29:00 > 0:29:01the second time.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06I've spent a very rainy afternoon in Manchester.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09And so far, Mr Squirell hasn't rung.
0:29:10 > 0:29:16Obviously it would have been quite a shock for him to receive a phone call from her,
0:29:16 > 0:29:21so who can blame him for taking his time in thinking about how to respond.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25But nevertheless I was hoping it would all be sorted out today,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28but it's now half past seven at night
0:29:28 > 0:29:32and we're probably going to have to call it a day, I think.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34I imagine fairly soon.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Let's just hope that he takes his time and when he feels comfortable
0:29:38 > 0:29:42he'll pick up the phone and hopefully agree to sign with us.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50It's six weeks later
0:29:50 > 0:29:53and finally the team's efforts to trace David Squirell
0:29:53 > 0:29:55have been rewarded.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Following the involvement of the lady from the Housing Association
0:29:59 > 0:30:02David Squirell did finally get in touch with us
0:30:02 > 0:30:03and he did sign a contract with us.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08So finally we're able to say that we have all the heirs in the Squirell estate.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13Another of these 17 heirs is Irene Squirell,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16whose husband Donald was a cousin of Harold, the deceased.
0:30:17 > 0:30:18Before he died,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22I knew nothing whatsoever, and neither did my husband,
0:30:22 > 0:30:23about Harold Squirell.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27But now I want to know more about him.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30I will be doing some research
0:30:30 > 0:30:35and finding out as much as I possibly can about him.
0:30:35 > 0:30:41And it's great that I've got a little bit of money to do it with.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43I'd have loved to have met him.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46He was part of the Squirell clan.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51And yes, I love each and every one of them.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Irene is another Squirell genealogist
0:30:54 > 0:30:57who has faced her own frustrations while looking into the family tree.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01I've had a lot of people helping me,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03even a gentleman from Australia.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Helping me get this tree together.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10It's a very, very difficult tree.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14The Squirells are difficult to pin down.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Irene suspects Harold's estrangement from other Squirells
0:31:19 > 0:31:21is related to his father's move to Macclesfield,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23away from the rest of the family.
0:31:24 > 0:31:30The Squirell family have been farming within the Essex and Suffolk border
0:31:30 > 0:31:33for generations.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37So why he moved up to Macclesfield, I have no idea.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42I think that the father of Harold Squirell was very unusual
0:31:42 > 0:31:45to have moved away.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Especially as far as he did, in those days.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Because people just didn't move too far away.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58For Saul, it's incredibly satisfying to know that after two years' hard graft,
0:31:58 > 0:32:02the team have finally been able to put this case to bed.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07It really was great to have a very satisfactory conclusion to this case.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11It really was a rarity to come across the Squirell Research Group.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Groups like that aren't necessarily rare in themselves,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17but the detail and quality of their work
0:32:17 > 0:32:18was very useful.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22For Martin of the Squirell Research Group,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25aiding an heir hunter has brought its own perks.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30We're all very pleased. Our researchers benefitted not just Saul,
0:32:30 > 0:32:35to solve his genealogical questions, as it were,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39but also obviously it will be of great benefit
0:32:39 > 0:32:43to any recipients of Harold's estate.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46So it's nice to have had a part in that,
0:32:46 > 0:32:51and to also presumably have put members of the family back in touch with each other.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Having now submitted a claim to the Treasury,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58there's even more good news for the firm and the heirs.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00The Treasury admitted the claim
0:33:00 > 0:33:04and when they did so, they gave us an idea of the approximate value of the estate.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06We were expecting it to come back at about 50,000.
0:33:06 > 0:33:12What they actually said is that the estate is worth about £129,000.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Which was a very pleasant surprise, to say the least.
0:33:16 > 0:33:17We'd done a lot of work on this
0:33:17 > 0:33:21and it turns out that the heirs and ourselves
0:33:21 > 0:33:23will all make a lot more money than we were expecting.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37At the offices of heir hunting firm Fraser & Fraser in London,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40the team's research into the case of Josephine Stewart
0:33:40 > 0:33:43had initially eliminated immediate family.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47But the discovery of five half siblings looked set to change all that.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51The marriage records, the mother was married before.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54She married the father of the deceased. There were children from that marriage.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58Josephine and her husband Bill
0:33:58 > 0:34:02lived in a quite suburb of Glasgow for over 30 years
0:34:02 > 0:34:05where they were well-known members of the community.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Neighbour Joan Gilfilen recalls warmly their priorities in life.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Their home. Their garden.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18And travel.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23That just typifies what they were.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26And they enjoyed their life.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28They were very happy together.
0:34:29 > 0:34:30But in later years,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33Josephine was left housebound by her failing health
0:34:33 > 0:34:36and relied on ever-dutiful Bill all the more.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38He was always hurrying.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40Because he had to get back for Jo.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45That's how close they were together.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54In London, the team's initial research into Josephine's family
0:34:54 > 0:34:56had ruled out immediate family
0:34:56 > 0:34:59and their hunt for heirs to her £77,000 estate
0:34:59 > 0:35:02had focused instead on the wider family.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04This was proving a huge challenge
0:35:04 > 0:35:07due to various spellings of the surname McLaren.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09But the discovery of five half siblings
0:35:09 > 0:35:11meant that should living relatives be found,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13they would be entitled heirs
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and the research into the wider family would no longer be relevant.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22It was vital Tony and the team traced these half siblings as soon as possible.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25You want to get all of the births, look at all the dates,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29make sure there's no room for anyone else to fit in there.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Frustratingly for the team,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34all five half siblings had died
0:35:34 > 0:35:35and had no children.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39So the search for heirs from the wider family was back on.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43But with the spelling of Josephine's father's surname McLaren
0:35:43 > 0:35:44varying on records,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48finding his siblings was proving extremely difficult.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52The variations in the name can cause problems.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55Because the mis-spelling of the name
0:35:55 > 0:36:01would be recorded in a different position in national indexes
0:36:01 > 0:36:02as to the correct spelling.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05You've got to try and cover all those mis-spellings.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10However, after hours of painstaking searches through records,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12the team had finally made some progress.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15The father of the deceased had seven siblings.
0:36:15 > 0:36:21They were all born in Glasgow from about 1876 through to the mid 1880s.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24I know that when one of the brothers of the father died,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28the mother was the informant, and she was illiterate at the time.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31The discovery of seven paternal aunts and uncles
0:36:31 > 0:36:33was a major breakthrough in the research.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36But the team were then faced with a new hurdle to overcome.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41Josephine's aunts and uncles had all been born over a century earlier,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43which meant any living descendants
0:36:43 > 0:36:45would be once or twice removed.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Veteran Tony knew a quirk in the Scottish record system
0:36:49 > 0:36:53which might help them trace heirs on the mother's side of the family.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57Usually difficult as women get married and change surnames.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01It's easier to research women's names in Scotland
0:37:01 > 0:37:06because they are recorded males and females, two separate books,
0:37:06 > 0:37:11and so you don't have to worry about the women getting married and changing their surname.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13Provided the name's good initially,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16you go straight for their death under the name they were born with
0:37:16 > 0:37:17and when you get the certificate,
0:37:17 > 0:37:21you then find all the people she was married to.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Thanks to Tony's experience,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26the team made swift progress on the maternal side.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29They established that the deceased's mother, Mary Casey,
0:37:29 > 0:37:31had one brother and two sisters
0:37:31 > 0:37:33all of whom had long since died.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35All three had children,
0:37:35 > 0:37:37but again, all had passed away.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41We were then able to see that as there were no first cousins of the deceased
0:37:41 > 0:37:45it would be first cousins once removed, of which there were 60.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Having identified the cousins once removed,
0:37:48 > 0:37:51the team set about contacting the potential heirs
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and confirming that all of their research was correct.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00Once we'd established kin, after that it went along very well.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02But because of the size of the family,
0:38:02 > 0:38:04you can't do everything at once.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08With such a big family it does take proportionately longer.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10On the father's side of the family,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14the team's meticulous searching of birth, death and marriage indexes
0:38:14 > 0:38:17had finally paid off in the hunt for living relatives.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Of the seven siblings that the father had,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24a couple of them died as infants because of the high mortality rate,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28a couple of them had two or three children and those children died out
0:38:28 > 0:38:32and then two more only produced living descendants
0:38:32 > 0:38:36and one of those upped and went off to America
0:38:36 > 0:38:37and had children in America.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Of the four siblings who got married,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43it's the 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren
0:38:43 > 0:38:47of just two - Mary McLernon and Rosina McLaren,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49who survive today.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Patricia Benson is a paternal cousin twice removed,
0:38:53 > 0:38:56one of 20 heirs on the paternal side.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59She was shocked to get the call from the team.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01I'd be fibbing if I said
0:39:01 > 0:39:06it wasn't at first thinking, "My God, this has never happened to anybody I know
0:39:06 > 0:39:07"or any of the family."
0:39:07 > 0:39:11My sisters, probably middle sister was the same as me, thinking,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14"Oh, my goodness! We're going to come into some money."
0:39:14 > 0:39:20But the more it sunk in, it was more like, we could get some money, we didn't know how much it would be,
0:39:20 > 0:39:21anything like that, but then it was,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25"We've got family we didn't even know we had. Why?"
0:39:25 > 0:39:29It's through her father that Patricia is related to Josephine.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34There's a good reason for her lack of knowledge about this side of her family.
0:39:34 > 0:39:40I think the reason we lost touch with my father's side of the family and extended family
0:39:40 > 0:39:44was because I moved away with my mum when my mum and dad divorced.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49So I didn't have much contact, well didn't have any contact with
0:39:49 > 0:39:53my dad's side of the family after me and my mum moved away.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55This estrangement from her father's family
0:39:55 > 0:39:59meant she had mixed feelings accepting the inheritance money.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I felt a bit of a fraud taking that money
0:40:03 > 0:40:07due to the fact that I left Scotland a long time ago
0:40:07 > 0:40:09and didn't see my dad again.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13So to inherit some money when I hadn't been in touch with my dad
0:40:13 > 0:40:17for years - I hadn't seen my dad over 30 years.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20You know, I felt a bit of a fraud,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23getting that money.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26It's been an epic hunt for heirs.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Overall, Tony's pleased with the outcome.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33In total we ended up with something like 88 heirs entitled in this matter.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37They were descended from the 60 first cousins once removed
0:40:37 > 0:40:39that the deceased had.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40The only spoiler on it really
0:40:40 > 0:40:44was the number of heirs and the amount of processing we had to do
0:40:44 > 0:40:46to get all those together.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51After 42 years of loyal service,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54it's finally time for Tony to bow out.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56CHEERING
0:40:59 > 0:41:00Tony, you're leaving us.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- The day you've been looking forward to for 32 years.- 42!
0:41:06 > 0:41:09But not before boss Neil offers a few kind words of appreciation.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13We are very grateful for the time you've put in here.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17They guys here are also very pleased and very grateful
0:41:17 > 0:41:21for how much you've been able to help them and trained them up.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Certainly no-one else in the firm
0:41:24 > 0:41:27who've been able to train Dominic and Joe and Aysha and Mike.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32I know that they are very grateful and so was I when I joined 14 years ago and started learning.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37You are one of the best people to actually learn from.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40By delegation, obviously.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43I think a lot of us are very grateful.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46We'd like to wish you luck in your future.
0:41:46 > 0:41:47Thank you very much.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52I think we can all have a toast to Mr Pledger.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Thank you very much for your service with us.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Good luck in the future. Cheers.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07I'll certainly miss him.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09But my aim's getting better!
0:42:10 > 0:42:11I've worked with him for over 30 years,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13so I am going to miss him.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Well, I'm pleased to be going.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Pleased that I got this far.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23But things move on and you reach a stage where you're too old for all this running about.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25This business is not like it used to be.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27It's changed a great deal.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29It's going to change a great deal more.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33And so I think I'm leaving at a good time.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43If you would like advice about building a family tree or making a will,
0:42:43 > 0:42:44go to:
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd