0:00:02 > 0:00:06Heir hunters specialise in tracking down people who are entitled to money from someone who has died.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Sometimes the deceased has become estranged from their family.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Sometimes they simply haven't left a will.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Either way, the heir hunters must make sure any unclaimed money goes to the right people.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22- So he's still alive, then?- Yeah, Alfred, he's still alive.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Their work involves painstaking investigation.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28We had a little bit of success there.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30He seems to be the right person.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33But it can give people a whole new perspective on their past.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37- So he was quite a hero?- Yes, very much so.- Wow!
0:00:37 > 0:00:42Most of all, though, their work is giving people news of an unexpected windfall.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:51 > 0:00:52On today's programme...
0:00:52 > 0:00:56The war hero uncle one woman never knew she had.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01It was quite a shock to know that I had a great-uncle that I didn't know about.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05A familiar face delves into his family's hidden past...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08When I got the call, I was gobsmacked, really,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11because I hadn't the faintest idea who it was.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Plus, could you be a missing heir?
0:01:14 > 0:01:15How you could be entitled
0:01:15 > 0:01:18to money from unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It's Monday morning in London
0:01:25 > 0:01:29and Hector Birchwood from heir-hunting company Celtic Research
0:01:29 > 0:01:31is about to travel 200 miles north
0:01:31 > 0:01:35in a last-ditch attempt to crack a particularly tricky case.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I've been working on this case for well over a year now.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42I've identified four heirs, but unfortunately,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44two of them are still missing.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46So we can't fully distribute the case,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and it's almost as good as if the case was unsolved.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53So I think I've identified a good lead up in Manchester,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57so I'm taking a train, and hopefully this £12,000 case will be solved today.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02It's possible that other firms are working this job too,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05so it's vital that Hector stays one step ahead.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10The trip to Manchester is just the latest development in a case called Clarke,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13which has been fraught with difficulty.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18This case has actually been in our unsolved files for quite some time.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23It's been a case that's been nagging for a while.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Frank Clarke died in 1990, at the age of 88.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29He had no known relatives,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32so his details were listed on the bona vacantia -
0:02:32 > 0:02:35the Treasury solicitors' list of unclaimed estates,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37where it's remained for 22 years.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42But Frank did have plenty of friends where he lived
0:02:42 > 0:02:45in the seaside village of Walmer, near Deal in Kent.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48He was a familiar face at the village's Railway pub
0:02:48 > 0:02:52and fellow regular John State remembers him well.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Frank came in one lunchtime, introduced himself
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and he said he'd moved down from London. He brought his wife in, introduced her,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02and it sort of snowballed from there.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Frank's wife, Edie, died several years before him,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09but the last years of their life together were happy.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Even when he retired from his job as a shoe shop manager in London,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16he took great pride in his appearance.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19I never ever saw him without his suit on
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and a collar and tie. Never ever.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23And he always had a trilby hat
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and he never took it off, not that I recall, never ever.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29He'd sit there all night or all afternoon with his hat on.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Frank and Edie had become popular members of the pub's social club.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41They came in, sat at their table, got their Christmas crackers and hats and things like that,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and they really enjoyed themselves.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48I can prove it in the photograph there - he actually took his trilby hat off and put a paper hat on!
0:03:48 > 0:03:50When Frank's wife died,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52he was deeply affected by the loss.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57Frank was a very much-liked person, and his wife, Edie.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01When they went, it left a hole in the pub circuit,
0:04:01 > 0:04:02and it can never be replaced.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05And he was a gentleman.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07And he was a very nice man.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Frank's estate was advertised with a value of £12,000.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Not a fortune,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23but an amount that could make a huge difference to any family he had,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25if they could be found.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30But heir hunter Hector soon discovered just how hard it was to find any living relatives.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35A lot of people probably looked at this case when it came out.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Perhaps it may even be on the unsolved list of other companies.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43But the point is that it's very difficult even to get a starting point in this case.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48One of the main reasons is because the deceased was not born under the name in which he died.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Frank had no children,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54so Hector needed to look to the wider family
0:04:54 > 0:04:56to try to find living descendants.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58But to unlock this family tree,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02he first had to find out who Frank's parents were.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06We found who we believe was the deceased
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and whom we believed was the father of the deceased,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11living with the mother of the deceased.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15It seemed to fit the marriage we had found for the deceased,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19which was the only other document we had, other than his death.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24But the 1911 census, which was released in 2009,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26gave Hector a new avenue to try,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and he soon thought he'd found Frank and his parents
0:05:29 > 0:05:31living at an address in London.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34But when he looked for birth records to back up his findings,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36he drew a blank.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39With no record of Frank Cyril Clarke's birth,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41there was no way of solving the case,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43but Hector wasn't about to give up.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46So he decided to take a bit of a punt.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50I thought about perhaps just looking for anybody
0:05:50 > 0:05:53by the name of Frank Cyril, Cyril Frank...
0:05:53 > 0:05:58So by transposing the names, perhaps I might be able to find someone.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01The only one that really seemed to fit was a Cyril Frank Jacobs.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Hector chose Cyril Frank Jacobs,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08because he was born in the right area on the right date.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10And the gamble paid off.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14He found out that Frank's parents were Henry Jacobs and Clara Clark
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and that they'd had three older children -
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Doris, Bertram and Henry.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23At some point, the entire family, apart from Bertram,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28had changed its name to a slight variation of Clara's maiden name.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33And then once I started looking into the other siblings of the deceased,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I started to see that they were all born as Jacobs
0:06:36 > 0:06:41and they matched the Clarke family that we found in the 1911 census.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45So that me it to me very, very clear that there had been some change of name.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48I don't know why
0:06:48 > 0:06:52they picked the deceased mother's maiden name
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and then added an E to it.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55Um...
0:06:55 > 0:06:56I can only speculate.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59Whatever the reason for the name change,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Hector could now focus on finding living descendants.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Frank's siblings had all died before him
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and neither Bertram nor Henry had had children.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12But his sister Doris married a man called Edward Roberts
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and had four children.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16These were Frank's nieces and nephews.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Hector discovered they too had all passed away.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24One of them, Victor, died just after the end of World War II.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Victor had been an RAF flight engineer,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30based at Elvington in Yorkshire.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34As part of 77 Squadron,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37he took part in hundreds of death-defying bombing raids
0:07:37 > 0:07:40over Germany and occupied Europe.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43It was an exceptionally important job.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Halifax bombers had one pilot
0:07:45 > 0:07:47and one flight engineer.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The flight engineer generally assisted the pilot
0:07:50 > 0:07:52throughout the mission.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56He was responsible for ensuring that the aircraft flew.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58The mission itself was completely hazardous
0:07:58 > 0:08:00and on their route out,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04they were likely to come into contact with German night fighters.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Many bomber crews simply disappeared
0:08:09 > 0:08:11without even knowing they'd been hit.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16The Germans could come underneath on the dark side and shoot them out of the skies.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17In 1944,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Victor's plane was hit by German fighters
0:08:21 > 0:08:23as it headed home over France.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Victor tried in vain to save it,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29but was forced to parachute out at the last minute.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33For attempting to keep the aircraft flying
0:08:33 > 0:08:36while the rest of his crew got out, for his heroism,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.
0:08:39 > 0:08:4477 Squadron was one of the most foremost squadrons
0:08:44 > 0:08:46of RAF Bomber Command.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49It lost a huge amount of people - 450 air crew
0:08:49 > 0:08:51just in 18 months here at Elvington alone.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Someone once said that Bomber Command didn't win the war.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59However, without Bomber Command, the war wouldn't have been won.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Death records seem to show that although Victor survived right until the end of the war,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08he did die at the age of 20,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10without marrying or having children.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12This meant that the search for heirs
0:09:12 > 0:09:15would have to move to his brothers and sisters -
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Frank, Beatrice and Doris.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Hector could find neither marriage nor children for Beatrice and Doris,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25but when it came to Frank, Hector finally had some success.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28We managed to find a marriage for Frank.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30He married during the war.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33He was presumably stationed up in Birmingham.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36And he married Doris Long,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and from that, we needed to follow it down
0:09:39 > 0:09:41and locate his children.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45And sure enough, he had a daughter who was alive
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and in line to inherit.
0:09:47 > 0:09:4922 years after Frank Clarke's death,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Hector had finally found an heir to his £12,000 estate.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56For Sue, Frank's great-niece,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59the news came as a complete surprise.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03I have never heard Frank Clarke's name mentioned
0:10:03 > 0:10:06through all the time that I spoke to my parents
0:10:06 > 0:10:09and my cousins, uncles, aunts...
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Nobody ever mentioned him.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15So...it was a real shock to know that I did have a great-uncle
0:10:15 > 0:10:17that I didn't know about.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21I remember my father's father...in fact, my grandfather,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25not terribly well, because in fact he died when I was quite young.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30And my father didn't really talk an awful lot about his family.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Hector had made a crucial breakthrough,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36but this case was far from solved.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It seemed likely that either Doris or Beatrice Roberts
0:10:40 > 0:10:42would have married and had children,
0:10:42 > 0:10:43yet he could find no record of them.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46But he was about to get some vital information.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Susan gave me the clue that I should be looking for the family under the name of Clare.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Which is what she believed they changed their name to.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Incredibly, just like Frank Clarke,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01some of Sue's father's family had also changed their names,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03this time to Clare.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I did know my granddad,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07although he died when I was a teenager.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I used to write to him after Christmas or after a birthday
0:11:10 > 0:11:14as being "E Clare" - Mr Clare.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17And yet, clearly, his surname was Roberts.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20So I'm not quite sure why.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21All a mystery, I'm afraid.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Several months after Hector first made contact with Sue,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28the case of Frank Clarke is still not fully solved.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Clare is a fairly common surname,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34and Hector is struggling to find a living heir on this side.
0:11:34 > 0:11:3722 years after he died,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41the £12,000 estate is still waiting to be claimed.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Not picking up.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Until Hector can speak to all the heirs on the estate,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48he cannot close the case
0:11:48 > 0:11:52which means it's still out there for rival firms to solve.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Finding beneficiaries is where the search ends for the heir hunters.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08But for the heirs themselves, the unexpected discovery of a long-lost relative
0:12:08 > 0:12:12can be the beginning of a journey through their family history.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16When I got the call, I was gobsmacked, really.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20In 1997, BBC weatherman Michael Fish
0:12:20 > 0:12:24got the surprise news that he was heir to an unclaimed estate.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28I hadn't the faintest idea who it was, who she was,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30or anything at all.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Michael was an heir to the estate of a lady called Grace Meaby,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38who died in 1993 in Reading.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Who this Grace Meaby is or was,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I really haven't the faintest idea.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46She'd never been mentioned by anybody that I know of,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49so she just appeared from nowhere.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Grace was related to Michael through his mother,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54but he has never known very much about this side of his family.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58So now, 15 years after he first learned he was an heir,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Michael has decided to try and find out more about his family
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and the woman who left him a surprise inheritance.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08I was very intrigued as to who she is
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and who she was, and her family too, come to that.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13And you kept wanting to do these things,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17but you always leave it too late, when all your relatives have died.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Grace Meaby was 74 years old when she died,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26in the very same house she'd been born in.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28No pictures of Grace survive,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30but she's fondly remembered
0:13:30 > 0:13:33by her life-long friend and neighbour, Ernest Hall.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35She was quite tall.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37She had nice blonde hair.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40And, er...
0:13:41 > 0:13:44When you saw her, she always had a smile on her face.
0:13:44 > 0:13:50Growing up, Grace's parents had been very protective of their only daughter.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Grace's father wouldn't let her mix with the kids in the street.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58We used to wave to her every time we... We'd usually see her up in the bedroom window...
0:13:59 > 0:14:03..watching the children play, sort of envious that she couldn't get out.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06But at the age of 27,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Grace found love and married a baker called Colin Meaby.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14The couple were together for 44 years, until Colin died,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17leaving Grace a widow for the last three years of her life.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20When her husband died, she sort of...
0:14:20 > 0:14:23locked herself away up in the front bedroom.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27I think she was really heartbroken, really.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Because it was a...a good match.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37Grace didn't make a will,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39so when she died in 1993,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42her estate was advertised as unclaimed.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Heir-hunting firm Fraser & Fraser immediately began investigating
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and case manager David Milchard was put in charge of the research.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54This was a substantial value estate
0:14:54 > 0:14:57and we believe that Grace had owned some property.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01It was valued at approximately £360,000.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06The race was on to find heirs to this high-value estate.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11But in 1993, before heir hunters could access records online,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14the research process was much slower.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19You had to physically pull books out, whereas today, you can sit at the screen on the computer.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23If it took you 20 minutes to do 20 years - a minute a year -
0:15:23 > 0:15:28you could do that same search today on computer in less than 30 seconds.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Despite this, David and his team made quick progress.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Having established that Grace had no children of her own,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40the next step was to see if she had any siblings.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44There was one, an Oliver, but he died as a young child.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Um...both Grace's parents had died,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51so we were then looking for her uncles and aunts.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54And their search hit problems
0:15:54 > 0:15:58when they tried to trace relatives of Grace's father, William Amos.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03We had several possibilities of a William Amos
0:16:03 > 0:16:05being born circa 1871.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08We applied for each certificate,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12but they all came back with the wrong details,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14so we couldn't find his birth in England.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17But the team weren't about to give up,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and David ordered a search of the Army Returns,
0:16:20 > 0:16:25a record of births, marriages and deaths of British Army personnel overseas.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31We identified a birth of a William Amos and we applied for it,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33and it was in the Army Returns.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35It was an Army birth certificate,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39and it showed he was born in 1871 in India.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Next, using birth, marriage and death records,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46David could establish that William had three siblings -
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Alice, who died as a child,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Eliza, who married and had children,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and Charles, who at the age of 47
0:16:54 > 0:16:57became one of the 900,000 British soldiers
0:16:57 > 0:16:59who died during the First World War.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09There's a big public perception of the First World War as fought almost entirely by youngsters,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13which actually bears no relation to the truth whatsoever.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17When the war broke out, pre-war regular soldiers, numbers were made up by the reservists,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21who were all men who'd left in the previous nine years or so.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24So the average age in 1914 was actually quite high.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28And when Lord Kitchener appealed for volunteers in 1914,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32it wasn't just young men who stepped up.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33A lot of old soldiers turned up.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36A lot of men who'd seen military service.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41And so right the way through the war, you get a real mix
0:17:41 > 0:17:44of young lads, middle-aged men and quite old fellows.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Of course, there were men just like Charles Amos Junior
0:17:47 > 0:17:51who, at nearly 50, found themselves serving in France.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Charles died in 1915.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57And as the heir hunters pieced together records,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00they discovered he'd left behind a family of his own.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06The only line we could follow down was the descendants of the deceased's uncle, Charles Amos.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09He married a lady called Alice Davies.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Now, they had several children.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13One of them was a Dora.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Now, she married a gentleman called Mr Fish
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and they had one child,
0:18:19 > 0:18:20Michael Fish.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23As Charles Amos's grandson,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Michael was Grace Meaby's first cousin once removed
0:18:27 > 0:18:32and one of the 21 heirs to her £360,000 estate.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35But for Michael, the promise of an inheritance
0:18:35 > 0:18:39was far outshone by the promise of learning more about his family.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44I was very short of relatives. I didn't know any of the Amos side at all.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47My mother's father was killed in the war.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50And her mother died very early,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53so I really didn't know many of the family at all.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56When it came to his father's family,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Michael had already done extensive research.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02I started doing this about 30-odd years ago.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04When I was working in London Weather Centre,
0:19:04 > 0:19:05the Public Record Office,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09with all the births, deaths, marriage certificates, was right by my office.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13And so it was quite easy to pop in in my lunch hour and do a bit of research.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Yet his mother's side of the family, the Amoses,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19have remained a mystery.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20Until now.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Today, Michael has come to central London
0:19:24 > 0:19:26to meet heir hunter David Milchard
0:19:26 > 0:19:27to try to find out more.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- Hello.- Hello, Michael. I'm David Milchard.- Lovely to meet you.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- I gather you've got some information for me?- Hopefully, yes.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38- Great!- Come this way and have a look.- Thanks.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Michael is especially keen to find out more about his grandfather, Charles Amos.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48But first he wants to see how Grace fits into the family tree.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- If we go back to Grace...- Yes.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Now, her father, William Amos,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59- was a brother of your grandfather... - Mm-hm.- ..Charles.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Now, William, Grace's father,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06was married to an Annie Woods,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08formerly Hallett.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10- His first marriage.- Right.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Now, Grace's mother was Emily Ann Hallett.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17- Oh.- Now, with the surname...- Yeah.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21There's definitely a family connection.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23- Married sisters or something?- Not quite.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Although William was married to Annie Hallett,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29he went on to have two children with Emily Hallett,
0:20:29 > 0:20:30Annie's niece.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- There was a sort of menage a trois! - Yes.- Rather fun.- Certainly was.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Now, you'll see from the certificate of the birth of Grace,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42born in 1919,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46shows father William, mother Emily Ann Hallett...
0:20:46 > 0:20:49"Father is not free to marry."
0:20:49 > 0:20:52- You'll find that both William... - Yeah.- ..and Emily...
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- ..are the informants on the birth certificate.- Right.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59That means that the child was born out of wedlock,
0:20:59 > 0:21:05- but both parents recognised their natural child.- OK.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Yet William and Annie remained married and lived together
0:21:10 > 0:21:12with Emily and the young Grace and Oliver
0:21:12 > 0:21:14in the family home in Reading.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16How that arrangement worked,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20or whether Annie was happy for William to have children in that manner
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- because she couldn't give him children...- Yeah.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Did she condone the situation in any way? No idea.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- To take your wife's niece into your home...- Mmm.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34- Interesting.- ..and then to be the father of two children,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36all in the presence of your wife...
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Yeah! Dirty devil!
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Michael has already solved some of the mysteries of the Amos family,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48but as he continues his journey into his family's past,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51there are plenty more revelations to come.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55It says "He has been six times entered into the Regimental Defaulters' Book."
0:21:55 > 0:21:57What does that mean?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59He's been a naughty boy!
0:21:59 > 0:22:00Oh!
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Heir hunters use their specialist skills to track down
0:22:09 > 0:22:11thousands of beneficiaries every year.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14But not every case can be cracked.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18There are thousands of estates on the unclaimed list
0:22:18 > 0:22:22that have eluded the heir hunters and remained unsolved.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24The unclaimed list
0:22:24 > 0:22:28is a list that the bona vacantia division publishes on its website.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29It's about 12,000 names long
0:22:29 > 0:22:32at the moment, and it's all the cases that we've never managed to solve.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Today we're focusing on two cases that stumped the heir hunters.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Could you be the heir they've been looking for?
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Could you be in line for an unexpected windfall?
0:22:46 > 0:22:48First, this case...
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Research has shown that Mary was married to a Patrick O'Sullivan
0:22:58 > 0:23:00and that her maiden name was Flannagan.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04But although the heir hunters think Mary may have been born in Ireland,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06they can find no record of her birth.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Did you know Mary?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Could you be one of her long-lost relatives?
0:23:15 > 0:23:16Next...
0:23:22 > 0:23:23He died aged 71.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Colin was originally from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and worked as a Royal Naval cook.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32But so far, the heir hunters have struggled
0:23:32 > 0:23:35to find out any more information about him or his family.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Could you be related to Colin?
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Could you be in line to inherit a share of his estate?
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Both Colin and Mary's estates remain unclaimed
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and if no-one comes forward,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50their money will go to the Government.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51If a person thinks
0:23:51 > 0:23:53that they're entitled to share in one of the estates
0:23:53 > 0:23:55that we've advertised,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57they should initially contact us
0:23:57 > 0:23:58with a simple family tree
0:23:58 > 0:24:01showing how they are related to the deceased person.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Do you have any clues that could help solves the cases
0:24:04 > 0:24:07of Colin Stuart Macdonald and Mary Ellen O'Sullivan?
0:24:07 > 0:24:11If so, you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Hector Birchwood of heir hunters Celtic Research
0:24:20 > 0:24:23is close to a breakthrough in the case of Frank Clarke,
0:24:23 > 0:24:28a widower whose £12,000 estate has sat unclaimed for 22 years.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I've been working on this case for well over a year now.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I've identified four heirs, but unfortunately,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38two of them are still missing.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39So we can't fully distribute the case,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and it's almost as good as if the case was unsolved.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Frank Clarke died in 1990
0:24:46 > 0:24:49in the village of Walmer, near Deal in Kent.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Frank and his wife Edie had been popular members of this seaside community.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56He loved the fresh air.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I know he'd go for little walks around,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00and I think he walked down to the sea front,
0:25:00 > 0:25:01have a walk along the promenade.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Frank never talked about his personal life,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08but it was clear to John that he and Edie were very happy together.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11He liked a joke,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and when he was with Edie,
0:25:13 > 0:25:14it was quite funny, really,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17because they used to bounce off each other a little bit.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22From the time I met Frank to the time we didn't see much of him any more,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26I never saw him miserable. Never ever, either of them.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Hector has already found one heir to the estate -
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Frank's great-niece, Sue.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40But large gaps in the family meant she'd never even heard of her great-uncle.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Initially, I was quite shocked that I'd had family that I didn't know about.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50And...it really made me regret that I'd never sat down and spoken to my father
0:25:50 > 0:25:53to find out the history.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02For Hector, the 22-year-old case is still hanging in the balance.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Name changes in the family have made it difficult to trace relatives.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Frank's nieces, Beatrice and Doris, were born with the name Roberts
0:26:10 > 0:26:13but it was only when Hector spoke to Sue
0:26:13 > 0:26:15that he learned that they, along with most of their family,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18had changed their names to Clare.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22The fact that they're changing their name makes it extremely difficult for us,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24or anyone, to be able to find them.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Whether they do it by deed poll or by usage.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Using the correct name of Clare, Hector has established
0:26:30 > 0:26:32that Beatrice had twin sons,
0:26:32 > 0:26:33Roger and Terence.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Roger is still alive,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37but Terence died in 1991,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41meaning his share of the estate must go to his two children.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Yet again, Hector is running into problems.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Hi. This is a message for Damien Davenport.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50This is Hector Birchwood.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Hector has found a number for Terence's son Damien,
0:26:53 > 0:26:55but can't get hold of him.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57We've been trying to get hold of him for some time.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01I haven't been able to have any success in any letters I've written to him.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Um...I've also not had any success
0:27:03 > 0:27:07whilst I've called him at the restaurant he owns.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Finally, though, he gets the call he's been waiting for.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Hello, Hector Birchwood speaking. Thanks for returning my call.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Well, it concerns the estate of a Frank Cyril Clarke...
0:27:18 > 0:27:23Hector believes this Damien is Frank Clarke's great-great-nephew
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and an heir to his estate.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27We had a little bit of success there,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29so he seems to be the right person.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I initially feared he wasn't the right person
0:27:31 > 0:27:33because I had an address for him.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36He's still listed on the electoral records, even up to this year.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41Um, and it appears that he hasn't been living there for some time.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47And for some reason, he didn't get the voicemail that I left him at his place of work.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Hector wants to meet Damien to confirm the research,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54so he's arranged to go and see him in Manchester.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59As Hector tries to bring the investigation to a close,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01another journey is just beginning.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05Since finding out she's an heir to Frank Clarke's estate,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Sue has been curious to find out more about her father's family.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12In particular, she's interested in her Uncle Victor,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15who served in the RAF in the Second World War
0:28:15 > 0:28:17and became something of a family legend.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I knew my father had a brother Victor
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and I knew that he'd been in the RAF
0:28:23 > 0:28:25during the war.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29My father used to talk to me about him and say what a hero he was and what a wonderful person he was.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32It would be lovely to know a little bit more about him.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Victor was stationed at Elvington air base in Yorkshire,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39which is now the site of the York Air Museum.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Sue has travelled there to meet resident historian Ian Reed.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45This is a Handley Page Halifax
0:28:45 > 0:28:48and it's probably the only complete example in the world.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51This is exactly the type of aircraft that
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Flight Sergeant Victor Clare would have flown in.
0:28:54 > 0:28:55Gosh!
0:28:55 > 0:28:57It's a lot bigger than I'd imagined.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04His squadron, 77 Squadron Royal Air Force, was based here.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08During that time, they lost over 450 men.
0:29:08 > 0:29:14And they undertook nearly 2,000 operational missions into Germany.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19They flew at night, usually.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22With no radar, no lights,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26- no interconnecting radio...- They must have been really brave people.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It was on the 22nd of April 1944,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32when he was just 19 years old,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34that Victor really showed his mettle.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38When his plane caught fire after a terrifying hit by German night fighters,
0:29:38 > 0:29:43Victor was forced to parachute down into Nazi-occupied France.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47He was picked up by the French Resistance
0:29:47 > 0:29:51and he went through one of the official escape line routes into Switzerland.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54The secreted him in different houses
0:29:54 > 0:29:56and dressed him up in different clothes...
0:29:56 > 0:30:01You hear about things like this on the television, and you don't realise they were part of your family.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Heir hunter Hector's search for relatives is hopefully coming to an end.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11He has arrived in Manchester
0:30:11 > 0:30:15to meet who he thinks is the last of Frank Clarke's four heirs,
0:30:15 > 0:30:20and he's hoping he can finally put this case to rest after 22 years.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26What I want to be able to establish first is to verify that I've got the right person.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Once I've done that,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33then my job really is to be able to get a contract,
0:30:33 > 0:30:34get paid for my work...
0:30:34 > 0:30:39and give them a copy of the family tree.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45He's arranged to meet Damien at the restaurant where he works.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- Hi, Mr Davenport.- Are you all right? - Hector.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- How's it going?- Pleasure to meet you.- Shall we take a seat?- Yes.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- So...it's a bit of a...well, nice little surprise, I suppose.- It is.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00- It was difficult to find you, actually.- Yes.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03- I guess we could start with how much you know about your family.- OK.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08My dad's, my grandmother's, side of the family is quite small,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12so, yes, it's a surprise. I don't quite know who it is, actually.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17Well, the deceased really would be your great-grand-uncle.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Now, I got to know about your branch of the family
0:31:21 > 0:31:25by speaking to Susan, who was the first person I traced.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30Her father had a sister called Beatrice, who changed her name.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Hector is able to confirm that Damien and his sister
0:31:33 > 0:31:35are indeed relatives of Frank Clarke.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39But then Damien reveals some surprising new information.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43Alf, my granddad, he's still alive now. He lives down towards Gatwick Airport.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47- So he's still alive, then?- Yeah, Alf, Alfred, he is still alive.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Hector's research had indicated that Beatrice's husband, Alfred,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53had already died.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56But it turns out the information he was given was incorrect.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Alfred is in fact alive
0:31:59 > 0:32:00and living in a home,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04which means he is the heir instead of Damien, Damien's sister
0:32:04 > 0:32:05and their uncle, Roger.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Although it's not what Hector was expecting,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11it's still good news for the case.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Well, we really had a very good meeting.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16Damien gave me some more information about his family,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18so I have to clean up the family tree.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21And we have to do a little bit of admin work on the basis of that.
0:32:21 > 0:32:27But otherwise, it was a successful conclusion, and we definitely have the right family.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Hector must now travel back to London,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31to tie up the loose ends.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36With all the heirs now accounted for,
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Frank's £12,000 estate will be divided between just two people,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42including great-niece Sue.
0:32:42 > 0:32:48She's already exploring her family legacy by discovering more about her father's relatives.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50The most mysterious member of the family
0:32:50 > 0:32:52is her Uncle Victor.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55She believes that after surviving the Second World War,
0:32:55 > 0:32:57he died in a plane crash in North Yorkshire.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00But the details of how and why have never been known.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04Sue has come to meet local historian David Beevers
0:33:04 > 0:33:05at the crash site.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10Where we are now is just on the fringes of Clifton aerodrome.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13It was a non-operational aerodrome during the Second World War.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18- And we were always told that a German plane had crashed into a church.- Yes.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20I'd heard that.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22A few years ago, I found out it wasn't a German plane.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24It was a British Halifax bomber.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30At the end of the war, the Government decided to scrap all its Halifax bombers.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Victor's job was to fly the planes into air bases like Clifton,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36where they'd be dismantled.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40On this particular day, Victor was the co-pilot in this plane,
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and there was a small obstruction on the aerodrome runway,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45so the plane got sent round again.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Only the engines had feathered out
0:33:47 > 0:33:49and it couldn't regain altitude.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52And so it clipped the top of St George's church
0:33:52 > 0:33:56and the pilot managed to land it on some spare land.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02Unfortunately, that's where Victor died, and the pilot as well.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04That's so sad.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06I feel really quite moved by that.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- I think...- It's very sad, actually.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13- After he'd been so brave and so skilful.- Yeah.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15That something like that happened.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20For Sue, it's been an emotional but worthwhile trip.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23It's been...
0:34:23 > 0:34:24a bit of a journey today.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26I've learned a lot.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28And I just feel so privileged
0:34:28 > 0:34:31to have had an uncle that was so brave.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34And I'm just sad that I never ever got to meet him.
0:34:42 > 0:34:47Back in London, Hector is satisfied that 22 years after it was first advertised,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50the case of Frank Clarke is now complete.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52It's been a challenging search,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54but he's pleased with the outcome.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56It was a difficult journey for everyone,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58including me.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03And, yeah, I'm very happy that it's been a successful conclusion.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11In London, BBC weatherman Michael Fish is on a quest
0:35:11 > 0:35:14to uncover his long-hidden family history.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Michael was contacted by heir hunters Frasier & Fraser back in the 1990s,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24after they discovered he was in line to inherit money from a distant relative
0:35:24 > 0:35:25called Grace Meaby.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30I was very surprised when I got the call, because I'd never ever heard of this person.
0:35:30 > 0:35:35And to this day I'm not really sure how she enters into things,
0:35:35 > 0:35:37so it was just a bolt out the blue, really.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Grace Meaby was 74 when she passed away in Reading.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46She'd lived her whole life in the same house,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49and neighbour Ernest Hall has fond memories of her.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54She was a very nice girl, but she was very quiet,
0:35:54 > 0:35:56very reserved.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58I knew her right up until she died.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Her husband died first, then she died.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Sadly, no photos of Grace survive,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07but Ernest remembers her clearly.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12I remember she was a nice-looking girl. Blonde hair.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14We never went out together much.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18I would have liked to have done, and I think she would as well. She was a really nice girl.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21If she was available, I would very happily married her!
0:36:23 > 0:36:26Michael has been meeting with case manager David Milchard
0:36:26 > 0:36:30in the hope of gleaning information about his mother's side of the family.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33One of the things he's most keen to learn about
0:36:33 > 0:36:34is his mother's parents,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36about whom he knows very little.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41- Your grandfather, Charles Amos, we know he was born in India.- Yes.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44His father being in the Army at the time.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47He married and got posted to India.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51His wife goes with him, and of course, while he's in India,
0:36:51 > 0:36:53he has several of his children.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58India was under British rule from 1858 until 1947.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00During that time,
0:37:00 > 0:37:05thousands of British Army troops, including Michael's great-grandfather Charles Amos
0:37:05 > 0:37:07were stationed there.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09Their job, to protect trade routes
0:37:09 > 0:37:11and the interests of the Crown.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Every regiment took its turn in India over the years.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18In those days, a regiment would go out to India for anything up to ten years.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And during that time, new drafts would come and go.
0:37:21 > 0:37:22Men would do their time
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and once their time ran out
0:37:24 > 0:37:26there was the trooping season at certain times of year,
0:37:26 > 0:37:31when soldiers would come home who'd finished their time and new ones would come out to replace them.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34It was a lot easier soldiering in India,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37actually doing the soldiering, than it probably was at home at the time.
0:37:37 > 0:37:43But of course, you had to be able to withstand the extremes of temperature and illness.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48It was in this climate that Charles Amos and his wife Eliza
0:37:48 > 0:37:50had their three children -
0:37:50 > 0:37:51Eliza, Charles and William.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Not every soldier was allowed to bring his family to India with him,
0:37:55 > 0:37:59but Charles was a corporal, and so able to enjoy this privilege.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04It was quite common for sergeants and corporals to be allowed to take their families with them.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08The regiment had an allocation of family spaces for wives and children.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11They were taken out there as part of the regiment.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15At the end of his meeting with heir hunter David,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18Michael takes a moment to reflect on what he's learned.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21I'm pleasantly surprised, actually. It was nice.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24I've learned lots of things that I hadn't realised.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27And there's a lot of things I'd like to follow up.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29I'd like to know a bit about life in India
0:38:29 > 0:38:35and how somebody as lowly as a corporal was able to take his wife out and raise a family.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37I'm sure you wouldn't be able to do that these days.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43The next stage of his journey is a meeting with military historian Taff Gillingham,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46who Michael hopes will reveal even more details
0:38:46 > 0:38:49about his ancestors' fascinating life in India.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53- Hello, you must be Taff.- I am. - Michael Fish.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Michael has learned that his great-grandfather, Charles,
0:38:56 > 0:38:59served in the Army in the second half of the 19th century.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02During his career, he rose to the rank of Colour Sergeant,
0:39:02 > 0:39:06but by the time he left the Army in 1878,
0:39:06 > 0:39:09he'd somehow got demoted to Private.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11He is a very interesting character.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16His conduct sheet...it says, "He's been six times entered into the Regimental Defaulters' Book."
0:39:16 > 0:39:17What does that mean?
0:39:17 > 0:39:19He's been a naughty boy!
0:39:19 > 0:39:23- Oh!- So he's been in the Defaulters' Book six times.- Absent without leave?
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Or drunkenness, or suchlike.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30- Oh, that runs in the family.- And it says, "Two of which entries are convictions by courts martial",
0:39:30 > 0:39:33so he's actually got himself into serious trouble on two occasions.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Charles earned four good conduct badges while he was in the Army
0:39:36 > 0:39:40and managed to keep hold of them despite his demotion.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45The thing that intrigued me was why they had given him these good conduct badges back.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Because it's not something that would be commonly done. It comes down to this piece of paper here.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54This certificate, which is produced by the regiment themselves - 85th The King's Light Infantry -
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and it actually says "Sgt Charles Amos
0:39:57 > 0:40:02"was winner of the Army and Navy Prize at Crystal Palace AD 1866".
0:40:02 > 0:40:06He also performed before Her Majesty, and he's added "at Aldershot"
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and then there's a comma there, "And Prince Arthur at Woolwich, 1866".
0:40:10 > 0:40:13But the significance of this, when we look into it,
0:40:13 > 0:40:19is that Queen Victoria goes to Woolwich and visits the new gym that's been built there
0:40:19 > 0:40:21and has a gymnastic display put on especially for her.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25- And that is exactly what this is referring to.- OK.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29When Charles was posted to India in 1868,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33his wife Eliza was pregnant with Michael's grandfather.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36She boarded the troop ship to India with him,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38knowing that she'd have to give birth at sea.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42I just can't imagine what that would be like.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Was it in a hammock or something?
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I mean, what sort of conditions were the wives under on a troop ship?
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- It can't have been comfortable.- No, not at all.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Obviously, the troop ship was designed entirely for shipping large bodies of soldiers -
0:40:55 > 0:40:58very rough, very tough men -
0:40:58 > 0:41:00from one part of the world to the other.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03There would have been a surgeon on the ship,
0:41:03 > 0:41:07and I suspect the surgeon probably had Mrs Amos for the birth,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09but it really would have been tough.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12But there was no choice. This is when the battalion are going,
0:41:12 > 0:41:13and you had to fit in the slot,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16so the fact that you were pregnant and about to give birth
0:41:16 > 0:41:19wouldn't have concerned the Army one bit.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21Before Michael goes,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Taff has some news about his grandfather's death in World War I.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27The Commonwealth War Graves Record tells us
0:41:27 > 0:41:29that he dies on Christmas Eve 1915.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- Yes, that's a terrible time, isn't it?- It is.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36And that he was serving with 90 Motor Transport Company Army Service Corps at the time.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38But very little else.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43Now, his medal index card... It tells us what his service number is,
0:41:43 > 0:41:48which is M1/7805. Now, the "1" after the M
0:41:48 > 0:41:50means that he was a new Army man,
0:41:50 > 0:41:52so, basically, one of the Kitchener volunteers
0:41:52 > 0:41:54who've joined since the war started.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Very often, that would say "died of wounds",
0:41:56 > 0:41:58or it would say "killed in action", or "killed",
0:41:58 > 0:42:01so "died" suggests that he might have died of illness,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03or it might have been an accident.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07- At least he wasn't shot for cowardice or something.- Oh, no! Not at all.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12And the letter here that then came to the family, to his wife...
0:42:12 > 0:42:16Army Service Corps Records Office at Woolwich.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19"Madam, it is my painful duty to have to inform you that your husband,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22"late No M1/07803, Corporal C Amos, Army Service Corps
0:42:22 > 0:42:26"has been buried in the hospital ground, Mont des Cats".
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Interesting. Amazing.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30And all those records have survived all this time.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32It's the end of Michael's journey
0:42:32 > 0:42:35to unlock the mysteries of his family's past.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38It's answered some questions.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40It'll never answer all the questions.
0:42:40 > 0:42:45I don't think any family could ever answer all the questions going back over the centuries.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48But I've now got a lot more information,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52and I can go along roads I could never have gone along before.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59If you would like advice about building a family tree
0:42:59 > 0:43:01or making a will, go to...
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd