0:00:02 > 0:00:05Heir hunters trace the relatives of those who have died without leaving a will.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Their work involves meticulous investigation.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12So, these kids could all be right, all be wrong or half and half.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15They hand over thousands of pounds to family members who had no
0:00:15 > 0:00:17idea there were in line to inherit.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Hi, Mr Fraser. Hi.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24They can give family members a whole new perspective on their past.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Knowing my grandma, Edith Holloway, had ten brothers
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and sisters is just amazing.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35But, most of all, they tell people of an unexpected windfall.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Today the pressure is on, as heir hunters work on a six figure estate.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Why can't it be a nice easy job on a Monday afternoon?
0:00:50 > 0:00:55That would suit me nice. Oh no! It don't work like that!
0:00:55 > 0:00:57An international hunt brings long lost relatives
0:00:57 > 0:01:00together for the first time.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03- This is Tony, my brother.- Hello.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Plus, how you could be entitled to inherit unclaimed estates
0:01:06 > 0:01:08held by the Treasury.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Could a fortune be heading your way?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18It's Monday afternoon at the London offices of heir hunting
0:01:18 > 0:01:20company Fraser And Fraser.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25- Boss Neil has just been tipped off about a new case.- John David Coates.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30He owns his own property. It is worth around about £175,000.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33It's a valuable estate and as it's a tip off,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36the team should have the case all to themselves.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37At least for now.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40We've got it certainly a few days before everyone else.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42It may be advertised this week or next week.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Once the Treasury Solicitor advertises the case, the team
0:01:46 > 0:01:50will face competition from rival firms, so they need to work fast.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Already, things are looking promising.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58I assume he didn't get married, did he? I wouldn't have thought.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The team have quickly established that John didn't marry or
0:02:01 > 0:02:05have children, so they must now look to his wider family to find heirs.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09John David Coates
0:02:09 > 0:02:14died on 24 March 2012 in the Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16He was 66 years old.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20No photos of John survive and, at the moment,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24little is known about him, other than he was a private man who
0:02:24 > 0:02:27lived with his parents at this house in Worcestershire.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31In the office, case manager David Pacifico
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and the team are beavering away and making good progress.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38What was the mother's maiden name?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Having obtained John's death certificate, they have been
0:02:41 > 0:02:45able to confirm his date of birth and check his birth record.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48They know his parents were Margaret Ethel Jackson
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and Frederick Harold Coates.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52We've then got the parents' marriage
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and the parents get married in Birmingham.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59As John died a bachelor and never had children, the team are searching
0:02:59 > 0:03:03to see if he had any brothers or sisters who could be entitled.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06- See if you can identify that. Do a search on that.- Yeah.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Roger is searching birth records in areas where
0:03:09 > 0:03:12they know the family lived.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Coates is not uncommon, and Jackson is very common.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Nothing seems to appear in the right kind of area.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21A lot of it is up in the air at the moment, until
0:03:21 > 0:03:25we get some definite details back on research, hopefully tomorrow.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27With no sign of other siblings,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30it's beginning to look like John was an only child.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35So, instead, the team must concentrate on tracing John's
0:03:35 > 0:03:38aunts and uncles, and their descendants.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40What we need to know is did the father have any brothers or sisters?
0:03:40 > 0:03:44If so, who are they, did they have children and so forth.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46And the same with the mother.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51The team have estimated that John's estate is worth around £175,000 and,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55as they'll be working for an agreed percentage of the estate, this
0:03:55 > 0:03:59could be a lucrative case, but only if they can find and sign up heirs.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Jackson is an awful name to research.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06There are thousands of them, hundreds of thousands of them
0:04:06 > 0:04:09in the country, so that may be a bit tricky.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13It looks like the grand mother's maiden name, on that side as well,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17is Green, which means we are dealing with Jackson to marry a Green.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20There are going to be thousands of them, as well.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It's going to be tricky working the mother's side.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25It looks like we should be concentrating on the father's side,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and that's going to be where we find the first beneficiaries, really.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Unfortunately, though,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33it seems things aren't going to be that simple.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Right, what have you got? Have you turned this birth down?
0:04:37 > 0:04:44- Harold, Frederick, Henry, anything? - No Henrys, no.- Well, just anything.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49If that date is right, do it two years either side, at least.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52The team are struggling to find a birth record for John's father,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Cedric Harold Coates.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Without this, they won't be able to search for any of John's
0:04:58 > 0:05:02paternal aunts and uncles and it's a problem they need to solve fast.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06That can wait. This is urgent.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Can you check for a birth on the mother's side,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Scotland, Ireland, anything else, for Frederick Harold Coates?
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Finally, it looks like they might have a breakthrough.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18What we've just found is a birth for Frederick Harold Coates,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20the father of the deceased.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25- The birth is in Belfast. It's in 1915.- But there's a problem.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Those records aren't the best records to research.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30They are certainly not available on computers
0:05:30 > 0:05:34and the indexes aren't great, either.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36As certain records aren't available online,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39a lot of the work can only be done in Belfast.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41I was going to give it the somebody in Northern Ireland to try
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and get that birth for me.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I mean, there's no telling if there were any other siblings born in Northern Ireland.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52No, because I did Coates in Belfast ten years either side,
0:05:52 > 0:05:54and there were over 100.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58I'm going to have a word with somebody in Northern Ireland.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Whilst David gets in touch with their Belfast based researchers,
0:06:01 > 0:06:06the London team need to try and keep things moving forward.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08- And he's not on any census?- No.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13I'm going to have a look because I did see a birth in West Derby in 1897.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Play with it. We can't afford to wait on these things.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18With the threat of competition hanging over them,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20the team is under a lot of stress.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23I'm feeling pressure, yeah.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Why can't it be a nice easy job on a Monday afternoon?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29That would suit me nice. Oh, no! It don't work like that!
0:06:31 > 0:06:33But until they get news from Belfast,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36there's little more they can do, so they call it a day.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41The question is, did he have any aunts and uncles.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Therefore, did he have any cousins?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47The answer to that I don't know, but hopefully I will know tomorrow.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The following day, the team are back on the case and, at last, David
0:06:55 > 0:06:59has information from Belfast about the paternal side of the family.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02The father, who was born in Belfast,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05we have managed to obtain details of this birth from the
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Registry Office and confirmed the mother's maiden name was Hardesty.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15It turns out that the grandparents of the deceased on that
0:07:15 > 0:07:16side of the family married in Salford.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19This is where the grandmother came from.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23At some point left Salford, went to Ireland.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27On a 1911 Irish census we found another child that we didn't
0:07:27 > 0:07:30know about, Hilda Coates.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32And there's another development.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35David's sent a researcher to John's last known address
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and they've made a sad discovery.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39It seems from the enquiry made,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43he may have had a sister who committed suicide many years ago,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47although we've not been able to identify the sister's birth.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50This came from people that knew the deceased.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Also mentioned in the report, that the
0:07:53 > 0:07:56mother may have had a twin brother called Archibald.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00So, there are possibly some cousins on the maternal side.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05But, for now, the team focusing on John's father's family
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and have learned that his Aunt Hilda married and had four children.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13At the moment I'm trying to obtain details of the children's
0:08:13 > 0:08:15births to get full names and dates,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19but it looks like there are possible cousins on the father's side.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22As John's sister sadly died,
0:08:22 > 0:08:28these cousins would be heirs to his £175,000 estate.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31The team are working hard to find contact details for the cousins
0:08:31 > 0:08:35and Aisha thinks she may have had some success.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39I've found a potential address and telephone number.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Let's hope it's right!
0:08:41 > 0:08:43It's make or break time.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46If they can get hold of this cousin and confirm he's an heir,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49the team will be confident of beating the competition.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55- Whereabouts is he?- Yorkshire. - David gives the heir a call.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59But he isn't in, so he speaks to his wife.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Your say your husband spoke last night with this other company
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and they just said they were sending paperwork through today?
0:09:05 > 0:09:07You don't remember the name, at all?
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Can I phone you back about 11.30, 11.45? Thank you. Bye bye.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16They've confirmed it's the right family, but there is some worrying news.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20There is competition on this. We know there is another company involved.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Contacted the family yesterday. So, we're running neck and neck.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Frustratingly,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30it seems that another company has also had the same tipoff.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Worse still, the rival firm are ahead with
0:09:33 > 0:09:35the research on this branch of the family,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39but David is still hopeful they'll be the ones to sign up the heirs.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41They're going to look at our letters.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44They're not going to sign with anybody else at this junction,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47so I don't know. It's possibly 50/50, I don't know.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50And the race is now on to reach heirs on the maternal
0:09:50 > 0:09:53side of the family before the competition.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57I'm hoping they've got difficulty with the Jackson side.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01We need to move fast on it.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03But, as their investigation continues,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05they struggle to stay ahead.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09You got a call. Was it yesterday? Two days ago.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12You have signed and returned the agreement.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Not all heir hunting cases are as straightforward as
0:10:22 > 0:10:23they initially seem.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28When Robert Slack died in 2009, he left a will stating exactly
0:10:28 > 0:10:32who he wanted his £610,000 estate to go to.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36But when Robert's solicitors processed his will, they discovered
0:10:36 > 0:10:39a problem that led to something called a partial intestacy.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42It was a job for experienced case manager Bob Smith.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Partial intestacies arise where a deceased has made a will,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50but persons named in that will have deceased
0:10:50 > 0:10:53and there are no provisions for substitution of what should
0:10:53 > 0:10:56happen to that money if that person has died.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Two of the people named in Robert's will died before him,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05which meant that their share of the estate, a total of £70,000,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08would now need to go to any living blood relatives.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10The hunt for heirs was on.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Robert Gerald Slack, known to his friends as Gerry,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19died on 20 March 2009 in York.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22He was 88 years old.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Friend Malcolm Huntington recalls their first
0:11:25 > 0:11:28meeting at a tennis tournament in 1956.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34He was playing with his wife, Floss, in the mixed doubles
0:11:34 > 0:11:35and I was playing men's singles.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38We struck up a friendship just by chatting to each other
0:11:38 > 0:11:40when we were off the court.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44That friendship lasted for, what, 50, 60 years?
0:11:44 > 0:11:48One of the very few people that you meet in life who didn't have any enemies.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I suspect because he helped so many people.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55These were qualities that shone through on the tennis court.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00He was never a star tennis player, but he was a very solid player.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03The sort of person you could rely on in a club team.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06If you wanted somebody to have a battle for you,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08he would be the one to choose because he would be helpful.
0:12:08 > 0:12:14I keep using this word helpful, but he was helping his partner to get through a difficult situation.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Gerry and his beloved wife, Floss,
0:12:16 > 0:12:22were inseparable for over 60 years, until she sadly died in 2006.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26It was a bit like fish and chips, salt and pepper. You never saw one without the other.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30They were always together supporting other people.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34That is my abiding memory of them, really.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Malcolm was surprised that the administration of Robert's
0:12:36 > 0:12:40will had not been straightforward after he died.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44J was a very organised character and I would be very surprised
0:12:44 > 0:12:47if there were any sort of mistakes in that direction.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51I could imagine him doing exactly in his will what he wanted to do
0:12:51 > 0:12:55and signing it off and being very organised about it.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I can't think he would do anything different.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Nevertheless, Robert's solicitors referred the case to
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Bob Smith in 2011.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09His team faced the task of tracking down heirs to
0:13:09 > 0:13:12a £70,000 portion of the estate.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16From the outset we had virtually no information at all
0:13:16 > 0:13:18about Mr Slack's family.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21We were aware that he was married and had no children,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24but had no information about his parents or aunts and uncles at all.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28As Robert's wife, Floss, had also died
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and the couple had no children, the team now needed to
0:13:31 > 0:13:34look for any siblings that could be heirs to his estate.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39Having obtained a copy of the deceased's birth certificate,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42we could then find his parents' marriage and carry out
0:13:42 > 0:13:45a birth search, which determined that he was an only child.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49As his parents had long since passed away, the team knew
0:13:49 > 0:13:52they would have to look to the wider family to find heirs.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57They began by looking for relatives of Robert's mother, Alice Holloway.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Of the ten maternal branches of the family,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03we were quickly able to establish that four had
0:14:03 > 0:14:07remained in the Louth area, married and had descendants.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11We were also easily able to identify that three further siblings
0:14:11 > 0:14:15of the mother of the deceased had died single and without issue.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The maternal aunts and uncles who married
0:14:19 > 0:14:23and had children were Mini, Edith, Frederick and Cyril.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25With a further three siblings ruled out,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29there were now three more left to trace.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Three siblings to the mother of our deceased, Charles, Maria
0:14:31 > 0:14:35and Annie, we'd found on the 1901 census, but had
0:14:35 > 0:14:39disappeared by the 1911 census, so that obviously indicates that they
0:14:39 > 0:14:43had either moved somewhere else in the UK, or possibly gone abroad.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47This was a major setback, as unless the team could account
0:14:47 > 0:14:51for these siblings, they wouldn't be able to complete the case.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56What we don't want is, after a distribution has been made,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58family members come forward at a later stage saying,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01"Hold on, what about me?" It was therefore really
0:15:01 > 0:15:04important that we try to find out what had happened to those
0:15:04 > 0:15:07three outstanding siblings to the mother of our deceased.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11But as they delved into the family's background,
0:15:11 > 0:15:16they got a clue as to why Robert's aunts and uncles had disappeared.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19The family were from Louth in Lincolnshire and census records show
0:15:19 > 0:15:23that Robert's grandfather, William Holloway, worked as a farm labourer.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Louth was an agricultural market town.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33It served a considerable range of villages, way out in one direction,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38the south west, for example, northwards and also onto The Wold.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42At the turn of the 20th century, Lincolnshire,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45like the rest of rural Britain, was in the midst of an agricultural
0:15:45 > 0:15:49depression and it would have hit the Holloway household hard.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54It meant that the farmers were needing fewer agricultural
0:15:54 > 0:15:59labourers because of more machinery, because of the price of corn
0:15:59 > 0:16:04not having changed because of the import of foreign corn.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07It had a knock on effect in the village.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11In a large family, could they all find work
0:16:11 > 0:16:15when they'd left school at 12?
0:16:15 > 0:16:19It would affect the market town, the services that were provided.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21It affected the whole economy.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Many were forced to leave the countryside altogether
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and while the majority migrated to the UK's burgeoning
0:16:29 > 0:16:33industrial cities, others were prepared to venture further afield.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37If we have a look at the effect of the agricultural depression,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42there were actually agents in Louth who organised groups of people
0:16:42 > 0:16:48who wished to find a new life in a new country where there was
0:16:48 > 0:16:54opportunity to own land, which if you were a young agricultural
0:16:54 > 0:16:57labourer, there was no chance that that would happen at all.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01So, had Annie, Maria
0:17:01 > 0:17:05and Charles Holloway joined this agricultural exodus?
0:17:05 > 0:17:07If so, where might they have gone?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Bob and his team needed to find out
0:17:09 > 0:17:13and they knew they were facing an uphill struggle.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Things were going to get even trickier
0:17:15 > 0:17:19because this heir hunt was about to go international.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Researching Canada can be quite difficult.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Unfortunately, do due to data protection laws,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29only blood relations can apply for birth, death, marriage certificates.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Heir hunters use specialist skills to track down thousands
0:17:37 > 0:17:41of rightful beneficiaries, but not all cases can be cracked.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Thousands remain on the Treasury Solicitor's unclaimed list.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Cases will stay on the unclaimed list for a period of 12 years
0:17:51 > 0:17:55from the date that the administration has been completed.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58That is a period of time that people still can come forward
0:17:58 > 0:18:00and claim the estate.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Today, we're focusing on two cases that have,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06so far, eluded the heir hunters.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Could you be the beneficiary they've been looking for?
0:18:10 > 0:18:17Frank Garbutt Sherwood Adams died on 19 December 2008 in Middlesbrough.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20So far, the heir hunters have struggled to find out any
0:18:20 > 0:18:24more information about Frank or his family, but Adams is
0:18:24 > 0:18:28a surname that is most common around Oxford and Northamptonshire.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Did you know Frank or any of his relatives?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Next is the case of Joyce Olive Dare.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40Joyce died on 22 December 1999 in Cricklewood, London.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Research suggests she was 70 years old.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Dare is a rare name, mostly found in the West Country.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Could Joyce's family have originally come from this area?
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Could you be due a share of her legacy?
0:18:53 > 0:18:55The money raised by Bona Vacantia ultimately goes to
0:18:55 > 0:18:59the general Exchequer, to benefit the country as a whole.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01But it's important to remember that the Crown doesn't want to
0:19:01 > 0:19:03grab all estates that it possibly can.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07It wants kin to be found and that's what we work very hard to do.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Here are those names once again.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Frank Garbutt Sherwood Adams and Joyce Olive Dare.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16If you are one of their long lost relatives,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18you could have a windfall coming your way.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27In London, the team at heir hunting company Fraser And Fraser
0:19:27 > 0:19:31are racing against rival firms on the case of John David Coates.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34We're working as quickly as possible.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Having already found three heirs on the paternal side,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39they are now trying to crack John's mother's side of the tree
0:19:39 > 0:19:41ahead of the competition.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43I am struggling with Margaret Ethel Jackson.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45We've got an approximate age for her.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49We put a birth in for her yesterday that we thought was right,
0:19:49 > 0:19:51but that's come back wrong.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53So, we're back to square one with her again.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57John David Coates died in the Worcestershire Royal Hospital
0:19:57 > 0:20:00on 24 March 2012.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02He was 66 years old.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07John was an intelligent man and trained as an architect,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10but sadly he suffered from ill health throughout his life,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and frequent hospital visits meant he couldn't work.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16He did however have a great passion for cars
0:20:16 > 0:20:19and was often seen working away under the bonnet.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24No photos of John survive,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27but he was a bachelor and lived in Worcestershire with his parents,
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Margaret and Harold, until they passed away.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Neighbours remember them as a close, but private family.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38As a result, many of the details of John's life remain a mystery.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Back in the office, the team are desperately trying to make
0:20:45 > 0:20:51some headway in the search for heirs to John's estimated £175,000 estate.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54We still have a lot of work to do on the maternal.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55We can't even find a birth.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58An inquiry with a neighbour suggested that John's mother,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Margaret Ethel Jackson, had at least one sibling,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04and Roger is on the case.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08She's supposed to have a twin called Archibald that we can't find at all.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11So, I don't think she did have a twin called Archibald.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13But, just as the research seems to have stalled,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15the team get a vital lead.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21David spoke to an heir on the paternal side
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and they said they had a feeling that she was born in Malta.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28This could be just the clue they need to find John's Uncle Archie
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and his descendants, so, with no time to waste,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33case manager David gets on to it.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I think it's because the grandfather was in the Army
0:21:37 > 0:21:41and was stationed there at the time in Malta when they were born.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45At the outbreak of the Boer War in 1900, John's grandfather, Thomas
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Jackson, signed up as a soldier in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54After the war was over, he returned to England and married,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56but shortly after the birth of his first son,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Thomas and his family were posted to Malta.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Malta was a very important place as part of the British Empire.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07It was a sort of a crossroads in the middle of the Mediterranean
0:22:07 > 0:22:09and it was also a springboard.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11By having troops garrisoned in Malta,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15obviously they were there to protect Malta against enemy attack,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18but, just as importantly, there would be a readymade
0:22:18 > 0:22:22source of troops that could then be transported from Malta to other
0:22:22 > 0:22:26hotspots around the Mediterranean if British interests were threatened.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Despite living with the knowledge that at any time
0:22:29 > 0:22:30he could be sent off to fight,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34life on the island was perfect for Thomas and his young family.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36The weather was usually good.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38There were all sorts of entertainments that were
0:22:38 > 0:22:41provided for the soldiers and their families.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42There would be outings.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46In Malta very often there would be outings up to Gozo.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49There was a zoo on Malta at the time.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52There was a huge interest in amateur dramatics in most regiments
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and everybody got involved, not just the soldiers,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56but the wives, the children.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59So, they could have quite a busy social calendar, which,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01to be honest, was needed to alleviate the boredom of being
0:23:01 > 0:23:05stuck on a tiny little rock that was only about nine miles long.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Unfortunately for John's grandparents,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11peaceful family life on the island was to be short lived.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Britain declares war on Germany at 11 o'clock at night on 4th
0:23:14 > 0:23:15August 1914.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Those troops on foreign stations, like Malta,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21initially they don't know what is going to happen to them,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23whether they are going to be needed.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25So, initially, they go about their business,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29but very quickly they realise that virtually all the regular
0:23:29 > 0:23:31army are going to be needed in France.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34For Thomas, whose twins, Archie and Margaret, had been born just
0:23:34 > 0:23:38a week earlier, the timing of such news was shattering.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43He left his family behind and headed to the battlefields of France.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45But worse was to come.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Thomas was captured by the Germans as a prisoner of war,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and with no way of communicating with his family in Malta,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54they were left wondering if he was dead alive.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58They had almost no means of finding out to begin with
0:23:58 > 0:24:00whether these guys had been captured or not.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Sometimes it took months, or even years.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05It would have been an incredibly tough time for Thomas'
0:24:05 > 0:24:09wife with three very young children stuck in Malta with no
0:24:09 > 0:24:12idea at all of what had happened to him.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Thomas Jackson was lucky enough to survive and at the end
0:24:15 > 0:24:19of the war he returned home to live with his family in Malta.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Back in the office, the Malta connection is starting to
0:24:22 > 0:24:25yield results for David and the research team.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Through their contacts on the island, they have been able
0:24:28 > 0:24:32to trace the births of Margaret and her brother, Archibald, in Malta.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37We know the mother had a twin brother called William A Jackson.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I think the 'A' stood for Archie or Archibald.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42He seems to have been known by that middle name.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Unfortunately, William A Jackson is more common.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48As John's Uncle William Archibald Jackson has passed away,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51the team now need to look to see if he had any children.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54We have identified seven possible
0:24:54 > 0:24:59marriages for a William A Jackson from around the Birmingham area.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01I'm sending a list of these marriages, hopefully,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04to be checked by the Registry Office and see if one of them
0:25:04 > 0:25:07comes up as William Archibald Jackson, son of Thomas Jackson.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10If it does, then we are in business. I'm hoping one of them is right.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13On the other hand, none of them may be right.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Once David has sent information to the Birmingham Register Office,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19he faces an anxious wait for the results.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22You never know, before the end of the afternoon
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I might have some additional information.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Time is of the essence, obviously.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Despite David's optimism,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32the Register Office are not able to check all the records that afternoon
0:25:32 > 0:25:36and until they hear back from them, the team are at a dead end.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42The following morning, the research results are in and,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45fortunately, one of the marriages has been proved correct.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50It's a great result, but has it come in time to beat the competition?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Using the information from the marriage,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55the team are finally able to trace Archibald's daughter,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59a cousin of John's, who is now an heir to his estate.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02You got a call, was it yesterday or...? Two days ago.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06But you have signed and returned the agreement.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Unfortunately, the competition have yet again got to an heir first
0:26:10 > 0:26:12and she's already signed a contract with them.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14It's very bad news.
0:26:14 > 0:26:20The trouble is of course, now they can tell these other people
0:26:20 > 0:26:26that they have signed up another heir, so people on the paternal side
0:26:26 > 0:26:30might think, well, it's better to go to one company that's got heirs.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Despite the knowledge that they are still behind the competition,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36it's onwards and upwards for the team as they search for other
0:26:36 > 0:26:39heirs on John's mother's side of the family.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43- Is there any other person I can get checked, at all?- There are loads.
0:26:46 > 0:26:53Yeah, John J. Susan M. Beth A. David A. Sarah L. Judith L.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Well, how many in total?
0:26:57 > 0:27:00With a bit more work, the team discover that John's mother,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Margaret, was one of four.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06One of her brothers, Thomas, had four children of his own
0:27:06 > 0:27:09and they are all heirs to the estate.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13It is actually good news for us. Hopefully, we can claim them.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15As the team track these cousins down,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19it seems they've finally broken into the lead.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21This time, none of the heirs David speaks to have been
0:27:21 > 0:27:24contacted by any other firm.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28I have got two representatives based in Birmingham.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I know one of them is free this afternoon.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32If you were around, would be possible for him to call
0:27:32 > 0:27:33and see you?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36The team are on a winning streak now.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Dave is able to make appointments with the heirs
0:27:38 > 0:27:42and sends out travelling researchers to see them and sign them up.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48One of the heirs they sign up is Peter Jackson, John's cousin.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Peter knew John as a younger man and is able to shed some
0:27:51 > 0:27:54light on the man who has, so far, seemed a bit of a mystery.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58I knew of him earlier in my life, when I was growing up.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02He was a bit older than me.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07He was more of my older brothers' and sister's generation.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10We saw him on family occasions and at Christmas,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14when we used to have family get togethers.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15So, that's how I knew him well.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19He seemed a pleasantly affable sort of chap.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24When I did meet him, we got on quite well.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28It was at one family occasion that John made a lasting impression.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32He took to the dance floor at my one brother's wedding.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34I distinctly remember him for that.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Bearing in mind this was in the 1970s, the fashions weren't
0:28:38 > 0:28:42the greatest, so he was wearing a pretty horrendous outfit.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46And he was a pretty awful dancer, to say the least!
0:28:46 > 0:28:50That's what I do remember, because I was a teenager at the time
0:28:50 > 0:28:53and it's the one distinctive memory I have of him, really.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59It was a dance floor debut that made its mark.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01He did make an addition to the wedding, let's say that.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03I wouldn't say he stole the show,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06that would be a bit disrespectful to my brother, I think!
0:29:08 > 0:29:09For Peter,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13becoming an heir is an opportunity to learn about his roots.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16I've always wanted to learn about my family history.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19My father never really talked to me much about it.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26I think probably because by the time I came around,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29he had got fed up of telling everybody about it!
0:29:29 > 0:29:32But it's something I was interested in.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35I never realised, for instance, my aunt
0:29:35 > 0:29:39and uncle Arch were actually born in Malta and that they were twins.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45For him, the knowledge he now has is worth far more than any inheritance.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51I don't think John was a multimillionaire, quite seriously.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55I don't think he had his own private island in the Pacific somewhere, no.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00I just think it's been an interesting
0:30:00 > 0:30:04sort of excursion into the family history.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06There's quite a lot of us
0:30:06 > 0:30:11and quite a lot of generations going back with their own little
0:30:11 > 0:30:14piece of history, which is interesting to find out about.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19For case manager David Pacifico it is a job well done.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22It looks as if we've now identified all the family on both sides,
0:30:22 > 0:30:24paternal and maternal sides of the family,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28and it's not a large family in total.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32John's estate, with an estimated value of £175,000,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35will now be divided between all nine heirs,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39five of whom have chosen to sign with David and the team.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52In London, case manager Bob Smith and his team were
0:30:52 > 0:30:55struggling in the search for heirs to the estate of Robert Slack.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58We could find no record of their death,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01nor any children from their marriages.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05This sort of suggests that they must have emigrated somewhere.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08While Robert had left a will,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11two of those set to inherit had died before him.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13This meant that their share of the estate,
0:31:13 > 0:31:17which amounted to £70,000, needed to go to Robert's blood relatives.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Robert, known to his friends as Jerry,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26died in York in March 2009, aged 88.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Friend Malcolm Huntington met him and his wife, Floss,
0:31:29 > 0:31:33at the local tennis club and they became firm friends.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38I saw Jerry and Floss on many occasions socially.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Many times after tennis matches and dinners and this sort of thing.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49We dined together, sometimes in individual homes,
0:31:49 > 0:31:53and we struck up a very nice social relationship with them.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Despite Robert's enduring love of tennis,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59he and Floss also shared a much more hazardous interest.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04His other main hobby was watching rally driving.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08A very dangerous pastime on country roads through forests,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10people crashing into each other.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13He used to love going up to Dalby Forest
0:32:13 > 0:32:17when I think it was the British Rally or whatever, various rallies.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21This would be, what, 30 years ago?
0:32:21 > 0:32:24They were very keen on turning out at the crack of dawn
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and spending several hours there.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31Sadly, later in life, Robert was diagnosed with cancer, but
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Malcolm was struck by his courage in dealing with this illness.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41I went to see him in St Leonard's Hospice about a week before he died.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44He was very composed and calm.
0:32:44 > 0:32:50He said he had had a wonderful life and he'd no regrets.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56In London, the team's hunt for heirs had focused on Robert's mother,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58Alice Holloway.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02She had ten siblings, but so far they'd only accounted for seven.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05The other three had disappeared from census records and although it
0:33:05 > 0:33:10was possible they'd emigrated, the team didn't know for sure.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Their only hope was that someone in the family might
0:33:13 > 0:33:15know where the three siblings had gone.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18When Bob and the team began speaking to relatives,
0:33:18 > 0:33:19they got their breakthrough.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Having established contact with living maternal heirs
0:33:24 > 0:33:25here in the UK,
0:33:25 > 0:33:29we were told that three branches of the family had emigrated to Canada.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33This was a huge result for the team.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Now they knew that Annie, Maria and Charles had emigrated to Canada, they could begin tracing
0:33:37 > 0:33:41relatives, but that came with its own set of problems.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45We are quite fortunate here in England that we can
0:33:45 > 0:33:48apply for birth, death and marriages fairly easily.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51The information that those certificates provide make it
0:33:51 > 0:33:54fairly straightforward to put family trees together.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56In Canada, that's not the case.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59You have to be a blood relation to obtain those certificates
0:33:59 > 0:34:01and that makes life very, very tricky.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Annie, Maria and Charles Holloway set sail to start their new
0:34:07 > 0:34:09lives in July of 1910.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Charles was the youngest at just 16 years old.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16The fact the siblings even embarked on this 3,500 mile
0:34:16 > 0:34:20journey indicates just how terrible living conditions had become
0:34:20 > 0:34:24at the height of Lincolnshire's agricultural depression.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28By contrast, life in Canada offered a brighter future.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Migrating to Canada in the early 20th century was a great
0:34:31 > 0:34:33opportunity for lots of British people.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Wages were higher, living conditions could be much better.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40Whether you want to go to the cities or go to agriculture,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43there are great opportunities and you could really
0:34:43 > 0:34:45improve your life by moving to Canada in several different ways.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48We think about Britain, and particularly England in the
0:34:48 > 0:34:52late 19th century and we don't associate it with social mobility.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55In Canada, the idea that you could work your way up the ladder
0:34:55 > 0:34:57was much stronger than would be back in England.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00That would be attractive for many potential migrants.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Annie, Maria and Charles also had skills that were in demand.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09One important reason Canada wanted migrants was essentially to
0:35:09 > 0:35:11settle the West and populate the country.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14There is all of this more or less unclaimed land and Canada would
0:35:14 > 0:35:18like to have that settled to lay a stake on the ground, as it were.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Immigrants would be very attractive for doing that.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Coming from a depressed farming region
0:35:23 > 0:35:28like Lincolnshire, Canada was a land of opportunity for the Holloways.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31If you had farm skills and could deal with farming where
0:35:31 > 0:35:34winter is very long, Canada offered these great opportunities
0:35:34 > 0:35:39on basically virgin land, after the railway had gone through the West.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Also, if you wanted to have more living space, better housing,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46all that sort of thing, Canada would be a much better place.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50For immigrants, laying claim to virgin land hadn't always been
0:35:50 > 0:35:51so easy.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55One change in Canada in the 1890s,
0:35:55 > 0:36:00was in previous decades the West had not been open, so the railroad
0:36:00 > 0:36:03going across the Prairies from Winnipeg to Vancouver meant
0:36:03 > 0:36:07you could settle Western Canada, which wasn't really possible before.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10It was this new world that Annie, Maria
0:36:10 > 0:36:13and Charles Holloway made their home in 1910.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18But finding their relatives was tricky, as Bob
0:36:18 > 0:36:22and his team had no access to birth, death and marriage certificates.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26You do rely on painstaking research in terms of going through
0:36:26 > 0:36:30obituaries, electoral rolls, telephone directories etc.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34But while the Canadian research was clearly going to take some time,
0:36:34 > 0:36:38the search for heirs in the UK have been far more successful.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41The team have established that four of Robert's aunts
0:36:41 > 0:36:45and uncles who stayed in the UK had children or grandchildren
0:36:45 > 0:36:49who are heirs to the £70,000 estate.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52The total number of heirs in the UK was 47.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55One of these heirs is Patricia,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58whose grandmother Edith was Robert's aunt.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Getting the call from Bob and his team came as a big surprise.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05I had absolutely no idea who they were talking about
0:37:05 > 0:37:08because it just referred to in the letter as 'someone'
0:37:08 > 0:37:11had left an estate with no will.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15Patricia didn't know Robert,
0:37:15 > 0:37:19but she does have vivid childhood memories of Great Uncle Charles,
0:37:19 > 0:37:23one of the three family members who had emigrated to Canada in 1910.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27He often return to the UK to visit relatives with wife, Ada.
0:37:29 > 0:37:34I remember Charles wearing a trilby hat, always in a suit,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37and he was quite a bit taller than Ada.
0:37:37 > 0:37:43Aunt Ada was quite well built, but ever so smartly dressed. Loved red.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46It was lovely when they visited because they did speak
0:37:46 > 0:37:50like Canadians speak and they had the Canadian accent.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53While glad that her relatives sought a better life abroad,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Patricia remains a Lincolnshire girl to the core.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59We are definitely from Louth and we are Lincolnshire through and through.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02We wouldn't have gone anywhere else.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06My sister has moved away from Lincolnshire, but, no,
0:38:06 > 0:38:11we love Louth, the quaint place it is.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14Patricia's fondness for Louth makes sense as her family have
0:38:14 > 0:38:18lived there for many generations and becoming an heir has made her
0:38:18 > 0:38:21eager to find out more about her family history.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24I am curious to find out more about Robert's life,
0:38:24 > 0:38:30but, to be perfectly honest, I am just as curious to find out about all the other family members.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34And knowing my grandma Edith Holloway had ten brothers
0:38:34 > 0:38:37and sisters is just amazing.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42I'd really love to research it all now and in all directions
0:38:42 > 0:38:46of all the members, not just Robert, but the others, as well.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51Fortunately, being contacted by Bob and his team has given
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Patricia the perfect opportunity to find out more.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57She's been able to get in touch with two of Robert's other heirs,
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Tony and Janice,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02whose grandfather Frederick was Patricia's great uncle.
0:39:04 > 0:39:05I'm very excited, yes.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08It will be nice to see Janice again because I've only seen her once
0:39:08 > 0:39:10and spoken to her a few times on the phone.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14- And Tony, this will be the first time.- Patricia!- Hello, Patricia!
0:39:14 > 0:39:20- How are you?- It's lovely to see you again, Janice. It's lovely.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22I've missed you!
0:39:22 > 0:39:26- This is Tony, my brother.- Hello!
0:39:26 > 0:39:28The gathering is a chance to talk about the Holloway's
0:39:28 > 0:39:33emigration to Canada and what they might have done once they got there.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Do you know why they went to Canada?
0:39:35 > 0:39:38I've only been told by my auntie that they bought a one way
0:39:38 > 0:39:42ticket and I think they went for a better life and to see what the
0:39:42 > 0:39:48life was out there because Charles, Annie and Marie went out
0:39:48 > 0:39:54there first and they were the three oldest brothers and sisters.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58As far as I know, they went out working in the forestry, lumberjacks.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02- Right.- The only one that went to Canada that regularly came back was
0:40:02 > 0:40:03Charles and Ada.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08I think they must have been having a pretty good living in Canada.
0:40:08 > 0:40:09They always seemed like they did.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12I always admired the clothes that they wore.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17They stood out from ordinary people that you'd meet on the street.
0:40:17 > 0:40:18They did, that's right.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Patricia discovers that Canada isn't the only country that the
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Holloways have emigrated to.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28We moved to North Africa when Tony and I were young.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32And that's my dad with Tony in North Africa.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36- So, that's Alec.- Alec, yeah.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41- And that's Tony.- Me!- That's when we lived in North Africa.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44We lived in Tobruk in Libya.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47This explains why Tony and Janice's immediate family became
0:40:47 > 0:40:51disconnected from the Holloways remaining in the UK.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56You've got so much information about my family and, Tony,
0:40:56 > 0:40:58you and I haven't.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02- I wonder why?- Yeah, and so do I. - There seems to be a big gap.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05Were we the black sheeps of the family?
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Do you know if anything happened?
0:41:07 > 0:41:10I think it was just a case of a large family
0:41:10 > 0:41:12and just not keeping in touch.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- Yeah.- To be honest, there were no telephones then.- That's right.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18- No mobile telephones.- You find that happens with families anyway.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22I can understand how families do break away a bit
0:41:22 > 0:41:25because we know it with myself and Janice
0:41:25 > 0:41:29when our family went to live in Tobruk in North Africa.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34We found that we had not been in contact with anybody and,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37obviously, it's a long, long way away,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41that families do make a break and the only way of contacting
0:41:41 > 0:41:44you could have had then was to write to somebody.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- You don't always write letters, do you?- No, that's right.
0:41:47 > 0:41:48There is a break, isn't there?
0:41:48 > 0:41:51Yes, and especially with there being 11 children!
0:41:51 > 0:41:55For Patricia, becoming an heir is all about reconnecting with
0:41:55 > 0:41:57long lost family and her meeting with Janice
0:41:57 > 0:42:01and Tony is just the start of this journey.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03When I heard the name Robert Slack, I am grateful that
0:42:03 > 0:42:06I heard that name because I wouldn't have been in touch with Janice
0:42:06 > 0:42:08and Tony otherwise.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12I didn't realise that my grandma had ten brothers and sisters.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15It's not going to stop here. I'm going to carry on researching into the family tree
0:42:15 > 0:42:17and the history.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21For Bob and his team in London,
0:42:21 > 0:42:25the case of Robert Slack was now almost complete.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27After weeks of painstaking Canadian research,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30they have been able to identify all of the living heirs who
0:42:30 > 0:42:33descended from Annie, Maria and Charles.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37In total, there are now 72 heirs to the estate.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41For Bob, it was a tricky, but rewarding case.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I'm very happy with the way things have turned out.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49Quite a complicated case, in terms of research and what have you.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51So, yes, really, really happy that we resolved it
0:42:51 > 0:42:53and we found everyone.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56If you would like advice about building a family tree
0:42:56 > 0:42:59or making a will, go to:
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd