0:00:03 > 0:00:06Heir Hunters specialise in tracking missing family members
0:00:06 > 0:00:09who are entitled to money from a relative who's died.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13I'd definitely ask at the local shops cos she did work at a shop.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Sometimes the deceased simply hasn't left a will.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Sometimes they've become estranged from their family.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23I'm just trying my hardest to see if I can see a family resemblance.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25The race is then on for Heir Hunters
0:00:25 > 0:00:28to find the often distant relatives in line for a windfall.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Basically, we're half-Jewish and we didn't know.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34But this is a highly competitive arena...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I hope there's not going to be competition,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39but, erm, you never know.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42..with dozens of firms hoping to pip the others at the post
0:00:42 > 0:00:46to sign up heirs and claim their commission...
0:00:46 > 0:00:47Just see if you can find...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51..and hand over tens of thousands of pounds
0:00:51 > 0:00:53to unexpecting beneficiaries.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Could the Heir Hunters be knocking at your door?
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Coming up, the Heir Hunters take on a risky case...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08We thought it might be quite high in value.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Er, I'm not so sure now.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12..that also proves complicated.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15'He doesn't know much about his father's family
0:01:15 > 0:01:17'and can't confirm everything.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:21And how the sad death of a brother reunites four members
0:01:21 > 0:01:24of a family who never knew each other existed.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28He had been looking for his family for 50 years.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31- Hello, John.- How are you, Tony? - I'm very well, thank you.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Plus, could you be entitled to inherit unclaimed estates
0:01:34 > 0:01:35held by the Treasury?
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Could a fortune be heading your way?
0:01:45 > 0:01:47It's another working day in London,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49and the Heir Hunters at Fraser & Fraser
0:01:49 > 0:01:51are looking into several new cases.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54We'll look and see if there's a probate for him.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56- There's no sign of her being the informer?- No.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Well, I think we've got his death in 1991.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Why do none of these numbers ever work?
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Case manager Simon Mills has picked up a job from the Treasury's
0:02:07 > 0:02:08bona vacantia list.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12The only neighbour that was there at the time wasn't answering the phone.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16And it's an estate thought to be worth around £200,000.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Got a new case, Marjorie Gladys Martin,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23she died in 2006, so quite a few years ago.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Looks like she owned her property.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Martin's not the best name to work with,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30so it might take a little while, but, erm, we'll see where we get.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Marjorie Gladys Martin died a spinster
0:02:40 > 0:02:43on the 15th September 2006 in Poole in Dorset.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Barbara and Bill Price were her neighbours for ten years.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52When we moved into this street,
0:02:52 > 0:02:57Marjorie already lived here a couple of doors away.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59We didn't see a great deal of her.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01She was a very, very quiet lady.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06She was about five foot four, I should think.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Quite a smart lady when she was out,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12obviously coloured her hair.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16However, she appeared to lead a very solitary life.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Rarely saw her in the garden, but when she was there,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22then she was obviously enjoying the garden.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27We never saw any visitors there, not even friends.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30I think she was just a very, very quiet person.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35She did tell me she'd been rather naughty when she was younger,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38but she didn't tell me any more about her life.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45With Marjorie's estate believed to be so valuable,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48it's a worthwhile case for the Heir Hunters to work.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50But there's one area that could be a worry.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55There was a property but it was sold in 2007 in January,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57so that's after the deceased passed away in 2006.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02Just at the moment want to know who authorised the sale,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04and whether she actually did own it,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06which we think she did. Bit of a concern.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10So the team need to focus on finding out
0:04:10 > 0:04:13if Marjorie owned or rented the property.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16If she rented it, Marjorie's estate could go from being valuable
0:04:16 > 0:04:18to virtually worthless.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21And any work they put into solving it could be for nothing,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23as Heir Hunters get paid on commission,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26so the smaller the estate, the smaller their fee.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- You wanted the death?- No. - She owned a property...
0:04:34 > 0:04:38She owned it? So if she owned it and it was sold, what d'you reckon?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Everybody's passed away?
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Despite no confirmation of a property,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Simon's going to start his search.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48I'm just trying to find parents' names, see if she's got any siblings.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50We think she was, erm, a single lady,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54never married by the looks of it, so, just see what we can find.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58It's a busy morning, I think quite a few cases came in overnight,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01so everybody seems to be snowed under.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04There's still a lot of work to be done before they get anywhere
0:05:04 > 0:05:06close to solving this case.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08This is why I'm confused.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10How can there only be four of any surname?
0:05:12 > 0:05:13It's too early for this.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16And it looks like things are going from bad to worse.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25Er, just found the...what looks like the birth record of the deceased.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Rather I didn't, to be honest. Mother's maiden name's Smith.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Martin's a bad enough name as it is.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Mixed with Smith, it's just a bit of a nightmare.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Um... So, it's probably going to be relying heavily on certificates,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39unless we get lucky.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Company partner Neil has been working in the business for 15 years
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and is all too aware of the importance of certificates,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49as they can confirm
0:05:49 > 0:05:52whether the research they've done so far is correct.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53But it costs money.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57We can't afford not to buy them.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00One error by not buying a certificate
0:06:00 > 0:06:02could mean the difference between a lost case
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and signing the beneficiaries.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08On an average year, we spend in excess of £150,000
0:06:08 > 0:06:11just on birth, death and marriage certificates.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14With a common surname and maiden name,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17the researchers have their work cut out.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19What is going on with this?
0:06:19 > 0:06:22There should definitely be more than that, shouldn't there?
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Marjorie Martin was born in 1907 in Croydon.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31She had never married and had no children.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35So, the team is concentrating on looking for any possible siblings.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39To do this, they need to find her parents, but it's not that simple.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41You've got the date of birth there.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45- Is there a Marjorie G, any surname? - No, look.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48With such common names, the team urgently needs the certificates
0:06:48 > 0:06:51to ensure they're dealing with the correct family.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Simon wants some help on the ground, so he's calling Bob Barrett,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57one of a fleet of travelling researchers.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Hi, Bob. Mother's maiden name, unfortunately enough, is Smith.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Which is why I need the birth certificate.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09There were three possible marriages
0:07:09 > 0:07:14sort of within a ten-year gap of the...of the birth.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17So, I just need to find out which one of them it is.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18OK, cheers, Bob. Thanks.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23Bob's job out on the road
0:07:23 > 0:07:26is to act quickly on behalf of the team back in the office.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28He will pick up certificates,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32carry out door-to-door enquiries and, ultimately, sign up heirs.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Hello, sorry to be a nuisance. I wonder whether you can help me.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37We're trying to find out something
0:07:37 > 0:07:39about a gentleman that used to live in number 25.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Bob's job is a bit of a contrast to his old beat.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46I thoroughly enjoyed being in the police. The...
0:07:46 > 0:07:50But I was very aware towards the end that the wrong side of 50
0:07:50 > 0:07:54is too old for some of the things you need to do as a police officer.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Because it really isn't an old man's job.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Whereas this is.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Back in the office, more researchers have been pulled onto the case
0:08:05 > 0:08:08to keep ahead of the competition.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10The teams are looking into the possible marriage
0:08:10 > 0:08:14of a Smith in Croydon around the time of Marjorie's birth.
0:08:15 > 0:08:21- Take any surname. - There's no marriage, though.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24What they can't do is focus on one particular Smith
0:08:24 > 0:08:26until they're 100% certain,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28because if it turns out to be incorrect,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32they'll be straight back to square one.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Once we get the birth certificate, first and foremost,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37hopefully confirm that we've got the right birth, and then, secondly,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41it'll give us the parents' names and we can work the case up.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45And Marjorie's property still remains a worry.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I was told that the deceased owned the property.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Problem being, she died in 2006 and the property was sold in 2007.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55But we don't know at this stage, so we've got to carry on working it.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59But then case manager Jo gets confirmation about the house.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04It was sold after she died and she's never mentioned on the deeds, so...
0:09:04 > 0:09:06She rented it, didn't she?
0:09:06 > 0:09:10This is potentially very bad news for the team.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12If she only rented the property,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16the value of her estate could be much lower than they'd thought.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21The interesting thing here is it says it was sold for 220.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22But I...
0:09:22 > 0:09:27On...one of the house pricing things, it said it sold for 177.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32The end of the first day of research is drawing to a close
0:09:32 > 0:09:35and, with competition likely to be breathing down their necks,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37it's a frustrating end for Simon.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Martin's been a confusing case today. At the end of the day,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44we've not really got any further than we were at the start.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47We've ordered the birth and death certificates,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50they should be with us in the morning, and see where we go.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53But as the team continue working this case,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56will they get the answers they desperately need?
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Hopefully, if this gentleman's in, he can tell me more.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Finding heirs to an estate is not always the end of the case.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14You've got to provide enough evidence to the Treasury Solicitors
0:10:14 > 0:10:16for them to accept the claim.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Someone wishing to submit a claim to us
0:10:19 > 0:10:21will need to supply us with documentary evidence
0:10:21 > 0:10:23to support that claim.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26That would usually be birth, marriage and death certificates
0:10:26 > 0:10:29that show how they're related to the deceased.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31When the case of Archie Bishop
0:10:31 > 0:10:33landed on the desk of heir hunter Phil,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37providing evidence was almost as hard as tracing the heirs.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39At the beginning of this case,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43I didn't think there was much hope of solving it,
0:10:43 > 0:10:48and then it's not an easy route to solve these things.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Alexander Bishop, also known as Archie,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57died aged 80 in a care home in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01His estate was estimated to be worth just over £19,000,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04but the company still felt it was a case worth looking into.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Because Archie died without leaving a will,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09his estate was advertised by the Treasury Solicitor
0:11:09 > 0:11:14and snapped up by Phil, who is a senior associate at Celtic Research.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16I'd like to order a death certificate
0:11:16 > 0:11:18for Alexander Raymond Bishop.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Date of death...
0:11:21 > 0:11:23The firm is run by Peter Birchwood,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27who's been working in genealogy research for 40 years,
0:11:27 > 0:11:28and his son, Hector.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Phil is based in Newport, working alongside his wife and son.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The reason I picked up the case is because that it was in my area,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Burnham-on-Sea.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Initially, I couldn't find any value to it.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45It was likely that any monies would just be a small pension.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Phil's initial research found that Archie died a bachelor,
0:11:51 > 0:11:52so if there WERE any heirs,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55they would be his brothers and sisters,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57or THEIR children or cousins.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59So, Phil turned his attention to Archie's mother,
0:11:59 > 0:12:04Phyllis Mary Bishop, who was born in 1916 in Wareham, Dorset.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I could tell from the index that his mother's name was also Bishop,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11so it was likely he was illegitimate.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Phil sent off for Archie's birth certificate
0:12:13 > 0:12:16to see if there was a father named.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18When he received the document through the post,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21it proved his hunch was correct.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24When it's an illegitimate birth, most times,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28that's the end of the story, because you're not likely
0:12:28 > 0:12:32to be able to match any other births to the same mother.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34There's nothing to go on to prove it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Phil needed to find out if Archie had any siblings,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41including half-brothers and sisters, so he took a punt,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45hoping that Phyllis had married at some point in her life.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49I'd found this marriage of Phyllis Mary Bishop to Edward Harrison
0:12:49 > 0:12:52in the area where Alex had been born.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54So, I thought, right, this looks good,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I'll work it down to a living relative
0:12:57 > 0:13:01and check to see if they are the same family or not.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06Phyllis Mary Bishop married Edward Harrison in 1936.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10He was a private in the 1st Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment
0:13:10 > 0:13:13and, at the age of 24, was sent overseas to fight in World War II.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16The battalion was stationed in Hong Kong
0:13:16 > 0:13:18and, generally speaking,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21the quality of life for soldiers in Hong Kong was quite good,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23because the cost of living was quite low.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26So, soldiers' wages went quite a long way.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28However, on the other side,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32you had quite a lot of tropical diseases that soldiers suffered from,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34so it was a mixed bag.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40But for the young Edward, the war was about to take a nasty twist.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41The Japanese attacked the harbour
0:13:41 > 0:13:44that Edward's battalion was protecting
0:13:44 > 0:13:46and he was taken as prisoner of war.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50All of the prisoners of war from the Hong Kong region
0:13:50 > 0:13:55were sent to Sham Shui Po Barracks, which were a former military barracks
0:13:55 > 0:14:00that had been looted by the Chinese in the panic of the invasion
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and had been stripped bare of absolutely anything.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Once captured, Edward would have been transported to mainland Japan.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Where they would work for major Japanese corporations
0:14:12 > 0:14:17and do work such as in sugar factories or metalwork
0:14:17 > 0:14:21or farming or loading and unloading of barges.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26They were expected to essentially be slave labour for the Japanese army.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But things were about to get even worse.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Edward was sent to Japan on a boat called the Lisbon Maru.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37On the way, it was hit by a torpedo
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and Edward and his fellow prisoners were abandoned on board.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45After approximately a day of being trapped,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49one of the soldiers had smuggled a butcher's knife on board
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and eventually, through perseverance,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54they were able to cut a large enough hole in the canvas
0:14:54 > 0:14:58that a couple of the soldiers were able to actually crawl out.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02So, all of the men tried to make an escape bid.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Many of them jumped overboard and were fired upon in the water.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10The current swept them towards the Sing Pan Islands,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12which were Chinese islands.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Some people were dashed against the rocks and, therefore, didn't survive.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20But some of the prisoners of war were able to get to the island.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24In a way, Edward was one of the lucky ones and survived.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27However, he was soon rounded up by the Japanese
0:15:27 > 0:15:28and taken to the mainland.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Tragically, Edward died two weeks later.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Edward Harrison is now buried,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38along with 1,500 of his fellow soldiers,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40in the Yokohama War Cemetery,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44which was built to honour soldiers from Commonwealth countries.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55At just 26 years of age, Phyllis was now a widow,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59and heir hunter Phil had discovered when Edward went off to war,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03he and Phyllis had already had two children, Barbara and Tony.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07I'd found a son, Tony Harrison, told him the story, and he said,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09"Yes, he was the brother of Alex Bishop."
0:16:09 > 0:16:12He rang me up and said, "We are the heir hunters."
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I said, "Well, I think you've got the wrong number.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17"I don't have any hair. I'm bald."
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Although Tony didn't know Archie,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27he confirmed he was the child of Phyllis and Edward Harrison.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30My mother couldn't look after me,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34so I went into a nursery at a very early age.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I have no real memories of my mother at all.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Just a vague...vague reminiscence of being parted from her.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45As a young widow, Phyllis may have felt
0:16:45 > 0:16:48she had no other option than to put her children in care.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Tony grew up thinking he was an only child,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56but aged ten, he was told he had a sister.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00My first introduction with Barbara was...
0:17:00 > 0:17:05oh, very nice to have a sister, you know, family, a member of family.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Barbara was just two years older than Tony
0:17:08 > 0:17:10and she'd also been put into care as a baby.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The fact that we were segregated, I saw very little of her.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I don't ever remember wanting to go and play with her or anything,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22because the system didn't allow it.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Tony kept in touch with his sister by phone,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29but never saw her again until much later on in life.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32And, as far as Tony was aware,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Barbara was his only sibling and his only real family member.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39That was until, one day, he was paid a surprise visit.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44When my grandmother first came to see me,
0:17:44 > 0:17:45I was surprised at her appearance,
0:17:45 > 0:17:50that she reminded me of an old...um...
0:17:51 > 0:17:54..comedian called Old Mother Riley.
0:17:54 > 0:18:01She had a fox fur on and wore a hat and she was quite small,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04as I was quite... towered over her.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08His grandmother's visit gave Tony a precious opportunity
0:18:08 > 0:18:12to start to find out more about his mother and the rest of his family.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14She said Mother was in hospital
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and that my father had got killed in the war, and that...
0:18:20 > 0:18:21..that I had two half-brothers.
0:18:21 > 0:18:27That was the one and only time that I saw my grandmother.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29So...
0:18:29 > 0:18:32I used to communicate with her by letter occasionally,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35but otherwise, I never saw her again.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Phyllis was a widow at just 26 years of age
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and Archie, Barbara and Tony were all in care.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Being so young, Phyllis potentially could have gone on
0:18:49 > 0:18:53to have more children, therefore more heirs for Phil to find.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59After that, I then found the death of another brother, Dennis.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Every year, the heir hunters manage to crack the majority of their cases
0:19:08 > 0:19:10and track down heirs to unclaimed estates.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14However, there are always a few that elude them
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and stay on the Treasury Solicitor's bona vacantia list,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20a file of unclaimed holdings.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22The money raised by the Bona Vacantia Division
0:19:22 > 0:19:26is passed to Her Majesty's Treasury, and if a claim's made within 12 years
0:19:26 > 0:19:28to an estate on the unclaimed list, for example,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31then we pay that money back out again.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Today, we have details of two unclaimed estates
0:19:33 > 0:19:35where heirs are yet to be found.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Do you have any information
0:19:37 > 0:19:40that could help solve either of these cases?
0:19:40 > 0:19:44The first one is that of a lady called Delores DeVilliers.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47She died a spinster on January 8th, 2006,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50in Haywards Heath, West Sussex.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It's believed that Dolores may also have been known as Betty
0:19:53 > 0:19:55and she possibly changed her surname to Wilson.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58The only other information known
0:19:58 > 0:20:01is that she was originally from Australia,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03born there on October 12th, 1914.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Does any of this sound familiar? Did you know Delores?
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Our second case is that of Hilda Joan Baker.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17She died on November 6th, 2003, in Minehead, Somerset.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21However, she was born in the north of England, in Sheffield,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23just weeks before the end of the First World War,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26on October 22nd, 1918.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Was Hilda a friend of yours? Or maybe even a relative?
0:20:32 > 0:20:35If no-one comes forward, their money will go to the Government.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38The money raised by the Bona Vacantia Division
0:20:38 > 0:20:40is passed annually to the Treasury
0:20:40 > 0:20:42and it goes into the consolidated fund,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44therefore to benefit the country as a whole.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Do you have any clues that could help solve these cases?
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Or maybe you believe you're related to one of the women
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and, potentially, could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Case manager Simon Mills is looking into
0:21:03 > 0:21:07the case of Marjory Martin who died in September 2006,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12leaving an unclaimed estate potentially worth over £200,000.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16What is going on with this? There should definitely be more than that.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Yesterday had been a frustrating start for Simon and his team,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24and today it doesn't look set to improve as they have just received
0:21:24 > 0:21:27the disappointing news that Marjory Martin didn't own her property.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34When we started the case, we thought that it might be quite high in value.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36I'm not so sure now.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41It's discouraging news, as even though they have no idea
0:21:41 > 0:21:45how much it's worth in total, they suspect it may be quite low value
0:21:45 > 0:21:49and that means the fees they earn will be significantly lower.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53For boss Neil, this is an inherent risk of the heir-hunting business.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56The bigger cases are of such importance
0:21:56 > 0:22:00that we throw everything at them. We put all our researchers on them.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06We do the smaller cases, hoping for them to pay the bills really,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09to just tick us by.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12So with this estate now just looking like a bread-and-butter case,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15a number of researchers have been pulled off the job
0:22:15 > 0:22:19whilst the rest concentrate on finding heirs on the maternal side.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Even though we don't know the potential value of the case,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25we are going to work it, the problem being that it's Smith,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28so we don't want to put all our resources onto it
0:22:28 > 0:22:32if there is not going to be any funds in the estate because...
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Just because it's time-consuming.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37But they are hoping the certificates they ordered yesterday
0:22:37 > 0:22:39will give them a lead and confirm the family.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41If we find out who the parents are...
0:22:43 > 0:22:45..find the marriage and then do,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47like, ten years after the marriage or something like that.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49And they are only moments from finding out
0:22:49 > 0:22:51as the certificates arrive.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Just ticking off all the certs as they come in.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03We've got loads of certs coming in today
0:23:03 > 0:23:06because of all the jobs that came out yesterday.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Erm...
0:23:09 > 0:23:11A lot of priority certs will come back today,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13ordered yesterday, come back today.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Obviously a lot more expensive.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18And the certificates have confirmed
0:23:18 > 0:23:20that one of the marriages they have found is correct.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24It was the correct birth we identified,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27which is the first positive. Obviously, it gives us
0:23:27 > 0:23:31the name of the parents as Edwin Stephen Martin and Lily Smith.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34From that, we have obviously been able to find
0:23:34 > 0:23:36the marriage of the parents, and therefore it gives us
0:23:36 > 0:23:39a better opportunity to look for siblings that are deceased.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Finally, the team has confirmed Marjory
0:23:42 > 0:23:46was the daughter of Edwin Stephen Martin and Lily Smith.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52Edwin and Lily married in 1919, but he tragically died aged just 27.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57We got a death record for Edwin in 1940,
0:23:57 > 0:24:01said that he died at the Carshalton War Memorial Hospital.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03He was a commissionaire at a factory.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08But the place where Edwin worked was no ordinary factory.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12The Bourjois factory, owned by the French perfumer Chanel,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14opened in 1918,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and was just one of the many international companies
0:24:17 > 0:24:20that wanted their base to be in South London.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25When Croydon Aerodrome was blitzed in August 1940,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27the Bourjois factory was razed to the ground.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31The factory, then, was rebuilt and so, by the end of the 1940s,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33production was restored once more.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Edwin may have gone,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37but he was certainly not forgotten
0:24:37 > 0:24:40as he would have been the welcoming face to all who visited the factory,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42as he was the commissionaire.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I think it's very difficult to imagine the excitement
0:24:45 > 0:24:48that I'm sure most people would have felt,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51meeting a commissionaire at the door of a perfumery company.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54This person would have been your first contact
0:24:54 > 0:24:57who would welcome you into a world which would have seemed so exotic
0:24:57 > 0:24:59and far removed from the everyday.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Croydon maybe seems the most unlikely place in one way,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05maybe, for perfume production,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09but I think it's really, really important to remember
0:25:09 > 0:25:12the name Croydon itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon "croh denu",
0:25:12 > 0:25:14which means "crocus valley".
0:25:14 > 0:25:17It's where saffron was grown, like in Saffron Walden.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21By 1500, we have really, really well-established fields
0:25:21 > 0:25:25of lavender around Mitcham,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29so this area was very, very famous for lavender production.
0:25:29 > 0:25:30So I think that,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34when the French houses looked at where they could make,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38to save shipping, perfume, England was an obvious place,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40and in England, Croydon the most obvious of all.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50During World War II, over 2,500 bombs fell on Croydon,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54with businesses, factories and streets being ripped apart,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57including the world-famous Bourjois factory.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02180 workers were injured and 60 killed outright,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04and Edwin was one of those workers.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Back on the case, the team's research into Marjory's siblings
0:26:13 > 0:26:17was leaping ahead, with a possible brother identified.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21There was an Edwin Charles Martin, Edwin being the father's name,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23we thought there was a good chance that that was correct.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26The certificate has come back and it looks like it is.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Searches on brother Edwin reveal he died in 1963.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34However, the team believes he married and had a son, Keith.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37We've identified a possible nephew of the deceased.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39We'd like to find his address first and foremost
0:26:39 > 0:26:40and send someone to see him.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42They might have already dealt with the estate,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45but we will only know when we finally do get to speak to them.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48And once they have spoken to their lead on the phone,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51things are looking positive as it's definitely the correct family.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56However, Simon needs to get a bit more clarification.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58He doesn't know much about his father's family,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00he can't confirm everything.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02So, while Simon awaits confirmation,
0:27:02 > 0:27:04he calls up travelling researcher Bob
0:27:04 > 0:27:06to start heading over to where the heir lives.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11I said that you would give him a call first to arrange that.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16So, as Bob hot wheels it over to see one of the heirs,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20ever the detective ex-policeman Bob Barrett can't help wondering
0:27:20 > 0:27:22why this case hasn't been solved earlier.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27She died in 2006, which is a bit unusual
0:27:27 > 0:27:28to think her estate has been
0:27:28 > 0:27:32kicking around for six or seven years, so...
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Either there has been some sort of legal wrangle over her estate,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40or perhaps there is some new asset that has come to light
0:27:40 > 0:27:41that wasn't known...
0:27:41 > 0:27:45that wasn't known of when she died.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Hopefully, if this gentleman is in, he can tell me more.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Back in the office,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57the team has managed to track down one of Marjory's brothers.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00However, there is a slight confusion on the name.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04We have been told that there is a brother Stanley.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08However, there is no birth for Stanley Martin.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11The mother's maiden name is Smith, so it would be the correct area.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16There is a Reginald S Martin, so I'm thinking, hopefully,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19his middle name might be Stanley.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Ah! I'm so good at my job!
0:28:27 > 0:28:33So, erm, the birth of Reginald S Martin in March '23 in Croydon,
0:28:33 > 0:28:39this Reginald has passed away in 2002 and he is Stanley Martin,
0:28:39 > 0:28:40so that makes him correct.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44So the next step for this stem would be to find out
0:28:44 > 0:28:50if Reginald did have children and was married and if he did indeed,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53then that means that they would be entitled as nieces and nephews.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Emily is on a roll and she soon finds more potential heirs.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03There is a marriage for Reginald S Martin in Croydon,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06which is the right area.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08It's to a Dora Bisset.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12So the next step now is to find out if they had children.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17While Emily is making good progress,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Bob is not having so much luck finding Marjory's nephew.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Unfortunately, nobody in.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26I will leave him a letter, I think, and then, if he wants,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28he can get in touch with us.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31As Bob gets back on the road, back in the office,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Emily's success continues.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35I have...
0:29:37 > 0:29:42..a phone number for you. For the niece. That's going to be Stanley.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44It's Reginald Stanley.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47I did another little tree cos I couldn't really fit it on.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Emily has found the number for one of Marjory's nieces,
0:29:51 > 0:29:52so another heir.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57We've been researching the estate of Marjory Martin,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01who I believe may have been an aunt of yours?
0:30:01 > 0:30:02We're just trying...
0:30:02 > 0:30:05However, just like the nephew, this niece is not too sure about
0:30:05 > 0:30:09her grandparents and has asked Simon to talk to another family member.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11What I'll do, then, is
0:30:11 > 0:30:16I'll find out if he can confirm whether we've got the right family.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Simon does speak to another family member
0:30:18 > 0:30:21and finally gets the confirmation he needs.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Thanks very much. Thank you.
0:30:26 > 0:30:27And in total,
0:30:27 > 0:30:31they find five heirs to Marjory's estate who all agree a percentage
0:30:31 > 0:30:34of the legacy to go to the company for acting on their behalf.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39All right. Thanks very much. Thank you. Bye.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45One of the heirs is Keith, the son of Marjory's brother Edwin.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48The whole thing is a complete surprise, a complete shock,
0:30:48 > 0:30:53because as far as I'm concerned there wasn't anybody at all alive.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55I don't know Marjory Martin, my auntie.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57If she showed me a photograph
0:30:57 > 0:31:01of my grandparents on my father's side, I wouldn't know them.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03I certainly wouldn't know Marjory Martin.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08And his inheritance is a welcome surprise.
0:31:08 > 0:31:15I'm actually looking to move house to the Reigate area...shortly,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18and any money that I receive from this,
0:31:18 > 0:31:25obviously I'd be very grateful for it, and it's come at the right time.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29It's also a good result for heir hunter Neil and his team.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31We've got the beneficiaries, we've got them signed,
0:31:31 > 0:31:33so we can proceed from here.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Heir hunter Phil was on the case of finding heirs to the estate
0:31:41 > 0:31:47of Alexander or Archie Bishop who'd died in a care home in January 2013.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Archie had never married or had any children,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54so Phil was looking for his brothers and sisters or their children,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57who would be beneficiaries to his £19,000 estate.
0:32:00 > 0:32:01Archie was illegitimate,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04so Phil could only look into his maternal side.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07He had already discovered two heirs -
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Archie's half brother and sister.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15Phil had a suspicion that Archie's mum Phyllis may have had more
0:32:15 > 0:32:16than three children.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18His hunch was proved correct
0:32:18 > 0:32:22when he discovered another potential sibling called Dennis.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30Dennis sadly passed away in 1994, but he had two children,
0:32:30 > 0:32:34so his share of Archie's estate automatically passes to them.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Having found Dennis, Phil thought he'd now found
0:32:38 > 0:32:41all of Phyllis's children, but then he got a surprise.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Tony's sister Barbara had had a daughter who called Phil
0:32:46 > 0:32:49and told him that after Phyllis's husband Edward had died,
0:32:49 > 0:32:52she'd gone on to have more children.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57Her daughter phoned me up, she gave me the details of three children -
0:32:57 > 0:33:03a son John, a daughter Pamela and another son that was a possible.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10One of them was John and the news came as a bolt out of the blue.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14I sort of just froze. It felt unbelievable.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19I didn't know about any other brothers or sisters whatever.
0:33:19 > 0:33:20You go through life and you think
0:33:20 > 0:33:22you'll never ever be found by anybody,
0:33:22 > 0:33:25or nobody will be looking for you regarding a family.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28It was literally a real emotional shock.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31We couldn't get over it.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Phil then had to track down Pamela
0:33:34 > 0:33:38and possibly one other child of Phyllis.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40On a Sunday afternoon, my phone beeped
0:33:40 > 0:33:44and I had a text from Pamela Harrison.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Just like her two brothers and sister, Pamela was also brought up
0:33:49 > 0:33:54in care, but, at the age of four, she was taken in by a foster family.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59I've known nothing about any of my half brothers and sisters.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04I remember when I was about to leave my foster parents,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07there was something written down on a piece of paper that
0:34:07 > 0:34:13I had a grandmother and I have brothers and sisters.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16At that time, it was sort of a bit of shock
0:34:16 > 0:34:19and I didn't really take it too seriously.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23She now lives in the New Forest area,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25close to her place of birth, Lymington.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28She was slightly overwhelmed when Phil got in touch.
0:34:29 > 0:34:36Bit of a shock that all this has come up and, to me,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39it seems quite sad, in some respects,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43that we were split up as youngsters.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49I've just moved into Southampton to come back to my roots
0:34:49 > 0:34:52and thinking, "Why? This is too much.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58"Is this just the beginning of my life of adventure?"
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Until Phil got in touch,
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Pamela knew nothing of half brothers and sister.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08Apart from John whom she met through a friend at school.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12She introduced me to him. I looked at him and we looked so much alike.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18Same eyes, same sort of colouring. He said, "You must be my sister."
0:35:18 > 0:35:19I said, "He must be my brother."
0:35:21 > 0:35:25We looked at each other and I said, "Oh, my."
0:35:25 > 0:35:29That chance meeting left Pamela with so many questions.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34I used to look at myself in the mirror. I used to say, "Who am I?"
0:35:34 > 0:35:40I had a mother, I had a father, and I thought I must belong somewhere.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44Pamela decided to look for answers
0:35:44 > 0:35:46and began to find out about her mother.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52She obviously came from a poor background.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55She must have been a very upset lady,
0:35:55 > 0:36:01a mother having to be split from her children.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03And I happened to be one of them.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06She probably wasn't able to look after me,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09and the authorities obviously took charge of her
0:36:09 > 0:36:13and said, "We're going to have to put you into a hospital."
0:36:13 > 0:36:18And she was there for quite a while, I gather for about nine years.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22It was more like a workhouse, I would say. I visited the place.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25It reminded me a bit like Colditz.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32Widowed and struggling, Phyllis was admitted to Coldest Medical Colony in 1945.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Nowadays we don't talk about mental deficiency,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39but that might have covered people with learning disabilities
0:36:39 > 0:36:41and people with mental health problems.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43It would have been a collection of houses
0:36:43 > 0:36:46and places that people could stay with farmland round about,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49with pigs and cows, with occupational therapy.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52So it would have been a place where she lived her life in quite
0:36:52 > 0:36:56a different way to mental health care that would happen in the modern context.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Conditions that Phyllis would probably have experienced would
0:36:59 > 0:37:03have been living in a detached dormitory setting, single sex,
0:37:03 > 0:37:04with lots of other women.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07It would have been in an area with a lot of land round about.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10She would have had the opportunity to take part in daily work
0:37:10 > 0:37:12activities and so on.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15She would have been quite isolated from the rest of the community
0:37:15 > 0:37:16round about, probably.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19There could have been 900, 1,500 people,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22something like that, living as part of this colony.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25It would have felt like quite a big community to her, probably.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32Sadly Phyllis died in 1958 at just 38 years of age.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34None of her children ever had the chance
0:37:34 > 0:37:38to get to know their mother, and the only family member Phyllis
0:37:38 > 0:37:40had in her life was her mother Edith,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44who came to pick up her belongings from the hospital.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48When Phyllis's mother Edith went to the Coldeast Mental Colony
0:37:48 > 0:37:52to collect her things, all she was given was a box of handkerchiefs,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54a wedding ring, a pair of white shoes.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58But what of her eldest son Archie?
0:37:58 > 0:38:02Documents indicated that he also suffered from mental health problems
0:38:02 > 0:38:07as he was a voluntary patient at the Mendip Hospital in Southampton.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09He must have returned to Burnham-On-Sea at some stage,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11though, as he died in his care home.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Although we know that Alex went into hospital voluntarily that doesn't
0:38:16 > 0:38:19necessarily mean that he volunteered or particularly chose that option.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23It might have been that at the time he had reached a certain age
0:38:23 > 0:38:26where childhood services were no longer appropriate
0:38:26 > 0:38:30and there wasn't any other option at that time but to go into hospital.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33It could have been the case that he was voluntarily admitted,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37but had he chosen not to do that, he may have been certified.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Having found all of Archie's siblings and heirs,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Phil's research was complete.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47He could now begin the often long process of helping them
0:38:47 > 0:38:48claim their inheritance.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53But for heir hunter Phil,
0:38:53 > 0:38:58all the time and effort he put in paid off in more ways than one.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00At the beginning of this case,
0:39:00 > 0:39:04I didn't think there was much hope of solving it.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07I would never have guessed in a million years that it would be
0:39:07 > 0:39:12such a story, that they would all be separated at a young age.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17The sad story of her husband going to war and dying.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19'It's just unbelievable.'
0:39:19 > 0:39:24Then to have found them all has made me over the moon.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Phyllis's six children all grew up separately,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35and while some of them met or found out about each other later
0:39:35 > 0:39:37in life, it's only thanks to the
0:39:37 > 0:39:40heir hunters that they now all know about each other.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46And today is a very special day indeed as the brothers
0:39:46 > 0:39:50are meeting for the very first time in John's hometown of Pembroke.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55What I'm looking forward to most is just to meet somebody that you
0:39:55 > 0:39:58never thought existed, but did.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02And now we can get together as part of a family.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05It is like a closure on things
0:40:05 > 0:40:07that you'd been wondering all you life.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09If they did exist, who were they?
0:40:09 > 0:40:12And when you were told they did exist and you hadn't met them,
0:40:12 > 0:40:17and as the years go on, it's very surprising that...
0:40:17 > 0:40:22You don't want to end your life just wondering.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27Over the last few months the brothers have started to get
0:40:27 > 0:40:29to know each other by chatting on the phone,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31but they've longed for this day.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- Hello, John?- How are you, Tony? - Yeah, I'm very well thank you.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39- You all right?- Yes. Fine. Nice to see you.- And you.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43- You're better looking than your photos. You certainly are.- How nice.
0:40:43 > 0:40:48- This is my wife, Iris.- Hi. - A new sister-in-law. Lovely.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52- Nice to meet you. I've got something to show you.- What?
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- This I took off the internet the other day.- Right.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- Lymington workhouse where we were both born.- Oh, my.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04They wanted to pull the building down,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07but Lymington Society saved it.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08- Preservation order, I think.- Yes.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Grade II listed building.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12- Good grief.- The front is obviously the offices.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- I wonder which room...? - I'll show you in a minute.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18We'll need to order some blue plaques now to get them on the wall.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- Yes.- "The Harrisons were born here." - Yeah!
0:41:21 > 0:41:26I did feel a sense of relief and a sense of part closure.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29- That's how I feel about it. - That's nice.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- And I'm glad you're looking well. - Yes, thank you.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37- That means more to me than anything, actually.- How nice.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42John then shows Tony photos of his Dad's memorial grave in Yokohama.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Some very nice close-up shots of his tomb.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51It looked well-kempt when I saw it on the internet.
0:41:51 > 0:41:52That's very nice.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Absolutely wonderful.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57I'm glad I met Tony.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01I nearly forgot your name then.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03THEY LAUGH
0:42:06 > 0:42:09And for the first time, they see a picture of their brother Archie,
0:42:09 > 0:42:14whose death has brought the family together.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16- Yes, the likeness is there.- Yes.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19I should imagine he's late '70s, '80s.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24- He's 81 when he passed away. - He's 81, yes.- God bless him.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28- And his physician assures me that he was a very...- Yes, you said...
0:42:28 > 0:42:32He was a very nice chap - he said he was very pleasant,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35never grumbled, unlike me.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39There is a clear connection between these two long-lost brothers.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42John definitely feels like one of the family.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45He seems to have a similar sense of humour as I.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49So I'm very pleased about that.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52But today is just the beginning for Tony and John.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55What I'm looking forward to is meeting the rest of the family.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57The ladies, our sisters.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01And the future, meeting up again, enjoying a holiday
0:43:01 > 0:43:03where we can all be as a family.