0:00:03 > 0:00:06Every year, over half a million people die in the UK.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Half of those have not made a will and often have no known relatives.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15The main portion of the family I know is the aunts and the cousins.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Past that, I have no idea.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21If no relatives come forward to claim the estate, their money
0:00:21 > 0:00:24will go to the government and that's where the heir hunters come in.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We think it might be an estate where the deceased has
0:00:30 > 0:00:33died in a nursing home. There is talk that it could be upwards of
0:00:33 > 0:00:35£50,000 in savings accounts.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38They specialise in tracking down those people who are
0:00:38 > 0:00:40entitled to part of an estate,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44who often have no idea they're in line for an inheritance.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46We know who the deceased is and they don't,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and it's quite a large estate, which is interesting.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53It's a competitive business.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56There's often thousands of pounds at stake...
0:00:56 > 0:00:59At the moment, we're fighting quite a big battle with lots of heirs,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01lots of competition.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04..and it can uncover fascinating family histories.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08What shook me so much was when we were bombed and, suddenly,
0:01:08 > 0:01:13this lovely idyllic childhood world was totally shattered.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Could the heir hunters be knocking on your door?
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Coming up, the heir hunters find themselves unravelling
0:01:23 > 0:01:25a family mystery.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27I didn't even know that her sister was married...
0:01:28 > 0:01:32and living in Portsmouth, so, um, it would seem that she was under
0:01:32 > 0:01:35the impression that her sister emigrated to Australia.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38And relatives are shocked to discover the truth
0:01:38 > 0:01:43behind a family member who's been missing for over half a decade.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I was surprised to find out I had this lady who had lived
0:01:46 > 0:01:49just 60 miles down the road from me and had spent all her
0:01:49 > 0:01:53life in isolation from her family who she presumed she never even had.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Plus, could a fortune be heading your way?
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Find out how you could inherit unclaimed estates
0:01:59 > 0:02:01held by the Treasury Solicitor.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It's early afternoon at the offices of Fraser & Fraser.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16PHONE RINGS
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Good morning. How can I help you?
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Veteran case manager David Pacifico has picked up a case
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- advertised by the Treasury Solicitors.- Well, we've got
0:02:24 > 0:02:26this new case that's come through of somebody called
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Margaret Spooner who died in Portsmouth and, we believe, may have
0:02:30 > 0:02:33owned her property, therefore, we know there's value there.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Margaret Spooner died alone at her home in Portsmouth in April 2013.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Margaret's neighbour, Christine Earwicker,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50recalls her independent spirit.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57I've known Margaret since she became my neighbour, about 20 years ago.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03'She was very thin, always quite sad-looking, I always felt...'
0:03:03 > 0:03:09She had grey hair, long hair, and mainly tied back.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12'She kept herself to herself, you know, she never...
0:03:12 > 0:03:15'She was a very private person, I think.'
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And, if she needed help, she'd knock the door.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23We always had that feeling that there was something, you know,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26a little eccentric about Margaret.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30'As far as I know, she didn't have any family.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34'She used to have a dog in a pushchair.'
0:03:34 > 0:03:36The dog couldn't walk,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41so it was pushed in a...pram or a pushchair, I can't quite remember.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43She used to push this dog everywhere.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47We used to see her go past the house.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49It was the lady with the dog in the pram!
0:03:51 > 0:03:54From the outside, people would have said that it was sad,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58but I think she was quite content with her life.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02'She used to do daily journeys round to the corner shop.'
0:04:02 > 0:04:05About six or seven a day, you know!
0:04:05 > 0:04:09But that was her day, so, you know, and I think, in her own self,
0:04:09 > 0:04:10she was quite happy.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17SOUND DIPPED
0:04:17 > 0:04:21One of the first things the heir hunters try to establish is
0:04:21 > 0:04:24the value of a case and ascertain how much of their resources
0:04:24 > 0:04:26they should dedicate to it.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29That decision is down to company boss Neil Fraser.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34The first questions we have to ask when we start working a case is,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38"Is it worth working?" And it's solely really based on value.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43- So, that's the house, then, this one.- It's small.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Do we know how much they're sold for, down there?
0:04:45 > 0:04:50The team generally try to work cases they believe are worth over £20,000.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54As Margaret had a property worth in the region of £100,000,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57it's a case Neil is keen to get his team moving on quickly.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59If there is a property, we're working it,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and we're going to throw resource at it.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04We're going to throw several members of staff onto it
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and we're probably going to get guys on the road working to see
0:05:07 > 0:05:08the beneficiaries as well,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12because, if we can easily identify value, then so can our competition.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15And that's something already at the front of David's mind.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17There's always a possibility of competition.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21We always treat every case like this that it will be competitive.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Hence, we're researching it as quickly as possible.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27The team find evidence that Margaret was married to Ivor Spooner
0:05:27 > 0:05:29who predeceased her.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33As they had no children, researcher Isha looks for siblings
0:05:33 > 0:05:35and starts by finding out who her parents were.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41We found a birth of Margaret Grogan. Her mother's maiden name is Allison.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43In order to find any rightful heirs,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Isha needs to find the correct details for Margaret's parents.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51There was no marriage of Grogan to Allison.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56Isha begins by searching for variations on names and spellings.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00So, I had a little look, um, to see if it was a typo
0:06:00 > 0:06:07and it come up with a marriage of a John Grogan to a Sarah Allinson.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Spelling mistakes could mean the team starts searching
0:06:14 > 0:06:17the wrong family, something which could cause delays.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The tools we're using to do research have really changed in the last
0:06:21 > 0:06:23five, ten, 15 years.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Originally, we looked at the calendar book, the index of birth,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28death, marriage certificates.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Now, this was already information which was first recorded by
0:06:31 > 0:06:33a registrar in a Registry Office,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36then it's passed over to the General Register Office in Southport
0:06:36 > 0:06:40to index, and then we have an index made of that information,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42so all really tertiary.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Now, we're searching for stuff on websites.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50There's four stages in that where it could have an error and,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52suddenly, you've got a wrong letter in the wrong place.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57And Isha wastes no time in looking for other records which could
0:06:57 > 0:07:00confirm she's found the right parents for Margaret.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04We're able to pick up the birth of Margaret who was
0:07:04 > 0:07:09born in West Derby, Liverpool, and the parents were John and Sarah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15It still says Allison on the birth certificate, but we think that,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18because the names are correct, John and Sarah,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22we think this marriage is correct in Liverpool.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Isha's hard work has paid off, and she's managed to
0:07:25 > 0:07:27cross-reference the different spellings on
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Margaret's birth certificate with her parents' marriage certificate,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33but she's just one more document to check.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40I found a death for her in Newcastle as Sarah Grogan,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43which actually ties in with a birth of a Sarah Allinson.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48After solving the mystery of the spelling mistake,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Isha is able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Margaret Grogan was born in 1928 in West Derby,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01a suburb of Liverpool, to Sarah Allinson and John Grogan.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Her parents had married in Liverpool, but both hailed
0:08:03 > 0:08:09from Whitehaven, a small coastal town 150 miles away in Cumbria,
0:08:09 > 0:08:10before dying in Newcastle.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16This travelling around is causing confusion for the team.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18We usually target local areas
0:08:18 > 0:08:23when we start our research with our birth, death and marriage searches.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Um, this is because families tend to stay within the same area,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30so it's much harder for us when we find a marriage out of area,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34which means that births could be in different locations.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38If the team has found the right family in John and Sarah Grogan,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40it means they moved around the country a lot,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43but Isha thinks she's found out why.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48John, the dad, is a confectioner journeyman,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50which means he travels a bit,
0:08:50 > 0:08:57so that's why they could start in Liverpool and end up in...Newcastle.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03As a confectioner in the 1920s and '30s, John would have been
0:09:03 > 0:09:06involved in the golden age of confectionary manufacturing.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Many popular products which are still around today
0:09:09 > 0:09:13originated in this era and the penny sweets were born.
0:09:15 > 0:09:16Confident they are on the right track,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20and can now look for Margaret's siblings or nieces and nephews
0:09:20 > 0:09:22who could be beneficiaries to her estate,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Ewart briefs travelling researcher Bob Barrett.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30Her mother's maiden name is Allison. A-L-L-I-S-O-N, yeah?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32So, we believe it's going to be correct.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35That's the way. Good, I like that. I'll speak to you later, bye-bye.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Travelling researchers are an integral part of the team and need
0:09:43 > 0:09:46to be able to react quickly when a call comes in from the office.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Competition between the companies is fierce
0:09:50 > 0:09:53and Bob needs to get to any potential heirs fast
0:09:53 > 0:09:57if the company are to get a percentage of the £100,000 estate.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01I'm going to see if I can...
0:10:01 > 0:10:04knock on a few neighbours' doors, see if I can find anything out.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Bob is primed to follow up any leads
0:10:06 > 0:10:09and provide vital support to the heir hunters.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Back in the office, the team have found a contact number for
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Margaret's brother-in-law, Michael Spooner,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26the brother of her husband, Ivor, who was also known as Joe.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27Although not a blood relative,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31they hope he can shed some light on the family history.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35We heard from Joe in a letter that he in fact had got married.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I don't know where he got married, uh,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40and how long he had been married when we received the letter
0:10:40 > 0:10:43because he was not very communicative,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46so that was the first time I heard about Margaret.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49But has the search for heirs come to an abrupt halt?
0:10:49 > 0:10:51We didn't know of any relatives of her.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55We knew very little about her.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Sometimes, tragic events cause families to break apart
0:11:08 > 0:11:10and lose contact with each other,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and that can make the heir hunters' job very hard.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15But, for boss Neil Fraser,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17who's been in the family business from a young age,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21it's just one of the elements which makes his job so unique.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Every bit of a case is different.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Although the research is the same every day,
0:11:25 > 0:11:30um...every story behind the research is different.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Um...and, no matter how many times we do it,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36you always look at something and discover something new.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41We are linking history back with the current affairs, back with law,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44back with life.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49Um...to be able to tie history into your job is fascinating.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56One case the team worked on last year uncovered an intriguing story.
0:12:00 > 0:12:0285-year-old Ellana Carteret died alone at home
0:12:02 > 0:12:06in Clacton-on-Sea in April 2012.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Unfortunately, no photographs of her survived,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13but neighbours Anna Hazell and her mum Linda remember her well.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I first met Ellana about nine years ago when she moved into our street.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Ellana always took pride in her appearance.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26She always dressed nicely, she always had nice hair and nice nails,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28nice figure...
0:12:28 > 0:12:30She was just a smart lady.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33'She was quite an active lady,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36'but, as time went on, she sort of needed to'
0:12:36 > 0:12:38use the stick. She sort of deteriorated
0:12:38 > 0:12:40more as she was getting older.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Ellana left an estate worth £80,000, but no will.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50This came from one of our reporters.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53He located what appeared to be an estate, appeared to be
0:12:53 > 0:12:59someone dying without any known next of kin, and having some money to it.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02'We did some enquiries through the neighbours
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'and they said that she didn't have any family.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07'In fact, they turned and said she was the last of her line.'
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Now, for us, this is the golden few words.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13She's got money, she doesn't have any family.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17We are constantly proving that the deceased does have family,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20but we want to hear at the start that they didn't have any family,
0:13:20 > 0:13:21because that's when we get involved.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Case manager Mike Pow has worked for the company for five years
0:13:29 > 0:13:31and, when this estate came in, it was down to him
0:13:31 > 0:13:34to lead the search for heirs.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38When I first got this, this was just confusing to be perfectly honest.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41We had the name Ellana Louise Beniston to begin with
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and ordered the death certificate
0:13:43 > 0:13:47and it came up with a multitude of names which didn't fit in anywhere.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51First we had Ellana Louise Carteret. Then it was Ellana Carteret.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Then Ellen Carter. And Louise Ellana Carteret.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Em, we had no idea where it fitted in.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Had a look at the birth records, but couldn't find anything
0:14:00 > 0:14:06until we decided just to see if we could find Ellen C-A-R-anything.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10It just was a bit of a struggle to work it out to begin with.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13But it wasn't long before Mike made progress and found
0:14:13 > 0:14:18a marriage for an Ellana Carter and John Beniston Clark in 1957.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20It appears he predeceased her.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22'It looked like Ellen passed away without any children.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25'Um, and she always described herself as a widow to her friend.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27'The fact that they had no children'
0:14:27 > 0:14:29and he has probably passed away,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31means we had to go back up through Ellen's family,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33which was a whole new struggle because,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37on the marriage certificate, there was no indication of a father.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42So, then we had to look for an Ellen who was born illegitimately.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43We had no idea what her name was
0:14:43 > 0:14:46and it just happened that it popped up to be a Carter to Carter
0:14:46 > 0:14:49birth in Liverpool where we'd told she was from
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and it matched up to the date of birth.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59Ellana Carteret was born Ellen Carter in May 1927.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Her mother was listed as Ellen Carter nee Murray,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05but, with no father listed, Mike started by looking to see
0:15:05 > 0:15:08if there were any half-siblings on the maternal side.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13We discovered that Ellen Murray, that was her maiden name,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and she was born in 1899 and married a Thomas Carter.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20'The team also discovered that Ellana had a half-brother, Cyril,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24'who was born in 1912 to Ellen Murray and Thomas Carter.'
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Thomas died during World War I and it was years later,
0:15:29 > 0:15:34in 1927, that Ellen went on to give birth to Ellana illegitimately...
0:15:34 > 0:15:37something that was frowned upon during that era.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43It wasn't very acceptable to have an illegitimate child in the 1920s
0:15:43 > 0:15:46around the country and I'm sure Liverpool would have been the same,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50particularly in sort of respectable working class...
0:15:50 > 0:15:52People would see it as a sign of shame
0:15:52 > 0:15:56if their daughter or their sister had an illegitimate child.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59And if bringing up an illegitimate child was
0:15:59 > 0:16:03not possible for the mother, there were options available.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06There were the alternatives for adoption or
0:16:06 > 0:16:09putting your child into residential care.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12There were societies which would adopt children
0:16:12 > 0:16:16and they'd find a stranger to adopt your child,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18or the local doctor, or nurse,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21or the vicar, or the priest,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24they might find you someone who would take on your child.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30No-one knew where Ellana was placed after birth,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33but she later told friends she was brought up in an institution.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40With a life in children's homes being quite regimented,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44quite disciplined, there wouldn't have been lots of love
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and affection for them on an individual basis.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Many of the carers, the nuns or the workers, would have been doing it
0:16:52 > 0:16:57from the best of intentions, others would have been less benign.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00It definitely wouldn't have been like a family setting.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07It appears Ellana spent her whole childhood in care
0:17:07 > 0:17:10and was never adopted out, so the heir hunters would have to
0:17:10 > 0:17:12look to her blood relatives to find heirs.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Research revealed that, tragically, half-brother Cyril died in 1987,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21presumably never knowing he had a half-sister.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24So, Mike looks to see if Ellana's mother, Ellen,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26had any other children.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Well, we thought that was going to be it, so we had a look to see if we
0:17:29 > 0:17:31could find an Ellen Carter who was dying and we couldn't find
0:17:31 > 0:17:34another one, so then we had to dig again for another marriage.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38It looks like she got married after she gave birth to the deceased
0:17:38 > 0:17:39to a Robert Divine.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42They had a son, Robert, but the team soon ruled him out of
0:17:42 > 0:17:46being an heir when they found out he died in infancy.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50So, then we had to try and go back through the Ellen Murray family.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Despite Ellana's mother having been married twice
0:17:53 > 0:17:57and having two other children, both her sons died with no issue,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01so Mike had to turn his attention to the wider maternal family.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04So, we located the birth of an Ellen Murray who was
0:18:04 > 0:18:06born 1899 in Liverpool and it looks like she was
0:18:06 > 0:18:09the daughter of a Thomas Murray and a Catherine Gannon.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Thomas Murray married Catherine Gannon in 1879.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Thomas was a house painter, which, it seems, most of his children
0:18:17 > 0:18:21followed him into that business after looking at the other certificates.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23And then we worked out that they had eight kids.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Four of them out the eight got married...
0:18:26 > 0:18:28um, and had children.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31With four aunts and uncles having children, the family was
0:18:31 > 0:18:33getting bigger and it meant there could be
0:18:33 > 0:18:36a very large number of potential heirs to find.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Trying to narrow down the search is pretty much impossible.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44It's just going to be a process of trying to disprove all the others.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Heir hunters trace thousands of rightful beneficiaries
0:18:54 > 0:18:57every year, but not all cases can be cracked.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01There are thousands of estates on
0:19:01 > 0:19:03the Treasury's Bona Vacantia list,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06a file of unclaimed estates that have eluded the heir hunters
0:19:06 > 0:19:08and have remained unsolved.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11When the Bona Vacantia Division passes money to the Treasury,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13it puts the case on its unclaimed list
0:19:13 > 0:19:16and it stays on there for 12 years to be claimed.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18If someone makes a valid claim within that period,
0:19:18 > 0:19:19then the money's paid back.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Today, we're focusing on two cases that are yet to be
0:19:22 > 0:19:24solved by the heir hunters.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Could you be the beneficiary they're looking for?
0:19:28 > 0:19:32Could you be about to inherit some money from a long-lost relative?
0:19:34 > 0:19:35First is the case of...
0:19:37 > 0:19:38..who died on...
0:19:45 > 0:19:50Anita was born on November 26th 1915 and she was the daughter of...
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Despite all this information, there's been no success in
0:19:58 > 0:20:01tracing beneficiaries to her estate.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Do you have information which could shed some light on her family?
0:20:06 > 0:20:07Next, did you know...?
0:20:09 > 0:20:10She died on...
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Anastasia was born on...
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Her maiden name was...
0:20:27 > 0:20:29And she also sometimes used the name...
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Both Anita and Anastasia's estates remain unclaimed and,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44if no-one comes forward, their money will go to the government.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47The money raised by the Bona Vacantia Division is passed
0:20:47 > 0:20:51annually to the Treasury and it goes into the Consolidated Fund,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54therefore, to benefit the country as a whole.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Do you have any clues that could help solve the cases of...?
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Perhaps you could be the next of kin?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Margaret Spooner died a widow aged 85 at home in Portsmouth
0:21:18 > 0:21:22in April 2013, leaving no will.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Heir Hunters at Fraser & Fraser have been told by her
0:21:25 > 0:21:28brother-in-law that he knew very little of Margaret's family.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Initially, we looked through Ivor Spooner's family,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34the deceased husband, but they seemed to believe that
0:21:34 > 0:21:36she didn't have any family.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43But researcher Isha is having one last crack at finding next of kin.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Having discovered Margaret was born in West Derby,
0:21:47 > 0:21:52a suburb of Liverpool, Isha finds she married 350 miles away
0:21:52 > 0:21:56in Cornwall and it's given her a glimmer of hope.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Because Margaret actually marries in Cornwall,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01she may have lost touch with her family if they all stayed up North.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03It happens quite a lot.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15Margaret married Ivor Spooner in August 1965 in Kerrier, Cornwall,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19near to the site of a Royal Naval base where both served.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Margaret was a petty officer in the Wrens.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27'The Wrens were first formed in 1917 at the tail end
0:22:27 > 0:22:29'of the First World War when'
0:22:29 > 0:22:32there was an acute shortage of manpower
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and they were looking for women to fill those roles.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40The Wrens established themselves as a key aspect of naval life in
0:22:40 > 0:22:45roles ashore which meant that men were freed up to serve at sea.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51After the Second World War, the Wrens had proved how valuable they were
0:22:51 > 0:22:53during the war, so it was decided to
0:22:53 > 0:22:56sort of establish a permanent service of Wrens,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00so they weren't disbanded as they had been after the First World War.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04And the life of a Wren opened a wealth of opportunity.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Well, it could be a very exciting life.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09There were opportunities to travel then,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11which, for most women at that time, unless you were
0:23:11 > 0:23:15from a very wealthy family, it wouldn't have been possible to do.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18This was the days before people were travelling on package holidays
0:23:18 > 0:23:22and so those opportunities to maybe travel overseas, um,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26and the overseas aspect of it was a huge recruitment pull for the Wrens.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32During the 1950s, Margaret was posted to Malta where
0:23:32 > 0:23:36she worked as a stores accountant and counsellor.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Malta was the largest overseas posting within the Wrens and,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42throughout the 1950s, there were probably between 200,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46300 Wrens out there for most of the time,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50so it was a hugely attractive place to be posted.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55And they could be out there from about 18 months up to two years.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57It was a really exciting place to be.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09And it was on her return from Malta that she met Ivor,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11a serving petty officer in the Navy.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16It's quite common for Wrens to marry sailors.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19You've got young people working together, you know,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21relationships are formed.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Often, Wrens would be in the minority and, certainly,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28I know the Wrens who were out in Malta there were only 200 to 300 of
0:24:28 > 0:24:32them and yet there were thousands of servicemen at the time, so,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34you know, they often joked that
0:24:34 > 0:24:37even the ugliest Wren could always be guaranteed a date.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Also, known as Joe, Ivor was a bit of a ladies' man,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44according to his brother, Michael.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49'He was a bit of a rogue, but, um, it was usually with women
0:24:49 > 0:24:52'and he would usually have a couple of girlfriends on the go
0:24:52 > 0:24:54'at the same time, which'
0:24:54 > 0:24:56led us into all sorts of difficulties!
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I remember once there came a knock at the door
0:25:01 > 0:25:03and one of his girlfriends said...
0:25:05 > 0:25:07"Joe was going to meet me. Where is he?"
0:25:07 > 0:25:10So, I said, "Well, he's out and I don't know where he is."
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Knowing full well that he'd gone out with some other girl!
0:25:15 > 0:25:18He was a good-looking chap and I think the girls liked him
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and he'd got a way with words, so...
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I'm sure he charmed Margaret too.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And he remembers how their love affair
0:25:27 > 0:25:29started rather unconventionally.
0:25:31 > 0:25:37Joe met Margaret after he was accused of some crime in the Navy
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and he was reduced to the ranks
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and, I think, instead of being at jankers,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49they gave him counselling with a Wren officer, who was Margaret.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Um, Margaret took him under her wing
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and they got on so well together that, obviously,
0:25:56 > 0:26:02they got married and that's how I know that, uh, he met her and what
0:26:02 > 0:26:08association she had with him, so, she was, in fact, his counsellor.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Known by friends and family as a reclusive couple, Ivor passed
0:26:11 > 0:26:16away in his sleep in 1993 leaving Margaret a widow at the age of 70.
0:26:22 > 0:26:23In the office,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27researcher Isha thinks she's had a breakthrough in her search for other
0:26:27 > 0:26:31children born to Margaret's parents, John Grogan and Sarah Allinson.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36The problem is there's four births under Allison, so there's
0:26:36 > 0:26:40two in Longtown, Cumberland, which I didn't think was correct.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44As Margaret was born in Liverpool, Isha is unsure if these other births
0:26:44 > 0:26:46could be correct, especially as they're registered with
0:26:46 > 0:26:49the slightly different maiden name of Allison.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53As there's no other marriage, we decided to just go with it.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57It's a risk as the team could now be tracing the wrong family,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59but Isha remains confident.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01I'm hopeful that I've found an heir.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10John Grogan and Sarah Allinson had six children, including Margaret.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13The team believes some of them are still alive.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17- Make sure you pass the information to Bob...- Yeah.- ..to phone Sue later.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I want that person spoken to later.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Hopefully, then, at some point she'll be back.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25With no time to lose,
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Ewart gets travelling researcher Bob to start visiting potential heirs.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Isha's found a possible two. Let me just give you all the names, OK?
0:27:34 > 0:27:37We've got the deceased, Margaret...
0:27:37 > 0:27:38'Although late in the day,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41'the team is keen for people to be contacted as soon as possible.'
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Dave Pacifico was just asking
0:27:43 > 0:27:45if you can actually just call her later on tonight, if you can.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I've been calling her, but she's not in.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Now, she lives up in Northumberland.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53With Bob under orders to visit a potential sister,
0:27:53 > 0:27:55the team continue their research in the office.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58They discover Margaret's brother, Arthur, has died,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02but they manage to trace his four children, one of whom is Ken Grogan.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11When they contacted us with the name Margaret Spooner,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14we didn't realise exactly who it was.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Um, it was only when we went through the family history
0:28:17 > 0:28:22and I contact my mother and the rest of the family that we realised
0:28:22 > 0:28:25it was actually Margaret Grogan, my father's sister.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30We knew her as Peggy. Some call her Peg, some call her Peggy.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35It was 1957 was the last time Peggy actually contacted the family.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38I was only three years of age, but, obviously as we're growing up,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42we have been told that we have Auntie Peggy and
0:28:42 > 0:28:47other relatives, but we never, ever seen her or heard from her
0:28:47 > 0:28:49since that particular time.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52But can Ken shed any light on how his Aunt Margaret became
0:28:52 > 0:28:53estranged from her siblings?
0:28:56 > 0:28:59My mother was a great friend with Peggy.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Mum and Peggy used to go to the dance halls every weekend
0:29:02 > 0:29:06and trip the light fantastic, as they called it in those days,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09but I've been told there was a fallout between the sisters.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11There was some drama happened between them,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13and they just never kept in contact again.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15That was it.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Finding out about his Aunt Margaret has been a real eye-opener for Ken.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21I didn't even know Margaret was married.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25What we were told growing up was that we had an auntie
0:29:25 > 0:29:27and she farmed in Australia.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32The team in the office have heard back from
0:29:32 > 0:29:34travelling researcher, Bob.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36His visit to an elderly sister of Margaret
0:29:36 > 0:29:39has revealed a similar story.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43She confirmed that she had a sister Margaret,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45but she's not seen her for many years.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47No contact whatsoever,
0:29:47 > 0:29:50and didn't even know that her sister was married...
0:29:50 > 0:29:53and living in Portsmouth, so, um...
0:29:53 > 0:29:56it would seem that she was under the impression that her sister
0:29:56 > 0:29:58emigrated to Australia.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00The team manages to contract both of Margaret's
0:30:00 > 0:30:05estranged elderly sisters, as well as three nephews and a niece.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07None of whom were in touch with Margaret.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10It happens more often than you think,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13where close family lose contact for one reason or another.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Um, we're finding an awful lot of siblings losing contact
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and we're tracing close kin.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23It's the end of the search for the heir hunters and a few days later,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27case manager David has heard back from all of the beneficiaries.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29It's been a very good case this Spooner case.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33We've now signed all the heirs, of which there's six in total,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35and we believe there is value to it
0:30:35 > 0:30:39because we believe the deceased had owned her property.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45And those sad to hear that Margaret died alone,
0:30:45 > 0:30:50for nephew Ken, the whole experience of finding out about his family
0:30:50 > 0:30:52has brought back happy memories.
0:30:52 > 0:30:53It was quite a big surprise,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57because, after all these years, you know, since, basically,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59we were told about Peggy,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02we were brought up and told about her in our childhood and then,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05obviously, as you get on, you forget things and...
0:31:05 > 0:31:06a bolt out of the blue...
0:31:08 > 0:31:10..Peggy's back in your life again.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Ellana Carteret died at her home in Clacton-on-Sea.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27She had a difficult start to life.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29She was born Illegitimately
0:31:29 > 0:31:33and was abandoned into an institution by her mother...
0:31:33 > 0:31:34but, after leaving care,
0:31:34 > 0:31:38it seems she had a successful and interesting life.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Ellana would often talk about her globetrotting with husband John.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Her husband and Ellana, they travelled the world, they went
0:31:45 > 0:31:50to India, Dubai, the world Kenya, they had a very nice place in Dubai
0:31:50 > 0:31:54and I think she liked all the fuss and attention she got there.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57Um, she had servants, so, that was really nice.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59I think that was one of the things she liked best,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01people fussing round her.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Unfortunately, no photographs of Ellana have survived.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09As she died with no known relatives and didn't leave a will,
0:32:09 > 0:32:11heir hunter Mike Pow had to track down beneficiaries
0:32:11 > 0:32:14to her £80,000 estate.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16And Mike was making progress,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19having found Ellana had seven maternal aunts and uncles.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Four of them of the eight got married...
0:32:23 > 0:32:25um, and had children.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Now, they was all born in the 1880s,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30so it's pretty certain that none of them are going to be alive.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36Mike's research uncovered 20 cousins, but many had died.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39One, Percival, had a son, Ray,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42and he was one of the first heirs Mike traced.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45He was the first cousin once removed of Ellana.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52I never met any of the members of my father's mother's family,
0:32:52 > 0:32:56including Ellen or knew anything of her at all.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00But I was surprised to find out I had this lady who had lived
0:33:00 > 0:33:04just 60 miles down the road from me and who had spent all her
0:33:04 > 0:33:08life in isolation from her family who she presumed she never even had.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12There was no...
0:33:12 > 0:33:15hints or clues in the house, there was no memorabilia, there was
0:33:15 > 0:33:20no conservations about Auntie so-and-so or Uncle whatever,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22it was as if nobody else...
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Um, and, of course, after two World Wars, you can
0:33:27 > 0:33:30sometimes presume that family members have died being killed or
0:33:30 > 0:33:34whatever, so these things you just accept as a child
0:33:34 > 0:33:36and you don't question any more.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39The sadness in it, of course, is the fact that...
0:33:39 > 0:33:43family break ups and the isolation within families can cause
0:33:43 > 0:33:44a lot of heartache for people
0:33:44 > 0:33:47because they could actually be living round the corner from relatives
0:33:47 > 0:33:49who don't even know of their existence.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51This is exactly the same in this case.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Tracing their first heir had, unfortunately,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03failed to unlock the riddle of Ellana's life.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06It appears her existence was a complete mystery,
0:34:06 > 0:34:08even to her own family.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11This family seems to be very separated from each other, even
0:34:11 > 0:34:14cousins. I think we found one stem where cousins knew each other.
0:34:14 > 0:34:20Um, everyone else is very separated and, as the deceased was so...
0:34:20 > 0:34:22far apart from the family, none of them knew
0:34:22 > 0:34:24absolutely anything about her.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27The fact that she was given up when she was young, um,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30would suggest that her mother didn't really want anything to do
0:34:30 > 0:34:33with her, so, whether she was pressurised by her mother or
0:34:33 > 0:34:35anything like that, we won't know,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39but, no-one in this family has any idea who the deceased was.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41With one stem of the tree complete,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Mike turned her attention to another...
0:34:44 > 0:34:47only to uncover a remarkable story.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52Peter Murray, Ellana's uncle, married Harriet Russell in 1915.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56They went on to have 14 children and, of these 14,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58there were four sets of twins.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02The most surprising part about the family is that's a lot of them
0:35:02 > 0:35:05died when they were very young, um...
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Most of the twins passed away together.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14For Ellana's uncle and aunt, bringing up
0:35:14 > 0:35:17so many children in working class Liverpool during the 1920s
0:35:17 > 0:35:21would have been a struggle and the loss of many of their children
0:35:21 > 0:35:24would have hit the family hard.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26Twins were at four times the risk of mortality than
0:35:26 > 0:35:29singleton children during the first year of life,
0:35:29 > 0:35:33so, if infant mortality, for example was 100 per 1,000,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36then twin mortality would be about 400 per 1,000,
0:35:36 > 0:35:40so it's not really surprising that this number of twins died.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44During the 19th century, infant mortality was rife and,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48due to poor sanitation and disease, roughly 150 children
0:35:48 > 0:35:52out of every 1,000 born died before the age of one.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Infant mortality was definitely high in industrial towns
0:35:56 > 0:35:58and Liverpool was among the worst.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Out of the 14 children,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11Mike discovered that only nine actually made it into adulthood.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15So, he had to trace them or any children they may have had.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18We did find one of the 14 children still alive,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20but she was very, very old.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23So, we tried to go through her daughter and her son first,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27cos we didn't want to cause any distress or anything like that.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Margery Murray is the sole surviving cousin of Ellana
0:36:30 > 0:36:32and an heir to her estate.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36As she is now in her 80s, Mike managed to find a contact number for
0:36:36 > 0:36:40her daughter, Penny, to see if she could shed some light on the family.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43It turned out that they didn't really know a lot about the family.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46It seems that the family lost touch with each other
0:36:46 > 0:36:48and none of them hardly know anything about each other.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58As the family appears to have been separated for a long time,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01it's come as a shock for Penny to hear from Mike,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04but she's grateful for the opportunity to find out
0:37:04 > 0:37:06more about Ellana...
0:37:06 > 0:37:08the cousin she never knew.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13I don't know anything about her at all, absolutely nothing,
0:37:13 > 0:37:18you know, my mum's cousin, um...yeah, didn't know that she existed, uh...
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and, yeah, it'd be nice to find out a bit more.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29I'm intrigued to find out sort of, uh, what she did and, um,
0:37:29 > 0:37:30where she lived, even.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Sadly, Penny's 83-year-old mum Margery is
0:37:39 > 0:37:41recovering from a stroke, but, today,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Penny has come to London, hoping to find out more about her family.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48I think my mum's going to be really interested in, um, what
0:37:48 > 0:37:52I find out and I'll, yeah, report back to her all of my findings.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Company boss Neil has agreed to talk her through the family tree...
0:38:01 > 0:38:03- Hello, I'm Penny.- Hi, I'm Neil.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07- Let me take you downstairs and we'll show you what we've found.- OK.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10..and fill in the missing pieces about her relatives.
0:38:13 > 0:38:14Which we hope is that one.
0:38:15 > 0:38:16Yeah.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21- Now, this marriage in 1915 is of your grandparents...- Yeah.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23- ..Peter and Harriet.- Yes.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27We know that Peter's father is Thomas and he's a house painter.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30- See your great-grandfather up here. - Right, OK.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32So, same occupation coming down.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35So, they've got...
0:38:35 > 0:38:38- the house where he's living backs onto the church.- Yeah.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42And the house where she's living is a T-junction off it,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46so, we can be fairly sure that they met by being virtually neighbours.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49- Neighbours, yeah.- You can imagine them playing out in the street...
0:38:49 > 0:38:52- Yeah, yeah.- ..as they were kids in the '20s.- Mm-hm, yeah.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55- They probably knew each other the whole of their life.- Yeah.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Having shown Penny the documents relating to her mum's siblings,
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Neil now reveals the remarkable story of her grandparents,
0:39:02 > 0:39:04who gave birth to several sets of twins.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07- And this is where we start getting onto the interesting bit.- Yeah.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09We have an aunt called Vera...
0:39:09 > 0:39:13- and an uncle called William. - Yeah, I don't now that one either.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17- Now, Vera and William were twins. - Right, yes.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Now, there were meant to be three sets of twins, do you agree or not?
0:39:20 > 0:39:23- No.- No? Two?- Four.- Oh!
0:39:25 > 0:39:30So, we have Vera and William, and Vera died as a very young child,
0:39:30 > 0:39:35then we have Dorothy and Joan, again twins, and they both died at birth.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37Oh!
0:39:37 > 0:39:42And then Bernard and Eric, and, again, they lived for six months
0:39:42 > 0:39:46- and then, unfortunately, Eric died and then Bernard died.- Oh, God.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50- Before we move onto your mother... - Yes.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54- ..and her twin brother...- Yeah. - ..Reginald Joseph.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57- And then the youngest of all your aunts, Sybil.- Sybil, yeah.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01- So, yeah, we think there are four... - (Oh, gosh!)- ..four sets of twins.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05- And the ones you don't know about, I think, are these ones...- Yeah.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09..which is your Uncle William. He only passed away in 2006...
0:40:09 > 0:40:13- (Oh, gosh.)- ..but when you get a family of this size...- Yeah.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17..we often find that they are either incredibly close together...
0:40:17 > 0:40:20or they all split up and all go their separate way.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28And he also has information about her uncle Reginald,
0:40:28 > 0:40:29her mother's twin.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35The certificate we have here is the death certificate for
0:40:35 > 0:40:38- your mother's twin brother, Joseph Reginald.- Mm-hm.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40- So, he's moved away from Liverpool...- Yeah.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43- ..and he's come down to London. - Mm-hm.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46When he's passed away, actually, the only people to be the
0:40:46 > 0:40:50- informant on his death is someone who's working in the hospital.- Oh.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54- So, Charing Cross Hospital.- Yeah. Gosh, that's really sad.
0:40:59 > 0:41:00Hmm.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05- Did you know Reginald at all? - No, no.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09You know, my mum's spoke of him, um, I know his name,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12but I never knew him, never met him.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20This news has come as a shock to Penny.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28I'm just finding it hard to take it all in, you know, there's just
0:41:28 > 0:41:31so much information there.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35One of my uncles, Joe, sort of passed away with nobody...
0:41:36 > 0:41:38..there for him was just...
0:41:38 > 0:41:41yeah, just heartbreaking, really.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45To have not known him, not been able to talk to him
0:41:45 > 0:41:47and find out what his life was like.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51I think family...
0:41:51 > 0:41:55should have been important and, uh, it would have been nice,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57yeah, to have been there for him.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02The heir hunters trace 21 beneficiaries to Ellana's estate,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05but it's learning about the wider family which has had
0:42:05 > 0:42:07the greatest impact on Penny.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11It's just mind-boggling to see the family tree
0:42:11 > 0:42:14and just how big it is, you know, all those aunties and uncles, cousins,
0:42:14 > 0:42:19I didn't even know half of them existed.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27Having found out about the sad news of her Uncle Reginald's
0:42:27 > 0:42:30lonely demise, Penny has come to pay her respects.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34It is nice to know where Reginald is.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39I feel like it would be fitting and appropriate to get his name
0:42:39 > 0:42:45put on the stone so that, you know, people can actually know where he is.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52The whole experience has reminded her of the importance of family.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Since finding out about Ellana, you know,
0:42:54 > 0:42:58the family history has just come to life, really.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Yeah, it's been a real journey and, uh,
0:43:02 > 0:43:09although it's been sad that so many people have gone...
0:43:09 > 0:43:11um, but, yeah, looking forward to, uh...
0:43:12 > 0:43:14what could happen in the future.