0:00:02 > 0:00:05Heir hunters specialise in tracking down people who are entitled
0:00:05 > 0:00:08to money from someone who's died.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09Now, we believe, sir,
0:00:09 > 0:00:14that you'll be entitled to a share in your cousin's estate.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Sometimes, the deceased simply hasn't left a will.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Sometimes, they've been estranged from their family.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Are we talking about a large estate?
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Either way, the heir hunters must make sure any unclaimed money
0:00:27 > 0:00:29goes to the right people.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31I had to read it two or three times
0:00:31 > 0:00:35because I thought, "Wow! What is this?"
0:00:35 > 0:00:39But it's a competitive business with thousands of pounds at stake...
0:00:39 > 0:00:41- He signed.- Oh, well done.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45..as rival firms go head-to-head to find heirs...
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Because you're in a competitive process, there's a time constraint.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50..and hand over tens of thousands of pounds
0:00:50 > 0:00:53to unsuspecting beneficiaries.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Coming up, the heir hunters discover how a secret feud
0:01:05 > 0:01:07tore a family apart.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Not only did these cousins not know of each other's existence,
0:01:10 > 0:01:15but none of them could explain why their parents had refused to
0:01:15 > 0:01:17talk about their past.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21There's tough competition on a case as rival companies go head-to-head.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24I don't know if you've signed any contracts or anything with
0:01:24 > 0:01:26this company...
0:01:26 > 0:01:27HE SIGHS
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Plus, could a fortune be heading your way?
0:01:30 > 0:01:33How you could be entitled to inherit unclaimed estates
0:01:33 > 0:01:34held by the Treasury.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46It's Wednesday morning and, in the offices of Fraser & Fraser,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50researchers are already busy working up cases.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53This needs to go in priority, but I think he's wrong.
0:01:53 > 0:01:54I don't like it.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57It's just near Regents Park. Do you want the details, then?
0:01:57 > 0:01:59They married in December 1927, Fulham...
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Anything Streatham, Dave Hadley?
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Senior case manager Dave Slee has had a tipoff about an unclaimed
0:02:07 > 0:02:12- estate that could potentially be worth over £300,000.- Good.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14No, that confirms that...
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Such a valuable case will have attracted the attention
0:02:17 > 0:02:21of many other rival firms, so the pressure is on to crack it first.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34Michael Dodsworth died in a nursing home on the 27th of November 2012.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Neighbour Brenda Johnson knew him as a young boy.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40In his younger days, he was a bit of a pickle,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43but he was always good to people.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46He went to school down Brixton way, it was.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48He was very clever.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53He was quite good at languages and everything.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56He could speak six languages, I think he could speak.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Michael had a long and successful career as a translator
0:03:00 > 0:03:02for the Metropolitan Police.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Roy Walker was his neighbour for 37 years and remembers him
0:03:07 > 0:03:09as a very intelligent man.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12If you spoke to him about everyday events,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15he seemed to know what was happening in the world
0:03:15 > 0:03:18and could talk in an intelligent conversation with you.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Oh, he was a real gentleman, yeah, yeah.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23He opened the door for ladies, that type of thing, a very
0:03:23 > 0:03:26old-fashioned gentleman, but very friendly, would always stop and chat.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28As I said, a very gentle man.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Until recently, the majority of the heir hunters' work
0:03:38 > 0:03:40came from the Treasury Solicitors.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44But, nowadays, and just like with Michael Dodsworth's case,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47they use a variety of different sources to find unclaimed estates.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Neil Fraser has been in the business for 13 years
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and describes how the challenge has changed.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57'We have reporters out who we pay'
0:03:57 > 0:04:01a referral fee to, every time they give us a case.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05We collect it from various councils, we search the newspapers,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09we do an awful lot of work to try and get cases.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Heir hunters are paid by commission from a percentage
0:04:15 > 0:04:19of the unclaimed estate, as agreed by the beneficiaries,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23so, the pressure is on to crack the case before any rival company.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26It's all about staying ahead of the game and reacting quickly,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29so, in the office, it's all hands on deck.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Let's see if you can find Dawn for the moment.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34I need to get that marriage on top there.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37He's a bachelor, so no worry about half-brothers...
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Dave pulls in more researchers to help with this high value case.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43That ain't right.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46We're ahead of any competition, which is good news.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49They've already managed to establish Michael was married,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53but it appears his wife died and they had no children.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57If there is no immediate family found, the heir hunters then
0:04:57 > 0:05:00have to broaden their search generation by generation.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03In Michael's case, the researchers soon discover he was
0:05:03 > 0:05:09born in 1945 to Sylvia, a nurse, and engineer Edward Dodsworth.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13We couldn't find any other children off of that marriage,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16so we came to the conclusion that there were no half-siblings or
0:05:16 > 0:05:18siblings, making the deceased an only child,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21so we then we had to work it up to his aunts and uncles and,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25by doing so, we found out about the parents.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28And it's here the hard work starts.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29How many stems you got?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32That's three definite, that's four, five...
0:05:33 > 0:05:35six stems in total.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Starting work on the paternal side, the team discovers Michael's father
0:05:40 > 0:05:44was the eldest of five children born to Edward and Elizabeth Dodsworth.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Oh, no, that's you!
0:05:49 > 0:05:52With four uncles and aunts on the paternal side,
0:05:52 > 0:05:54the team must move fast.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Two children died in infancy, leaving an Uncle William
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and Aunt Dorothy to research.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05It seems that there's going to be two potential stems on the paternal side.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08One seems pretty easy, but she's married a Jones.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The other one we can't find anything for at the moment,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13but, hopefully...we'll get onto it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16But it's soon clear that tracing Aunt Dorothy will be
0:06:16 > 0:06:19a little more tricky than first thought.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I know she marries an Arthur Albert H Jones.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Jones is always a bit of a slog. Um, just trying to find their daughter.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I believe they have a daughter by the name of Jenny.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33While Ben plugs away at the paternal tree...
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Anything likely to come paternal?
0:06:36 > 0:06:37No.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40..things are moving quickly on the maternal side.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45The team have quickly established that Michael's mum Sylvia was
0:06:45 > 0:06:50the only daughter of Harry and Daisy Barker, and she had five siblings.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53The children of Harry and Daisy Barker,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57the males were all born at a time when they would have been
0:06:57 > 0:07:01primed to have been called up during the Second World War.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04There was every likelihood that, unfortunately,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08at least one of them might be killed during that time.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Dave Slee's hunch is correct, as the team soon discover that
0:07:11 > 0:07:15one of the brothers, Derrick, died in 1943 during the war.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Has this been done?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21But the team are able to find a telephone number for someone
0:07:21 > 0:07:25who they think could be a son of one of the other brothers, Graham.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Could the first heir have been found?
0:07:28 > 0:07:30I'm calling Graham Barker,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32a potential heir on the Dodsworth Estate.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Hello, good afternoon. Very sorry to trouble you,
0:07:36 > 0:07:37I'm trying to trace a gentleman
0:07:37 > 0:07:42by the name of Graham Barker who would have been born in 1944.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45You're born '53, are you? Not '44. I'm sorry.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49We've obviously picked a Graham Barker, but...I think we've got
0:07:49 > 0:07:53the wrong family and I'm sorry to have troubled you, sir.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55A disappointing result for Dave.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59However, on the other side of the office...
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- Yes!- ..case manager Ben thinks he's had a breakthrough.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I think I might have found a paternal cousin of the deceased.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11Um, the daughter of Dorothy Jane Dodsworth who married Mrs Jones.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Um...I'm not completely convinced at the moment,
0:08:16 > 0:08:17but I think I'm on the right track.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Michael's mum Sylvia had five brothers and if they, or any of
0:08:23 > 0:08:27their children are alive, they would be heirs to this six-figure estate.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28Boom!
0:08:28 > 0:08:30But the research on this side of the family
0:08:30 > 0:08:33is giving case manager Dave a headache.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36There's just paperwork everywhere. This is just...
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Where's her phone number? I don't?
0:08:43 > 0:08:46My day has been a nightmare and...
0:08:48 > 0:08:51..when you've got so much information coming at you
0:08:51 > 0:08:54so quickly from all angles...
0:08:54 > 0:08:56I like everything...
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and if it's not like that...
0:08:59 > 0:09:00it throws me.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05But, finally, Dave thinks he's tracked down
0:09:05 > 0:09:07one of Michael's maternal uncles.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Brian has one son who's a solicitor.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16Brian married Jean Wales in 1943 and they had one son.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18So, can you call Charlie...?
0:09:18 > 0:09:19If they can get in touch with him,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22they may have found their first heir.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24I said, "Have you married anyone?"
0:09:25 > 0:09:28That Cambridge one is made to Raymond A Deeks...
0:09:29 > 0:09:33All the team focus on finding a contact number for the son.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36The pressure is on as they need to reach him
0:09:36 > 0:09:39before any other company in order to get their commission.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Sweet, it all ties in nicely. Brilliant.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Quickly, a number is found, so Dave wastes no time in calling him.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Now, we believe, sir, that you'll be entitled to a share in...
0:09:52 > 0:09:56your cousin's estate. Thank you for taking the call, sir.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Thank you, sir. Bye-bye.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Dave's on a roll and is cheered with the thought he's ahead of the game.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08And he soon has another heir on the phone.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Hello, good afternoon, Mrs Barker?
0:10:10 > 0:10:14I don't know if you've been made aware of the fact that, uh,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17a cousin of your late husband's has passed away by...
0:10:17 > 0:10:21But another heir hunting company has already been in touch.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Have they actually been to see you today?
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Oh, right, OK.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Uh, I don't know if you've signed any contracts or anything with
0:10:28 > 0:10:30this company...
0:10:30 > 0:10:33You can go to whoever you feel most comfortable with.
0:10:33 > 0:10:34Thank you now. Bye-bye.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38It looks like Dave's role has come to an abrupt ending.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41HE SIGHS
0:10:42 > 0:10:44With confirmation that the competition is
0:10:44 > 0:10:47hot on their heels, the company deploys one of their
0:10:47 > 0:10:51most experienced travelling researchers, Ewart Lindsay.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Ewart has worked for the firm for around 18 years and,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57in that time, he's knocked on thousands of doors to tell
0:10:57 > 0:11:00people they're due an unexpected windfall.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05It takes one aim, you know, to find heirs, get them all signed up.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07You know, that's what I'll be doing.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08I enjoy it.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11As well as signing up heirs, travelling researchers
0:11:11 > 0:11:15collect certificates and carry out door to door enquiries.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18And, for this specific case, with the competition breathing
0:11:18 > 0:11:22down their necks, Ewart needs to be ready to spring into action.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25However, it's not going to be that straightforward.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27The first thing to find was where Mr Barker lives.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36BIG BEN CHIMES
0:11:36 > 0:11:40While the Treasury Solicitor publishes a list of new cases
0:11:40 > 0:11:43every day, the heir hunters can't always find the vital clues
0:11:43 > 0:11:46that lead them to entitled relatives.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50This cases remain on the government's unclaimed list
0:11:50 > 0:11:51for up to 30 years.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52BIG BEN CHIMES
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Like other probate genealogy firms, Celtic Research,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59run by father and son team Peter and Hector Birchwood,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03find the list incredibly useful and with ever-evolving technology,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06the team sometimes look back at cases that remain unsolved.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Over the last 11 years, our business has changed completely.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Uh, the internet has revolutionised the way in which
0:12:15 > 0:12:17we access information, uh,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and the way in which informations are made available to us.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24And that's why, in 2012,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Hector reopened a case they'd failed to crack ten years earlier.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And even though other heir hunters had looked into it,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35the case remained a mystery.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39This case has been sitting unsolved for a number of years
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and we simply decided to take a look with fresh eyes.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Looking at the number of potential branches, I could see that there
0:12:49 > 0:12:52was a very good possibility that there would be heirs.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02Lewis Eskenazi died at home in Stamford Hill, North London,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05almost 30 years ago in 1984.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08He was 62 years of age.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Very little is known about his life,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13as he was a very private man who dedicated his life to caring for
0:13:13 > 0:13:18his mother and, unfortunately, there are no surviving photos of him.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21What is known is that he lived all his life
0:13:21 > 0:13:25in the Stamford Hill area, a well-known Jewish community.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Avocados, come on!
0:13:28 > 0:13:31It's believed he and his mother had a hat stall in the famous
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Ridley Road Market during the 1960s and '70s.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Stallholder Larry Julian remembers the Jewish clothing stalls.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43They would all walk around with tape measures all round their necks
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and they'd have a little area at the back where people
0:13:46 > 0:13:47could try their clothes on.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Uh, the quality of the clothing was very, very good.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Uh, and that's how it actually was and it was the Jewish people,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56because they was a more clothing people, it would be probably out of
0:13:56 > 0:13:59the 30% of Jewish people that traded in this market,
0:13:59 > 0:14:0120% would be clothing traders.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Another trader, Gerald Viner, has had a fabric stall here
0:14:05 > 0:14:09all his life and has watched the market evolve through the decades.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14In the '70s, you know, we sold a lot more different cloths, cos
0:14:14 > 0:14:20there were a lot more Jewish people here, but nowadays it has changed.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23They've moved out of the area and other people have moved in,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26but it was always a good spirit.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29There was hardly any trouble and it was good times, really.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Raspberries, two for a pound!
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Saul Marks has worked as an heir hunter for five years
0:14:40 > 0:14:42and is the company's expert in Jewish cases,
0:14:42 > 0:14:47and when he saw this unsolved case worth around £18,000,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50he decided to take on the challenge of solving it.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54The research that had been done in the London office showed that
0:14:54 > 0:14:55Lewis was an only child,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and that he hadn't married or had any children.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Saul's passion for genealogy comes from his own family history.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09My dad has always been very frustrated that his father's parents
0:15:09 > 0:15:11would never say where they came from.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17They were Russian Jews who arrived in England not long after
0:15:17 > 0:15:19the turn of the 20th century.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21They changed their surname to Marks
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and my dad always felt throughout his life that this was very much
0:15:25 > 0:15:29a problem for him because it was part of his identity that was missing
0:15:29 > 0:15:31and part of his background that was missing.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34I set out to try and solve this mystery.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I actually managed to solve it when I was 22 and it was incredible.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I was able to reunite him
0:15:42 > 0:15:45with his cousins who lived only a few miles from where we lived
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and we never knew they existed, and we had family photos in our
0:15:49 > 0:15:54line of the family and we didn't know who the people were in the photos.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Other copies of those photos were on our cousin's mantelpieces just
0:15:58 > 0:16:00a few miles away and we never knew.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05And it was brilliant, my dad feels much more fulfilled now thanks
0:16:05 > 0:16:07to my work and his work with me.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Based in the Liverpool office, Saul was keen to get started and he
0:16:14 > 0:16:19soon discovered Lewis was the only child of Leah and Jacob Eskenazi.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24So, to find any heirs, he would have to look to the wider family.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27He began with Lewis' parents.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30We were able to establish that Jacob was actually born in Turkey,
0:16:30 > 0:16:36and there were a number of Eskenazi in the 1911 census within
0:16:36 > 0:16:38the Jewish community of the UK.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43I spoke to representatives of all the various Eskenazi families that
0:16:43 > 0:16:48I'd found, but none of them remembered the deceased at all.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52And most of them had come from Istanbul in Turkey.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56So, unfortunately, we ran into a complete dead end.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Not a great start for Saul.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02So, with the paternal side of the family proving too difficult
0:17:02 > 0:17:07to trace, Saul turned his attention to the maternal side.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10The deceased mother's name was Leah Wagenaar.
0:17:10 > 0:17:16The spelling of Wagenaar was very, very unusual. It was W-A-G-E-N-A-A-R.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Normally, you would expect Wagner to be as the composer, W-A-G-N-E-R.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25The problem here was that these two spellings were used interchangeably.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27The first thing I had to do,
0:17:27 > 0:17:32was look at all the occurrences of the longer spelling...
0:17:32 > 0:17:38and make sure that that the ones that were part of the family were
0:17:38 > 0:17:40accounted for, and the ones that weren't part of the family
0:17:40 > 0:17:43were then discounted.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47As the spelling was so unusual, Saul quickly found Leah's parents,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Harriet and Solomon Wagenaar.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Solomon had set himself up as a diamond polisher when the
0:17:54 > 0:17:58family settled in the thriving Jewish community in East London.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05From the late 19th century, around two million Jewish people
0:18:05 > 0:18:10fled persecution in Eastern Europe looking for a better life.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15Most of the Jews that came to Britain settled in London,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17and most of those settled in the East End of London,
0:18:17 > 0:18:22and this was close to the docks where they had actually arrived.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Jewish people were associated with a number of trades.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32These include furniture making, hat making, also the jewellery trade.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36They were associated with these kinds of trades
0:18:36 > 0:18:39because the skills were fairly easy to learn,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42also they would have brought these skills with them from their home
0:18:42 > 0:18:47countries and it was relatively easy to set yourself up in these trades.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50You only had to have a small amount of capital to
0:18:50 > 0:18:52actually buy the equipment.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Housing conditions in the East End were very difficult.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02The East End was already a very, very densely packed area
0:19:02 > 0:19:04before the Jewish community settled there.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08This meant there were houses with huge numbers of people
0:19:08 > 0:19:11occupying the different rooms.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Um, conditions were very, very poor, so there'd be perhaps damp,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18they'd maybe be bug infested,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20and this led to lots of social projects to try
0:19:20 > 0:19:25and improve the housing and build new housing for people to move into.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Lewis had lived his entire life just a stone's throw
0:19:29 > 0:19:32from the East End, so it was highly likely
0:19:32 > 0:19:35some of his relatives would have made this area their home.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39Back on the case,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Saul had now discovered that Lewis had five aunts and uncles.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44They had all passed away,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48so he knew he was now looking for their children.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50These would be Lewis' first cousins.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52He started with Isabella.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56And she married a gentleman named Abraham Kantrowiz.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02This was a rather easier family to identify, because of the spelling.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06It was spelled K-A-N-T-R-O-W-I-Z.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Very, very unusual spelling of the name.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Because of this unusual spelling,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16we were able to establish a death listing for Isabella Wagenaar.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18She died age 43,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and she and Abraham Kantrowiz had six children.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Saul started with Isabella's daughter, Bertha.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Bertha married Edward in 1937 and they had two daughters
0:20:30 > 0:20:35One of whom seemed to still be alive and was therefore a potential heir.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36Had Saul done the impossible
0:20:36 > 0:20:41and finally found the first beneficiary of this £18,000 estate?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Hi, my name's Saul Marks...
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'I therefore contacted this lady and explained'
0:20:48 > 0:20:52the reason I was calling and I was hoping that she would be able
0:20:52 > 0:20:56to put me in touch with all her cousins on her mother's side.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59The case was really picking up pace
0:20:59 > 0:21:04and Saul had found his first heir, but then there was a dramatic twist.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07As far as this lady knew, she...
0:21:08 > 0:21:09had no first cousins...
0:21:10 > 0:21:15and yet, I knew that there were four other branches of
0:21:15 > 0:21:17the Kantrowiz family out there waiting to be found.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Just like the Lewis Eskenazi story, not all cases can be cracked
0:21:30 > 0:21:31and, every year,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35millions of pounds go to the government from unclaimed estates.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39The money raised by the Bona Vacantia Division is passed
0:21:39 > 0:21:43annually to the Treasury and it goes into the consolidated fund.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46When the Bona Vacantia Division passes money to the Treasury,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48it puts the case on its unclaimed list
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and it stays on there for 12 years to be claimed.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53If someone makes a valid claim within that period,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55then the money is paid back.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Today, we're focusing on two cases that are yet to be
0:21:58 > 0:21:59solved by the heir hunters.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Could you be the beneficiary they are looking for?
0:22:02 > 0:22:03First, is the case of...
0:22:05 > 0:22:06..who died on...
0:22:07 > 0:22:08..2012, in...
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Christopher is believed to have died a bachelor.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Records show that he was born on...
0:22:20 > 0:22:21His parents were...
0:22:22 > 0:22:24..who died aged 67 in...
0:22:27 > 0:22:31..who died in 2010, aged 86.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Despite all this information, there's been no success in
0:22:35 > 0:22:37tracing beneficiaries to his estate.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Next, can you help with the case of...
0:22:41 > 0:22:42He died a bachelor in...
0:22:47 > 0:22:48He was born in...
0:22:50 > 0:22:52..in Scotland.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Both George and Christopher's estates remain unclaimed.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59However, there is hope beneficiaries could still be found.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02We find that cases are being solved much more quickly these days,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06there's a lot more interest in the general public in this line of work.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09We find that they are using the internet more,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11there's much more resources out there.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12Do you have any clues?
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Could you be the relative the heir hunters are looking for?
0:23:15 > 0:23:19If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30In London, Dave Slee and the team are on the hunt for heirs to
0:23:30 > 0:23:35a high value estate estimated to be worth over £300,000.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38He's a bachelor, so no worry about half-brothers...
0:23:38 > 0:23:40With the possibility that rival firms could be
0:23:40 > 0:23:43breathing down their necks, the team are racing to try
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and be the first to sign up heirs and get their fee.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Just see if you can find Dawn, for the moment.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Well, I need to get that marriage on top there.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55So far, the team has quickly built up a picture of the family tree...
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I'm going to take the tree if you don't need it.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01..and they found heirs on the maternal and paternal side.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Yes!
0:24:05 > 0:24:08As Dave continues his research into the maternal side,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11he uncovers a sad and unusual story.
0:24:12 > 0:24:18What is really interesting is that two of the deceased's maternal
0:24:18 > 0:24:23uncles, who were both in the RAF during the war,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26were both shot down on the same day.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Like thousands of other young men, it seems Derek and Brian joined
0:24:32 > 0:24:38the war effort together in 1939 and both took to the skies with the RAF.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And they were to be effected by an extraordinary coincidence.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47On the night of the 9th of March 1943, the two Barker brothers
0:24:47 > 0:24:50were both part of Bomber Command's raid on Munich...
0:24:50 > 0:24:52EXPLOSIONS
0:24:53 > 0:24:56..in separate aircraft in separate squadrons.
0:24:56 > 0:24:57Both aircraft were shot down.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Tragically, Derek died when his plane went down.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Fortunately, Brian survived, but the drama didn't end there.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Bomber Command was very keen to learn from aircrew who had been
0:25:12 > 0:25:16shot down, and so Brian and his comrades were interviewed
0:25:16 > 0:25:18when they returned to the UK
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and we have a record of the information that they gave.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Brian and the rest of the crew had to relive the experience.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Brian said that as they were approaching their target
0:25:30 > 0:25:34at Munich, the starboard outer engine failed,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38but they were able to continue and drop their bombs and,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40on the return journey,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44as they were trying to get a fix from the stars, um, they had to fly
0:25:44 > 0:25:48straight and level, which made them quite vulnerable to attack.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The aircraft was hit by flak and the port outer engine was
0:25:52 > 0:25:57set on fire, and the crew had to bail out near Mons in Belgium.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Brian eventually made it back to the UK, where he married and had a son
0:26:02 > 0:26:07who is one of five cousins the team have found on the maternal side.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09All of these are heirs to the estate.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12One of them, Roger, lives in Cambridge,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15and travelling researcher Ewart is already en route to see him
0:26:15 > 0:26:18in the hope of getting him signed up.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21It's half past four now, and he's got to go to work by five o'clock, so...
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I'll have to be really quick.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27But it's not that straightforward.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I first need to find where Mr Barker lives, cos I'm here now,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33but I can't seem to find the block of flats.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43After a quick look around, he can't find the address,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45so gives Roger a call.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50I'm actually here now. I'm actually right opposite the village stores.
0:26:50 > 0:26:51OK.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55- Um...- Right, OK...- Where are you? - ..I'll come out and find you.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57OK, all right.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I'm just beside the green, beside the funfair.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Ewart may be on the phone to Roger,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07but the competition is still causing the team a headache.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11- Yeah, OK.- A rival company has called Roger on his landline.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Yeah, possibly, but I don't get back until ten.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17- That's another company, isn't it? - Not a good time.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22So, with competition hot on his heels, Ewart needs to act fast.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26- OK, we're in business, so...- Yep.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30- So, I don't want to make you late, Mr Barker.- It's OK.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And get Roger's signature on the dotted line.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38- Just to explain... - Hmm.- ..what I'm here to do.- Hmm.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Uh, is run through a questionnaire with you,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42- just to confirm who you are.- Yeah.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46We are running out of time, so I want to do this really, really quick.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49- Yeah.- Take a seat.- Sorry! - Make yourself comfortable.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53OK. Um...
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- Occupation?- Huh?
0:27:55 > 0:27:57How do I put this...?
0:27:57 > 0:28:00I did...I was a travel agent for many years,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03but now I do about three different jobs.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05After checking some details,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Ewart confirms that Roger is indeed an heir and will inherit
0:28:08 > 0:28:14a share of an estate estimated to be worth at least £300,000...
0:28:14 > 0:28:15Your father's full name...
0:28:16 > 0:28:19..and, fortunately for Ewart and the team in the office,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Roger's happy to sign an agreement,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24and has agreed a percentage with the company for acting
0:28:24 > 0:28:28on his behalf in claiming his inheritance.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31- OK.- I'll give you a call on Friday. - Thanks.- Bye-bye.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Although Roger did meet Michael a few times,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38he hadn't seen his cousin for many years.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43I, together with other members of the family, were trying to get in
0:28:43 > 0:28:48touch with him and wondered why all our communications came back to us.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56With his job done, Ewart can now ring the office with the good news.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59- He signed, Mr Barker.- Oh, well done.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04There's three other stems and we're the first to make contact with them.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06- Great stuff, great stuff. - Yes, it's a result.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08All right, mate, I appreciate that and I'll speak to you tomorrow.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Cheers, Dave, all the best.
0:29:10 > 0:29:11Take care now. Bye-bye.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16After a hard day's research with much of the office
0:29:16 > 0:29:18working on this one case,
0:29:18 > 0:29:23the team think they now have found all the heirs, 22 in total.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Although some of the heirs have been contacted by rival companies,
0:29:26 > 0:29:30the firm are confident that most will sign with them.
0:29:30 > 0:29:31Job's done.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38But the team's work doesn't end there.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Heir hunters often help to administer
0:29:40 > 0:29:42an estate on behalf of the heirs
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and a vital part of that process is visiting the property to
0:29:45 > 0:29:48double-check a will hadn't been made.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52If a will is found, all their efforts could be for nothing.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Around four weeks' later,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57company partner Andrew Fraser goes to Michael's house.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Stepping into the world of Michael Dodsworth
0:30:03 > 0:30:06gives the heir hunters a better insight into who he was.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12So, I expect this must be Michael himself.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14We've got another picture over here as well.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19And he appeared to have been a very religious man.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23We've got a number of pictures of him with the ministers in the church.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27I've got a number of Bibles. We've got a Spanish one.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31They're all interesting and it shows that his language skills have
0:30:31 > 0:30:34developed from a young age and he's gone on to use them all.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Michael's 60th birthday party from 2005.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43He's play the piano and...
0:30:43 > 0:30:45looks like he's had an enjoyable time.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49These are very nice family pictures
0:30:49 > 0:30:52and it really shows the person who we're dealing with now.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58As no will is found, the team's research stands and Roger,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01along with 21 other people, will share the estate,
0:31:01 > 0:31:05now thought to be worth well over £300,000.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10But, for Roger, the true legacy is the memory of his cousin Michael.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14It's certainly quite sad to know that he's gone.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19And, also, it sort of brings back memories of him, really.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33In Liverpool, heir hunter Saul Marks from Celtic Research was
0:31:33 > 0:31:37hard at work on the case of Lewis Eskenazi.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42Lewis had died nearly 30 years ago, leaving an £18,000 estate unclaimed.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45This was a case that had stumped many heir hunting companies
0:31:45 > 0:31:48when it was first looked at over ten years ago,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51but then, expert in Jewish genealogy Saul Marks
0:31:51 > 0:31:54took on the case and made a breakthrough.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57He had found a whole branch of Lewis' family
0:31:57 > 0:32:00with potential cousins who would be heirs to his estate.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Hi, my name is Saul Marks. I work for a company...
0:32:03 > 0:32:05'But, when he contacted the first of these cousins'
0:32:05 > 0:32:07he got a surprise.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10As far as this lady knew, she...
0:32:11 > 0:32:12..had no first cousins.
0:32:13 > 0:32:18And yet, I knew that there were four other branches of
0:32:18 > 0:32:21the Kantrowiz family out there waiting to be found.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Saul then turned his attention to the other four children born
0:32:25 > 0:32:28to Lewis' aunt Isabella,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31but it was proving tricky to track the Kantrowiz family down,
0:32:31 > 0:32:33especially Harry.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Harry Kantrowiz didn't appear to be alive,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38but the lack of a death listing was a real problem.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43The deceased's date of birth would have been on the birth certificate,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46and Saul needed this to be able to start the investigation.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49We ordered his birth certificate.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54I then did a search for anyone of a first name Harry with any surname
0:32:54 > 0:32:58using his exact date of birth, and there was one that popped out...
0:32:58 > 0:32:59Harry Kanter.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06So, Harry Kantrowiz was now Harry Kanter. Why had he changed his name?
0:33:06 > 0:33:10Jewish migrants coming over to Britain in the late 19th century
0:33:10 > 0:33:14and early 20th century, often changed their names once they got here,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16and that was for a variety of reasons.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Once reason might be that British officials
0:33:19 > 0:33:22writing down their names may have got the spelling wrong
0:33:22 > 0:33:25and they may have just then adopted the new spelling,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28but probably the main reason is that they wanted to fit in,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32and often they experienced prejudice as Jewish people...
0:33:32 > 0:33:33and, for that reason,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36they would have anglicized their names or completely changed them.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41After such a significant breakthrough,
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Saul quickly tracked down Harry's son, Michael.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46Could he be the key to unlocking the gates to the rest
0:33:46 > 0:33:48of the of the Kantrowiz family?
0:33:48 > 0:33:51This was very exciting because, obviously,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Bertha's daughter hadn't been able to tell me anything about
0:33:55 > 0:33:59the family or put me in touch with any cousins cos she hadn't known any.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00So, I spoke to Michael.
0:34:01 > 0:34:08He said to me, "My father didn't talk at all about his family
0:34:08 > 0:34:10"and I wasn't aware he had any brothers and sisters."
0:34:10 > 0:34:13So, this was exactly the same situation.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Saul realised that finding the rest of the heirs
0:34:16 > 0:34:17was going to be a tough job.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23My heart sank at this point because I really hoped that one person would
0:34:23 > 0:34:27be able to tell us where all the other cousins were. Um...
0:34:27 > 0:34:30I really realised there were going to be shortcuts on this
0:34:30 > 0:34:34case at all and these five branches I was going to have to
0:34:34 > 0:34:39work as five different families with no help from one branch to the next.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44Saul persevered and focused his attention now on Theodore
0:34:44 > 0:34:46and it wasn't long before Saul discovered
0:34:46 > 0:34:49he had also changed his surname from Kantrowiz to Keene.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54This then enabled him to quickly track down a contact number
0:34:54 > 0:34:56for their eldest child, Peter.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Peter was able to confirm for me that the name had been Kantrowiz and this
0:35:01 > 0:35:04was the family which I was looking for, which was a great relief.
0:35:04 > 0:35:11Um...he explained that his father knew that he was Jewish, um,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13but was very reluctant to speak about it
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and really wanted that part of his heritage hidden.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22So, um, so, this was a real revelation to him, to find out
0:35:22 > 0:35:26that Lewis Eskenazi was a cousin of his father through
0:35:26 > 0:35:28the Jewish side of the family.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Um, and he really took a great interest in that.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Even though Peter grew up in the heart of the Jewish community
0:35:36 > 0:35:39in East London, it wasn't until he was in his 60s that
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Peter discovered that he was actually part of that culture.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46My father never told me why he changed the name.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51He made some excuse about the war and people calling him
0:35:51 > 0:35:56the man with the funny name and, um, shouting very loudly at him
0:35:56 > 0:35:59because it was a very Polish name.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01And he said that he and his brother had decided that
0:36:01 > 0:36:04they would change the name.
0:36:04 > 0:36:10And so, that's what I was told, but he swore me to secrecy.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13So, with a new identity came a whole new family that he didn't
0:36:13 > 0:36:18know about, including his late cousin, Lewis Eskenazi.
0:36:18 > 0:36:24I had no idea who this chap was, um, and what I think is sad
0:36:24 > 0:36:29is that he lived not a stone's throw from where I lived.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32He lived in Hackney and I was just a couple of miles away in Shoreditch.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39He appears to have died on his own. He didn't marry.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42We've visited his grave and nobody has been there
0:36:42 > 0:36:44because there are no stones on his gravestone.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50I'm very sad about his death
0:36:50 > 0:36:51and his loneliness to be honest.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05Lewis' story has away in clearly had an impact on Peter
0:37:05 > 0:37:08and sparked a need for him to know more about his Jewish roots.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12He's come to meet Maurice Bittern at the UK's oldest synagogue
0:37:12 > 0:37:14where Lewis' parents married.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Is this the nearest surviving synagogue to the
0:37:17 > 0:37:19sort of Hackney area?
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Yes, it would have been the only one, actually.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28And most of the Jews who came to London in the 19th century were
0:37:28 > 0:37:33from Russian and German origin and they would have all been Ashkenazi.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37So, the majority of the synagogues in this area and in Hackney
0:37:37 > 0:37:41and Dalston and Stoke Newington and that sort of area,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43all would have been Ashkenazi.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- I wonder if my family are Ashkenazis or not.- Well...
0:37:46 > 0:37:47My great-grandfather
0:37:47 > 0:37:53and my great-great-grandfather were buried in Edmonton Jewish Cemetery...
0:37:53 > 0:37:54- Ah.- ..which I visited last week.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58Well, then he would definitely have been an Ashkenazi Jew
0:37:58 > 0:38:01- because Edmonton Cemetery is Ashkenazi.- Oh, right!
0:38:01 > 0:38:03So, that answers that question.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05So, I was right in my guess that they're Ashkenazis.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08They are Ashkenazi or were Ashkenazi.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Peter is now on a path to discovering more
0:38:10 > 0:38:12about his Jewish ancestry.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16He had begun looking into his family tree a few years ago,
0:38:16 > 0:38:18but kept hitting brick walls.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22However, the little information he did have was extremely useful
0:38:22 > 0:38:24for Saul to track down the other cousins of Lewis.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30One of them is Moira Wingate who, like Peter,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33knew very little about her ancestors.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37I didn't know anything about my mother's siblings
0:38:37 > 0:38:39other than their names.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Moira did know about her Jewish roots,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46but it was made clear to her that this had to be kept a family secret.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50My mother used to talk about the Jewish religion.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52She used to try and teach us...
0:38:52 > 0:38:55that was often out of earshot of my father.
0:38:55 > 0:39:01Um, and we were told very strongly not to advertise to friends or
0:39:01 > 0:39:04school friends that, um...
0:39:04 > 0:39:07we come from a Jewish mother.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Moira and her husband, Michael,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12have gone back through family records to try and learn more,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15but there is a big question that remains unanswered.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Why did Lewis' aunt's children all become estranged?
0:39:21 > 0:39:25In total, Saul found 18 cousins through this side of the family
0:39:25 > 0:39:27and, since finding out they were heirs,
0:39:27 > 0:39:31the cousins have agreed to meet up for the very first time to see
0:39:31 > 0:39:33if they can shed some light on this mystery.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39I'm absolutely delighted and I can't wait to meet them,
0:39:39 > 0:39:44because it's part of my heritage and they're part of the same family.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48OK, right, not now, but two or three generations back,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52we shared the same ancestors, and it means a great deal to me
0:39:52 > 0:39:55and I'm so excited and I can't wait, really.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01A few weeks later, it's the day of the reunion.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04- Moira is on her way to the venue. - The journey, although
0:40:04 > 0:40:07it's not very far, feels a bit like waiting for a kettle to boil.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12It feels a long way away even though it's only about an hour or so.
0:40:14 > 0:40:15She's the first to arrive.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20And waits nervously to meet the cousins she never knew existed.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Michael is the next to arrive.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28You don't have to come up and ask me, it is.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30- I'm Moira.- Hi, I'm Mike.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Mike, I'm just trying my hardest to see
0:40:33 > 0:40:35if I can see a family resemblance.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38- It's exciting, isn't it? - Yeah, it is a bit, yeah.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42- Hi.- Hi.- Sisters Maureen and Lorraine then join the group.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45We've brought the family tree because I can't remember who's who.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- No, no...- And I'm going to really struggle with it as well.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51To see how these four cousins are all connected,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54the family tree helps them piece their puzzle together.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57- So, which are you? - So, we're...that's...
0:41:00 > 0:41:06- That's me.- So, you're the daughter of Maurice.- Maurice was our dad.- Yes.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09So, what relation are you to my dad then?
0:41:09 > 0:41:12It's clearly all rather confusing...
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- Sorry, say that again. - I keep listening, I keep just...
0:41:15 > 0:41:17..but very exciting.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Yeah, yes, it's been amazing, actually.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23I've got the family tree that goes back to 1786.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25- Oh, have you?- I brought it for you.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28It's nice to know that we're not the only relatives left
0:41:28 > 0:41:30because we've just recently lost our mum,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34so, to know that there are other sort of, you know,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36family members out there that we didn't know about is really nice.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Oh, that's my mum and dad, isn't it?
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Have a look cos I don't know how far apart that is.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Basically, we're half-Jewish and we didn't know...
0:41:44 > 0:41:45about that at all.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50- Peter then arrives.- Hello.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53- I'm Moira.- Moira.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56- Hello.- And you look like grandad. - Oh, thank you.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00- Oh, you must be Mike.- Yeah, pleased to meet you.- How do you do?
0:42:00 > 0:42:04I think we've lost maybe 40, 50 years of...
0:42:04 > 0:42:07you know, family things that have gone on.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09They even manage to get Peter's brother
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Steven on the phone in Canada.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13You've got a lovely Canadian accent.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15What sort of dog have you got?
0:42:15 > 0:42:17He's like the rest of the Keene family.
0:42:17 > 0:42:18He's a mongrel.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21THEY LAUGH
0:42:21 > 0:42:23It looks just like you, Steven.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27A family reunited beginning to create their own memories.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33The big question which is never answered is why the siblings
0:42:33 > 0:42:34became estranged,
0:42:34 > 0:42:38leaving these cousins having no knowledge of a wider family.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41This mystery has died with the aunts and uncles,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44but their children see a different future.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47I'm sure the bonding will grow with time.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50It's just unbelievable that nobody knew of each other
0:42:50 > 0:42:51for all these years.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56'Unfortunately, the downside is,
0:42:56 > 0:43:00'and I think the same is for Mike as well, it hasn't answered
0:43:00 > 0:43:04'my question, which is, "Why did my father change his name?"'
0:43:04 > 0:43:06So, it's still an unsolved question.