Fraser/Lancaster Heir Hunters

Every year, around half a million people die in the UK.

And thousands leave no will and no known relatives.

I mean, he was a very private person, so...

he didn't sort of talk to us about his, um, his past.

If no family members come forward,

their money will go to the government.

And that's where the heir hunters come in.

They're experts in tracking down beneficiaries

who have no clue they're entitled to a share of an estate.

Getting a call about you having an inheritance is very strange.

That's why I stopped in my tracks.

They have to beat rival firms who will be hot on their heels,

while working on estates that can be valued at thousands of pounds.

It's worth between 750,000 up to potentially £1,000,000.

And they can also open doors to the past and reunite families.

-This is my wife, Iris.

-Hi.

-New sister-in-law.

Above all, it's about giving people news of an unexpected windfall.

Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?

Coming up, the heir hunters can't afford to put a foot wrong,

as they race to find heirs to a valuable estate.

The last thing we want is for one of our competition to go sign it up.

We'd lose half or a third of the estate.

And a complicated case has got the team doing double time.

We had to do two searches to make sure that nothing was missed.

Plus, how you could be entitled to inherit unclaimed estates

held by the treasury.

Could thousands of pounds be coming your way?

Tuesday morning, and the team at Fraser and Fraser

are busy picking up on a case which they received last night.

This is a case called Cyril Archibald Henry Fraser.

Um, died in a nursing home. It looks a very nice, private nursing home.

So we think maybe there's some money there.

And the case is appealing to company boss, Neil, too.

We start liking cases is when we've got multiple middle names.

So, we've got a forename of Cyril,

but then we've got an Archibald and a Henry as two middle names,

which always makes us take a second look.

Cyril died aged 82 in a nursing home in Hampshire,

just days before his 83rd birthday.

Deputy matron, Barbara Hembling,

was one of the people who looked after him while he was there.

Cyril Fraser came to us for palliative, end of life care.

He was a lovely, lovely man.

He was very, very easy to nurse and to care for.

He didn't seem bothered by the fact that he didn't have family.

He seemed very, very content to have friends,

and they did visit regularly.

Didn't seem to have any unfinished business,

and that usually means that when people do enter the end stages,

they go gently and peacefully, which he did.

His neighbour of over 20 years, Jean Ball, remembers him well.

He was a very nice gentlemanly type of man. Um, yes, very, very pleasant.

He had these friends that he used to talk with in the town an awful lot.

They were boys that went to the local school,

and had lived here all their lives.

Cyril had been a work-study engineer,

tasked with improving productivity

at a local factory by making sure that workers

were as efficient as possible.

Cyril was married to Patricia for 34 years. But, sadly she died in 2009.

I think when he lost his wife, he was very, very lost.

He used to just wander off, and just walk around the town,

and what have you.

See who he could see.

William Stubbings had known Cyril for over 50 years,

and he remembers how much Cyril enjoyed being with friends.

Eight or nine of them always used to get together and talk, you know,

and people would say, "There's that gang again over there."

But, nearly all of them what used to get there now are passed away.

He was always happy. Always busy in his garden.

Anybody come along, you know,

he'd chat with them over the gate and that.

I've never heard no bad words against him.

If you ask him to do anything he would do it for you.

The case came in yesterday evening, and was picked up by boss Neil.

It was advertised by the treasury about 5:30.

Unfortunately, after this office is closed.

Which meant it landed on my desk,

which is why it's my writing on the family tree because

I wrote it last night.

And he's relishing the opportunity to roll up his sleeves

and get stacking.

I quite like the chance of doing a little bit of research.

I don't get to do it that often.

Um...

I also like new cases, when new cases come it's the most exciting time.

So, from that point of view it's good to get working.

And Neil's research has given the firm's longest-serving manager,

David Pacifico, a head start.

Looks like married, no children, only child...

The team have already established that Cyril had been born

to Archie Charles Fraser and Edith Nellie Bills in 1930.

He had married Patricia O'Neil in 1975,

but she died in September 2009, and the couple had no children.

So, the heir hunters need to widen their search

to aunts, uncles, and cousins.

And, the team has already narrowed down the search.

They've discovered that Cyril's mother was an only child.

We found a death for the grandmother, and she's left a probate,

and hopefully if there were any other children that will be mentioned.

I'm pretty certain of the results of our research

we won't be looking for anyone on the maternal side,

because there won't be any family.

Family's died off.

With no heirs on the maternal side,

any beneficiaries to Cyril's estate will be on the paternal side.

If that side dies out, his money will go to the government.

The team establishes that there were four children

on Cyril's father's side.

One of the stems looks like Ethel. Looks like she might have died of...

without leaving any children.

Um, the other stem is the deceased father, Archibald.

And, then we had the stem of William Fraser.

Cyril's dad, Archie, was born in 1898,

five years after the marriage of his parents,

George Fraser and Sarah Poore.

His parents had two other children, William and Ethel,

after they married, and the team have already established

that Ethel died without having children.

But, the team has discovered another sibling, Elizabeth,

who was born eight years before they married.

Unless the team can prove George was Elizabeth's father,

she and her descendents would be half blood.

Paternal side, we think we've got three stems.

One of those stems is a possible half blood.

So, the birth is a long way before the marriage.

That being the case, that stem would not be entitled

if we can find full blood.

This stem is causing the team some concern.

If they research Elizabeth's descendents,

it could be a waste of time and resources.

Nonetheless, Neil has decided it's worth taking a punt.

We're working a half blood, because, uh, she's...

the grandmother was living with the grandfather before they are married.

Um, there's a possibility of a middle name of the...

..aunt of the deceased having...with an F.

That F could be for Fraser,

even though she's born and registered under Poore.

Uh, and to cover our backs really, we're going to get it,

work it and make contacts, and see where we go.

The last thing we want is for one of our competitions

to go and sign it up.

And then, try to fight that stem through,

and we lose half or a third of the estate.

And early signs of this stem could be large.

The child that was born before the marriage, Elizabeth Poore,

she married a Harold Ricketts and has had five or six children.

The team won't yet know

if these children will be entitled to a share of Cyril's estate.

They turn their attention to one other stem on the paternal side,

that of Archie's brother, William.

William Fraser was the deceased's uncle.

We know that he got married to a Lily Smith.

We know he had three children, one of whom was Ronald.

Case manager David Pacifico has established

William and Lily had four children, who were Cyril's cousins.

But one died as a baby, leaving the team three stems to work up...

Leslie, Ronald, and William.

It doesn't take long for David to make a potential breakthrough.

And he decides it's time to put a travelling researcher to work.

Travelling researchers are an important part

of the heir hunting team.

Especially, when rival firms are right behind them,

and time is of the essence.

As soon as the office has located a potential heir,

it's up to them to go and confirm the research,

and sign up the beneficiary

for an agreed percentage of their inheritance.

Today, it's Bob Barrett who's out on the road, and poised for action.

Ronald's brother, Leslie, um,

they found a possible marriage for him in Windsor...

..married to Margaret Thom, T-H-O-M. We don't know if this is right.

Two children, wonder if it's worth...

see if you can get through to see

if Leslie is the one who was born in 1919 in Christchurch.

Bob potentially is trying to make contact with a cousin once removed.

I think primarily he's going to the address where we know

the full-blood heir lives.

But, as the search for heirs continues,

could David's confidence be misplaced.

I was told the death matched up with the birth, it doesn't.

That death is wrong.

When heir hunters take on a case,

they never know where their research will take them.

While some cases can be very straightforward,

others can leave them with a mountain to climb.

And that was the case when the team began working

the case of Peter Lancaster.

His unclaimed estate was advertised by the treasury's solicitors Bona Vacantia Division.

And, case manager Mike Powell sprang into action.

The case came out and we got it when it was first released.

So, we had to work quickly

cos we knew other people would get it at the same time.

Especially all the competition was looking

at the same cases at the same time.

So, we had to make sure that the people were

organised and did their research as quickly as we could.

With a property valued

at an estimated quarter of a million pounds, this was a valuable case,

and Mike knew that rival firms would be hot on their heels.

Peter Lancaster died in January 2013, age 79,

in Hayes, West London.

He had been a bank manager.

Although there are no surviving photographs of Peter,

his neighbour Nicky remembers him very clearly.

I'd say Peter was quite a tall man.

Very slim build, quite athletic looking, um, because he always

rode his bike, and he always wore his racing clothes to do that as well.

Right up until a couple of weeks before he passed away.

He was still riding his bike.

Nicky had known Peter for about eight years,

since moving to the same street.

I wasn't a close neighbour to him.

It was basically just a, "Hello, how are you?" in passing.

Kept himself to himself.

I never saw any sort of relatives or friends go round.

Yeah, just a very nice, kind, quiet man.

It seems that Peter's house had been the family home.

I know Peter's parents had lived here since the sort of...late 1930s,

so, they had been long term residents in the area,

but unfortunately his parents were both passed when I came to live here.

So, he's always lived on his own.

Mike and the team were quickly able to confirm

that Peter had owned the family home.

We worked out that Peter inherited the property

because he was living there with his mother before she died.

Once we obtained his father's death certificate,

he gave the same address as Peter was living at.

So, we safely assume that they had been living there

for a very long time.

Therefore, it was Peter's house now that they both passed away.

With no will or known close relatives,

it was up to the heir hunters to find out more about Peter,

and to track down his family before the competition.

Their research got off to a flying start.

We were able to quickly establish that he didn't marry

and didn't have any children.

Peter was born on 14 January 1934, in Hammersmith, London,

to Herbert Hascell Lancaster and Elsie Hilda Matthews.

With no children of his own, the next step was to find out

whether Peter had any brothers or sisters.

Because Peter was born 10 years after the marriage,

we thought that there may have been some older siblings of his.

So, we had to check that as soon as we could.

They were able to confirm that Peter was in fact an only child,

which meant going back two generations.

The first thing we needed to do was locate

the grandparents of the deceased on both sides.

So we can then look at census records

and determine how many brothers or sisters each parent had.

And then, try to find descendents from them.

Peter's grandfather on his father's side was Roland Hascell Lancaster,

and he worked as a carman, which was an ancient trade.

They were part of an elite group of rival tradesman who were

granted licenses to work in the business district,

known as the City of London during the 1800 and early 1900s.

Carman were the equivalent of Hackney carriage drivers today,

in so far as they could be flagged down,

and they would move anything that needed moving.

Known as the Worshipful Company of Carmen,

Henry VIII gave them their first royal charter in 1517.

Apparently, this was so that he could have all of his personal

chattels moved free of charge.

The royal charter made the carmen

one of a number of livery companies

operating in the city.

These companies controlled the provision of services

and selling of goods and food in the City of London.

A livery company is a trade association that has a royal charter.

There are 77 ancient liveries which date back pre-1517.

And there are now 108 liveries in total with some very modern ones,

such as IT and solicitors.

With the boom time of the railways up to the first World War,

and the growth of the suburbs, there was

more demand for goods to be moved outside the city.

So, the carmen faced fierce competition,

as other unlicensed carts and vehicles begin to encroach

on their territory.

These rivals were able to deliver goods beyond the city

quicker and cheaper.

And, the killer blow came just before the Second World War.

In 1933, the licensing laws were introduced,

whereby every vehicle on our roads,

whether it be a car or commercial vehicle,

had to be licensed. And, they paid a road fund tax.

And, that really then negated the need for carmen.

And carmen then were in serious decline.

However, in their heyday,

there are all manner of carts delivering a wide variety of goods.

Each saw the other as a rival,

and all were jostling for position in that limited city square mile.

But, we still have at least one lasting legacy

from those ancient tradesmen.

If a carman and a woodmonger came face to face

in a narrow street, and couldn't pass,

invariably it ended up with fisty cuffs.

So, to overcome this, the Corporation introduced one-way streets.

So, suddenly, you couldn't come face-to-face with the competition.

The team established that Roland married Annie Merritt

on the 2nd of August, 1884, and they had nine children together.

They're going to have their work cut out on this one.

Nine is quite a big family.

Especially as they were all born relatively early,

I think the marriage is in 1884,

so, we've got at least four or maybe five generations

that are going to come down just so that we can get some people

who may be entitled to the deceased and haven't passed away.

This discovery was going to mean a lot more work for the team,

and with the added pressure of rival firms snapping at their heels,

they needed to keep their focus.

Whenever there is competition, it's important

to contact the people first and find them.

So, especially with a job of this size

we had to make sure we were working hard just to make sure

we got all the work done before the other companies.

With an estate worth an estimated £250,000,

would Mike and the team manage to crack the case

and beat their rivals?

You can only hope it is the right family.

You trust in the research of everyone,

and you only confirm it once you speak to them.

Heir hunters trace thousands of rightful beneficiaries every year.

But, not all cases can be cracked.

There are over 10,000 estates of the treasuries Bona Vacantia list

that have alluded the heir hunters and remained unsolved.

There are actually two Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates list.

There is one list which is our current list of advertised estates.

That's updated daily. There is also an historic unclaimed list.

That's cases that have been dealt with by the treasury solicitor,

but we are still looking for kin to come forward and claim.

Today, we're concentrating on

two cases that are yet to be solved by the heir hunters.

First is the case of Paul Shane Stewart,

who died on 14th of January, 2007, aged 60 in Plymouth, Devon.

Paul was also known as Vincent George Grubb,

and had been born on the 12th of May, 1946, in Galashiels, Scotland.

All that's known is that Paul was a bachelor.

Could you be a relative of Paul's, entitled to a share of his estate?

Or, do you know anything which could shed some light on his family?

Next, do you have any clues that could help unlock

the case of Esther Madden?

She was a widow and died on 18th of January, 2007, aged 89,

in Westminster, London.

Esther was born on 4th of April, 1917, in the Irish Republic.

She was also known as Bridget Esther Madden.

Did you know Esther? Or, do you have any information about her family?

Both Paul and Esther's estates remain unclaimed,

and if no-one comes forward their money will go to the government.

The public can get in touch with us in writing either by e-mail

or by post, or on the phone,

and that's how we will get in touch with them as well.

Do you have any clues that could help solve

the cases of Paul Stewart or Esther Madden?

Perhaps you could be their next of kin.

If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.

The heir hunters were up against it in the search

for heirs to the estimated £250,000 estate of Peter Lancaster.

The team had established that Peter was an only child,

and had lived in the family home.

He never married or had any children.

After a straightforward start, the case was then blown wide open

with the discovery that Peter's father was one of nine children.

Born to Roland Hascell Lancaster and Anne Merritt.

With the paternal side of the family already looking large,

it was clear the team were going to have their work cut out.

And, with other firms also chasing this valuable estate,

the pressure was on.

The first thing we had to do was obviously work out

if they were married and they had children,

so we can follow on their descendents.

Peter died in January 2013, aged 79, in Hayes, Greater London.

Although there's no surviving photograph of Peter,

his neighbour, Nicky, remembers him well.

Peter was quite an averagey-tall man, very sort of thin, greying hair.

He was quite bald on the top. He was a very self sufficient man.

He wasn't the type of neighbour that you needed

to do the shopping for or look after, he was always so active.

With such a valuable estate and rival firms also on the case,

the team were under pressure to solve it as quickly as possible.

But, they hit an early snag.

The eldest child was a Henry Walter Hascell Lancaster

who was born in 1895 in the Fulham registration district.

Henry was the one who gave us

the most problems purely because he changed his name and got married

as Hascell, rather than Lancaster, which is a name

that seems to be in at least part of everyone's name on his

family tree from the top line, which made it slightly more difficult.

This complication meant extra work for the team.

When we located the Hascell name was popping up in most of the births.

Obviously, we had to do two searches to make sure

that nothing was missed. Especially, cos some of the children were born

with the maiden name as Hascell, rather than Lancaster,

which obviously we had to make sure everything was done properly.

The team's research uncovered

an interesting insight into Peter's uncle.

On the 1911 census, Henry Lancaster was known as Walter Hascell,

and his occupation at the time, he was working at a barber's.

Modern day barbers are continuing a noble tradition

that goes back centuries.

And, barbershops have often played a valuable role in a community.

In the earlier 20th century, barbershops

were a hub and a meeting point for gentlemen.

You know, they used to take a lot more pride in their appearance.

So, going to the barbershop was actually a regular occurrence,

not only to look sharp, but also to be shaven.

Um, back in that era, razors weren't as good as they are today.

So, barbers used to have the monopoly on clean shaves.

Henry's training would have been very precise.

Barbers would've had an apprenticeship.

They would have served under a senior barber,

and very similar to as we do today.

For wet shaving they would've had a balloon

and they would have lathered it up with the soap,

and they would've had a razor, they'd be shaving the balloon.

And every time they popped it, they weren't ready to shave a client.

But there was a time when a barber would have been offering clients

a lot more than just a shave and a haircut.

Originally, barbers were barber-surgeons.

They used to perform surgical acts.

This was in the early 1300s that it started,

and went right through until the late 1800s.

As well as leaching and teeth extractions, another popular

procedure of the date was an early and rather gruesome form of detox.

Barber-surgeons use to practise blood-letting.

Blood-letting entailed the patient

holding hold of a rod, very tightly, so that the vein would pop out,

their veins would pop.

They could show, there'd be an incision with the razor,

and blood would drain down into a brass bowl.

Until the patient in the chair passed out.

Unsurprisingly, most people realised that they felt worse

after a blood-letting,

and the procedure finally died out by the end of the 19th century.

However, it was blood-letting that inspired the iconic barbershop pole.

An internationally recognised symbol that still survives.

Red is for the blood, the white is for the bandages.

The original barbers pole was the pole which they used to grab

when they used to blood-let,

and the brass ball on the end was a symbol for the leeches,

or, where the blood would run into from the blood-letting.

They would hang the bandages outside,

which then would be wrapped around in the wind,

and that's the reason why we get the spiral as it is today.

Barbers could earn a decent living for the time,

and Henry ran his own shop in a busy part of town,

as he supported an ever-growing family.

In total, he and his wife, Roma, had six children.

And for the heir hunters, tracing those six children

and their descendents was a vital part of cracking the case.

But with rival company snapping at their heels,

Mike and the team couldn't afford to focus on one branch at a time.

We worked both families at the same time.

We have different teams of people looking at both sides.

And we quickly established that both parents had eight siblings each.

So, that's 16 stems in total

which is quite a lot of work for us to undertake.

With such huge family trees on both sides, there was no time to waste.

And with everyone on the case, the teams efforts were soon rewarded

by a breakthrough on Peter's father's side of the family.

Faith Hascell Lancaster was an auntie of the deceased

who was born in 1896 in Fulham.

It looked like she married

a gentleman called Frank Williams in 1921.

The team established that Faith and Frank had one child,

Frank Edward Williams, who would have been Peter's cousin.

This was potentially very exciting news for the team

as this could be their first heir.

However, they needed to be sure and there was only one way to find out.

Before you phone the heir, you can only hope that it's the right family.

You trust in the research of everyone.

You'll only confirm it once you speak to them.

Would Mike get the confirmation he was looking for?

When I spoke to Frank, I was very pleased that we got the right family.

And we were the first persons to contact him.

It was great news for the team.

When you get to an heir and are the first one to speak to him

and inform him of the situation, it's always a bit of a relief

and also it pays off for the work that we've done.

Peter's cousin Frank, also known as Ted,

hadn't seen Peter for more than 50 years.

But still has vivid memories of the time they spent

together in their youth in the '60s.

We used to go cycling together.

And I remember he had a very bright, red bicycle

and off we used to go.

But as the poor man suffered from agoraphobia,

we used to get about two miles

and then he'd say, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

"I can't travel any further. I've got to cycle home now."

But it seems that Peter's agoraphobia fed his imagination

and desire to travel.

He had a yacht and it was tied up somewhere, I never went on it.

I said, "What have you got in the chart room?"

Cos I didn't think he had a chart room.

He said, "Oh, I've got a map of London and I got a London Underground."

I said, "Well, that's not much use on a yacht, is it?"

"Oh, yes, it is," he said, "Cos suppose there's an earthquake

"and all the tubes are flooded with water

"I could sail from station to station

"and then the announcer can say, 'Stand back from the platform edge.

"'Yacht approaching. Get the jolly jack tyres off first'."

And he liked a little, sort of, quiet joke like that.

Bringing back those early stories

also highlights a sense of regret for Ted.

It was very foolish of me to lose contact, really.

When all these cycling expeditions, we had about eight of them,

I suppose, didn't seem to get anywhere, we sort of drifted apart.

And I don't think I ever saw him again.

Although they didn't see each other, Peter had kept in touch

with his early cycling companion.

He sent me a Christmas card but regrettably, I threw away.

And on it he said, rather quirky it was, he said,

"I've still got my boat. And I've still got my bike."

And that's all it said.

And Ted has mixed feelings about his legacy.

As I'm a close relation and I will inherit some money, obviously,

it's nice. But I would rather the poor man to be alive and happy.

He should have spent it himself. And I don't think he ever married.

And it's a pity. Surely, there was some lady out there somewhere

that would have understood that he suffered from agoraphobia

because he had a nice personality and he was a kind man.

Ted was able to give the team a wealth of information

to help fill in some of the gaps in the family tree.

He also agreed that the company would help him

submit his claim to the treasury.

And that he would pay them an agreed percentage of his inheritance.

Ted was the first of many heirs

and over the next few days the team were able to pin them down.

On this case, there's over 60 heirs

which we've managed to sign over half of.

So, considering the amount of competition we had

from more than one company,

we are relatively pleased that we managed to get

over half of the estate. It's a pretty good result for us.

And for Peter's cousin Ted,

the knowledge of his inheritance has sparked some heartfelt reflection.

Looking back, I feel rather sad that I didn't go

and visit Ted, even if we didn't go anywhere or we just went locally.

Yes, I do feel sad that I didn't keep in touch.

But it's, erm, rather too late now.

Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?

In London, the Heir Hunters are busy trying to find heirs to the

estate of Cyril Fraser, which they believe is valuable

as it's known he had a property.

They're working only the paternal side of the tree

having established that the maternal side of the family has died out.

Cyril's mum, Edith, was an only child born in 1897 to Ellen Rose

and Robert Henry Bills, who worked as a French polisher

who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A trade which had been introduced into this country in around 1820.

French polishing is the application of shellac to the surface of wood.

And shellac is a natural substance. It comes from the lac beetle.

And it's, in principle, very simple, it's applying a coating of shellac

using methyl denatured alcohol to the surface of the work.

The meth evaporates and dries

and you're left with a coating of shellac.

A good, hard, bright coating. And it's very attractive.

It may sound easy, but traditionally,

a French polisher would take up to five years to learn his trade.

And building up just the perfect finish

needs patience as well as skill.

I suppose, if I was polishing a table or something like that,

I'd allow a couple of weeks

to finish the work and do other things in between.

So, I keep coming back to it and do a little bit more.

Do a little bit more. Build the finish.

It's slow. It's not...it doesn't have the advantages of a modern finishes

where the finish can be built quickly and cheaply.

And it can also be sprayed. French polish is a hand-finish.

It's a slow finish, but it's the best finish.

For Cyril's grandfather, Robert,

it would have been a good trade to be in.

If you knew how to French polish, you'd be doing very well

and people sought you out.

He'd certainly be respected for it. It's a respectable job.

In the office, the team is working two paternal stems.

One of which is Cyril's Aunt Elizabeth.

I've got a Dorothy L. from your end

Probably married a Hall. James F. Hall.

There's quite a few of King. King-Ricketts or Hall-Ricketts. What do we fancy?

The team had found she married a Harold Ricketts

and had three children.

They've since died, but between them they had six children.

This stem here, although we're going to have five, 10, 11 others,

I don't think they'll be entitled.

Despite working up Elizabeth's stem,

the team is not sure her grandchildren will be entitled

to a share of Cyril's estate.

She was born illegitimately and at this stage, they have no proof

she was a full-blood sister which could mean,

all the time spent researching her family has been for nothing.

But the team have decided to take a gamble

and work up the family anyway.

And they have travelling researcher, Bob,

poised to go and visit potential heirs.

It's a risky strategy as anyone they find,

may not be entitled to a share of the estate after all.

We'd rather be honest with the beneficiaries early on,

sign them up and then tell them

that they're coming on a half-blood stem

and that it's possible they're not going to be entitled.

That way we're not giving them any illusions that they may be entitled

to fortunes when it's a small estate and they're half blood.

But secondly, we're not going to be caught out

if someone else signs them up and we've missed it.

The team are also busy working up the stem of Cyril's Uncle William.

He married a Lily Smith and the couple had four children.

One of whom died as a minor and another without having children.

They are also trying to establish what happened to Leslie

and Ronald, Cyril's first cousins.

The team have found a marriage for Leslie and a possible son

and given Bob the details.

But suddenly that research is thrown into doubt.

-There's his dad. We think he died in 1928.

-OK.

Have you found a Leslie F? Not C.

But there's no birth of a Leslie F. that might be...

Where in, Christchurch?

In Bournemouth, wasn't it?

-Derek?

-Yeah.

-Bournemouth. I think...I think he's died off.

-OK.

Yeah, I saw that last night and I wasn't sure, though.

Time to update Bob with the new findings.

Hi, Bob, just checking in.

We think his Uncle Leslie may have died age 9.

So, there may be just, well, there's a question mark

about the second initial, but I think he died off young.

With every other stem of the Fraser family leading to a dead end,

the team's only chance of finding a full-blood heir

to the Cyril's estate is through his cousin Ronald.

We've still got Ronald F. Fraser outstanding.

We got a possibility he could have died elsewhere.

The possibility that he could have gotten married out of the area completely.

But we don't know.

But trying to find him is not easy. As researchers Joe and David

try to tie in birth and marriage certificates.

That's the only Ron F. Fraser birth

and these are the three marriages for Ron F.

You still think that matches up, though?

And it's a frustrating search as David has spotted

what he thinks could be a fundamental mistake.

I was told the death matched up with the birth. It doesn't.

That death is wrong.

Now, that marriage you could say it could well be correct.

When you look at that death, it doesn't time with the birth

and that's plain Ronald. He was born as Ronald F.

That death is no good.

The birth date on the death index of the Ronald Fraser they were tracking

doesn't match up with the birth date of the Ronald Fraser they found.

It's a blow for the team.

And David gets straight onto the local register office.

It's a vital he gets details from death certificates

if he's to finish this last stem.

Yes, I'm speaking from London regarding a death that we're

trying urgently to obtain.

We need...we really need it this afternoon.

Or at least the informants.

Thank you very much, indeed. Thank you.

You definitely haven't got it, yeah? It's not at Bournemouth.

Bournemouth haven't got that death.

Finally, though, their persistence pays off.

They find a will for a Ronald Fraser.

David gets straight on the phone

to see if he can find out if it's their man.

I believe you were the executor of the late Ronald Fraser

who died in 2008.

Basically, were trying to find out whether Ronald Fraser may have

had any close family, for example, children.

He died Christmas Day, 2008.

It's the breakthrough they've been hoping for.

We think Ronald Fraser may have had at least one son called Roy.

We've now found an address for Roy. Hopefully, this is right.

This son would be a full-blood heir.

And would be entitled ahead of any half blood relatives.

But until they've spoken to him, the team can't be certain

he is definitely the heir they have been looking for.

The following morning the team pick up their research

and discovered Ronald actually had two sons.

Both of whom would be full-blood heirs.

Bob Barrett has spoken to the wife of one of them

who's away till the end of the week. We're now writing to the two heirs.

We've now found the real beneficiaries, that's the main thing.

The team are now confident that Ronald's sons

are the only heirs to Cyril's valuable estate.

And the research they did into the half blood stem of the family has been put to one side.

Go on, smile a bit more there. Good.

Roy is one of those beneficiaries.

A professional photographer.

He is the elder of Ronald's two sons who are both Cyril's heirs.

He's Cyril's cousin once removed.

I never met Cyril myself.

I only heard about Cyril from a story my mother told me

about a meeting that was called in Ringwood at Cyril's house

where the whole family,

my grandfather and uncles and the rest of it,

went up in all their Sunday best for a meeting.

They arrived and were given a schooner of sherry.

And they sat down and had a chat for a very few seconds it seemed,

according to my mother, before the sherry was taken off them

and they were told,

"That's it. Thanks for coming," and off they went.

It was the only time, I think,

Cyril has been mentioned to me in my lifetime.

Roy was caught unawares by the news of his inheritance.

I was actually in Jersey at the time. I was shooting landscapes.

I was on a beach in the middle of nowhere.

And this guy called up and I was listening to him

and I didn't realise the tide was coming in

as I was so taken aback by the whole thing.

I phoned my brother. So, later that day we met in a pub in Jersey

and talked it over as just like, "What a shame we never met him."

Hearing that he's an heir has raised a number of questions for Roy.

Getting a call about you having an inheritance, it is very strange.

That's why I was stopped in my tracks.

Just thinking how did you find out about me. I mean, Cyril, who's he?

You know, and all the rest of it. All these sort of questions.

Then you start thinking about how come we didn't know about Cyril.

So, yes, it's all a bit of a surprise hearing something like that.

It's now a few weeks later.

And although both Roy and his brother have signed up with the company,

there is a vital piece of information still outstanding for case manager David.

We don't have value of the estate

but we know that it's got an interest in a property.

So, there is definitely value on this estate.

And for heir Roy, the whole process has brought unexpected

emotions to the surface.

In a way, it's very sad because, obviously, he's a Fraser.

It would have been quite nice to have met up with him.

And, you know, yeah, it does seem a shame now that the only time

we know about it is when he's...he's gone.