0:00:02 > 0:00:03For most of her life,
0:00:03 > 0:00:06Muriel Gill lived in the northern seaside town of Blackpool.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Today, the heir hunters are getting to grips
0:00:08 > 0:00:10with her complex family tree.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13We could be going down to another generation.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17So, we could be ending up signing half of Lancashire up on this estate.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20And they make an extraordinary discovery.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23You see that and you think, can it be true?
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Two brothers die on the same day when they're different ages,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30just, to me, it just seems like something that just doesn't happen.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It's going to be a busy day for the heir hunters
0:00:32 > 0:00:34with two challenging cases to crack.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Today, we learn about one of
0:00:46 > 0:00:48the world's most successful collaborations
0:00:48 > 0:00:50in motorcar history.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Charles Rolls, Henry Royce.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Two very different characters,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58and they formed this relationship that would become Rolls-Royce.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01And the heir hunters uncover
0:01:01 > 0:01:04the glamorous magic of Blackpool in the 1950s.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09When you think that the ladies who were in the box office
0:01:09 > 0:01:12were selling 6,000 tickets a night throughout the summer,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15it was quite amazing, really.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Plus, how you could be entitled to inherit an unclaimed estate.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Could a fortune be heading your way?
0:01:28 > 0:01:31In London, all hands are on deck to solve an urgent case
0:01:31 > 0:01:34at heir hunting firm Fraser & Fraser.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37The details have just come in via a private referral
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and are being handled by senior case manager Dave Slee.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Muriel Gill is the deceased.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50She died last month in Blackpool,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53so in March 2014...in Blackpool.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Because Muriel died so recently,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59this could prove to be a difficult case for Dave.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Initially, I was a bit sceptical about researching the matter
0:02:02 > 0:02:05because it's not been referred to the Duchy of Lancaster
0:02:05 > 0:02:09who would deal with all intestacies of people dying,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11obviously, in Lancashire.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14I don't know why they haven't referred the matter
0:02:14 > 0:02:15that had come out in a wash.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Dave is concerned that the case hasn't been referred
0:02:19 > 0:02:21because it's not of any value.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23But he's taking a leap of faith
0:02:23 > 0:02:25and putting a big team onto the research.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29At the moment, my main consideration,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32let's find heirs, and worry about that later on.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Muriel Gill was born in Rawtenstall,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40a small town in the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Known to her friends as Rita,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46her friendly manner made her stand out from the crowd.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Rita was very, what you call, warm personality.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Very bubbly, outgoing.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Loved the work, loved music, loved life, really.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00That's what I'd say about Rita.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02She absolutely loved life, every minute of it.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08At a very early age, Muriel developed a passion for music.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10She fell in love with the accordion
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and would play it for anyone who would listen.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Rita was a very accomplished accordionist.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17And she could do it supporting herself,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20play for other people, play for dancing, play for anything.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22If you heard Rita, you'd think, what a great player,
0:03:22 > 0:03:23what a lovely sound.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27After moving to Blackpool in her younger days,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29and living there happily for most of her life,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32she left a lasting impression on everyone she met.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37She was a very jolly person and...
0:03:37 > 0:03:39she was what I call...
0:03:40 > 0:03:41..a mummy-type of lady,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44because she was always smiling
0:03:44 > 0:03:48and she was always very nice to say hello to or good evening to.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50She was an attractive lady
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and she had quite a few friends
0:03:52 > 0:03:55that used to go to the house to visit her.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Very sweet person.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03And...I'm sorry I didn't get to know her better over the years.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Sadly, Muriel passed away on 23rd March 2013
0:04:09 > 0:04:11at the nearby Haddon Court nursing home,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14where she'd lived for the last two years.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22In the office, case manager Dave Slee is beginning the search
0:04:22 > 0:04:23for heirs to her estate.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26In doing so, he's taking a calculated risk.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27Right, where am I?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It transpires that she did own a property
0:04:31 > 0:04:37which was sold just prior to her death for 95,000,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39would indicate that the majority of those funds
0:04:39 > 0:04:41are probably still intact.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45So, it's, from our point of view, makes sense to work this estate.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48It's seeming more and more likely to Dave
0:04:48 > 0:04:50that the case could be of high value,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and as a result, the threat of competition is ever present.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Let me have a quick word with Charlie...
0:04:56 > 0:04:58The team have to move quickly,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00so Dave sends out his travelling researcher
0:05:00 > 0:05:03to make enquiries on the ground.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Hello, Charlie. Sorry to trouble you.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Um, just to give you an update, really.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10The, there's two certificates been ordered ready for you to pick up.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Do you know when they're...?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14You can pick them up before 4.30, so OK.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17With the travelling researcher out on the road,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19the team in the office get to work.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23And it's not long before they start making progress.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Muriel, the deceased...
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Maiden name was Marshall.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29She was married to an Arthur Gill
0:05:29 > 0:05:33and...Mr Gill died prior to the deceased
0:05:33 > 0:05:34and they had no issue.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Muriel Marshall married Arthur Gill in January 1952
0:05:38 > 0:05:40in Haslingden, Lancashire.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43The team's next job is to search for
0:05:43 > 0:05:45any brothers and sisters Muriel may have had.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Muriel born in 1929 in Lancashire
0:05:50 > 0:05:55and she looks to be the only child of a William and Nellie Elmer.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58We don't believe that there is any near kin.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00So, the deceased had no brothers and sisters
0:06:00 > 0:06:01or nieces and nephews.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05And though she was married, she had no children herself.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Without any children or siblings to inherit,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11the search now has to move up a generation
0:06:11 > 0:06:13to look for aunts or uncles
0:06:13 > 0:06:16on both the mother's and father's side of the tree.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19OK, at the moment...
0:06:19 > 0:06:25I have both Jess and Joseph looking at this estate.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29They're trying to identify heirs on the maternal family
0:06:29 > 0:06:32because that's the better of the two names.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Muriel's parents were Nellie Elmer and William Marshall.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38As Elmer is an unusual name,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41the team are hoping to locate records on that family more quickly.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Could we just have a look to see...
0:06:44 > 0:06:48how many births there are of Elmers in Haslingden post '11.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Yeah.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51With a bit more digging,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55the team quickly track down a record of the family on the 1911 census.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58On the census, it appears...
0:06:58 > 0:07:00that she has at least two other siblings.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02So, there's two maternal...
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Er, one maternal aunt, one maternal uncle to the deceased.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Er, we're trying to establish if there are any other,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11what we would call top line,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13any other maternal aunts and uncles.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17As the team continue searching for aunts and uncles
0:07:17 > 0:07:19on Muriel's mother's side of the tree,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Dave gets some news back from his
0:07:21 > 0:07:23travelling researcher in Blackpool.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29He's just undertaken the enquiry at the deceased's former property.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30He's had no joy there
0:07:30 > 0:07:33but he will go back and talk to some of the neighbours,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35who, I understand, did know the deceased.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38The team are getting closer to speaking to people
0:07:38 > 0:07:40who knew Muriel first-hand.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42And with the family tree coming together,
0:07:42 > 0:07:43things are looking promising.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46It looks like there's value...
0:07:46 > 0:07:47and on the face of it,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49it looks like there'll probably be heirs.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53More than likely cousins or the children of cousins.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55And it doesn't take long before
0:07:55 > 0:07:57the team manage to track down contact details
0:07:57 > 0:07:59for their first potential beneficiary.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02So, Jess has been a superstar.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04She's found the first heirs.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07- Um...first cousin?- Uh-huh.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09So, as we suspected,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13the closest heirs to the deceased are first cousins
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and, so far, we've identified maternal first cousins.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22The team have established that Muriel's maternal grandparents,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Edward Elmer and Grace Elizabeth Hartley
0:08:25 > 0:08:27married in 1875.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29They went on to have three children,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31including Muriel's mother, Nellie.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Records show that both Annie
0:08:34 > 0:08:35and Albert had one child each.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38And the team have located
0:08:38 > 0:08:39one of them.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Dave gets straight on the phone to update the agent on the road.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47All right, well, we've got a maternal first cousin.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Um, there's still a lot of work to do.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Um...but, um, I'll give you that information...
0:08:54 > 0:08:55If Matthew is an heir,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58then Dave must make contact as soon as possible,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00and before the competition.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03So he sends researcher Charlie to his home address.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07What time span does it take from you to get from Blackpool to Rossendale?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Without breaking the speed limit.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18With the travelling researcher now on his way to visit him,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Dave puts a call in to the potential heir.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25I'm trying to trace a gentleman by the name of Matthew Hudson
0:09:25 > 0:09:27who would've been born in 1934,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30the son of Matthew Hudson and an Annie Elmer.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Dave confirms that Matthew is in fact Muriel's first cousin,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and he wastes no time in making arrangements to meet him.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Our aim now is to locate all the beneficiaries,
0:09:43 > 0:09:44you being one of them, Mr Hudson.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47So, my colleague that'll come along to see you today,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49his name's Charles Lemon.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53All right, thank you so much for your time, sir.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Thank you, nice speaking to you. Bye-bye, bye-bye.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Locating an heir so quickly is a great result for Dave and the team.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04His information has really helped me finish,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07well, most of the research on the maternal family.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09So, this might be a nice little estate
0:10:09 > 0:10:12that...we've stolen under the nose of competition.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15But it's still touch and go whether
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Dave's hunch that Muriel owned her property
0:10:17 > 0:10:19will prove to be correct.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23We initially thought that there may have been an estate
0:10:23 > 0:10:25because, of course, um...
0:10:25 > 0:10:28it appeared that Muriel might have owned the property.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38An heir hunter's work can sometimes reveal
0:10:38 > 0:10:41the most extraordinary twists and turns of fate.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Although case manager Ryan didn't know it at the start,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46his work on the estate of Alec Fisher
0:10:46 > 0:10:48would do exactly that.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Alec's case was privately referred
0:10:50 > 0:10:54to London-based heir hunting firm Finders in May 2011,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56and was being managed by Ryan Gregory.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Initially, when the case came into us,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01it looked like a pretty straightforward case.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03We had a name, we had a date of death,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06so it didn't look anything out of the ordinary.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09The value of the case was unknown to Ryan at that point,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and he had very little information to work with.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15To begin with, we didn't have any documentation,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17we didn't have a death certificate.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20All we knew is Alec's name, his date of death
0:11:20 > 0:11:21and his last known address,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23so that was the starting point for our research.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Alec Fisher lived in the railway town of Crewe, in Cheshire.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Having been born there in April 1931,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35he went on to work for the Crewe Railway Company,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37one of the town's largest employers.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Sadly, no photos of Alec survive.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Alec started on the railway in 1945,
0:11:44 > 0:11:45just after the war,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and I started in 1954, just nine years later.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Well, over that period,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57I think me and Alec were on the railway between us around 40 years.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Alec worked as a train driver,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03and passionate about his job,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06he was a popular character in the railway community.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10He was pleasurable, he wasn't a miserable person.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16Er, did quite a lot of reading, railway books.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18But, other than that, very smart
0:12:18 > 0:12:22and enjoyed life as he liked it.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Terrance remained friends with Alec for most of his life.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28In his 70s, Alec moved into a nursing home.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Terrance visited him there regularly
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and the two often shared tales of their time on the railways.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37My lasting memory of Alec Fisher was
0:12:37 > 0:12:41just before we went on holiday abroad.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Sitting outside the CLS care home in Manor Way
0:12:45 > 0:12:46in his wheelchair
0:12:46 > 0:12:49and he's out of Old Holborn,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52rolling a cigarette.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Happy as lamb, Larry the lamb.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Sadly, Alec Fisher passed away on 11th October 2010.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04He didn't leave a will and had no known close kin,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06and his estate laid unclaimed for a number of months.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13The first step for Ryan was to locate Alec on the electoral roll.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15This would hopefully show if he had shared his last address
0:13:15 > 0:13:16with anyone else.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It's important for us to see whether the deceased was living with anyone
0:13:21 > 0:13:24because there may be a close relative,
0:13:24 > 0:13:25somebody that may have some information,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29or more importantly, it's important for us to find out
0:13:29 > 0:13:31whether anybody has a prior claim to the estate.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Ryan and the team were able to trace Alec back
0:13:34 > 0:13:36to an address in Crewe,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39where he had lived before he moved into the nursing home.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Until about 1989, Alec was registered as living with an Ada Fisher.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Until about 2006, he was there with a George Fisher.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Ada Fisher had dropped off the electoral roll in the late '80s,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53and a quick search of the death indexes
0:13:53 > 0:13:56confirmed that she had in fact passed away.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59We knew she was of an age that she could have been his mother,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01so we could put that supposition together.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03With relations of George Fisher,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07he was on the electoral roll much later, until about 2006.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09He was living with Alec, so, I mean,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12we kind of thought that he may be a brother of the deceased.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15The team put a call in to Alec's nursing home,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19who confirmed that George Fisher was indeed Alec's brother.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22They also told them that George had passed away,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24and when the team continued to look into his death,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27they uncovered some unbelievable information.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30We were astonished to find out that actually
0:14:30 > 0:14:34it appears as though he died on the same day as Alec.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I mean, you see that and you think, can it be true?
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Is the information correct?
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Two brothers die on the same day when they're different ages
0:14:42 > 0:14:45just, to me, it just seems like something that just doesn't happen.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52But, incredibly, it wasn't just the date of death they shared.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56They both ended up dying in the same hospital on different wings,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and I believe that they really even, to the time that they passed away,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02didn't really have a physical connection with one another.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05But it does make you think about, you know,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08some more kind of deeper mysteries when something like that happens.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12It seemed that both Alec and his brother George passed away
0:15:12 > 0:15:15on the very same day in the very same hospital
0:15:15 > 0:15:18but died of different causes.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20As this turn of events seemed so unlikely,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Ryan put in a call to the Treasury Solicitor.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26They were able to confirm George's death along with Alec's,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29and they also confirmed that both brothers had in fact died
0:15:29 > 0:15:31without leaving a will.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35What made things more extraordinary
0:15:35 > 0:15:38was that the brothers hadn't spoken for years,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40and Alec had opened up to old friend and colleague Terrance
0:15:40 > 0:15:43about it during a visit.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46The first time he asked me to find his brother George...
0:15:48 > 0:15:52..I didn't know why Alec wanted to find his brother George.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55You know, I hadn't been in contact with him for a few years
0:15:55 > 0:15:59and I didn't know the reason why he wanted to get in contact.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Terrance spent 12 months trying to track down George,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06contacting every nursing home in the area.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Little did he know that when the two brothers passed away,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11they were closer than they had been in years.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13When Alec's funeral had ended,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17the vicar asked Terrance if he could stay on and attend the next one.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20The brother George...come now...
0:16:23 > 0:16:26..in the hearse...so we did that.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31Before the funeral, we had no idea that brother George had died,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35who I'd been looking for for all this last 12 month.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37And it was a complete shock.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42It was yet another twist in an already remarkable story.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46By the end of day one,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49we had gone from looking into the case of Alec Fisher
0:16:49 > 0:16:51to looking into the case of two brothers,
0:16:51 > 0:16:52Alec and George Fisher,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54who both died on exactly the same day.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And the similarities kept on coming.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00A search through the marriage indexes confirmed that
0:17:00 > 0:17:02both of the brothers were bachelors
0:17:02 > 0:17:04and neither had any children of their own.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06So the team's next job was to see if they had
0:17:06 > 0:17:10any other brothers, sisters, nieces or nephews that could inherit.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15We found a marriage entry for the deceased's parents,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Thomas Fisher and Ada Smith.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Thomas Fisher and Ada Smith married on 19th July 1930.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25At the time, Alec's father Thomas was employed as
0:17:25 > 0:17:28a carriage cleaner on the railways.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37If you lived in the Crewe area in the 1900s,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39the railways were a popular career choice.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Crewe is home to one of
0:17:41 > 0:17:43the most historic railway stations in the world,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47and it provided work for generations of families.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50The main reason that railways was established in Crewe
0:17:50 > 0:17:54is the fact that it was an ideal place geographly
0:17:54 > 0:18:00because, um, you could get from Crewe down North Wales coast.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02You get to the North up to Glasgow
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and you could also get to Manchester and Liverpool.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10A few years later, in 1840, Crewe Railway Works was built,
0:18:10 > 0:18:15which was one of Britain's largest engineering facilities at the time.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Originally, there was about 10,000 men worked in Crewe Works.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22And in there, they built steam engines from scratch.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Right from the wheels, the boilers,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28the wheels, the emulsion, the tenders,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30everything was built in Crewe Works.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So, they started off with the basic metal...
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Um...and ended up with a steam locomotive.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42It seems that working on the railways was a family tradition.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Alec's grandfather joined the railways as a carriage examiner.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50The carriage examiner was commonly known as a wheel tapper.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53And he used to have a hammer with a long handle.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57If you tapped the wheels with a hammer and it rang like a bell,
0:18:57 > 0:18:58that meant that the wheel's OK.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04When Alec joined the railways,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07he held the more sought-after position of a train driver.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Alec would've been conscious of his family history,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12being fourth-generation.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Alec's father had also followed the family footsteps
0:19:15 > 0:19:16and worked on the railway.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19As the railways boomed,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22generations of families enjoyed a long and secure career
0:19:22 > 0:19:25during the time of the steam engine.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Crewe Works, as it was, in the early days,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29where you got 10,000 men,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33has now been reduced to 300 or 400 men.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It's disappeared over the years
0:19:36 > 0:19:38because they don't make steam engines any more.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Electrification changed the industry dramatically,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46but the town of Crewe will always be known for the railways.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54The team had found that Alec's father Thomas and mother Ada
0:19:54 > 0:19:57had no other children apart from Alec and George.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59So their search was now focused on tracking down
0:19:59 > 0:20:02aunts, uncles and cousins the brothers may have had.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Using the 1911 census, they discovered that
0:20:05 > 0:20:09there was one aunt on their father's side, Gwendolyn.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Gwendolyn Fisher marries a gentleman called Percy Beastle.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Beastle is quite a rare-occurring surname,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19so we were able to quite quickly and easily find that
0:20:19 > 0:20:21they just had one daughter.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25This daughter was the only paternal heir that the team could find
0:20:25 > 0:20:27on the father's side of the tree.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30With the paternal side wrapped up,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32it was time to take a look at his mother's.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38We had to go over and do the maternal side, which is Smith, so...
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Not easy by any stretch of the imagination.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Every year in Britain,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50thousands of people get a welcome knock on the door
0:20:50 > 0:20:52from the heir hunters,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55who bring news of an unexpected inheritance.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57You tend to sort of think to yourself,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59"Well, I'm not sure if this is real or not."
0:20:59 > 0:21:01So, it was quite a surprise.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04But there are still thousands of unsolved cases
0:21:04 > 0:21:06on the Treasury Solicitor's Bona Vocantia list,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08where heirs need to be found.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Could you be one of them?
0:21:10 > 0:21:13Today, we've got details of two states on the list
0:21:13 > 0:21:14that are yet to be claimed.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The first case is Margaret Christine Weedy,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21who died on 8th June 2002
0:21:21 > 0:21:23in Camden, London.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27She was also known as Tina
0:21:27 > 0:21:29and was born on 11th May 1923
0:21:29 > 0:21:32in the Republic of Ireland.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33Her maiden name was Meely.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Her unusual married name of Weedy
0:21:37 > 0:21:41has the highest concentration in North Wales and Newcastle upon Tyne.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Does her name mean anything to you?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Could you be the beneficiary they're looking for?
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Next, 91-year-old Kenneth Kitchener Lear.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Kenneth was born in Ashburton, Devon,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58on 27th June 1916.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03He died in the same county in Teignmouth
0:22:03 > 0:22:05on 9th January 2009,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and it isn't known if he ever married.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Whilst the name Lear is rarely found in the UK,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Kitchener is a strong British surname
0:22:13 > 0:22:15originating from Lancashire.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Do the names Lear or Kitchener mean anything to you?
0:22:21 > 0:22:23If you know anything that could help solve
0:22:23 > 0:22:25the cases of Margaret Christine Weedy
0:22:25 > 0:22:27or Kenneth Kitchener Lear,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29then you would need to make a claim on their estate
0:22:29 > 0:22:32via the Treasury Solicitor's Office.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Perhaps you could be the next of kin.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Heir hunting firm Fraser & Fraser are hot on the heels
0:22:48 > 0:22:50of heirs to the estate of Muriel Gill.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53While she remains a mystery to the team,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57in the 1960s, Muriel was adored by thousands of fans
0:22:57 > 0:22:59to whom she was better known as Rita.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Rita and her husband, known as Reed & Delroy,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08were a superb musical act.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09They both played concertinas,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12they both played accordions.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15She was a brilliant accordion player.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And of course, at that particular time,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21there was a lot of accordionists in the country.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Rita was always a very, very beautiful lady,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and it was a superb act.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29You couldn't not like Rita
0:23:29 > 0:23:33because of the material they produced
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and her bubbling personality.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Rita and Arthur were almost a permanent fixture
0:23:40 > 0:23:44in the seaside town of Blackpool in the '50s and '60s,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46where they performed in front of thousands.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51In Blackpool, the beaches were full of deckchairs all the time,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54you couldn't move on the beaches.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56There was that many people here.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Blackpool was referred to as Lancashire's playground.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03When mills and factories closed down for their summer breaks,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06the workers headed in their thousands to Blackpool
0:24:06 > 0:24:09to let loose for their two-week holiday.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11The reason Blackpool was so popular in the '50s and 60s,
0:24:11 > 0:24:17it was one of the very few towns in the country that had 12 theatres.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Also, the Pleasure Beach and the Tower Circus.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25It was just a wonderful place to be on holiday.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27And the first thing people did when they arrived
0:24:27 > 0:24:29was head to the box office
0:24:29 > 0:24:32and booked their seats for the week in advance.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36When you think that the ladies who were in the box office
0:24:36 > 0:24:40were selling 6,000 tickets a night throughout the summer,
0:24:40 > 0:24:41it was quite amazing, really.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Well, of course, they had about 12 stage shows in those times,
0:24:52 > 0:24:5312 live stage shows.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Each with an orchestra, full orchestra.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59And, so, you had quite a lot of musicians.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Delroy and Reed were one of the day's most popular double acts.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05They worked perfectly together on stage,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09and their relationship was even stronger off it.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13They were both extremely friendly and devoted to each other
0:25:13 > 0:25:17and they had this lovely zest for living which was infectious.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19If you ever saw them work,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22they had a great infection about their...and affection.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Peter first worked with them in 1974,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31and remembers their reputation for being consummate professionals.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33You know, they were almost indispensable.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36This was a time when you had a lot of acts around,
0:25:36 > 0:25:37a lot of instrumental acts,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40apart from the singers and the comics.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42But they were top of the tree.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Rita, I think, was the most jovial person really I've ever known.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49She was always full of life.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Very...seasoned professional is what you could call her.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Arthur retired many years before Rita,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59but she carried on performing
0:25:59 > 0:26:02and remained a popular fixture on the Blackpool music scene.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06I miss her personality and I miss her company.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Acts like that are very hard to find today
0:26:10 > 0:26:13because there is no-one doing it any more.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19In the office, David and the team are busy
0:26:19 > 0:26:23trying to track down heirs on Muriel's father's side of the tree.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26We need to research the Marshall side now.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29That's where the work gets that little bit harder.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Could be 10 or 20 on the paternal, we don't know.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Or there could be none all.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Dave sets the team to work,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38and it soon becomes clear that
0:26:38 > 0:26:39they're going to have their work cut out.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The guys have been really busy with the paternal side and...
0:26:45 > 0:26:47it looks enormous.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51There's lots of aunts and uncles on the father's family, so...
0:26:51 > 0:26:54We've gone from what looked like a relatively easy job
0:26:54 > 0:26:56and finishing it really quickly
0:26:56 > 0:26:59to a job that looks like it's going to take several,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02it could take several days to finish now, so...
0:27:02 > 0:27:05That changes the complexion somewhat.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Muriel's paternal grandparents were John Marshall and Annie Trickett.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13They married in 1895 in Burnley, Lancashire,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17and the team find entries for all of their children on the 1911 census.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
0:27:22 > 0:27:23eight.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Yeah, there's at least eight brothers and sisters
0:27:28 > 0:27:31to the deceased's father.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33So, we have to account for each of those.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37It's a huge task, as the majority of Muriel's aunts and uncles
0:27:37 > 0:27:40were born during the early 1900s.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43We could be going down to another generation,
0:27:43 > 0:27:44so we could be ending up
0:27:44 > 0:27:47signing half of Lancashire up on this estate.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Determined to make contact with the heirs before the competition,
0:27:50 > 0:27:55the team quickly get cracking, and search for any surviving cousins.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Have you got anything to her? - We can't find a death.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00- Have you got a birth for them? - Hang on.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Yeah, it's June '38, Haslingden.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Man power prevails again,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09for Dave and the team think they've traced their first heir
0:28:09 > 0:28:12on Muriel's father's side of the family.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15She might not be home. I'll give her a call anyway and see.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17- Don't do anything more on that then, Joe.- OK.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Muriel's father William had eight siblings
0:28:21 > 0:28:22and the team have tracked down
0:28:22 > 0:28:24children of one of his younger
0:28:24 > 0:28:25sisters - Violet May.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27She had five children with her
0:28:27 > 0:28:29husband Wilfred Riley.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30Although three of them
0:28:30 > 0:28:31had died in infancy,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33two of her daughters
0:28:33 > 0:28:34were still alive
0:28:34 > 0:28:35and would be heirs
0:28:35 > 0:28:36to Muriel's estate.
0:28:36 > 0:28:41We're trying to trace the next of kin of a lady who died last month
0:28:41 > 0:28:43by the name of Muriel Gill.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48And that you're the daughter of Violet May Riley,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50whose maiden name was Marshall.
0:28:50 > 0:28:51Well, that's good,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55I can breathe a sigh of relief cos we have got the right family.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57It's a great result for Dave
0:28:57 > 0:28:59as heirs can be the best source of research,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02saving the team hours of work.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04She's given me quite a lot of information.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08There's still a number of avenues we need to pursue.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Trying to trace other heirs, but it's all coming together nicely now,
0:29:12 > 0:29:14so I'm very pleased with the research up to now.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20One of the many heirs David and the team have tracked down
0:29:20 > 0:29:21is Matthew Hudson,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23a cousin of Muriel's on her mother's side.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Matthew and Muriel were close when they were growing up,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31and he was always in awe of her glittering showbiz career.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34When she got dressed up for the stage, she was glamorous.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36It was just what she was meant to be.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43And it was just wonderful to see her there.
0:29:43 > 0:29:44It was entertaining.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47Yeah, she was different. She broke the mould.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Muriel's career took off
0:29:51 > 0:29:55when she and her husband Arthur joined forces in her teenage years
0:29:55 > 0:29:59and they remained a double act until Arthur passed away in 2006.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03When Arthur died, she, it really, upset her.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07I remember one or two telephone calls I had with her
0:30:07 > 0:30:09and she felt very lonely
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and she found it very difficult.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15And I knew she had friends in Blackpool,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18but I didn't know who they were,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21and I couldn't make contact, so I lost touch completely.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25After two years without any contact,
0:30:25 > 0:30:27it was the heir hunters who finally informed Matthew
0:30:27 > 0:30:29of his cousin's death.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33When heir hunters contacted me and told me about Muriel...
0:30:35 > 0:30:38..in some respects, I was very sad.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Like put an ending to a story, really.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43I felt very sad about it
0:30:43 > 0:30:47and...but it helped me a lot to know what had happened.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Matthew has enjoyed reliving tales of his cousin's sparkling career.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57It was just what she wanted to do...
0:30:57 > 0:30:58and that was it.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01It was everything to her was to perform.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04I think she had a wonderful life
0:31:04 > 0:31:06and she really enjoyed it.
0:31:09 > 0:31:10After speaking to heirs,
0:31:10 > 0:31:14Dave and the team have been able to track down many more beneficiaries,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17and both sides of the tree are almost complete.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21We've now found heirs as far away as Australia,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23and as it stands, at the moment,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26we're exceeding 10 or 12 heirs.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31It's probably going to be 20, maybe 30 heirs entitled maximum.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Er, but we've got to try and trace them all.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36That birth, definitely priority.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39That's finished, that's finished...
0:31:39 > 0:31:42That, we know about, she's confirmed that.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Good, brilliant. Well done, guys. Good work.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51Cracking a complex family tree so quickly
0:31:51 > 0:31:54means it's been a successful day for Dave and the team.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56But even after all their hard work,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59the question of how much Muriel's estate is actually worth
0:31:59 > 0:32:01remains unanswered.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Dave has been given the number of a close friend of Muriel's
0:32:05 > 0:32:07who may have the answer he's looking for.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Good afternoon. I'm trying to trace a gentleman by the name of Jack.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Now, the lady I spoke to earlier said to me
0:32:15 > 0:32:18that you knew Mrs Gill very well
0:32:18 > 0:32:20and had dealt with her affairs.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22She was under the impression that
0:32:22 > 0:32:25even though Mrs Gill owned the property,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28which has, which was since sold...
0:32:28 > 0:32:31It was Mrs Gill's house, I believe.
0:32:31 > 0:32:32It wasn't? Ah.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38No. Oh, I see. So it wasn't their property.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41No, because what we're trying to establish, sir, is
0:32:41 > 0:32:45did Mrs Gill die leaving any estate whatsoever?
0:32:46 > 0:32:48No.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49No estate.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53It's a crushing blow for Dave.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55He was working on the assumption that
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Muriel's case hadn't been passed on to the Duchy for administration
0:32:58 > 0:33:01because she had died only very recently.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05Instead, it turns out that it's because the case had no value.
0:33:05 > 0:33:06Thanks once again for all your help.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Really appreciate it. Nice speaking to you.
0:33:08 > 0:33:09Bye-bye now, bye-bye.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13From our point of view, it's disappointing.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16The deceased didn't own her property.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20She's died...probably intestate,
0:33:20 > 0:33:21but not leaving any estate.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24So I've got to go around now mopping it up,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26and just telling everyone that,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29unfortunately, they're not going to be entitled.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32The heir hunters only make money once they've signed up an heir,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and agreed a fee which is taken from the final estate value.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38If you'd have seen today,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41we've had, I've had staff all afternoon working it.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44We've been really busy doing that. Stops us doing other work.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47To find out there's no estate, but hey-ho,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49that's, you know, that's the nature of the beast.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52You know, next estate might have value in it.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54That's how we work.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58What may have been a disastrous case for Dave
0:33:58 > 0:34:00hasn't been so bad for the family.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04When heir hunters told me that she'd died
0:34:04 > 0:34:06without any money being available,
0:34:06 > 0:34:07didn't worry me.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09I wasn't expecting any,
0:34:09 > 0:34:12and it at least put a closure to things.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16It made me think about my own relatives.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18The family that we've got,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21and that we need to keep in touch
0:34:21 > 0:34:25and just not let everything just fade away.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29It's an experience that has helped Matthew reconnect with the family
0:34:29 > 0:34:32and relive cherished memories of his inspirational cousin.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36As I said before, she just changed when she got performing.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38It was her.
0:34:38 > 0:34:39And as she used to say, well,
0:34:39 > 0:34:44she's memorised over 200 tunes and music
0:34:44 > 0:34:45and she'd just sit down and play.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48Wonderful gift.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Alec Fisher died on the exact same day as his brother George.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02As well as being a train driver on the Crewe railway,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05his death certificate revealed that he had also worked for
0:35:05 > 0:35:08one of the towns other major employees, Rolls-Royce.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14At the beginning of the 20th century,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17the car industry in Britain was booming.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Mass production was taking off in France and America,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23and in the UK, two entrepreneurs joined forces
0:35:23 > 0:35:27to create a global brand that's still going strong today.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Charles Rolls, Henry Royce.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Two very different characters.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Charles Rolls, born into aristocracy.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36He was younger than Royce,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39he was an engineering fanatic.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43An extraordinary character with a passion for speed.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Henry Royce was a self-made gentleman,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47an engineering genius.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50And they met on 4th May 1904
0:35:50 > 0:35:52at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Fully documented, we even know what they ate,
0:35:54 > 0:35:59and they immediately recognised in each other what they'd been seeking.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03And they formed this relationship that would become Rolls-Royce.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07The pair wasted no time in showcasing
0:36:07 > 0:36:10their first official Rolls-Royce motorcar.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14The first Rolls-Royce was a 10 horsepower
0:36:14 > 0:36:16but immediately caught the world's attention
0:36:16 > 0:36:19for its quality and its attention to detail.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21And then, later that year,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Rolls-Royce, in 1904, showed a range of different cars
0:36:24 > 0:36:26at the Paris Motor Salon.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32The two entrepreneurs officially formed Rolls-Royce Limited in 1906,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and chose Derby as their first location
0:36:34 > 0:36:36for its car production factory.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42During the history of Rolls-Royce, there have been six homes.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Today, you're at the home of Rolls-Royce
0:36:44 > 0:36:47at Goodwood, in West Sussex, the sixth home.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49But, Rolls-Royce started in Manchester
0:36:49 > 0:36:53and, of course, Crewe was a large part of the company's heritage.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59The Crewe factory was in production for almost 50 years from 1946,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02and it's likely that Alec retired from there.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05Someone like Alec might have been a craftsman,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07he might have been an assembly line worker
0:37:07 > 0:37:10involved somewhere in the production process.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13But he would have understood, whatever job he did at Rolls-Royce,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15that he had to perform at his very best
0:37:15 > 0:37:17to generate the best car in the world.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21The Crewe factory was originally built
0:37:21 > 0:37:24to build aircraft engines in 1938.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26After the end of World War II,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30the factory began to produce some of the world's most famous motorcars,
0:37:30 > 0:37:32the Phantom and the Silver Cloud.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36One of the differences that Alec would've seen in the '50s and '60s
0:37:36 > 0:37:38was the production environment.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42Here today, you see a spotless environment.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45It's very clean, very organised and very ordered,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47and I'm sure that would've been a little different
0:37:47 > 0:37:48in the 1950s and '60s.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53But ultimately, it's the same quality of handcraftsmanship
0:37:53 > 0:37:56that he would have had to been highly trained
0:37:56 > 0:37:59to have understood exactly what the car should be built to,
0:37:59 > 0:38:01the quality standards it should be built to.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Today, Rolls-Royce produce around 20 cars a day,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10and last year they sold 3,500 cars worldwide.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13A record for the most cars ever sold in one year.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Alec would've been, I'm sure, enormously proud
0:38:19 > 0:38:20to have worked at Rolls-Royce.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22It would have said something about him.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25It would've given him perhaps a little bit of social standing.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28But it certainly would've said he's doing a great job.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Back at Finders, Ryan and the team were ready
0:38:36 > 0:38:39to start searching for heirs on Alec's mother's side,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41but they ran into a very common problem.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43His mother was Ada Smith,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46and she had Britain's most widely held surname.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48That's every genealogist's nightmare
0:38:48 > 0:38:51and you know, even before looking into a Smith family,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53that it's going to be quite tricky,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55quite time-consuming and quite expensive.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59After trawling through many records,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02they finally track down the right family.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05So, on the Smith side, on the maternal side of the family,
0:39:05 > 0:39:09there was ten aunts and uncles of the deceased.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Alec and George's grandparents,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Samuel Smith and Leah Riley,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16married in 1907.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18They went on to have 11 children,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21one of whom was George and Alec's mother Ada.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24The team then had to painstakingly search death indexes
0:39:24 > 0:39:27to locate records for each of her brothers and sisters.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Four of them actually died as children.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33One uncle died a bachelor,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36one aunt died without issue.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Next, they had to trace any children
0:39:38 > 0:39:40those remaining aunts and uncles may have had,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43for they would be heirs to the estates.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46It turns out it was quite a lengthy process
0:39:46 > 0:39:47to try and find beneficiaries,
0:39:47 > 0:39:49but we managed to find everybody.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54In total, there were 13 heirs to Alec and George's estates.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56One from their father's side of the tree
0:39:56 > 0:39:58and 12 from their mother Ada's side.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05One of the first heirs to be informed of their inheritance
0:40:05 > 0:40:06was Peter Smith.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09I didn't know of that side of the family,
0:40:09 > 0:40:13so I just thought they'd mixed me up and got the wrong person
0:40:13 > 0:40:16and it wasn't till later, when we did a bit of digging,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19that found out it was actually my uncles.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Peter believed that he knew all the members of his close family,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26but had never come across the names Alec or George Fisher.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30It turns out that George and Alec were actually
0:40:30 > 0:40:32my oldest auntie's sons,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35so it was my dad's nephews.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40It was strange to hear about uncles that you never knew about.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44I asked them if I could have a copy of the tree as they had it
0:40:44 > 0:40:46and they sent me one
0:40:46 > 0:40:49and I found out that the family was far more extensive
0:40:49 > 0:40:51than I even knew.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Thinking about his uncles did stir up
0:40:55 > 0:40:56some old memories for Peter.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01The only thing I really remember is the house itself,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04that, because it was easy for me to get to,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I could just walk through the back yard into the back door
0:41:06 > 0:41:08and straight into the kitchen.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10TANNOY: The next arrival at Platform 5...
0:41:10 > 0:41:12And it seems the railway connection runs right through
0:41:12 > 0:41:15both sides of the family.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18My dad actually worked in the railway works,
0:41:18 > 0:41:20working on the bogeys, from what I remember,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23which is actually part of the structure
0:41:23 > 0:41:25that holds the wheels together.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29I'm sure all the uncles that I knew all did work in the railways,
0:41:29 > 0:41:34and it was assumed that the majority of people...lived in Crewe
0:41:34 > 0:41:37either worked at the Works or Rolls-Royce.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42The case wasn't only a revelation for Peter.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45For Ryan and the team, it's certainly one
0:41:45 > 0:41:47they won't forget in a hurry.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51It's this story of the two brothers that passed away
0:41:51 > 0:41:53in the same hospital on the same day, and it is unique,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56and, like I say, I don't think it's ever going to happen again.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02As well as being unique, this was a challenging case for Ryan.
0:42:03 > 0:42:04We managed to find everybody.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Everybody signed commission agreements with us,
0:42:07 > 0:42:09so on that side of things, it was a good case.
0:42:09 > 0:42:15It feels very nice to have accomplished that feat, really,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18if you like, of trying to find that many Smith heirs.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21And the good news for those 13 heirs
0:42:21 > 0:42:23is that the estates combined total
0:42:23 > 0:42:26was a lot higher than anyone had expected.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29We didn't know how much their estate was worth.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31It then turned into two estates, and we found out, towards the end,
0:42:31 > 0:42:36that George's estate was worth about £34,000
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and Alec's estate was worth about £280,000.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45But for heir Peter, it had been about much more than the money.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50It was a little bit sad to find out someone had actually passed away.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55And I suppose even more sad because I didn't even know they existed.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00To be honest, the money's...not significant in...
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Actually, I feel guilty excepting it,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06because it's from someone I never knew.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The importance of this really is down to
0:43:09 > 0:43:11finding out a little bit more about family.