0:00:02 > 0:00:04June Franklin appeared to live a quiet,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07simple life in her garden flat in London.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11But for the Heir Hunters, the pressure is on to solve her case.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Yet again, no reply.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17I'm starting to run out of time now, so on to the next one.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20And the investigation into another estate starts with
0:00:20 > 0:00:23seaside stories on the scenic Isle of Wight.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25She was like a racing driver.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29My husband would see her coming down the road and he used to say,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32"Hold tight, here comes Hazel!" SHE LAUGHS
0:00:32 > 0:00:35It's all part of an heir hunter's daily challenge.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Coming up: the hidden dangers faced by battleship dock workers.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55HMS Vanguard just suddenly exploded and killed
0:00:55 > 0:00:57her entire crew of 804 men.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01And we uncover a story of heroic firefighting in the Blitz.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Because everything was in such chaos to begin with,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06just went from fire to fire.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09There were crews who left on 7th September, in the evening,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11and never went back for five days.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Plus, we'll be giving you details of the hundreds of thousands
0:01:15 > 0:01:18of pounds worth of estates that are still to be claimed.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:01:26 > 0:01:29In the London offices of heir hunting company
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Fraser & Fraser, manager Mike Pow and the team,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35are hard at work on the case of June Franklin.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38They started work on it six months ago,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40but it's now become an urgent priority.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43When it first came to us, this case, we didn't believe
0:01:43 > 0:01:44it had a huge amount of value.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48However, after about six months, some new information has come to light
0:01:48 > 0:01:51which looks like the estate will probably be in the region
0:01:51 > 0:01:54of about £50,000, so we've picked the file up again, had another look,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and have now discovered that she may have a huge amount of
0:01:57 > 0:02:01aunties and uncles, and it's going to be a lot of work
0:02:01 > 0:02:03for us to sort this one out.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09June Isabel Franklin lived in a basement flat in this
0:02:09 > 0:02:13house in Kensington, London, for over 30 years.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Although very little is known of her, and there are
0:02:15 > 0:02:19no surviving photographs, neighbour Stephen Leveredge was a friend.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25I first met June about a month after I moved in here.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Straight away, she struck me as a person that liked to be
0:02:30 > 0:02:32on her own and very private.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Over the years, Stephen got to know June a little.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41I think she was a well-read person, because of the way she spoke.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44And when she came up here for a cup of tea, which was
0:02:44 > 0:02:47very, very seldom, she would speak about watercolours
0:02:47 > 0:02:51and she'd speak about other parts of the world.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54And it seems June took great pleasure from the birds,
0:02:54 > 0:02:55who'd visit her garden.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59My bedroom being at the back, every morning I'd look out,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03the birds would be perched on the tree, waiting for June to come out.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05That reassured you that she was OK.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08But one morning, Stephen noticed that June hadn't
0:03:08 > 0:03:10been out to feed the birds.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Two days later, still hadn't seen any birds.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Hmm. Something strange.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20So, I went down and knocked on the door. No answer.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24And I thought, something... One had a feeling something was wrong.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29And so I called the police and then they came out and said,
0:03:29 > 0:03:34"Well, I'm very, very sorry, but the lady inside has passed away."
0:03:36 > 0:03:40I still look out of my window, but you don't see any birds,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44you don't see any squirrels. They're gone.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46They've gone with her! HE LAUGHS
0:03:46 > 0:03:48No, she was a very, very nice lady.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And missed, especially by myself.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56June died on 11th December 2010, aged 91,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00with no known family, and without leaving a will.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02So it's up to Mike and the team,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06to track down heirs to her estimated £50,000 estate.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Since first starting work on the case six months ago,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12they've made some progress with the tree.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15At the moment, this is where we have the deceased,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17who was never married and didn't have any children.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21First, we looked at the near kin and found a sister, Joyce,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23who also died a spinster.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25And, as you can see, we then had to go back, on the
0:04:25 > 0:04:28mother and father's side of the family,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32the mother's being this side, and she's got about nine siblings.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35With so many aunts and uncles, and any descendants of
0:04:35 > 0:04:39theirs to trace, research Joe has got his work cut out.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43I'm looking at the paternal side of the tree at the minute, which is
0:04:43 > 0:04:47made up of nine stems, nine family members we're currently looking at.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Sharon's looking at the maternal side of which there is ten stems,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53ten family members to look at.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57So, it's almost 20 family members overall we've had to look into.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00And I'm currently focusing on one of the family members
0:05:00 > 0:05:02on the paternal side, at the minute.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05The team have established that June's father was
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Arthur John Franklin, one of ten children
0:05:08 > 0:05:11born to Frederick Franklin and Grace Harding.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13It's a lot of work,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and Mike's approach so far has been to divide and conquer.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Because we've quite a few people on it, it makes it a little bit easier.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Whereas if only people were doing it, it'd be a lot more difficult.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26While Joe carries on research in one of June's aunts,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Mike follows up on a potential heir.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Paternal cousin once removed of a deceased.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33However, whether she has any,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37or he has any knowledge of the deceased, is going to be remote,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41as the link to him was born in 1888.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43He was born in 1952,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46so it's very, very remote that is going to know anything
0:05:46 > 0:05:50about his great aunties and uncles, as the family stretches back so far.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Don't think anyone's at home today.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Mike has had no luck contacting that potential heir.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05But researcher Isha has managed to trace a key family member
0:06:05 > 0:06:10on June's father's side, one of his sisters, Grace Mary Franklin.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15She was born in Hastings and she's living in Cheshire,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18which is nowhere near Hastings, but luckily, she was living
0:06:18 > 0:06:21with her mum, so I was able to pick that one out.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Otherwise, I would probably have skipped past it.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Grace was June's aunt, who died in 1945.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30However, Isha has managed to trace one of her descendants.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35I've got a phone number for one of Grace's grandchildren,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39but whether or not they'll know anything, it's hard to tell.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Mike wastes no time in following up Isha's lead,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46And immediately tries to contact this grandchild,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50who would be June's first cousin once removed, and a potential heir.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59But it seems he's not in luck.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01My name's Michael Pow. No, nothing to worry about.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04We're a company who specialises in tracing missing heirs
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and beneficiaries. Thank you very much for your time.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09# No-one's at home to-day! #
0:07:09 > 0:07:11What I'll do, is I'll send out a letter
0:07:11 > 0:07:13to them tonight, in the post,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17and seeing how we are regarding travellers, I'll get someone to
0:07:17 > 0:07:19go around there tomorrow, to see if
0:07:19 > 0:07:21they can make contact with her that way.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Although Mike has had no looking contacting potential heirs
0:07:24 > 0:07:28so far today, all is not lost. He's got one more to try -
0:07:28 > 0:07:32another first cousin, once removed, on June's father's side.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Good afternoon.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38I'm trying to locate the son of a Hazel Phyllis Franklin
0:07:38 > 0:07:39and an Edward Byrne.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42If you are this person, please could you give me a call?
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Once again, Mike asked to leave a message explaining who
0:07:45 > 0:07:49he's trying to get hold of, and the connection to June.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Thank you very much for your time. So, yeah,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55everyone's out in the weather today, by the looks of it.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Despite all the team's hard work,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01by late afternoon they're still a long way from solving the case.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04After today, we've had a moderately successful day in the fact
0:08:04 > 0:08:06that we've found some beneficiaries.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09However, we haven't been able to get in contact with them.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12And I've managed to leave a few messages on phone numbers,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14but no-one's rung back, as of yet.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17So, we've sent them letters, and hopefully, we'll get someone
0:08:17 > 0:08:21to see them tomorrow. But they are all cousins once removed
0:08:21 > 0:08:24of the deceased. I'd be very, very surprised if there
0:08:24 > 0:08:28are any cousins living, because all the uncles and aunties deceased,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30were born in the mid-to-late 1800s.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31The family is very, very old,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and we're coming down a lot of generations
0:08:34 > 0:08:36before a living heir is found.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39So, hopefully, somebody will be able to get onto them tomorrow,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41and then we can take it from there.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45And as the search continues, there's more frustration out on the road.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47There's no reply at the address,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and I can't confirm that she lives there, so I'm going to ring
0:08:50 > 0:08:54the office now and see if they can do a little bit of research.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Heir Hunters take on cases from a number of different sources.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Sometimes, a concerned neighbour or friend of someone who's died,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10seemingly without leaving a will and with no known family,
0:09:10 > 0:09:11contacts the team.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17This is known as a private referral.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21In November 2013, Daniel Curran, boss of London-based firm,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Finders, was alerted to the case of Hazel Murgatroyd.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Although the case was referred to us privately,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33we can't always be sure that any particular personal company
0:09:33 > 0:09:38hasn't referred the case to several of our competitors, as well.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41So, where there is any doubt, we'll always
0:09:41 > 0:09:44try and complete the research as if it were competitive.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Although this meant the team needed to work on the case as
0:09:47 > 0:09:48a matter of urgency,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51there was still an important first step that they couldn't ignore.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Before we start the case, it's always good to get an approximate
0:09:54 > 0:09:58idea of the value of the estate so we can judge the level of re-sources and
0:09:58 > 0:10:01the level of investment, if we're going to fund
0:10:01 > 0:10:02the investigation ourselves.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It's not always possible, so sometimes we just have to
0:10:05 > 0:10:10speculate and hope that the estate is worthwhile in value, in the end.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Former civil servant, Hazel Roseberry Murgatroyd,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21was born in Kent, in 1941,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25and retired to this bungalow on the picturesque Isle of Wight.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Gloria Halliwell and her husband, Ken, were neighbours.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33We'd been in on the island for about two months, and we came
0:10:33 > 0:10:36face-to-face with Hazel in Newport,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40and my husband, Ken, introduced us.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43The initial meeting had seemed like a promising introduction
0:10:43 > 0:10:45to their new neighbour.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47She was quite a tall lady,
0:10:47 > 0:10:52and I found her talkative for the few minutes that we were together.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56But, then, there was no acknowledgement after that.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59She seemed to be a very private person.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03But it appears Hazel did have at least one passion,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06which her neighbours couldn't help but notice.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Hazel had a car, she had her own personal number plate.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12She was like a racing driver.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16My husband would see her coming down the road, and he used to say,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18"Hold tight. Here comes Hazel!"
0:11:18 > 0:11:21SHE LAUGHS
0:11:21 > 0:11:26She used to be dressed in the same things, summer or winter.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The only thing that changed, in the summer,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32she used to bring out this white hat.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34And she would put that on.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39But, other than that, she was always dressed as though it was really cold.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Gloria and her husband knew Hazel for over 12 years.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45Although independent,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49she did sometimes asked her neighbours for a little help.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55Hazel gave me the shopping list, but it was all sweet stuff,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59some very soft. Nothing substantial.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05And we did have a laugh, because on the list was fun sized bananas.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10At the time of Hazel's death, on 27th June 2012,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14her neighbours knew no more about her life or any potential family.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16It was now up to Daniel and the team
0:12:16 > 0:12:19to piece together the puzzle of Hazel's estate.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22From Land Registry records, they'd already been able to
0:12:22 > 0:12:25establish that Hazel had owned her own home.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28They were also able to establish that she never married,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30or had any children.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And, having done that, the hunt was on for any brothers
0:12:33 > 0:12:34and sisters she might have had.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Using the information on Hazel's birth certificate,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41the heir hunters were able to trace her parents' marriage.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44We found out that Hazel's parents married quite some time
0:12:44 > 0:12:47before her birth, about nine years before her birth.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Sometimes, when we find the marriage of the parents a number of years
0:12:51 > 0:12:54before the birth of the deceased, a gap, such as in Hazel's case,
0:12:54 > 0:12:59a gap of nine years, might imply that there are further siblings to Hazel.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01However, in this case, we found out,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and confirmed later on with relatives,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08that Hazel was referred to as "a blessing", in that her parents had
0:13:08 > 0:13:12virtually given up the prospect of having children when Hazel was born.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Morris Arthur Murgatroyd married Maud Hannah Wright,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19in September 1932.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25And Hazel was born in April 1941, in the midst of World War II.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29At the time, her father Morris, was very involved in the home front.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38The Auxiliary Fire Service, or AFS, was first formed in 1938,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41as part of Britain's civil air defence.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46Initially, recruits like Morris were part-time, unpaid volunteers,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50and their role was to supplement the work of local professional
0:13:50 > 0:13:52fire brigades.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56People came from all walks of life and all classes.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00You got bakers, librarians, musicians, people in showbiz,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03people who'd been to public school. A huge mix.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Two days before the Second World War was declared, 89,000 men
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and 6,000 women were mobilised across the country for
0:14:13 > 0:14:14full-time service in the AFS.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19But during the first few months of the war,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22known as the phoney war, because nothing seemed to be happening,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26all this preparation seemed worse than pointless.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30The auxiliary Fire service were very unpopular with the public.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34They became a target, really, I suppose, for people's frustration.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Particularly after Dunkirk, when morale was quite low,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39they were actually attacked in the street very often.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42They had tomatoes and things thrown at them.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45But for Morris and other recent recruits,
0:14:45 > 0:14:46all that was about to change.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51On 7th September 1940, of course, almost a year to the day
0:14:51 > 0:14:54after the outbreak of war, the London Blitz began.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00It was a very sunny September afternoon,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04and about 4.30, an armada of planes made its way up the Thames.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10They began bombing on both sides of the river, the docks,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13warehouses, factories, and at one stage,
0:15:13 > 0:15:18all along the Thames, from Beckton to Tower Bridge, was on fire.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Famously, a fire watcher on the roof of St Paul's Cathedral said
0:15:21 > 0:15:24at one stage, "It must be the end of the world."
0:15:27 > 0:15:30The intensive bombing of London by the German Luftwaffe
0:15:30 > 0:15:32continued for eight months.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It was a determined effort to destroy the capital
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and demoralise Britain to the point of surrender.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41The bombing always came in two waves.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46The first would be mostly incendiaries, which would set
0:15:46 > 0:15:50light to things and, also, have the emergency services out working.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54These huge fires also would light up key targets
0:15:54 > 0:15:58for them to come back later, when they dropped their high explosives
0:15:58 > 0:16:00among those working outside,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04which, again, accounts for the deaths of so many auxiliary firemen.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07During the first 22 nights of London air raids,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Morris and his fellow firefighters fought nearly 10,000 fires,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15and their heroism was never in question again.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Hazel would have been barely a month old while her father
0:16:18 > 0:16:20was risking his life.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Once the Blitz began, as a driver,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26he would have been out almost every night, as were most of them,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30fighting fires in the Docklands, or wherever he was directed to go.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34He would have been working long hours.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I mean, on that first night, 7th September,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39some of them worked for 18 hours without food or sleep.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43He would have been wet through by the time he came back,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46and remember, it was through the autumn, winter and spring,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48which was very cold nights.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Very difficult to dry their uniforms, they only had one uniform,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54so often, you were going out the next night in a damp uniform,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56and people became ill.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58They weren't the healthiest of people.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Even so, Hazel's father and his fellow firemen would have had
0:17:02 > 0:17:05to have had to have extraordinary reserves of stamina.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Because everything was in such chaos to begin with,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09just went from fire to fire.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11And there's certainly one that I know of,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14that left on 7th September,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17in the evening, into the city,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19and never went back for five days.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20They slept on the engines.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Because, of course, the fires that were started on the first night,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27were more or less under control but you still had a damping down
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and so on, and while you were doing that, they came back the next night,
0:17:31 > 0:17:32and the next and the next.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35So you just went from one thing to another, grabbing
0:17:35 > 0:17:37sleep and food were you could.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39The Blitz ended in May 1941,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42but the AFS continued to fire fight alongside their regular
0:17:42 > 0:17:45colleagues throughout the remainder of the war,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47and into peace time.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51But as the fire service became nationalised
0:17:51 > 0:17:55and fully professional, the AFS was gradually phased out,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58until, in 1968, it was officially disbanded.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03What is impressive to me today, is the sense of responsibility
0:18:03 > 0:18:08they had to their community and, especially, to their comrades.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11For me, what I think is so incredible about the Auxiliary Fire Service
0:18:11 > 0:18:17is the fact that it's ordinary people doing an extraordinary job.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Morris survived the war and Hazel proved
0:18:20 > 0:18:22to be her parents' only child.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27This meant the team had to expand their search
0:18:27 > 0:18:30to look for possible aunts and uncles.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33We established that Hazel's mother's maiden name was right,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35which is a very common name.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39So our initial focus moved to the Murgatroyd family, being less common.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Hazel's father, Morris, died in 1966.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46But it was his 1903 birth date, that give the heir hunters
0:18:46 > 0:18:50the boost they needed to unlock his side of the family.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53This, luckily, gives us access to the 1911 census,
0:18:53 > 0:18:58where he could be mentioned as a seven or eight-year-old boy.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04We found that Hazel's paternal grandparents had several children,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07but they were young enough to have further children after
0:19:07 > 0:19:09the 1911 census.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13The team discovered that, in fact, Hazel's grandparents
0:19:13 > 0:19:16had a total of 10 children, including her father, Maurice.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19They got to work on all nine branches of the family tree,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22and came across an early stumbling block.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25One of the deceased paternal aunts
0:19:25 > 0:19:28was named Elina or Elma May Murgatroyd.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32And she presented some difficulties
0:19:32 > 0:19:37in that we couldn't find any obvious marriage or death record for her.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42We were suspecting she may have emigrated.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Eventually, it transpired that she married at age 90,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46which is very unusual.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50So, having used her husband's surname, we then were
0:19:50 > 0:19:52able to establish her death,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and the fact that that branch of the family died out.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And research into one of Morris's sisters yielded
0:19:59 > 0:20:01some particularly useful results.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05The stem of Yvonne Murgatroyd was quite a key one for us,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10in that she was the one that married Mr Rigg that led us to her son,
0:20:10 > 0:20:15Malcolm, who we were able to compere and contrast our family trees with
0:20:15 > 0:20:20the confirm that we'd found all the correct family and the correct heirs.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Hazel's cousin Malcolm is a keen genealogist,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27who has carried out his own extensive research.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31I started being interested in family history
0:20:31 > 0:20:36when I had a long talk with my grandmother, when I was about 20.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And I recorded everything on paper.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42I knew about my mother's family,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I also knew, from my father
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and my paternal grandmother, about his family.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53For heir hunter Daniel, Malcolm was a welcome mine of information.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56It's always great when someone has a family tree that we
0:20:56 > 0:21:00can compare against our own, and make sure that we've done the right thing.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03But, also, in case he has any additional information,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05to supplement what we've already done.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07So, it was great, great to find Malcolm and to go
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and see him and talk to him.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11As well as knowledge about his wider family,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Malcolm also has early memories of his cousin, Hazel.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20Up to the age of around 20 or so, we'd had regular family contact.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25Hazel was always protected as a child, by her parents.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28And she was treated as a gift
0:21:28 > 0:21:33which had to be treasured and spoiled.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Hazel was certainly six-foot tall.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40In fact, the story goes, and I don't know whether this is true,
0:21:40 > 0:21:45that at one time she had she had four inches cut from her
0:21:45 > 0:21:50upper leg, on both sides, in order to be not quite so tall.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52If she'd been born these days,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56she would have found plenty of boys over six-foot.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58But at the time, in the '40s,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02being that tall was very unusual for a woman.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Malcolm tried to keep in touch with his cousin as they grew older.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08When we proposed to visit Hazel,
0:22:08 > 0:22:14she was very reticent about what I would expect on arrival.
0:22:14 > 0:22:21And we found that she'd been living in a state of chaos.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25I feel very sad that Hazel died alone,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28without anybody with her of the family.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31And that we didn't know anything about it.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34I have a feeling that Hazel would have got into the habit
0:22:34 > 0:22:39of being a loner. Perhaps that explains why she didn't ask for help.
0:22:39 > 0:22:45But more about Hazel is revealed, as Malcolm delves deeper into her life.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49I've got an interesting letter here, from 10 Downing Street,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51and signed by Harold Wilson.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Every year in Britain, thousands of people get a surprise knock
0:23:01 > 0:23:03on the door from the heir hunters.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07It just seems a big miracle, so, you know.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Nobody ever think this sort of thing happens.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Being told of an unexpected inheritance
0:23:14 > 0:23:15can be very welcome news.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19If I get £50 I can go out for a good meal and have a drink on Richard!
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And it can provide a priceless opportunity to connect with
0:23:22 > 0:23:24long-lost family members.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Meeting him, it was the best outcome, I think,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30from this whole investigation.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33But there are still thousands of unsolved cases on the Treasury
0:23:33 > 0:23:37solicitors' bona vacantia list, where heirs need to be found.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Could you be one of them?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Today, we've got details of two estates on the list,
0:23:42 > 0:23:43that are yet to be claimed.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51The first case is Donald Shuker, who died on 30th July 1999,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55in Goodmayes, Essex, aged 70.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59He was born on 8th May 1929, in Manchester.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04But it is not known if he was married, or had any children.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Shuker is an early Germanic name, which means one who sieved corn.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Does the name that sound familiar to you?
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Do you know anything that could be the key to solving this case?
0:24:18 > 0:24:24Next, 76-year-old William Barclay died on 13th March 2002,
0:24:24 > 0:24:26in Littlehampton, West Sussex.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31He was born on 27th December 1925, in London.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34All that's known about William, is that he was a bachelor.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39The name "Barclay" is thought to be Old English.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46And to come from the market town of the same name, meaning "Birchwood".
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Could there still be a family connection to William in that town?
0:24:52 > 0:24:55We're in London, the city of his birth.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Does his name ring any bells with you?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Could you be the beneficiary they're looking for?
0:25:03 > 0:25:06If you they may be related to either of these people, you would
0:25:06 > 0:25:10need to make a claim on their estate by the Treasury Solicitors' Office.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Once again, the names of the cases we're trying to solve
0:25:14 > 0:25:17with your help today are:
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Donald Shuker and William Barclay.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Perhaps you could be the next of kin.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26If so, you could've thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The heir hunters have been chasing down heirs on the case
0:25:37 > 0:25:41of Hazel Murgatroyd, who died in 2012.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45So far, the team had cracked Hazel's father Morris's side of the family,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49tracing heirs from the descendants of his nine brothers and sisters.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53They then focused on solving Hazel's mother's side of the family.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Our researchers on that side were able to confirm the deceased
0:25:57 > 0:25:59mother was an only child.
0:25:59 > 0:26:05This meant that Hazel's estimated £150,000 to £160,000 estate would
0:26:05 > 0:26:08be divided between the 27 heirs on her father's side of the family.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Today, heir Malcolm, and his brother Trevor,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19are meeting up to look through one of the many boxes of belongings
0:26:19 > 0:26:22that came out of Hazel's house.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I've come filled with curiosity,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27because I'm hoping to find out more about a long lost cousin,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30in some respects, a cousin I scarcely ever knew.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Full of mystery, and piecing together her life.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36From what Malcolm's told me, it sounds most interesting,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and I'm really looking forward to finding out more today.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43The box contains photographs of Hazel's life,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47and some photographs of her parents and her grandparents.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51And an awful lot of pictures of her car,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54she was probably more fond of her car than anything else.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00- You can see from this photo that Hazel is very tall.- Yes, right.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Because she's standing between her parents, Maud and Morris,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06and she's, ooh, half a head taller than them.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09I remember one of the occasions when we were visiting,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and Hazel was lined up against you to see who was the tallest.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16I mean, we always thought you were enormous! I mean, six foot,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19I mean that was considered to be an unheard-of height.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22And yet, Hazel, actually, was taller than you.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24In fact, it was not perhaps very flattering,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27from Hazel's point of view, to be pointed out that, um...
0:27:27 > 0:27:28- She was taller than me.- ..taller.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Family get-togethers seemed to be when the cousins
0:27:31 > 0:27:34had their best chance of getting to know each other.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39How I remember Hazel was as a reserved, diffident lady.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Much my senior, of course, by what? Six years, anyway.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Her height, of course, made it a little bit awkward to be
0:27:46 > 0:27:48with her, that would explain why she became...
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Well, why she never got married.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Maybe she couldn't form relationships easily. Who knows?
0:27:54 > 0:27:57I've got an interesting letter, here.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00It's addressed to a PD Nairn...
0:28:02 > 0:28:06..from 10 Downing Street, and signed by Harold Wilson.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- Looks interesting. - And it's... Dear Pat...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18..etc, etc. And on the second sheet,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22one of the people there is Miss H Murgatroyd.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Oh, right, so she's part of a team.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29- So, Hazel was one of 29 people in a team working...- In the civil service.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- In the civil service. - I wonder what...
0:28:32 > 0:28:34It doesn't, of course, give any details about
0:28:34 > 0:28:36the exact contribution they made.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40But, an expression of gratitude for the efforts that have been made.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45The events the letter refers to were, in fact,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48the renegotiation of Britain's involvement in the EEC.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52It was carried out in 1975,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56under the leadership of Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59At that time, Hazel was working as a civil servant,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and played a part in the proceedings.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05'Britain joined the European Community in 1973,'
0:29:05 > 0:29:08under the Europhile Prime Minister, Edward Heath.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11One of the few Europhile prime ministers Britain's had.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Britain joined principally because it was seen in the 1960s that the
0:29:15 > 0:29:19British economy was lagging somewhat behind the continental economies,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22as a result of their creation of the European Community.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26So, Britain's political elites, but also in the media
0:29:26 > 0:29:29and elsewhere, saw that joining the community could be
0:29:29 > 0:29:34a remedy for some Britain's economic deficiencies in the 1960s and 1970s.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36But right from those early days,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Britain's membership of the EEC was a political hot potato.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Public opinion was sorely divided as to the advantages
0:29:44 > 0:29:47of being part of an economically united Europe.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Until finally, a public vote was put on the
0:29:51 > 0:29:54political agenda, by a newly elected government.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57The 1975 referendum was held by Harold Wilson,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01and it was a Labour Party manifesto commitment for the 1974
0:30:01 > 0:30:05election to renegotiate the terms of entry and then put those
0:30:05 > 0:30:09terms of entry to the British people in the form of an in-out referendum.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13The management of the referendum was crucial for Wilson,
0:30:13 > 0:30:17both within the Labour Party and for him personally, as Prime Minister.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Harold Wilson was determined that his pro-European stance would win
0:30:21 > 0:30:25the day, and worked closely with committees of both politicians
0:30:25 > 0:30:29and civil servants, including Hazel, who would debate in the issues.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Is likely that Hazel would have been working alongside civil servants
0:30:33 > 0:30:36and diplomats who went on to be leading exponents
0:30:36 > 0:30:39of British-European policy, in Brussels.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44On 6th June 1975, the British public finally went to the polls
0:30:44 > 0:30:46to have their say.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52They voted two-thirds to one-third in favour of staying in the EEC.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55So this was a triumph for Harold Wilson.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58A, it kept Britain in the European Community,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01which he saw as an economic necessity.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04And B, it kept the Labour Party united at a time when
0:31:04 > 0:31:08it could have fallen apart over a very contentious question.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Harold Wilson had been a civil servant during World War II,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14and it's well-known that he always had strong affinities with
0:31:14 > 0:31:18the civil service, and he regarded their work particularly highly,
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and so the kind of letter that Hazel received, would have been
0:31:21 > 0:31:24recognition, by Harold Wilson for the job that she
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and the other committee members did,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29in helping put his European case to the British people.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Hazel spent many years working as a civil servant,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37and her cousins and heirs, Malcolm and Trevor,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40are only now getting an insight into her life.
0:31:40 > 0:31:41It's extraordinary.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Well, we've only touched the tip of the iceberg here, but,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47what is extraordinary already, is the things
0:31:47 > 0:31:49I didn't know about Hazel.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51And yet, these photos tell so much.
0:31:51 > 0:31:52And yet, hide so much.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57It'd be lovely to get behind the scenes
0:31:57 > 0:32:00and discover the mysteries, the things we don't know yet.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Maybe they'll come to light as we go further down the box.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07But, for today, the brothers have uncovered enough to think about.
0:32:07 > 0:32:08Particularly Trevor.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11There were sad moments, looking at some of the photographs.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Because, I realised that here was a person in Hazel,
0:32:14 > 0:32:16that I never really got to know.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18And I could have made more effort to get to know her,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20there's no doubt about it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23As a cousin, I was perhaps a bit of a failure.
0:32:23 > 0:32:24OK, that goes both ways,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27but even so, I might have made more effort over the years.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31And I get the impression that she's a person with whom
0:32:31 > 0:32:33I might have got on well.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38I really would like to find out more.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41It has aroused my curiosity.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50In the London offices of Fraser & Fraser,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54it's day two of the hunt for heirs to the estate of June Franklin.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56When we first started it,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00the Franklin case was a nice little two-pieces-of-paper job.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Now it's spread out and just taken over the whole desk.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06The team have established that June's father, Arthur,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08was one of 10 children.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12When June was born, in 1919, he was working as an engineer at the
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Royal Chatham docks, where he had served during the First World War.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20The Royal Dockyard Chatham was the only shipbuilding
0:33:20 > 0:33:24centre on the east coast of the country at the turn of the
0:33:24 > 0:33:2920th century, and the Navy's only major ship repair centre, as well.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31It was vital to be able to repair submarines,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35and also refit large destroyers coming in, and cruisers as well.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39Arthur's role as an engineer,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43just before and during World War I, would have been vital
0:33:43 > 0:33:46in the building and completing of warships for the Royal Navy.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Of Arthur would have started out engaged in fitting engines and
0:33:50 > 0:33:54repairing the engines on board ships, so it meant crawling into small,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58dark spaces and making sure it was all connected and running properly.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01As is experience grew and his knowledge grew,
0:34:01 > 0:34:04he would have moved towards the chargeman level, which is
0:34:04 > 0:34:07effectively a foreman, responsible for a gang of roundabout
0:34:07 > 0:34:1020 or so men, and making sure that they are working properly
0:34:10 > 0:34:12and doing their jobs.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16As he progressed into an inspector,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19he would have then had probably around three or four gangs under his
0:34:19 > 0:34:22responsibility, so roundabout three foremen,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25plus 20 or so guys in each gang.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29The First World War was one of the most challenging times
0:34:29 > 0:34:30in the dockyard's history.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Around a dozen ships were built,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36and crucial repairs to the existing fleet carried out,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40both vital to keeping the Royal Navy afloat and fighting the war at sea.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Arthur and his colleagues would have seen a lot of horrific damage
0:34:44 > 0:34:47for the first time from sea mines and torpedoes.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50It was the first time they'd actually been used.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52There would have been a lot of twisted metal,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55the bows would have been ripped off, sterns could have been
0:34:55 > 0:34:58sheared off, engines would have been blown to pieces.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01And in between all of that twisted metal and wreckage,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04they may well have been men who were killed in action, as well.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08So it would have been quite gory and horrific.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12These ships were towed into the dockyard, and Arthur would have been,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14as a chargeman then as an inspector,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18would have been sent down to see what they could do to repair the engines
0:35:18 > 0:35:21and make it sea-fit and ready again for active service,
0:35:21 > 0:35:23as soon as possible.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25And it seems the men faced danger in the dock,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27as well as on the high seas.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30One of the risks of being on a warship,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33was the potential for spontaneous combustion or explosion,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36and indeed there were several incidences.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40The worst was in 1917, in July, when HMS Vanguard just suddenly
0:35:40 > 0:35:44exploded and killed her entire crew of 804 men.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49Whilst there was a lot of conspiracy theories behind it,
0:35:49 > 0:35:53the likelihood is that there may have been a simple spark or
0:35:53 > 0:35:57something near the magazines, the doors may not have been closed,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59that may have caused the ammunition just to go up.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02And this was a sort of occupational hazard,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04throughout the Navy at the time.
0:36:05 > 0:36:10Arthur would have been part of a close-knit, expanding workforce.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12At the end of the First World War,
0:36:12 > 0:36:16the dockyard had up towards 12,000 men and women are working on site.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19As it turned into peacetime operations, there would have been
0:36:19 > 0:36:23mass lay-offs, because they no longer needed to keep such a workforce.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26Arthur, in his position, may well have been saved,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30because of his experience and his understanding and his knowledge.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Lesser-trained workers would have, unfortunately, lost their jobs.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Although historical archive records have helped build
0:36:36 > 0:36:39a picture of June's father, the heir hunters are finding
0:36:39 > 0:36:43the rest of the family harder to pin down.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48If they've moved around a lot and the born so early on,
0:36:48 > 0:36:53then it's really hard to find out whether it's the right family or not.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56The people that you're talking to are not going to know
0:36:56 > 0:37:00about their grandparents' families, necessarily.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03They've had to go down the generations until they found
0:37:03 > 0:37:07distant cousins on both June's mother's and father's sides.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09With no luck contacting beneficiaries on the phone,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Mike has sent travelling researcher, Dave Hadley,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15out on the road, to see if he can locate them in person.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Dave is tracking down a cousin on June's mother's side of the family.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Best case scenario is that they give us some information
0:37:23 > 0:37:27about his brothers and sisters, and also sign an agreement with us.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30And the worst-case scenario is that the competition have
0:37:30 > 0:37:32already got there before me.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Heirs can play an important role in helping to confirm the team's
0:37:35 > 0:37:38research, and to fill in any gaps in the family trees.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41But if Dave doesn't manage to sign of any heirs,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43all the team's work is for nothing.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47And after a brief meeting, it's time for him to hit the road again.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Well, that was a great result.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Erm, I've just seen the heir, he's confirmed all the information
0:37:52 > 0:37:56that we've got, he's given me quite a bit of information about his
0:37:56 > 0:38:00brothers and sisters, and he's agreed to sign an agreement with us.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03So, one down, six to go.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08Following directions he's just been given, Dave is on his way to another
0:38:08 > 0:38:12cousin on June's mother's side, who fortunately lives very nearby.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16There's no reply at the address,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20and I can't confirm that she lives there, so I'm going to ring
0:38:20 > 0:38:23the office now, and see if they can do a little bit of research.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27Dave gets through to case manager, Mike Pow, and explains where he is.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31Yeah, that's the one I've been knocking at. There's no reply.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34I don't know whether you want to get a letter out to her.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37I'll leave an enquiry letter through the letterbox.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Er, I've got a telephone number, but, you know, there's no reply
0:38:42 > 0:38:46at the door, so there's not much point in ringing the number.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Mike has been able to confirm this cousin, and that Dave
0:38:49 > 0:38:51is at the right address.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Dave leaves a note, and then it's back on the road to the next name
0:38:54 > 0:38:59on his list, a cousin once removed - again, June's mother's side.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Right. Well, I just had an interview with a very nice lady.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08She's confirmed that she is an heir to our deceased.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12She's quite elderly, so I've left an agreement with her,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15so that she can discuss it with her daughter.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17She's given us quite a bit of information,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21but it will help us to confirm the research we've got is correct.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26So, after this last-minute success, Dave is ready to go home.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28I've had quite a successful day.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33I've managed to see two heirs and spoken to a third one.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Located a fourth one,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39and I've just got a couple more to see in Tonbridge, tomorrow.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41So, all in all, it's been a good day.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52The following day, Mike Pow is on leave,
0:39:52 > 0:39:56so it's up to fellow manager, Jo, to pick up where he left off.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58I've just spoken to Dave Hadley, to see
0:39:58 > 0:40:02where he'll be going today, to make sure that everyone is seen
0:40:02 > 0:40:05who can be seen, to keep everything up to date.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Since yesterday, the team in the office have managed to find
0:40:08 > 0:40:11several more names to add to Dave's ever-expanding list.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16I doubt that I'm going to be able to get round to all of them today.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19But I'll do as many as I can.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22He's on his way to a daughter of one of June's cousins.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Right, well there's no answer at the address.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29I know that they've sent a letter out to her,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32so I'm not going to bother putting anything through the door.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Dave's hoping to have better luck with the next heir on his list,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40who's a cousin once removed.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Finding a parking space, yeah. It's a nightmare.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Yet again, no reply.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49I'm starting to run out of time, now. So, on to the next one.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53I would hope to have somebody signed up by now, but you can never tell.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58He has high hopes of signing up the next potential heir,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02a cousin on June's father's side of the family. But he's hit a snag.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08That road's closed, as well.
0:41:08 > 0:41:13Oh, wow. I can barely get into Pembury.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Dave finally finds a way through, and after arriving at the house
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and introducing himself to potential heir, Karen Hunt...
0:41:21 > 0:41:24- Thank you, please come in. - Thank you, very much.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26..he gets down to business.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- Now, did you get our letter today?- I did, I got it this morning, yes.- OK.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35- Have you had a chance to read it, or not?- I've read through it, yes.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37I'll ask you a few questions, it'll save you
0:41:37 > 0:41:41- then having to fill in that questionnaire.- Right, OK, yes.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43It'll confirm that we've got the right person.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47How many children did your parents have, including you?
0:41:47 > 0:41:49- There's four, four girls. - Four girls.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51- Was your father married more than once?- No.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54- And was your mother married more than once?- No.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Dave is able to confirm the team's research, and is satisfied
0:41:59 > 0:42:00that Karen is an heir.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02It's a very unusual thing.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05You hear of it happening to other people, that they get
0:42:05 > 0:42:08in contact, people saying there's relatives that have left them money.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11But, you obviously don't ever think it's going to happen to you.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14It's strange, knowing that there's somebody out there that
0:42:14 > 0:42:16you didn't really know, that you were related to,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20and nice to know that, at the end of it, we'll get a nice extra
0:42:20 > 0:42:23bonus of a little bit of money, or something, which is really nice.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Well, I'm really pleased with that.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29She's given me some information which is really useful,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32but, more importantly, she's agreed for us
0:42:32 > 0:42:35to help her with her claim, and has signed an agreement with us.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38So, I'm really pleased with the result,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and I think now, it's time for a well-earned lunch.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44It's been a successful visit for Dave. And, a few weeks later,
0:42:44 > 0:42:48the team have finally been able to wrap up all their research.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50This was quite a complicated case for us due to the fact
0:42:50 > 0:42:53that there was so many people who looked to be involved,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56because we knew from both sides of the family, there was
0:42:56 > 0:42:58going to be quite a few aunts and uncles.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01We've managed to come down through quite a lot of generations to finally
0:43:01 > 0:43:05find 40 beneficiaries who look to inherit about £63,000 between them.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08So it was a nice one for us to sort out for them.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11I think it makes you realise with the family that you don't
0:43:11 > 0:43:15see that often, that you really should make more of an effort.