0:00:02 > 0:00:04Robert Sproat chose to live alone in London
0:00:04 > 0:00:07and now the heir hunters are unravelling the mystery
0:00:07 > 0:00:10this Glaswegian author created around his own life.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12He was going away to university.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15That was it, off he went and we never saw him again.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19On another case, the search for heirs takes the hunt to Norfolk.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22It's another challenging day for the heir hunters.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Coming up, one man's bravery
0:00:37 > 0:00:40in one of the most dangerous jobs of World War II.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43If the one who was the lead ship, if he suddenly blew up,
0:00:43 > 0:00:48you knew there was mines there, but who was it who was going to be next?
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We rediscover a lost art.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Compositing was one of the main skills of the printing industry.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Without compositing, you wouldn't have anything to print.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00And we'll be giving you details
0:01:00 > 0:01:03of the hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of estates
0:01:03 > 0:01:05that are still to be claimed.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Could the heir hunters be knocking at your door?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18In Norfolk, Andrew Fraser is on his way to look at a property
0:01:18 > 0:01:23that forms part of an unclaimed estate his firm is investigating.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27I have been instructed by the administrating solicitors
0:01:27 > 0:01:30to help them and provide them with a probate valuation
0:01:30 > 0:01:34for both the contents and also the property itself.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36What Andrew discovers when he gets inside
0:01:36 > 0:01:39could have a huge bearing on the amount that is inherited by heirs.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45We have the typical, very musty smell we get
0:01:45 > 0:01:49when properties have been locked up and left for some time.
0:01:49 > 0:01:55Although it's only been a few months, it is certainly quite unique.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00The house, which is in a sleepy rural part of Norwich,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04was home to Philip Charles Kettle for many years.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06His mother and father lived opposite us
0:02:06 > 0:02:09previously and Philip moved in with them.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Unfortunately, they passed away
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and Philip inherited the house and lived there ever since.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Philip was always quite jolly, really pleasant to speak to.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Always quite happy. Never seemed miserable in any way.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22If you were to see him walking down the road,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24he'd stop and say hello to you and ask how you were.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28After leaving school when he was 15,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Philip went on to work as a newspaper compositor
0:02:31 > 0:02:34at local firm Eastern Counties Newspapers.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Philip's character was outward going and he had quite a bit of fun.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Sometimes he could be a little bit awkward, but can't we all?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46So, yeah, we got on well with Philip
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and I got on well with Philip.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Philip took early retirement and, sadly,
0:02:51 > 0:02:56died on 24th of July 2013, aged just 56.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00He left no known family and seemingly made no will.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Philip will definitely be missed
0:03:02 > 0:03:04because you always saw him in the street.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07He was such a jolly man and he would always have time to speak to you.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10It's quite sad knowing that when you come out in the morning that
0:03:10 > 0:03:13you're not just going to bump into him or say hello to him any more.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Heir hunter Andrew is opening that his visit to Philip's house
0:03:19 > 0:03:23will help to establish the likely value of Philip's estate.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26If he's lucky, a thorough search of the house could uncover
0:03:26 > 0:03:30evidence of valuables or savings that might increase the case's worth
0:03:30 > 0:03:33by hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Or he could be heading for every heir hunter's worst nightmare -
0:03:37 > 0:03:41the discovery of a will that renders all their efforts useless.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47For now, his first job is to assess the likely value of the property.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52These places deteriorate fairly quickly when they've been left empty.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Got a hole in the ceiling.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58The fact is the wall has got an awful lot of dampness in there
0:03:58 > 0:04:01that has caused the plaster to virtually fall off.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Andrew is coming across signs of serious long-term neglect
0:04:04 > 0:04:05throughout the house.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08We clearly see that the house is in need of
0:04:08 > 0:04:10some quite significant repair.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It's surprising we don't have major ceilings coming down
0:04:13 > 0:04:15in the kitchen area.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19We can see the felt roof has got holes in it.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Together with a very overgrown garden.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He's also on the lookout for any documentation to suggest
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Philip had any assets other than the house.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31I've found here his latest passport, I believe.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Andrew's visit is just the latest stage
0:04:36 > 0:04:39in what has been a complex investigation.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41When the case first came to the company
0:04:41 > 0:04:43by solicitor referral six months ago,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Fraser & Fraser case manager Ben Cornish was in charge.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48When we got the case, we looked a bit further,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51we found out where the deceased was living at the time of his death.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53We realised that the deceased owned a property
0:04:53 > 0:04:55and it was one of these cases
0:04:55 > 0:04:57that we were definitely going to have a look into.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59As they had Philip's last known address,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01this was their first port of call.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04When we start a case like this, we will contact the neighbours.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07They are usually good source of information about the deceased.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09We straightaway realised that the deceased lived with his parents
0:05:09 > 0:05:12up until their deaths and we also gleaned from them
0:05:12 > 0:05:15the fact that Philip was actually married.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17So, when we found out that Philip was married,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19we instantly had a look for a marriage record.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22We found one. We traced this individual.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25We realised that she had married for a second time. Spoke to her.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27She confirmed to us that she was divorced from Philip
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and that they had no children.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30And as they'd been divorced,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34this meant that Philip's ex-wife had no claim on his estate.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37The team then had to check for the next in line to inherit.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40We started to look for siblings of Philip, if there were any,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43whether they were still alive or, if they had passed away,
0:05:43 > 0:05:44whether they had any children.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49When we find Philip's birth record, we looked for his parents' marriage.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53The team established that John Benjamin Kettle married
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Patricia Anne Cork on 18 June 1955.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Philip was born the following year.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01When we find the parents' marriage,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04we look for any siblings of the deceased.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07We could find none for Philip, so we knew that he was an only child.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I think we're going to look at John Benjamin Kettle and his family.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15This meant that the team now had to trace any brothers or sisters
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Philip's parents might have had.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Instantly, when we looked into the mother's family,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22we were made aware that she was an only child, and therefore
0:06:22 > 0:06:25there would be no descendants on this particular side.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27The team's only hope of heirs now rested on
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Philip's father's side of the family.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Philip's father was John Kettle and,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36according to Philip's birth certificate,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38he worked in the printing trade.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41When John began his career in the newspaper business
0:06:41 > 0:06:43during the late 1940s and '50s,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47the printing industry was pulling itself out of post-war doldrums
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and Fleet Street and newspapers across the country
0:06:50 > 0:06:53were heading towards a golden age.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55The power of the presses was very much in evidence,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58as people picked up nearly all their knowledge of news
0:06:58 > 0:07:01and current affairs from the printed page.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Both father and son worked as newspaper compositors,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09producing the same paper, the Eastern Evening News.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15Compositing was one of the main skills of the printing industry
0:07:15 > 0:07:20because without compositing, you wouldn't have anything to print.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23As a compositor, John was responsible for setting out
0:07:23 > 0:07:25all the text or copy that was to be printed
0:07:25 > 0:07:27using metal letters and symbols.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31They were then tightly bound to create a page,
0:07:31 > 0:07:32which was placed in a press
0:07:32 > 0:07:36and then inked to make the necessary impression on the paper.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Usually, when you went in the printing industry,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44you followed in your father's footsteps or a relation.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46And that opened the door for you.
0:07:46 > 0:07:52Quite a few apprenticeships, you had to pay to take the apprenticeship.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58My father was a compositor and his father had to pay £100 premium
0:07:58 > 0:08:01before he could even start work.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05David worked side-by-side with John.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09I remember John. I worked with him for quite some time.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14And he was a fairly happy-go-lucky fella and he did his job
0:08:14 > 0:08:20and he had with him an air of authority because of his size.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24He was a decent person to work with, yes.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27David also worked with Philip during the 1970s and '80s.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31He followed in his father's footsteps.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33He was a compositor
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and he became a pagemaker like his father on the same paper.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40They all worked under pressure to get the newspapers out
0:08:40 > 0:08:41to a hungry public.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48In those days, newspapers were almost the sole form of information.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53A newsroom built up to a crescendo near to deadline time.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Everything seemed to get faster.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00And with as many as 24 linotype machines all clattering away
0:09:00 > 0:09:04and all the little clicks and clatters built up into a deadline,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08then when the paper was put to bed, it went quiet.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11John and Philip would have found themselves
0:09:11 > 0:09:15working in the print industry during a boom period of the '70s and '80s.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18But it was also a time of huge change.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23With the advent of computing in the early '70s,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27several provincial newspapers in this country
0:09:27 > 0:09:32started up their own programme of computerisation.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34And it seems the industry was divided
0:09:34 > 0:09:37in how it received this new technology.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41In the provinces, the computerisation programme
0:09:41 > 0:09:45finished in the late 1980s
0:09:45 > 0:09:50and there wasn't as much controversy as there was in Wapping
0:09:50 > 0:09:52with the nationals.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57It was a stand-up fight between the unions and management.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Despite the demise of the printing industry
0:10:01 > 0:10:03as John and Philip first knew it,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07those early working practices have left their own lasting impression.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11There's quite a few sayings come from the printing industry.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14One of them is "mind your Ps and Qs"
0:10:14 > 0:10:18and this is because a P and a Q
0:10:18 > 0:10:22are identical except they face different ways
0:10:22 > 0:10:23and it is easy to mix them up
0:10:23 > 0:10:27if your eye isn't trained to know that you looking at
0:10:27 > 0:10:28a mirror image.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31So, that is where that one comes from.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34And another saying is "upper and lower case".
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It comes from the fact that the cases,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40which are stored in racks called frames,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43when they were lifted out to use, they were in pairs.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45One of them was the capitals and it was put up here
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and that became upper case.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50And the other one is the small letters and it was put here
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and that became the lower case.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And that is where the term comes from.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Back on the hunt for Philip's heirs, Ben was now concentrating
0:11:01 > 0:11:04the team's research on his father John's side of the family.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And there was no time to waste.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09A case like this is a pressure case, as we call them,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12because you know there is a major asset, there is a property.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14You know that other companies may be looking into it
0:11:14 > 0:11:18and they will also be trying their hardest to locate the heirs.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22At Philip's house in Norwich, Andrew has found some documents.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Just looking through the papers here,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29I found details in relation to asking for early retirement pensions.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36This is the death certificate for Philip's father,
0:11:36 > 0:11:41John Benjamin Kettle, who died in 2004.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50When someone dies without leaving a will and with no known family,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53their name ends up on the Treasury Solicitor's list
0:11:53 > 0:11:54of unclaimed estates.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58But this list reveals very little of the deceased's life.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03In 2011, one name that appeared on it was Robert Sproat.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07It was picked up senior case manager Kevin Edmondson
0:12:07 > 0:12:09at heir hunting firm Hoopers.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12At first sight, it didn't look as if this estate
0:12:12 > 0:12:14was going to be of any great value, but after a bit of digging,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18we found out that Robert Sproat had left about £45,000.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Obviously, this was worthwhile investigating and so,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25we started the work of trying to trace his heirs.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28And an initial exploration on the internet brought to light
0:12:28 > 0:12:31some immediate insight into Robert's story.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34We found a copy of a newspaper article online
0:12:34 > 0:12:37which mentioned that he had died from a fall
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and that there had been a coroner's inquest.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46The coroner ruled that Robert had died from an accidental head injury,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49thought to have been sustained when he fell while in his flat.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52At the time of his death,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Robert lived in North London in sheltered accommodation.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Marva was a fellow resident.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00I remember Robert.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05He was a very private person, tall, slim.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Always clean and well-dressed.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14He wore his hair quite long but tidily.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17And when you'd pass him in the passage,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20he would just give a wave and say, "Hello, how are you?"
0:13:20 > 0:13:22From what I remember of Robert,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26he was a very highly intelligent person.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29And it seems he wasn't an easy man to get close to.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33He never sort of mixed with the tenants.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36For example, he never came into the lounge to have a cup of coffee.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I never saw visitors visiting him.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44He was just a lonely person.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Robert might have been an enigma to his neighbours,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56but the heir hunters' research was revealing more about this quiet man.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00The article also mentioned that he was from Glasgow
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and that he was a published author.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08The team discovered that in the 1980s, Robert had written two books.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12One, Chinese Whispers, was a novel about Genghis Khan.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16And the other, published in 1986, was a memorably entitled
0:14:16 > 0:14:20collection of short stories called Stunning The Punters.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22It was made up of nine different characters,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24each with their own story to tell.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And little did Robert know, but his book would change the life
0:14:29 > 0:14:33of at least one person, actor George Dillon.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37It was 1988. I was an unemployed actor.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I'd been unemployed for about a year.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43And I was looking for material to do a one-man show
0:14:43 > 0:14:46to give myself a showcase, to get an agent.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47And I had two stories already.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51I had one by Steven Berkoff and one by Dostoyevsky.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52But I needed a third.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56And I was looking at books returned today in the library
0:14:56 > 0:14:57for short stories
0:14:57 > 0:15:03and my eye fell on this title which said "Stunning The Punters".
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Brilliant! Brilliant title.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I took the book off the shelf and looked at the cover
0:15:09 > 0:15:13and it was this cartoon of skinheads,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15which was brilliant, cos at the time I had a shaven head.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So, I opened it up and I read the first line of the title story
0:15:18 > 0:15:19and it said...
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- GRAVELLY VOICE: - "It's a rough old estate."
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Good first line.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Turned to the last line, the last two lines, and it was...
0:15:28 > 0:15:30"Really strange.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35"By pretending something's never been said,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37"you can end up screaming it."
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Flicked through the story, it was all written in the first person.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45It was about skinheads. And it was just amazing.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48So, that became the title story and the linchpin
0:15:48 > 0:15:53of my first one-man show, Stunning The Punters And Other Stories.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55"Ten points!" I says to Spike.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58George continued to bring Robert's character to life
0:15:58 > 0:16:00for the next seven years.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Only get the maximum for a pram...
0:16:04 > 0:16:06if the baby's still in it.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Until he finally met the author at a performance in London.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14He was strange. He was a strange man.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16He was flamboyant, in one sense.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20I have the impression that he was actually quite a private man
0:16:20 > 0:16:22and quite a troubled man.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I mean, he was intriguing. I wish I had got to know him better.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Actor George isn't the only one
0:16:28 > 0:16:30who wishes he knew more about the author.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32The heir hunters' internet research
0:16:32 > 0:16:35might have revealed some insight into Robert's career,
0:16:35 > 0:16:36but when it came to his family,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Kevin and the team needed to dig a bit deeper.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44The next step was to obtain a copy of Robert Sproat's death certificate
0:16:44 > 0:16:49and when we had this, we had his date of birth confirmed
0:16:49 > 0:16:54and his place of birth and it was 14 April 1944 in Glasgow.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58We then went on to obtain a copy of the birth certificate
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and this gave us the names of his parents -
0:17:01 > 0:17:07Alexander John Sproat and Elspeth Anne Sproat, formerly Forsyth.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Having confirmed his parents, there was another immediate priority.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12We had to, first of all,
0:17:12 > 0:17:17ensure that he didn't have very close relations - a wife or children.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20We searched the records in England, Scotland and Wales
0:17:20 > 0:17:23for any possible marriage of Robert Sproat
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and we didn't find any record of marriage.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Not only had Robert never married or had children,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32birth records showed that he was an only child.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35This meant the team had to expand the search
0:17:35 > 0:17:37to look for aunts, uncles and cousins
0:17:37 > 0:17:39on both his father's and mother's side.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Looking into Robert's mother's side of the family,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47we first of all obtained Elspeth Forsyth's birth certificate.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51This confirmed her parents' names and we quickly found them
0:17:51 > 0:17:55on the 1911 census and we found that they'd had seven children.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57We continued our searches after the 1911 census
0:17:57 > 0:18:01and found that there were three more children born after Elspeth.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06The discovery that Robert's mother had nine brothers and sisters
0:18:06 > 0:18:09meant that this could be a huge family tree
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and entail enormous amounts of research.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16However, luckily for the team, they were able to narrow it down.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21We quite quickly found out that six of them had died without issue.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24We did, however, find out that sister Helen had married.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Although they'd discovered that she had died in 1975,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31she had two children.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35The team were then able to contact her daughter, also called Helen.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36For Robert's cousin,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39the news that she was an heir came totally out of the blue.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43I got back from holiday on Valentine's Day
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and there was this handwritten note through the door
0:18:46 > 0:18:50saying my maiden name had been Thomas, which was very strange,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52so I just thought it was a bit of a wind-up,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54somebody looking for money or something.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56So, I just ignored it.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57And the next day,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01I had a letter which had all the details right in it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05So, I'd spoken to my son and he said, "Don't sign anything!"
0:19:05 > 0:19:08And then I started to...
0:19:08 > 0:19:10And I couldn't think who it was at all.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14I did wonder did my mother have some kind of secret life
0:19:14 > 0:19:16before she met my dad?
0:19:16 > 0:19:19That was very strange cos it just wouldn't have happened.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24After discovering other cousins had also received similar letters,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26the family hit on the truth.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29We worked out it must be Rob Sproat.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Then the penny dropped and I thought,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35well, that was quite sad, then, that we'd all missed
0:19:35 > 0:19:39not being able to go to his funeral or anything.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42But sadness at not being able to pay her respects
0:19:42 > 0:19:44was mixed with happier memories.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48A big joker. He loved The Goons and he would have all...
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Especially Peter Sellers. He was a master of Peter Sellers.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56And he and my dad would sort of bang off each other all the time.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58SHE LAUGHS
0:19:58 > 0:20:02They would go through some of The Goons more memorable moments
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and when we went down to Wales to visit,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08he would come with us if we went somewhere like Tenby.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11He was quite a joker.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14And, yeah, he was good company then.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16At 18, Robert won a scholarship
0:20:16 > 0:20:19to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22We were all incredibly impressed,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25but he was very bad at communicating.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28His mother always sent him off to Cambridge
0:20:28 > 0:20:31with a stamped addressed letter to post when he arrived
0:20:31 > 0:20:34so that she would know he'd got there safely.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38He did send her birthday cards and Christmas cards
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and he did send her the books when he wrote them, but otherwise,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44he was very bad at keeping in touch,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46which was sad for his mum.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50And it seems his study of the sciences quickly took a back-seat.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55He got in with all the people that enjoyed doing all the arty things,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59so he didn't bother going to lectures and things
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and only lasted a year, which was a bit sad,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05having got the scholarship in the first place.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07When Robert went on to become a published author,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11it was a chance for the family to catch up with something of his life,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12if only from a distance.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I've enjoyed reading the books.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17So, the family knew about them.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22And I did write to him through the publishers.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24I did say how much I'd enjoyed them
0:21:24 > 0:21:28and there's some very funny things in them as well as the sad bits.
0:21:28 > 0:21:35It struck me that the personalities of all the male characters
0:21:35 > 0:21:40seemed to reflect the personalities of all my mum and Mum's sisters!
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Which was quite funny.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44But I didn't get a reply.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Altogether, the team are able to uncover eight beneficiaries
0:21:47 > 0:21:51on Robert's mother's side of the family, including Helen.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53But they still has to unlock his father's side.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Every year in Britain, thousands of people
0:22:02 > 0:22:06get a surprise knock on the door from the heir hunters.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11It's really nice to know there was someone else in the family out there.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Probably would have liked to have met but never did.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Being told of an unexpected inheritance
0:22:16 > 0:22:18can be very welcome news.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21If I get £50, I can go out for good meal and have a drink on Richard.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24And it can provide a priceless opportunity
0:22:24 > 0:22:27to connect with long-lost family members.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30It's lovely to think he's brought us all back together
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and I hope he's got comfort.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36But there are still thousands of unsolved cases
0:22:36 > 0:22:38on the Treasury Solicitor's Bona Vacantia list,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40where heirs needs to be found.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42Could you be one of them?
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Today, we've got details of two estates on the list
0:22:45 > 0:22:47that are yet to be claimed.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49The first case is...
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Otherwise known as Rex or Roy Patterson.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Reginald was a widower, who died on...
0:23:01 > 0:23:02..aged 91.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05He was born on...
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And it is not known when he came to the UK.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18The name Patterson is of Scottish and Irish descent,
0:23:18 > 0:23:19meaning 'son of Patrick'.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Could there still be family links to Reginald
0:23:23 > 0:23:25in either Scotland or Ireland?
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Is this name familiar to you?
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Do you have any ideas that could be the key to unlocking this estate?
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Next, 71-year-old...
0:23:38 > 0:23:39Died on...
0:23:44 > 0:23:48He was a bachelor and had been born in Glasgow on...
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Peacock is a surname which first appears in Anglo-Saxon Durham
0:23:54 > 0:23:56in the fifth century.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00It was a name to describe someone who was concerned with their looks.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05What brought Daniel to Lincolnshire is unknown.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Could he still have relatives back in Scotland?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Does his name mean anything to you?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Could you be the beneficiary they're looking for?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16If you think you may be related to either of these people,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19you would need to make a claim on their estate
0:24:19 > 0:24:21via the Treasury Solicitor's office.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22The important point about making a claim
0:24:22 > 0:24:24to the Treasury Solicitor's Department
0:24:24 > 0:24:27is to make sure you provide all the evidence we need -
0:24:27 > 0:24:29the birth certificates, the death certificates -
0:24:29 > 0:24:30then all should be fine.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33If not, or if you're unhappy with the way we deal with the matter,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36then by all means, raise that and we'll consider things afresh.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Once again, the names of the cases we are trying to solve
0:24:39 > 0:24:41with your help today are
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Reginald John Charles Patterson
0:24:43 > 0:24:45and Daniel James Peacock.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Perhaps you could be the next of kin.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51If so, you could have thousands of pounds coming your way.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Heir hunter Ben Cornish and the team at Fraser & Fraser
0:25:01 > 0:25:03have been tracking down heirs to the estate
0:25:03 > 0:25:06of former newspaper printing man Philip Kettle.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Having established that he had no siblings
0:25:09 > 0:25:11and his mother was an only child,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15they have narrowed the search down to his father's side of the family.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17So, when we were looking into the Kettle family tree,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21we found out that the deceased's father had three siblings.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22They were all older.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23An older sister called Doris,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26brother called Ronald who died in infancy,
0:25:26 > 0:25:27and a brother called Derek.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Philip's uncle Derek was born in 1925.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35He'd grown up in the years between the world wars
0:25:35 > 0:25:39and was just old enough to see service in World War II.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Aged 18, he became part of the crew of HMS Cynthia, a minesweeper.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Minesweepers are the unsung heroes of the Second World War at sea.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55They are out there every single day, all day, all night,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57clearing mines, keeping the swept channels open
0:25:57 > 0:26:01so that Britain can continue to operate in the Second World War.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Without minesweepers, Britain will lose the war.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Sea mines have long been as a basic system of fighting in the ocean,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14both as a weapon of attack and as a defence around coastlines.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Sea mines are a very simple defensive system
0:26:19 > 0:26:23and they come in three basic varieties in the Second World War.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25There's a classic round mine with horns on it
0:26:25 > 0:26:27which you detonate by striking it.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30They're more just under the water, so they hit the ship.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Then there are acoustic mines, which are set off by
0:26:33 > 0:26:36the pressure of a vessel passing over the top of them.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40And finally, there are magnetic mines, which detonated by
0:26:40 > 0:26:43the magnetic signature of an iron or steel vessel.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Like Philip's uncle Derek,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48fisherman Charlie Harris served on a minesweeper.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Well, it was very, very dangerous
0:26:51 > 0:26:57because these mines were dropped by aircraft or E-boats or whatever
0:26:57 > 0:26:59during the day or night.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00And you went out,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03you knew the convoy routes cos they were buoyed.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07They were like roads. You knew what roads you had to go down.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10There would be four of you in line. You just used to go this -
0:27:10 > 0:27:12one, one, one, one -
0:27:12 > 0:27:18so you were covering an area like that, so you were sweeping.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20You'd cover some many miles for that area
0:27:20 > 0:27:23for the convoy to come steaming down.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26But you didn't know where them mines were.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31And you shot the gear, just blow them up or sweep them,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33and you had to take a chance.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37But if the one who was the lead ship, if anything,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41if he suddenly blew up, you knew there was mines there,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44but who was going to be next?
0:27:44 > 0:27:45You didn't know.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Derek served on the HMS Cynthia, an American-built minesweeper
0:27:50 > 0:27:53which joined the war in Europe at the end of 1943.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Approximately six months later, in June 1944,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Derek and his ship would have been part of
0:28:00 > 0:28:02the biggest mine-clearing exercise in history.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07He was involved in getting the troop ships across the Channel
0:28:07 > 0:28:09for the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11The Germans had laid immense fields
0:28:11 > 0:28:15of contact, pressure and magnetic mines
0:28:15 > 0:28:19to basically block of that coast, so there was a critical task.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24They passed through a narrow gap in a minefield that had been swept
0:28:24 > 0:28:26and marked out by the minesweepers.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29So, you have to find them, sink them, mark the channel
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and make sure everybody else can follow you.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35It's very slow, it's not dramatic, it's not dynamic,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37but it's very dangerous.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Nobody went down below. Only the engineers, who had to be down there.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45I mean, everybody was on the deck all the time.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48You only went below when you had to because you thought,
0:28:48 > 0:28:53well, if anything happened, just have a chance to get away.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57It's often forgotten that minesweeping at sea
0:28:57 > 0:28:59is a problem of scale.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01In the Channel, there were probably 100,000 mines
0:29:01 > 0:29:03in between Britain and France,
0:29:03 > 0:29:07so the D-Day minesweeping operation, it is not finding a few mines,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11it is clearing a path through a barbed-wire forest of mines.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15The need to be absolutely professional and committed,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18start to finish, really is sapping.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20It's going to take a lot out of people.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27HMS Cynthia and her crew, including Derek,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30continued to keep the path across the Channel clear of mines
0:29:30 > 0:29:34as Allied troops and supplies followed the initial invasion force
0:29:34 > 0:29:37across France and into Germany.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40At the end of the war, there was another crucial task.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Her last big mission is to escort the King of Norway back to Oslo.
0:29:46 > 0:29:47This means clearing a way
0:29:47 > 0:29:50through the biggest German minefield of the lot in the Kattegat,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53and it is very important the King of Norway
0:29:53 > 0:29:55doesn't get wet on his way home.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57So, this is a real high-water mark.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02The Second World War in Europe ended in May 1945.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06A lot of the navy is demobilised, but the minesweeper crews carry on.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08They're still going in 1946, 1947,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10because the sea lanes have to be reopened
0:30:10 > 0:30:14the great ports have to be cleared, trade has to resume.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16The North Sea has to be made safe.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17The enemy is still out there.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20The enemy is inert and he will still blow you up.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23The most powerful memory of all
0:30:23 > 0:30:26is when the war finished, that you survived.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28That you were one of the ones who came out.
0:30:28 > 0:30:33Anyone who went through five, six years of the actual war
0:30:33 > 0:30:36never came out the same as they went in.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Derek survived the war and died in 2002.
0:30:40 > 0:30:41When Ben discovered this,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44it left only one of Philip's aunts to investigate.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Doris, his sister.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And we found a marriage for her,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51found out that she had several children.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Philip's aunt Doris had four children.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58One son died in 2011, but he left three daughters
0:30:58 > 0:30:59who are also heirs.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Another of Doris's sons, Philip's cousin David, spent a lot
0:31:07 > 0:31:11of time with Philip's family in his childhood, but later lost touch.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Like many of the relatives, he lives in Norwich.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Although I've not seen Philip for ten years, obviously, he is my cousin,
0:31:18 > 0:31:23member of the family, and, yes, it did come as a complete shock,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25to be absolutely honest.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27The man was only 56 years old and
0:31:27 > 0:31:31didn't really expect him to go so quick, at such a young age.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35While I think Philip was a very quiet
0:31:35 > 0:31:39and reserved man who did enjoy his own company,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43I got on with him quite well. We used to go to the football occasionally.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46He always had a slight smile on his face, especially after a nice pint.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Quiet but a fun-loving lad.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52Philip was very close to his parents.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56His mother died in 2002 and it seems life changed for Philip
0:31:56 > 0:31:58when his father died.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01When John passed away, it really did hit him hard
0:32:01 > 0:32:05and I think he rather withdrew into his shell, unfortunately.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09When something like that happens, yes, certainly,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13it just put everything really into perspective on things.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17I've given one or two things a little bit more perhaps serious
0:32:17 > 0:32:19thought than I did prior to this.
0:32:23 > 0:32:24For the heir hunters,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28the one remaining question was the value of Philip's estate.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32In Norwich, Andrew Fraser has been looking at his property
0:32:32 > 0:32:35and contents to try and get a complete picture of its worth.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40These Toby Jugs were at one time very fashionable
0:32:40 > 0:32:43and a huge collector's item.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45They're all Royal Dalton.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50This is from 1987. This one's a 1958.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53It seems there are several collections in the house,
0:32:53 > 0:32:57each of which has to be photographed so that they can be assessed
0:32:57 > 0:32:58and valued by experts.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03But Andrew's search for assets isn't over yet.
0:33:04 > 0:33:12I've found that in February of this year, 2013, some four months
0:33:12 > 0:33:18before he died, he actually received a payment from one of his pensions.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22Any money still held in Philip's bank account, along with other
0:33:22 > 0:33:26assets that may be discovered, will be added to the value of the estate.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32For today, though, Andrew's work is done
0:33:32 > 0:33:34and it's been a successful visit.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38A few weeks later, he and the team have estimated the estate is
0:33:38 > 0:33:44worth around £150,000 to be shared between eight of Philip's cousins.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46It's a good result for the team.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49To solve this case is quite bittersweet, really.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52It's quite sad that Philip died so young.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56It's sad the fact that family were relatively quite close to him
0:33:56 > 0:33:58but he just moved away, like families do,
0:33:58 > 0:34:00and they just lose contact after a while.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04But, you know, the saving grace is that some of the family
0:34:04 > 0:34:07heirlooms that Philip had are now with family.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Following Andrew's visit to the property,
0:34:09 > 0:34:12David has now also had the chance to go to Philip's house
0:34:12 > 0:34:16and collect some of the belongings that are part of the inheritance.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21I went down there with my sister and I got some of the Toby Jugs,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23about 12 of them, actually.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28We also found some plates that we took away
0:34:28 > 0:34:32and, more importantly, a lot of photographs, family photographs,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34some of which I'd not ever seen before.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36At least now, when we look at them,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40we can always remember the good times with Philip, John and Pat.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Senior manager Kevin Edmondson and the team at Hoopers traced the
0:34:51 > 0:34:57ever-growing family tree of Robert Sproat, who died in London in 2011.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00He'd published a book of short stories in the 1980s called
0:35:00 > 0:35:03Stunning The Punters, one of which was adapted for the stage
0:35:03 > 0:35:06by actor George Dillon.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09He remembers the night Robert came to see his performance.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11He was sitting there and I felt a little bit
0:35:11 > 0:35:13resentful of the other people being there
0:35:13 > 0:35:15because I wanted to meet him and talk to him
0:35:15 > 0:35:18and I didn't really get much chance to talk to him.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21He was quite reserved, as eccentric as I suspected from his photo.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25And possibly quite troubled.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Despite their brief acquaintance,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30George has a surprising keepsake from the author.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34When I was thinking of doing Stunning The Punters
0:35:34 > 0:35:39and contacted Robert about it, he sent me a copy of his next book.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40It hadn't yet been published
0:35:40 > 0:35:42and he wrote a dedication in the front of it.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44And this is what he wrote.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49"Dear George Dillon, this comes out officially on March 21st.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54"Good luck with your project, Robert Sproat, March 9th, 1988."
0:35:54 > 0:36:00This was an amazing act of generosity on his part and... Yeah.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Looking at it now, it's...
0:36:03 > 0:36:04It's quite moving.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Having found heirs on his mother's side of the family,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15the team were on the hunt to find any uncles, aunts and cousins
0:36:15 > 0:36:19of Robert's who could be in line to inherit on his father's side.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21We obtained a copy of Robert's birth certificate
0:36:21 > 0:36:26and this showed that his father was a flight sergeant in the RAF.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32The Royal Air Force was formed in 1918, so it was still
0:36:32 > 0:36:36a relatively young service by the time of Robert's birth in 1944.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41And for Robert's father, John Alexander, being a flight sergeant
0:36:41 > 0:36:46in the midst of World War II was not a job for the faint-hearted.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Bomber Command, for example, was the most dangerous job in the
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Forces at all during the war with half of their people killed in total.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57Airfields, pre-Blitz, really, were being bombed on a daily basis,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59so it was manic and it was scary.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04John Alexander's role would have carried with it tremendous
0:37:04 > 0:37:05responsibility.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08A flight sergeant is a hugely important individual on the squadron.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12The warrant officer is the man who is Mr Cool, he runs the place.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14But the flight sergeant is the man who goes around
0:37:14 > 0:37:16and makes sure it's done.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18At that time, there was a particular
0:37:18 > 0:37:20need to knock new recruits into shape.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22A drill instructor on recruit training,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26corporal or sergeant, but mostly the corporals in the '40s,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28they lived in the barracks with the troops.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32And their job, really, was to teach them to wash, shave,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36press their kit, clean their stuff, look after their bedding,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40look after all of their kit, to drill them, to be their counsellor,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44to be their mother and also, to be their avenging angel should
0:37:44 > 0:37:46they not perform to the required standards.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49The sergeant would be a big stick over the corporals
0:37:49 > 0:37:52and the flight sergeant would be a bigger stick, so when he turned up,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55the same thing, the standards were expected to be better.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57And Robert's father would have understood
0:37:57 > 0:37:58the importance of a drill.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Military doesn't do people wandering about.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05So, they need to know how to get from A to B properly.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08But it's also to teach them to obey commands.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11They stand there and you will tell them what to do
0:38:11 > 0:38:13and they do it without question.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15Not used enough, in my opinion.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19And there's one timeless characteristic that shines through.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21All drill instructors have to be strict.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25The flight sergeant on the squadron would be ultra-strict.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28If a recruit ever had to go see the flight sergeant
0:38:28 > 0:38:33then it really only meant, you know, one or two, three things, really.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37He was either leaving or he was in serious trouble.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40He doesn't go to the flight sergeant for a pat on the head, generally.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43But could the power and discipline Robert's father
0:38:43 > 0:38:46used at work have spilled over into his home life?
0:38:47 > 0:38:51A drill instructor, yeah, you become a certain kind of person
0:38:51 > 0:38:53and that person applies standards.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56And you notice things that are wrong, always.
0:38:56 > 0:38:57And I am still the same now.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00I've stopped moaning about creases in my shirts
0:39:00 > 0:39:02because otherwise I have to iron them myself!
0:39:02 > 0:39:05So, I don't do that any more. But you notice that.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07You notice someone with a double crease in their shirt.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11You'll notice dust behind the door. It's still something that I notice.
0:39:11 > 0:39:12And bugs me.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Robert's cousin and heir Helen recalls her impression of Robert's
0:39:21 > 0:39:23drill instructor father.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26I do remember he was very, very strict with Rob.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28It always struck me that he
0:39:28 > 0:39:31treated Rob like one of his recruits and, of course,
0:39:31 > 0:39:33they were living in married quarters,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36so they had to be very careful with all the furniture and fittings
0:39:36 > 0:39:41and things and Rob liked to fall off chairs and do daft things like that.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43And his dad would get very annoyed.
0:39:48 > 0:39:49Back in the office,
0:39:49 > 0:39:51the heir hunters needed to unravel
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Flight Sergeant John's family background.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58The next step was to find Robert's father's birth certificate,
0:39:58 > 0:40:03and we found that he was born on September 30th, 1912,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07This confirmed his parents' names.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09We then looked on the 1911 census record
0:40:09 > 0:40:14and found that they had had three older children.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18At that date, John Alexander's mother was only 31 years of age,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21so we thought it would be quite possible that she
0:40:21 > 0:40:22would have had further children.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26And so, we undertook searches after the 1911 census
0:40:26 > 0:40:30and found that there were three more children born after John Alexander.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32This means he was one of a family of seven children.
0:40:34 > 0:40:35This meant that the heir hunters
0:40:35 > 0:40:38now had six branches on the tree to explore.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44We found out that one of his sisters died as a child.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48This meant there were five branches of the family to investigate.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53And we found that all the remaining five did have children.
0:40:53 > 0:40:59One of the branches was his sister, Ellen Rebecca Sproat,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02who married a Mr Darmody and had six children.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05The eldest child was called Rosalind.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Robert's cousin Rosalind is one of five heirs
0:41:08 > 0:41:10born to Robert's aunt Helen.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16I received a phone call one day to tell me that he'd died.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19It was a shock and I was upset, I must admit.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25The last time I saw Robert, he must have been about 17.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30He was going away to university, so we all went to say goodbye
0:41:30 > 0:41:32and wish him well.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35And that was it. Off he went and we never saw him again
0:41:35 > 0:41:36or heard from him.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45I felt sad when I found out that he hadn't married,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49he had no children, so I don't really know
0:41:49 > 0:41:51what sort of life he had.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55I don't know whether he was outgoing or very lonely.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59These are the things you think about.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04And it would be nice to know if he was happy in his life.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08I was very proud to think that he'd had books published.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10That's not an easy thing to do.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13And I think he must been satisfied with his life.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17He was quite creative. Now I'll have to get the books.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20I'll have to have some reading.
0:42:20 > 0:42:21SHE LAUGHS
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Rosalind is one of 25 heirs to Robert's estate -
0:42:26 > 0:42:2817 on his father's side
0:42:28 > 0:42:29and eight on his mother's.
0:42:31 > 0:42:36Any money that we get from the inheritance, it would be lovely
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and I think we'd probably buy a new three-piece suite.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42I could do with one of those.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48I've had an idea that the rest of us on our side of the family
0:42:48 > 0:42:50would like to have a nice big family get-together
0:42:50 > 0:42:54just to have a sort of belated wake.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57It would be nice to do something in Rob's memory.