Full list of unclaimed estates for Tyne and Wear as 85 names released that could net over £150,000

The updated list of unclaimed estates is out for April 2025.

Across Tyne and Wear, there are unclaimed estates without anyone who has come forward as being a next of kin for the deceased.

The average amount of money held in an unclaimed estate can be £150,000.

When people die without making a will, they leave behind everything they owned - including money, property, business or cars. If no-one comes forward to claim it then the money could disappear into the Government’s accounts.

The Government typically manages the estate claims, unless otherwise stated. The department responsible is called the Bona Vacantia division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department, and leaves guidance on what to do if you think you have a claim.

The latest records kept by HM Inheritance reveal a list of over 7,000 names, with a whopping 85 linked to Tyne and Wear in some way, accurate as of the date of publication.

Details of the value of each estate haven’t been published, but if you recognise any of the names on the list you could be in for a significant windfall.

Full list of Tyne and Wear names attached to unclaimed estates

Joanna Andrews, born 18/12/1935 in India, died 10/07/2011 in Sunderland

Douglas Ashley, born 27/02/1941 in Gateshead, died 27/11/1995 in Gateshead

James Ernest Baker, born 05/02/1932 in Jarrow, died 27/10/2010 in South Shields

Thomas Balmer, born 04/01/1952 in England, died 07/02/2022 in South Shields

Elizabeth Bell, born 10/12/1921 in Gateshead, died 08/05/1999 in Gateshead

Joseph Fernandez Bell, born 01/11/1914 in Gateshead, died 14/12/1996 in Ryhope

Magda Burnhope, born 29/01/1915 in Germany, died 18/03/1996 in Houghton-le-Spring

Anne Cairns, born 19/03/1910 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 23/05/2003 in South Shields

James Michael Campbell, died 11/08/2004 in Gateshead

Harry Clark, born 02/08/1929 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 13/01/1998 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Maureen Clark, born 01/11/1940 in Houghton-Le- Spring, died 05/09/2019 in Sunderland

Penelope Clark born 12/09/1946 in Sunderland, died 24/03/2016 in Sunderland

Olive Conway, born 12/07/1909 in Sunderland, died 29/10/2001 in Sunderland

George Craig, born 07/09/1922 in Monkwearmouth, died 08/12/2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne

James William Davidson, born 20/09/1909 in England, died 02/08/2005 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Jean McKalvie Elrick, born 30/03/1909 in Gateshead, died 11/09/1997 in Gateshead

Brian Fallon, born 26/06/1939 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 21/04/2007 in St. Leonards on Sea

Margaret Foster, born 01/01/1939 in Wallsend, died 13/02/2022 in Wallsend

Anne Fraser, born 18/12/1922 in Glasgow, died 31/05/2003 in Fenham

Patrick Freeman, born 07/12/1938 in North Tyneside, died 16/03/2014 in Newcastle

Raymond Norris Garrett, born 01/02/1921 in Gateshead, died 22/02/2001 in Kingston-upon-Thames

Doreen Gibson, born 17/03/1941 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 28/12/2006 in Durham

Robert Gibson, born 19/07/1930 in Glasgow, died 18/01/2014 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Margaret Bridget Graham, born 28/03/1913 in Ireland, died 13/08/2005 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Malcolm Grant, born 18/12/1942 in Scotland, died 13/01/2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Wladyslaw Gumula, born 27/07/1915 in Poland, died 25/10/1995 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Antonina Harley, born 31/01/1924 in Ukraine, died 28/03/2012 in North Shields

Fenwick Armorer Hedley, born 26/08/1928 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 17/05/2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Dorothy Henderson, born 27/12/1951, died 05/03/2021 in North Shields

Ronald Horne, died 07/07/1996 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Derek Hughes, born 05/05/1944 in United Kingdom, died 05/08/2022 in Sunderland

Catherine Isabella Humphrey, born 11/02/1906 in Sunderland, died 30/07/1995 in Sunderland

Aryee Jackson, born 31/12/1933 in Ghana, died 26/12/2007 in Newcastle upon Tyne

John Johnson, born 12/07/1931, died 09/01/1997 in Sunderland

John Thomas Jude, born 28/12/1947 in Durham, died 22/01/2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Torsten Kammler, born 16/11/1962 in England, died 24/12/2023 in South Shields

Charles Keating, died 25/04/1999 in North Tyneside

William Kelly, born 08/05/1971 in London, died 14/05/2018 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Stephen Christopher King, born 10/03/1941 in England, died 05/07/2013 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Mary Lange, born 16/10/1952 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 08/07/2018 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Leonora Thelma Leeson, born 15/03/1921 in South Africa, died 22/02/2002 in Gateshead

Colin Stuart Macdonald, born 04/05/1938 in Great Yarmouth, died 29/03/2010 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Margaret Marsh, born 04/01/1928 in North East England, died 14/12/2006 in Sunderland

Peter Brian Mason, born 26/07/1953 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, died 04/04/2014 in South Shields

James George McCormick, born 11/11/1929 in England, died 04/04/2009 in Gateshead

David McDonnell, born 07/02/1940 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 16/04/2013 in Hounslow

Anne Melton, born 09/10/1950 in Sunderland, died 12/02/2018 in Sunderland

Catherine Melville, born 02/09/1911 in Sunderland, died 24/04/1998 in Sunderland

Francis Miller, born 21/01/1919 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 10/11/1996 in Wimbledon

Peter Monaghan, born 18/12/1939 in Hexham, died 05/09/2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

John Moran, born 06/04/1928 in Northern Ireland, died 05/12/2007 in Sunderland

Brian Gerrard Murray, born 20/07/1943, died 25/01/2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Michael O'Carroll, born 17/06/1941 in County Kerry Eire, died 06/04/2006 in Newcastle upon Tyne

John Joseph O'Neill, died 22/11/1999 in North Shields

William Palmer, born 11/08/1928, died 21/05/2010 in South Shields

Andrew Donald Perry, born 23/12/1950 in Harringay, died 26/05/2023 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

John Potts, died 23/07/2000 in Sunderland

Stanya Wanda Richardson, born 03/05/1920, died 30/09/2000 Gateshead

David Paul Robinson, born 21/06/1956 Gateshead, died 28/09/2020 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Robert Robson, born 21/07/1939 in Scotland, died 23/10/2012 in North Shields

Thomas William Rogers, born 16/10/1951 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 25/01/2025 in Abergavenny

David Norman Rowland, born 15/07/1957 in Sunderland, died 12/09/2024 in Seaham

Maria Magdalena Rowntree, born 02/11/1923 in Belgium, died 24/02/2011 in North Shields

Margaret Scott, born 30/09/1900 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 27/07/1999 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Christine Simpson, born 08/06/1922 in Jarrow, died 15/04/2004 in Newcastle upon Tyne

David Charles Simpson, born 20/12/1960 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 08/01/2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

William Forster Slater, born 24/11/1940 in United Kingdom, died 23/07/2006 in Blaydon

Elsie Sparrow, born 17/07/1923 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 17/12/2000 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Margaret Stephens, born 23/10/1926 in Scotland, died 23/03/2003 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Richard Stephenson, born 10/01/1938 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 27/05/2017 in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Elizabeth Stewart, born 11/12/1938 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 08/10/2005 in Morpeth

Norman Stobbs, born 07/06/1912 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 21/08/2000 in Gateshead

Mary Swan, born 07/07/1907 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 26/10/1996 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Tucker Emmanuel Ian Swartz, born 01/07/1960 in Sunderland, died 11/07/2018 in Houghton le Spring

David Terry, born 09/04/1945 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 20/06/2011 in Durham

Pamela Thomson, born 28/03/1949, died15/02/2024 in Sunderland

Philip Haddon Wade, born 27/03/1958 in Hexham, died 04/12/2011 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Michael Walsh, born 14/01/1923 in Gateshead, died 05/12/2006 in Gateshead

John Henry Walton, born 11/07/1922 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, died 05/07/2016 in Blyth

Michael Ward, born 06/08/1916 in Gateshead, died 20/07/2009 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Diana Clare Ward, born 09/04/1950 in Rossington, died 11/09/2009 in North Shields

Mary Lindsay Waugh, born 22/12/1921 in Newcastle upon Tyne, died 21/02/2015 in North Shields

Stanley Wilson, born 07/02/1945, died 16/11/2021 in South Shields

Ingeborg Dorothea Hilde Young, born 16/01/1926 in Rostock Germany, died 25/12/1999 in Sunderland

How do I claim if I recognise a name?

There are a few prerequisites if you hope to put forward a claim. First, you have to be related to the deceased in some way. Some relatives would take precedence over others, for example, if someone dies without leaving a valid or effective will (intestate) the following are entitled to the estate in the order shown below:

1. husband, wife or civil partner
2. children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on
3. mother or father
4. brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
5. half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children). ‘Half ’ means they share only one parent with the deceased
6. grandparents
7. uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
8. half uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half blood or their children). ‘Half’ means they only share one grandparent with the deceased, not both

You'll need records to back this up, too. For records, you can request them from the local registrar's office or from the general Registrar's office.

If you've seen a name that rings familiar, the best thing is to check on the government website and speak to a solicitor.