Strange Occurrences on the Western Front

[Ozzie]

Nothing spooky in the woods, a feeling of loss and pain, yes.

But at Langemark, on a high summer morning in August, a mist rose over the four statues. I could swear it was not there when we arrived, but it was there when we moved over to that section of the cemetery, and it was no where else in the cemetery.

Kim

[blue red blue]

we went to see D51 Deborah the tank and every time we have had same very strange orbs around the part of the tank that some of the crew died. when touching the tank we all got various degrees of bad feeling or sickness, even people who do not beleive in this type of thing felt very odd and down.

and up at vimy ridge in the fenced of bits she saw a figure walking in thetrees amongst the craters,on looking again said figure was not there.

and we are of to bernafay wood for 4 days in june so hoping we might pick something up there

[warbuff1]

Stayed at Bernafay wood in the B & B there and must say can feel a presence in the wood.

Also felt very uneasy at High Wood..very eerie place as i walked around NW corner of wood on my own as my mate had gone off field walking further up the road.

Would def agree though that langemark german cemetery is very very creepy. first visited on warm day in Sept 1998 and it was so cold in there and dark was def glad to get out

[equusv]

I was Warden at Talbot House from February 7th until the 28th/08. Loved it and plan to do it again. I had two experiences there and a friend had one. The very first night I was there alone, no guests, not a soul. At about 8 o'clock I was going from the kitchen to the sitting room and I heard, coming from upstairs, the distinct sound of paper rustling like someone leafing through a binder or large book. As I'm a writer and had notebooks upstairs, I went up to my own room on the 3rd Floor and opened it and looked in. Nothing. Then I realized that Chaplain Tubby Clayton's office is on the 2nd floor and I thought, 'Oh, it's just Tubby doing paper work.' His own gentle way of saying, 'I'm here,' without scaring the bejeezus out of a body. Talbot House is such a tranquil place that it didn't unnerve me like a ghostly experience might otherwise. The sound of voices, people on stairs etc. might travel from one house to another but NOT paper I think.

The other incident was about three nights before I left and about 4:40 a.m. I was wide awake and very distinctly heard the loud, creaking sound of weight pressing on wood coming from directly above my 3rd floor room which can only be the attic Chapel, or as Tubby called it The Upper Room. I AM open to these things, (have had one ghostly encounter before at Little Bighorn battlefield) and I thought, 'hmm, maybe soldiers getting communion or up there for a service.' Very interesting anyway. That one did unnerve me I admit until I thought, it can only be soldiers and I've spent the last few years devoted to soldiers past and present, on this side and the other in one way or another so, nothing to fear!

A friend/guest in the house also told me he heard a series of muffled sneezes coming from the dining room and went to look and there was no one there and no one in the house at the time except him. Interesting stuff.

Bonfire

[Guest OTT]

Hiya everybody!

First post!

I'd like to recount an experience that sticks in my mind on my first visit to Flanders & the Somme a year or so ago. Not wanting to advertise but it was a Ledger coach tour, brilliant if you are a first time visitor. Respect to Peter Williams our guide, there is nothing that man doesn't know about WW1 and he lives near Ypres, so there's a guy who truly lives his interest! "You can never have enough books!" or bits of shell if his collection is anything to go by.

Anyway back to the tale.

On the Somme, Baumont Hamel, the sunken lane.

Lancashire Fusliers, the famous photo.

My family who served in the war, were all from Burnley (E.Lancs R).

So I felt some sort of pang when I walked up the hill in the lane, these lads on 1st July weren't too different from me, background wise. I had a sit down on the banking and had a smoke. Thinking, thats what the guys would have done on that day.

I got up & walked through the farmers field (No-Mans Land) over to Baumont Hamel CWGC. Had a wonder up and down then. BANG! - I looked down and there was PTE H.Butterworth, Lancs Fus, 1/07/1916.

Thats my surname. Its a common name for that area of England, so its really not that freaky. (George Butterworth, Banks of Green Willow etc, is on the Thiepval Memorial).

I've done some digging on H.Butterworth & we're not directly related, he came from Oldham, I think all of us come from round there, Milnrow etc.

BUT it was very errie and it really sticks in my mind. To feel that common bond in the lane and then see my surname was quite a thing.

I've never experienced anything paranormal in regular life and I'm a bit of a skeptic really.

But it felt distinctly odd.

[zippo]

not the western front,for many years our family employed a ww1 veteran,who on his retirement continued to live with us until his death some forty years ago.about twenty years ago while standing at the kitchen sink[not an unusual state of affairs] i heard my name called ,when i looked out,i saw a tall thin man wearing an army great coat walking past.in all respects he appeared to be that man,this has occured twice since,my adult son who never knew him has seen him once and was able to clearly describe him.

[NigelS]

Not supernatural, but an odd occurence that I hope will be of interest; this picture was taken late afternoon, towards the end of September last year at the Thiepval Memorial and shows a small rainbow coloured section of cloud immediately above the Cross, which I hope image compression will still do justice to. There's definitely nothing supernatural about the cause - no, it's not lens flare, it was just as visible to the naked eye - apparently, it's caused by ice crystals in very high, thin cloud acting as prisms to cause the affect in the same way that rain drops will cause a rainbow to appear to a viewer in the right position.

Although it was undoubtedly just a question of being in the right place at the right time, I do find it just a little bit eerie that the conditions allowed the phenomenon to be visible directly above the cross.

NigelS

[Arras100]

I have been reading this thread with great interest and thought I would contribute.

First off I wanted to say many of you have no idea who lucky you are to be in proximity to the battlefields, or at least be able to visit on a regular basis. Being a poor university student for what felt like forever, I had waited for many years to visit the battlefields of France and make my peace with that part of myself. It was the most haunting experience of my life, and I don't mean that in a strictly 'ghostly' fashion.

However, a few odd things did happen to me when I was there and so I thought I'd share one of them.

The first odd occurrence was when I was touring the underground tunnels of Vimy Ridge. I was tired that day because of having walked a lot, etc., and I guess part of me was emotionally drained. The tour group was small (about 5 of us) which allowed me to linger back for a time and just look at things on my own, which of course I loved. Other than the feeling of dampness in the tunnels I had no other feelings or emotions attached to the place and was quite content to walk along and investigate. However, that's when I felt almost as though I was being investigated because it felt as though someone was following me. I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting someone to be there. I wasn't frightened, just had that feeling of being watched or followed. I didn't let it bother me for the rest of the tour, but rather I felt blessed that 'someone' might have dared to reach beyond the vastness of time and say 'hello'.

[Paddy 60th]

In September 1976 I was visiting the Somme with my then fiancee. We had decided to see some of the less visited cemeteries and at one in particular,which was away in the middle of a field with access only on foot, we saw a figure standing just outside the cemetery behind the low perimeter wall. He appeared to have a shotgun or rifle under one arm. He was some distance away from us but we assumed it was a local frenchman. The hunting season had just started in France so it was not unusual to see men with firearms in the fields and woods.

We thought nothing more of it and continued looking at some of the graves. After a couple of minutes we turned to leave and the figure had gone. I walked to the perimeter wall where we had seen him and cautiously looked over it but there was absolutely no sign of him. As the cemetery was in the middle of ploughed field and we could see for a good few hundred yards in all directions there is no way that he could walked out of sight in those few minutes. We even walked around the outside of the wall just to make sure!

Another incident which is slightly off topic, as it wasn't 'unexplained',occurred during a visit to the large cemetery at High Wood also in Sept 1976. Although I had always been interested since my childhood in WW1 and in particular The Somme and had visited with my parents in the 1950's it was not until I read Martin Middlebrook's The First Day On The Somme which had just been published in the mid 70's that I decided to make the trip again. In those days you rarely saw a visitor to the battlefields and we were very surprised when an English speaking gentleman approached at this cemetery. He asked us whether we had been to the Somme before and if we were using a guidebook. In response to this I took out my rather battered paperback copy of the aforementioned book which I showed him saying what a great help it had been. He then shook my hand and introduced himself as none other than Martin Middlebrook! He invited us to join him for a meal in Albert that same evening where he signed our copy of his book and very generously gave us another signed hardback copy.

The next day he took us to some of the areas where there was still a lot of undisturbed trenches to be seen. The day was rounded off by a visit to the rebuilt Mouquet Farm where the farmers yard was piled high with WW1 artifacts from the surrounding fields. The farmer who had nothing but praise for the British Tommy said we could help ourselves to anything we wanted - needless to say we did and came away with a couple of Brodies, one which stiil had remnants of a cover, and a few other interesting bits.

In conclusion not a 'supernatural' experience - just a great coincidence.

Regards, Roger.

[uxbull]

Bit of a 'funny' one the other day. Sat on one of the 'ledges' in Tyne Cot, watching groups of Belgian and Dutch kids climbing all over the cross of sacrifice, generally behaving as 14-15 year olds do, not being deliberatly disrespectful but on the other hand probably not behaving as a lot of people might believe they should. One of their teachers went over to them and yelled at them and they all instantly quietened down.

Just as this happened someone sat next to me and sighed, I assumed it was one of my party that had come to coment on the kids behaviour. I turned to speak to them..........and there was no-one there. Wierd, someone had deffo sat next to me and I heard them sigh.

Made me smile.

[MACRAE]

The only odd thing that springs to mind is the sunken lane, I and a friend was there a lovely summers day and no wind and we heard the sound of marching I never said anything till we walked away and my friend said did you hear that noise and I said the sound of marching yes he said.

Dan

[Chris_Baker]

A good friend of mine works very closely with death. He is a qualified embalmer. He's a great, robust, kind of chap but tells some tales that even for a sceptic like me make you think a bit.

We visited the Somme together last month. Weather beautiful, larks singing kind of weather. We went to Sucrerie Cemetery near Colincamps - and he was most uncomfortable there, saying it had a disturbed atmosphere to it. To me it is as pretty and interesting a place as you can find. But not to him. Yet at the other end he found Dantzig Alley particularly peaceful.

[auchonvillerssomme]

Sucrerie makes me uncomfortable, sounds strange but its almost as though there is unfinished business.

Mick

[elle72]

I found out that my great uncle was killed in WWI when I was about 14 or 15 years old (some twenty years ago). His body was never recovered and the family story was that he was blown to bits however having researched where and when he died (behind enemy lines at Mouquet Farm), Im not entirely convinced this was the case. The thing is, I have this unshakeable feeling that he wants to be found or possibly, wants his end to be known. To the point where after all these years, I just have to do something about it. Its crazy I know - I dont' even believe in ghosts or limbo or whatever but I keep getting the feeling he is trying to make himself known. Does anyone else have this feeling? Its like a constant presence of 'unfinished business' or something not at rest. Not sinister in anyway but not at rest either. Im almost a bit embarressed to write about it but Im actually glad I found this thread because the feeling has been worrying me for a while and now I don't feel quite so crazy

Cheers, Elle

Actually, I have thought about this a bit more....the feelings definitely became stronger in the last four years, during the time when I had my four little boys. Bill was also one of four boys and after his death, his mother (my GGM) was apparently inconsolable and never got over it (she actually went a bit barmy apparently). I wonder if he sees me as a mother figure? Or am I having these feelings because I am a mother? Or am I just spending far too many late nights reading this stuff?

[Shep]

Hi Elle

Thanks for telling us that.

Perhaps you will relate to my story ...

I also found out a few years ago, when discussing family history with my father that his Uncle Joe was killed at the battle of Loos in 1915. No-one in the family had researched his demise and so we consulted the CWGC and eventually found where his name was inscribed on Dud Corner Memorial. We visited there to pay respects and also toured the battlefields of the area about 5 years ago. Also on the tour was a chap whose grandfather was killed, albeit from a different regiment, but at the same battle on the same day. He had researched the War Diaries thoroughly and we were well informed - to the extent that we were able to pinpoint within 200 yards as to where Uncle Joe had fallen. We went and laid poppies, paid respects and spent some time wandering about the area in deep thought.

As we got back to the coach, I had this strange feeling that Joe was 'found'... as I sat on the coach I could almost see him sitting across the aisle, the sense of his presence was overwhelming. I felt as if he was saying thanks for coming to find me and bring me home - as if he'd been waiting all this time!

I am sceptical of ghosts, spirits, life after death etc and in fact I've researched the subject for years and found no real evidence to support the existence of these things. My own explanation for the experience is similar to what you have already mentioned, the fact that I'm a mother of a teenage son may have something to do with it, but also the urge to honour an ancestor who will always be seen as some kind of hero because he never came back to tell his story - so much unfinished business. I'm convinced it's all subjective and something I imagined, my own reconstruction of this young man I had never met - (I am quite a romantic person) but the whole experience was one of fulfilment for me, a very personal event with the aspects of a ritual.

So perhaps by 'doing something about it', you will also find that you have helped your great uncle to 'get home'.

Cheers,

Wendy

[Moston]

I'll add my pennyworth.....

I'll not thrust my beliefs onto anyone - but whenever I leave a Cemetery I always pray that God will grant these guys eternal peace and that restless souls will find peace in Him.

Hawthorn Ridge Cem no 1 is 'my' cemetery - also 'adopted' by my (now 11 year old) daughter. We try and visit it everyday we're staying with Avril - photgraphed each headstone, noted down all the details etc etc etc...each time we visit we open the gates by saying 'We're back' ! - and leave with the above prayer.

Suffice to say that Hawthorn Ridge Cem No 1 is one of the most beatiful & peaceful places I know...in fact I have a huge photo of it at sunrise on my desk at work for when I need to 'escape'.

Each time I take a group out to the Somme with me I always start at Hawthorn Ridge Cem No 1. One guy has come back with me 6 times...as he says...he just needs another 'fix' of the peace he finds there.

If you want 'freaky' stuff - I was walking by the wall of Ovillers Cem with a friend of mine when he asked what would I most like to 'find' lying on the surface of the field. My initial comment of a Mark 1 Tank was dismissed - but I did say I'd like to find something 'personal' and 'identifiable' without it being associated with anything else - at that point I pick up a rolled up bit of shiny metal that just 'happened to be' the tin plate strip used on the original grave marker....'bit like this' I replied to him as our jaws fell open ! (The guy is buried near Arras !!!!)

On a lighter note...staying at Avrils again...in the cellar with Avril and other guests....one woman came over all 'funny' and left the cellar - we found her outside quaking that she'd seen a ghostly figure dressed in blue leaning by the door....when I appeared she recognised the ghost to actually be...ME (I'd come into the cellar late and she hadn't seen me arrive)

To me - the Somme is the most peaceful place...my family feel likewise - almost as if those who sacrificed so much are only too pleased to see that at last people from 'home' come , pay their respects and are free to enjoy life in all it's fullness.

Simon.

[jnorthall]

Not sure if I'm going a bit bonkers....but I'm fairly convinced that I brought a 'visitor' back from my trip to Stokesay Castle where I took some photographs of WW1 headstones / memorial.

Since we got back on Sunday, I've had a few 'strange' occurances such as a door shut itself several times even though I'm fairly sure I had wedged it open. The DVD player was on even though I had turned it off the night previously. My wife went upstairs today and our alarm clock radio was playing classical music. Firstly, we don't listen to classical music (or any stations that do) and secondly, we haven't used it in months.

I'm convinced it's WW1 related because of a particular headstone showing 2 brothers that were killed (one from the AIF and one from the Welsh Regiment). I felt drawn to it as I walked past (cynics please don't bother shooting me down). I've been doing some digging, and the 'dramatist' in me thinks it is related.

Or I could have finally lost the plot.

[Skipman]

This story concerns my wife's great great auntie,who's son John L Fraser was killed,8/9/18.

Apparently she had a dream that John had come to the door and fallen in ,flat on his face.Not long after this the family heard of his death.

Needless to say they were never the same.It seems she must have dreamt this pretty much the moment he died.It would be interesting to find out the time of john's death.

[Droocoo]

Mons angels Creeepy

[59165]

Frighteneing

[Scotty]

Hello all,

I've had an occasional look at this thread for a while now but never been brave enough to throw in my two bob's worth. My post has been prompted by Elle's experiencing a feeling of 'unfinished business'.

As a boy in about 1966 I was told by my mother that her uncle had been killed in WWI. She told me his name and that his mother went to her room and died 6 weeks after getting the dreaded telegram. That is all I was told. Although he never came up in family conversation, I never forgot his name.

In 1998 I found myself at the State Library of Queensland researching a paper on of all things, the Vietnam War. I had ten minutes to kill before my lift so I wandered around. I came across a collection of WW1 unit histories. I had no information other than what I was told in 1966. I didn't know where or when he was killed or even what Battalion he was in. I took one book off the shelf and noticed there was a list of men who served and their adress and NOK details. For some reason I looked for his name on the list and there he was! I was so stunned that I took a seat.

It wasn't long before I started getting an 'unfinished business' feeling, just as Elle described. I had no interest in the Great War and believed that all soldiers had a grave in one of those stunning War Cemeteries. After a bit of research I found that my g-uncle was commemorated on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial and had no known grave. Those uneasy feelings became even stronger.

To cut a very long story short, my research over the past 10 years indicated that my uncle's body had been reburied in a Military Cemetry, but he had lay there since 1923 commemorated as another soldier with that soldier's headstone placed over my uncle's grave. I truly believe Elle, that he was trying to make this error known. In March this year the CWGC removed the incorrect headstone and replaced it with a new one for my uncle (as well as correcting the records). On Anzac Day this year, the Director of the OAWG , Maj Gen Paul Stevens AO and the Australian Minister for Veterans Affairs Allan Griffin layed a wreath at the grave on behalf of my family. Those feelings of unfinished business have now subsided. Regards, Scott.

[ianw]

In March this year the CWGC removed the incorrect headstone and replaced it with a new one for my uncle (as well as correcting the records).

Amazing story, Scott. Thanks for telling it. Makes you think.

Ian

[At Home Dad]

Scotty, so what happened to the other soldier's headstone?!

Where did they put that? Or is he now a no known grave

Kind regards

In March this year the CWGC removed the incorrect headstone and replaced it with a new one for my uncle (as well as correcting the records).

[Scotty]

Hello At Home Dad,

My research indicated that the other soldier's remains were unlikely to be in the cemeteryat all. After submitting my work in 2005, I was asked to supply all of my research to assist the OAWG in locating this man. Unfortunately no definite indication of his final resting place could be found. He is now commemorated at a nearby cemetery with a new special memorial headstone. I believe the old headstone was discarded, but the family's epitaph was transferred to the new stone word for word. So his grave is now not definitely known. I have attached some photos of Minister Griffin placing the wreath and card from my family. I wrote 'In memory of a much loved son and brother. We have not forgotten your sacrifice. Thank you'. Scott

[Scotty]

And one of the new headstone. Photo courtesy of Pierre Vandervelden. Scott.