News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

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Paul K
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by Paul K »

Does anyone remember Jack de Manio's 'Today' program on BBC radio? I suppose you have to be of a certain age, and British, for this.

Anyway, in the 1970s they sent some BBC sound engineers to RAF Bircham Newton, near Kings Lynn in Norfolk, to see if they could pick up anything in the reputedly-haunted squash court there. What they recorded and broadcast on 'Today' had my normally quite rational sister going around the house putting all the lights on. She said ( and still says ) it was the most disturbing thing she's ever heard.

In the early 1990's I happened to visit Bircham Newton, which was by then a Construction Industry Training Board facility, and casually mentioned the squash courts in passing. The building maintenance manager said there were still strange occurrences, the sounds of men's voices and so on.

I've listened to perfectly normal rational people over the years, including a holder of the B.E.M, who claim to have witnessed such things. I myself remember vividly some events which I've tried to rationalize over the intervening 40 years, and still can't explain. I'm in no place to doubt the experiences of those others, and I keep an open mind about my own.

The rather elegant woman on HMS Victory, however, is quite clearly a visitor. She wears contemporary clothes, has her hands behind her back and is exploring that part of the ship. If she were a ghost, she would be dressed as a headless nun, rattling chains and floating along just above the deck. Everyone knows that 8)

By the way, if anyone can find those BBC recordings of Bircham Newton, I'd be grateful. I've searched t'web and there's nothing. Might be worth contacting the BBC and see if they can make them available.

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FlyTexas
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by FlyTexas »

Spooky stuff. :worried: Haven't found the 'Today' program, but I'm still looking. I did find this though...

There are several more haunted
wartime airfields that are worth a mention
here. Bircham Newton Aerodrome on the
empty wastes of East Anglia, for example,
made national news in 1972 when the
strange events happening there were
featured on Jack de Manio’s morning
radio show and BBC TV’s news
programine , Nationwide. Originally
constructed in 1914, the airfield had been
abandoned in the inter-war years and then
brought back into active service in 1939
as a base for RAF, Australian and
Canadian pilots. Following the end of
hostilities the base was converted into a
hotel - and the haunting began in an area
that had been turned into a squash court.
Players suddenly became aware of being
watched by a man in RAF uniform who
disappeared through the walls as soon as
he was approached.

After being disturbed by several
appearances of the ghostly pilot, they
decided to leave a tape recorder in the
court overnight. The following morning
the tape was found full of weird sounds
including a strange, groaning voice and the
drone of aircraft. When Jack de Manio
replayed the recording on his programme
it caused a sensation - and generated
numerous ideas about the cause. It was
suggested a man named Wiley who had
committed suicide in the Officers’ Mess
during the war could cause the haunting.
Alternatively, the figure might have been
one of the victims of an Anson that
crashed on a nearby church, killing the
three-man crew, Pat Sullivan, Gerry
Arnold and “Dusty” Miller, all of whom
were said to have been keen squash
players. When a TV crew set up their
cameras to try and film the mysterious
figure, they were subjected to a number of
unnerving noisy incidents and the sound of
hurrying footsteps. Andrew Green
investigated the story for his book, Our
Haunted Kingdom (1973) and relates one
particularly fascinating incident:

“During the height of the investigation,
a BBC woman interviewer from the
Nationwide programme decided she
would stay the night in the ‘haunted court’
with a tape recorder and was, at her
request, locked in. She described later the
intense feeling of cold, the sounds of
banging doors opening and closing and the
peculiar fact that the recorder stopped
without any reason at 12.30. It was only
when she returned to the studio that she
was able to get the machine going again.
No fault was found with it. The hotel was
demolished later in 1972 leaving the
mystery of the haunted squash court so far
unanswered.”

Brian

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Paul K
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by Paul K »

Cheers Brian, that seems to match roughly what I've heard, and what my sister told me. I might contact the BBC and see if they have those recordings digitized. :)

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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by PeteP »

This thread reminded me of a rather spooky radio programme from the 1990s about Cosford's "haunted" Lincoln. I couldn't find a recording of the programme itself but here's a link to a Youtube video which has some extracts from those recordings - https://youtu.be/9IBiBaPrD5U.
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by Airspeed »

Paul K wrote:
20 Mar 2018, 18:12
Cheers Brian, that seems to match roughly what I've heard, and what my sister told me. I might contact the BBC and see if they have those recordings digitized. :)
This YouTube contains sounds and commentary, and refers to the Jack de Manio programme.
It goes for half an hour, though it does not seem that long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9YVj66REvc

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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by simondix »

[/quote]
True. Regarding the Nelson's Wife video, one could say that the videographer was just fannying about. :hide:

Brian
[/quote]

I got it. Perhaps they were going for an Emmy.
Simon

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FlyTexas
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by FlyTexas »

An Emmy. :lol: :lol: :thumbsup:

Brian

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Paul K
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by Paul K »

Very sharp, Simon. :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Paul K
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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by Paul K »

Airspeed wrote:
21 Mar 2018, 10:35
This YouTube contains sounds and commentary, and refers to the Jack de Manio programme.
It goes for half an hour, though it does not seem that long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9YVj66REvc
Thanks for that MIke. The sound recordings are interesting, but he's got his facts wrong - the USAAF didn't mount their first raid over France from Bircham Newton - in fact, the Americans never used the place. It was RAF right through the war. The first American raid over France was flown from Polebrook, to marshalling yards at Rouen, and they all returned safely. So much for that. A good find, however - I might send the link to my sister, and frighten the bejeezus out of her again ! :lol:

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Re: News: Admiral Nelson's wife seen on HMS Victory

Post by simondix »

Paul K wrote:
21 Mar 2018, 20:54
Very sharp, Simon. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hardily
Simon

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