Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Museum of Army Flying Investigation
Saturday 15th August 2009
Attending Investigators - Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Simon Steadman, Rachel Steadman, Marie Holder, Amanda Horley, Rob Butler, Kieran Gillingham, Jane Gillingham, Emma Curtis and Karen Reynolds Day.
Guest Investigator - Barry Hoff
Introduction
The museum built in 1976 featured strongly during the Battle of Britain campaign of 1940 and was subject to more than one bombing raid by the Luftwaffe.
However one such incident (on the then RAF base) at Middle Wallop may have given rise to its responsibility for grounding the spirit of a serving WAAF (women's auxiliary air force) within the vicinity of the museum.
This incident took place during the evening of Wednesday August 14th 1940.
Earlier that day the sky appeared to be cloudy some light rain and not in keeping with the fine august weather. However at 5.45 pm that afternoon the skies were blackened by the appearance of 3 German Heinkel bombers. 609 squadron Spitfires were scrambled to deal with the attack and although minimal damage occurred it was the un-noticed arrival of a Junkers Ju 88 (Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft) that proved deadly. Dropping four bombs, one was to hit a hanger stripping the roof and blowing the heavy iron door away. The devastation left four aircraft destroyed and numerous casualties.
Unconfirmed reports state that among them was believed to be the WAAF trapped along with many ground and air personnel, trapped by the door with her watch still ticking. Could it be her that is drawn to memories of the nearby museum? Or are other spirits from different times trapped here. This was a unique chance to the Southern Paranormal UK team to investigate some more.
Our thanks go to Alison Brierly who made our visit possible and also to Barry who gave up his Saturday night to join us.
Teams
Team 1
Julie
Simon
Kieran
Marie
Team 2
Maria
Jane
Karen
Rachel
Team 3
Amanda
Emma
Rob
Barry
Vigil Area's
Cinema room (kit room)
Ground floor of Museum
Mezzanine of Museum
Itinerary
6.45pm Meet outside of location
7.00pm Meet Barry our host and settle in to team room
7.15pm Tour of location with Barry
7.45pm Start equipment set up
9.00pm Vigil 1
Team 1 - Mezzanine level right side
Team 2 - Mezzanine level left side
Team 3 - Ground floor
10.00pm break
10.15pm Vigil 2
Team 1 - Ground Floor
Team 2 - Mezzanine level right side
Team 3 - Mezzanine level left side
11.15pm break
11.45pm Vigil 3
Whole group vigil on ground floor
12.45am break
12.30am Vigil 4
Team 1 - Mezzanine level left side
Team 2 - Ground Floor
Team 3 - Mezzanine level right side
1.30am Pack up
2.00am Depart
German Experiment
After our last visit I (Julie) decided to run a experiment kept secret to the rest of the team. I placed a letter written in German on a table with a locked off camcorder. I carried the translation of this letter in my pocket at all times and no one had access to it. I was interested to see if the letter moved in anyway. Unfortunately it only moved slightly and I am convinced that this would have been due to non paranormal sources such as breezes and general movement around the area which may have caused the table to shake. However, did any of the activity that teams seemed to experience come as a direct result of this letter. We will probably never know.
The letters used are below -
Letter left out on table:
Zu jedem auf dieses Gebäude, das spricht oder Deutsch oder ist weg von der deutschen Nationalität.
Unsere Namen sind Julie, Simon, Rachel, Maria, Kieran, Marie, Jane, Karen, Amanda, Emma, Rob & Barry. Es ist das Jahr 2009. Wir sind paranormal Forscher, die Mittel wir zu Gebäuden wie diesem hereinkommen, und zu bilden Kontakt mit Leuten zu versuchen, die gestorben sind und noch hier kommen oder bleiben. Einige Leute würden sagen, dass wir nach Geistern suchen.
Wir sind freundliche Leute, die keinen Schaden zum Personenleben bedeuten, oder und zu unserem nur Ziel ist, Kontakt mit Ihnen zu versuchen und aufzunehmen verschieden. Wir sind alle englisch und fragen, dass Sie mit uns auf eine freundliche Art versuchen und sich verständigen, da jetzt die Länder von Deutschland und von England Verbündete sind, obwohl wir verstehen, dass sie für Ihr Erzeugung sehr unterschiedlich gewesen sein muss.
Fühlen Sie bitte sich frei, etwas von unserer Energie zu verwenden, um Kontakt mit uns zu versuchen und aufzunehmen. Fühlen Sie sich frei, mit unserer Ausrüstung zu spielen, von der keine Sie in jeder Hinsicht verletzen.
Wir hoffen herzlichst, in der Lage zu sein, mit Ihnen zu sprechen heute Abend. Wir werden das Gebäude (das jetzt ein Museum ist), an 2am lassen.
Wenn Sie beendet haben, dieses zu lesen, bitte versuchen Sie und drehen Sie das Papier über, also können die Wörter nicht mehr gesehen werden.
Vielen Dank
Letter translation (kept hidden and secret):
To anybody in this building that speaks or German or is of German nationality
Our names are Julie, Simon, Rachel, Maria, Kieran, Marie, Jane, Karen, Amanda, Emma, Rob & Barry. It is the year 2009. We are paranormal investigators which means we come in to buildings such as this to try and make contact with people that have died and still come or stay here. Some people would say we search for ghosts.
We are friendly people who mean no harm to persons living or deceased and our only aim is to try and make contact with you. We are all English and ask that you try and communicate with us in a friendly way as now the countries of Germany and England are allies, though we understand that it must have been very different for your generation.
Please feel free to use some of our energy to try and make contact with us. Feel free to play with our equipment, none of which will hurt you in any way.
We sincerely hope to be able to speak with you this evening. We will be leaving the building (that is now a museum) at 2am.
When you have finished reading this, please try and turn the paper over so the words can not be seen anymore.
Thank you
Personal Reports
TEAM 1
Marie Holder
This was a fantastic opportunity to investigate this location and I was hoping that it was going to be as active as it was on our last visit. I arrived at the location at 6.45pm and met up with other members of the team outside the location. We then went inside and met our host, Barry who gave us a tour of the building.
Vigil 1 - Mezzanine level - right side
We decided to start in the Sir Richard Gorham Room which for me had an unusual presence last time I was there but this time I did not have that same feeling. We sat at the table and I did feel that there was somebody behind me; at the same time Julie said she heard a tap coming from behind me. Lots of taps and creaks were heard during our time in there. Kieran had placed his torch on the table and it stayed there for most of the vigil until near the end when it decided to roll across the table without anybody touching it. Julie and Simon decided to move further down the corridor and Kieran and I stayed in the gallery because as we were leaving we heard a very loud tap. Nothing else occurred while we were there so we went to join Julie and Simon.
We sat by one of the plane exhibits and we heard a lot of very audible taps and creaks that could have been the building settling but they were unusually loud and in response to our requests a rumbling noise was also heard by our team which we all said sounded like distant gunfire.
Vigil 2 - Ground Floor
On this vigil we experienced a rather unusual way of communicating with spirit because it decided to use Kieran's torch. We sat round the table and Kieran put his torch on the table. He turned it so it was almost on, but not quite. It was one of those torches you had to twist to turn on. Throughout the vigil the torch turned itself off and on by itself without any interference by any member of the team. Kieran confirmed that the torch had fully charged lithium batteries in it but by the end of the vigil they were completely flat. Whatever was interacting with the torch seemed to be using it to respond to our questions in a round about way which was a first for me and was a joy to experience.
Also during this vigil I heard shuffling noises and felt a draught that was short in duration.
Vigil 3 - Whole group vigil
We all joined together on the ground floor and sat round the table. Some of us tried a glass divination and others tried a Ouija board. Unfortunately on this occasion there was no response. Simon tried calling out with some pre-prepared German phrases but I did not see or hear anything unusual.
The table creaked a few times and creaks were heard on the opposite side of the room but I experienced nothing else.
Vigil 4 - Mezzanine level - left side
We made our way to our next vigil and sat in the darkness and called out to see if we could experience anything. I felt very uncomfortable where I was sitting and felt as though something, or someone was going to come round the corner.
After making our way further down the corridor and having a walk round we decided to call it a night and made our way to the kit room.
Conclusion This location certainly did not disappoint with numerous taps and creaks throughout the evening especially near that plane exhibit on the right hand side of the Mezzanine and what was that rumbling noise we heard that sounded like distant gun fire? My favourite area has to be the ground floor and our rather unorthodox communication method with Kieran's torch.
Simon Steadman
On arriving at the museum I was shocked to discover just how vast the building was as from the outside it looks nothing more than a small hangar. After setting up and checking all lock-off camera equipment with Rob and Kieran, we started the vigils.
Vigil 1 mezzanine floor (left side)
We started in the portrait room, all sat at the table in there and on calling out we heard a few small taps. We also heard footsteps from further down the corridor so Julie and I went to check, leaving Marie and Kieran in the room. After leaving the room we also left 2 voice recorders near the ‘gun' trigger object. On reaching the far end of the corridor we heard quite a few very loud bangs like someone throwing stones at the hangar walls, these were not in direct response to our requests but they also could not be explained as ‘cooling' of the building. Once we returned to the portrait room at the end of the vigil the trigger object seemed to have moved, but one of the voice recorders was completely drained of battery power (this needs mentioning as we always insert fresh batteries at the start of investigations) and the other recorded no sound.
Vigil 2 lower floor (left side)
Team - Julie, Simon, Marie and Kieran.
On starting this vigil we all sat at the table in the middle of the floor. I noticed that the DVR cameras were strangely out of focus. This should not happen as they were all functioning well before. On subsequent review the picture was perfect until we got there.
The other three began calling out while I tried to find a cure for the camera failure. This involved changing the cameras for spare and unused units. During this the rest of the team got great responses involving a torch and EMF meter. The torch was turning on and off in response to questions asked. I finally got the cameras working again just as the end of the vigil came. I can't say for sure this was paranormal in nature but it was odd.
Vigil 3 group séance lower floor (left side)
Team - whole team
The team sat around the large table while I stood slightly away calling out in English, French and German to try and elicit a response from any entities in the building. The most response we received was when calling out and challenging the room in German. I'm not sure if there are any European spirits in the museum but the loudest bang we got during the séance was in response to a challenge regarding Hitler.
Vigil 4 mezzanine floor (right side)
Team - Julie, Simon, Marie and Kieran
When we all reached our vigil area we decided to set up a triangulation experiment with the other team who were on the lower floor. We all set up digital recorders and LR cams to try and find which area the loud noises we heard came from. Lots of small taps and clicks were heard and also our team heard footsteps from further up the corridor but unfortunately no other evidence was caught on this vigil.
On the whole the Museum Of Army Flying was a very interesting and massive location. The geography of the building makes it very difficult to investigate and the acoustics are similar to a swimming pool. The noises we heard were very strange and in my opinion can't be easily explained as structural cooling for a few reasons. Firstly, the air temperature both inside and outside was constant (to 3 degrees) during the investigation and secondly, the noises were much too loud. On reviewing the evidence we caught an EVP voice at this location and for me this makes it a definite place to investigate further. My thanks go out to Barry for being a great host and also to him giving up his time for us and also for looking into the museums own CCTV footage for any other evidence.
I can't say for sure that the location has any concrete evidence of a haunting but there were just too many odd occurrences to write it off completely.
I can't wait for a return visit hopefully on a colder day to compare the noises heard.
TEAM 2
Rachel Steadman
I was really looking forward to this investigation; some of the team had been before, but unfortunately I missed it the first time around. The building is very deceptive, as it does not look big enough to house military planes from outside. As soon as we had settled in, the tech team started setting up the DVR systems and locked off cameras while Marie, Jane, Karen and myself set up the trigger objects.
A cross and rosary on the remembrance display
A paper puzzle near to the Aircraft portraits
A cuddly toy on the Gulf War display
2 1930's coins by the Skeeter Helicopter
A toy gun near to the Rhine Crossing display
A selection of bullets near to the Pegasus Bridge area
Jane and Karen took photos of these at the start.
Vigil 1 - the Mezzanine (area 1)
Team - Maria, Jane, Karen
We settled on the floor in the middle of our area, and sat quietly to get a feel for the place. As soon as we sat down Maria noticed that her camcorder had gone from full battery to just 5 minutes as soon as she switched it on. Karen and Jane also had battery issues with their stills cameras. Within minutes we heard a couple of bangs, which at first we put down to the noises of the roof settling. Maria started to call out first in English and then in German, when she asked ‘are you male' in German the whole team heard a metallic tap from above so she asked again, and we heard the same noise. Maria continued to ask questions with little response, until she asked ‘are you male' in German again, we got the same response. After a while we moved on as we had a large area to cover, noises were heard throughout. This vigil flew by and before we knew it was break time.
Vigil 2 the Mezzanine (area 2)
Team - Maria, Jane, Karen
We started in the portrait room, trying table tipping but got no response so tried calling out. Again we got a response to the same German question with the same noise. We moved on to the 1940s room were we wandered around taking photos and calling out but as we had very little response in this area, we moved again to the double doors near the post WW2 display. As we sat I called out, and unintentionally aggravated something by claiming that as women we were equals. To this we heard an almighty bang above the doors to our left. We tried a few more of these comments to provoke something but only got smaller noises in reply. Again the end of the vigil came around very quickly. As we walked towards the stairs to go back to the kit room, Jane and Karen who were at the back of the group again heard the very loud bang right behind them and came running passed Maria and I.
Vigil 3 Main Hall
All investigators present
We all sat around a large table, at one end there was a glass and at the other a small Ouija board. Julie started asking out but got no response, so asked Simon to try as he had had replies earlier in the night. Simon walked around the table asking various questions, to which we all heard small taps and bangs. At one point everyone around the table heard light metallic taps on the table legs. Kieran and I looked but found no one was touching the table legs, so I am unable to say how these noises were made. Simon continued to ask out. At one point Maria asked him to use the German phrase for ‘are you male' to which everyone heard another almighty metallic bang at the far end of the hanger. I can only describe these noises (which were heard many times throughout the night by all of the investigators) as if someone had hit the hanger wall very hard with a baseball bat. The sound rang out for several seconds and was clearly audible all over the building. During this group vigil this noise was heard a couple of times, as well as the sound of footsteps coming towards us.
Vigil 4 Main Hall
Team, Maria, Jane, Karen
We stood near to the Skeeter helicopter display and called out. Team 1 (Julie, Simon, Marie and Kieran) were on the Mezzanine level above us, so we took the opportunity to try a form of triangulation. I called out and then waited for at least 30 seconds before calling out again, to see if we could determine where noises were coming from, the building is somewhat deceiving though so it was hard to tell, but again we heard the very loud bangs. After 5 minutes of this Julie took over calling out, to see if the noise would come from different areas, but it was always the same, very loud but not from a particular place. Once again the end of the vigil came around very quickly.
I had a fantastic night at the museum, and was really glad to get chance to investigate. There where some strange occurrences there, I cannot even properly describe the loud bangs we heard, they were unlike any noise I have heard before on an investigation. We did check with our host Barry whether they were holding any form of testing in the army base across the road. He confirmed they do not test at night so that discounts that theory, so I personally have no explanation as to what they were. Only one of the trigger objects moved, the toy gun. It may have been moved when a Dictaphone was placed near to it. Although the camera footage does not show when it moved, it is a possibility so I cannot say it was paranormal. I still have some footage of the evening to go over, so I may still find more, I can confirm some of the loud metallic bangs have been caught on Dictaphones, and I also have 2 photographs of possible large light anomalies.
Thank you to our host for the evening, Barry who was most helpful without giving us any details of the buildings activity. Is the museum of Army Flying haunted? I don't know, but there are some strange things there that I would like the chance to investigate again.
Maria Street
We left a very sticky Southampton late afternoon and arrived 45 minutes later to a much fresher Middle Wallop. I drove down with Amanda and Rob and we met the others in the car park. Once we had all arrived we went inside to meet our host, Barry, and to set the kit up in the cinema room. After a guided tour by Barry we set up all our equipment then started the evening.
I was in Team 2 with Rachel, Jane and Karen. We started our investigation on the left hand side of the mezzanine floor. We sat by the Remembrance Books and started to film and take pictures. Unfortunately Karen's camera turned itself off and my camcorder was reading as having just five minutes of battery time left when there should have been 200 minutes. Luckily a lock-off camera was just down the corridor from us and we nabbed that one to use. So, a very interesting start to our evening. We started to call out and were treated to a very loud noise, like a sneeze. Later investigation proved this to be our host, so nothing paranormal about that one. However, we did have a list of questions to read, all compiled in German. It was very noticeable that one particular question (are you male?) brought a very definite response of a very loud bang every time it was asked. Most interestingly, we joined forces with Julie's team a little later in the vigil and just as Karen was explaining to her that we got this response with this question, another very loud bang was heard. Julie had asked us along because of all the noises her team were hearing, so we stayed with her for a short while and there were definite sounds of bangs and possibly footsteps. We made our way back down the corridor to the ‘Jehu' display and called out an array of questions. Yet, once again, it was ‘Are you male' that elicited the loud bangs we had heard earlier.
Our first vigil over, we set off for a quick break, then made our way to the right hand side of the mezzanine floor. We started in the portrait room and we once again took some pictures. I remarked that my stills camera seemed absolutely fine, battery wise, just as the screen went black and a sign read ‘change the batteries'. This was startling as the batteries were recently charged. I turned the camera off for a couple of minutes and turned it back on again, and it then worked perfectly for the rest of the vigil. The room was set up perfectly for table tipping with a round table surrounded by four chairs set in the middle of the room. Unfortunately we could get no response from this so decided to move on so we could cover as much ground as possible. We made our way to the 1940's house and called out, but the house proved to be very quiet so we carried on to just outside the double doors. Rachel called out and mentioned that women are now equal and a very loud bang was heard.
A longer break followed, then we set off for our group vigil on the ground floor. Barry, our host, had very kindly set up a table for us with chairs all round so we tried a double experiment, with half of us sat round a Ouija board and the other half sat round a glass. Although these proved fruitless, we did hear various taps and bangs. Rachel and Emma heard footsteps and a strange tapping against the table leg could be heard during calling out. Also I could feel a very cold breeze around me and when tested with the temp gun, the temperature was 7 degrees centigrade cooler around me than it was Julie who was sat right next to me. The most impressive thing for me though was on our walk back to the cinema room. Amanda started to sing ‘Oh Christmas Tree' in German and we all heard a very audible whistle. We checked all round to make sure nobody had made the sound and nobody had, so Amanda carried on with some of us humming along. Once more a whistle was heard. Unfortunately they must have tired of us singing by then because no more were heard. We checked with our host, Barry, who assured us he had not whistled and to be honest we were too far away from him as the whistle was very close to us.
Our final vigil of the night was on the ground floor where we joined forces with Julie's team who were on the mezzanine floor just above us. Rachel called out and taps and footsteps could be heard. We also heard a metallic noise like a spanner or something being thrown on to the floor, only not quite so loud as this. We could also hear continuous bumps from behind one of the aeroplanes. It was quite chilly where I was sat, but there was a hangar door directly behind me, so that could explain that. It was soon time to leave but another enjoyable night was had by all. I would like to thank Barry for being such a lovely host and for taking an interest in what we do. We discovered later that we came home with a very good EVP which Rob had recorded. We don't get them often so this was very exciting for us. We hope to return at a later date.
Team 3
Robert Butler
Team 3 - Amanda (team leader) Rob, Emma and Barry
Vigil 1
This to me was a very eerie place, as the mannequins seemed to follow you with their eyes everywhere you went .We started off in the lower level of the museum by the helicopters. Amanda sat in the helicopter calling out and Emma sat in the back. I was walking around outside taking EMF readings that were normal. We started to hear various taps and bangs that we assumed for a while to be the roof cooling down as it was a metal roof. There was a sound like furniture being moved around. We checked the other teams using the walkie-talkie in case they could explain the noise but no one could come up with any possible solutions.
There were also what appeared to be the sounds of explosions. I thought it may have been the firing range next to the museum but upon asking the site manager he said there was no practice that night. Emma emerged from the helicopter and we both saw what appeared to be a shadow moving around on the mezzanine level above us by the café. When we spoke to Amanda she came out of the helicopter and looked and could see the shadow too. After a while the shadow disappeared. Emma, Barry and I then saw a flashlight on the ground floor. It appeared to come from a sort of tunnel area. Upon further investigation the tunnel was in fact a fuselage, which was sealed at one end so we could not account for the origin of the light. We then made our way down the corridor where the crucifix (trigger object) was placed as I had felt a cold breeze there earlier in the evening when setting up. As Amanda was stood there calling out she began to feel very warm. On checking her surroundings with the digital temperature gun there was fluctuations in the temperature by several degrees.
Vigil 2 - Mezzanine level (Left side)
The Falklands war section was on this level. A locked-off camera had been set-up facing a teddy bear as a trigger object. When we started the investigation we could hear lots of tapping and some definite bangs like fireworks or shotgun going off. I could see more shadow-like movement from the end by the camera. The PIR sensor on the wall was flashing as if picking up movement as well. Amanda was picking up on a male who perhaps died in the Falklands war. She also picked up people connected to the building itself and not to the artefacts contained within. Although the bangs and taps were again heard they were not really in response to the direct call outs by Amanda and myself. I was picking up the name “George†and the year 1943 along with the age of 26. Nothing else happened here so the vigil came to a close.
Vigil 3 - Group Vigil Ground Floor Level
This was a very good group vigil on the whole; we all sat around the table with a glass for divination and also an Ouija board. |There was also a camera set up to record the whole vigil. Maria started to call out and immediately there was a tapping on one of the legs of the table. We checked in case the table was uneven but the taps that were heard were not consistent with that possibility. We heard lots of taps and bangs again and Amanda thought she saw a shadow by the helicopter in the corner of the lower level. Simon was calling out then decided to take a more stern approach to provoke spirit response. We got some more prominent taps and Maria, Julie and myself could all feel a cold breeze around our ankles. Although the glass never moved and there was no interaction with Ouija board I sensed that someone or something was around the lower level area with us.
Vigil 4 - Mezzanine Level (Right side)
This was our last vigil. Firstly, we went up to the portrait room, which was a small room with a round table surrounded by a series of portraits. Amanda called out and there was definite sound as if someone was coming up the stairs. Amanda, Emma Barry and I all heard it, and also there was a series of knocks and taps. Amanda began to speak to in German to see if any spirit was with us and she asked them to make a sound. Immediately, there was a distinctive “ tap tap" sound coming from the corridor outside. When Amanda checked with the other teams there was no one in that area. We left the room and made our way along the corridor. Amanda was still speaking in German with mixed results. We went around to the cafe area and as Emma was looking back she saw a black figure in the doorway of the 1940s house and we could all hear footsteps coming along the top landing towards us. The half-light can play tricks on your eyes but the top floor from the cafe to the 1940s house was very well lit, as there was a glass case that was continuously lit. We went into the 1940s house area and still we could hear footsteps and knockings coming from the landing area. Amanda continued to ask questions in German until the vigil came to a close.
On returning home and studying my voice recorder I picked up an EVP when we first went into the portrait room. It occurred one minute 36 seconds into the vigil and it is a distinctive voice saying “ GET OUT “.
I have sent it to other members of the team to analyse and they pick up very clearly the words “GET OUTâ€. There was no-one or nothing that could have made the voice. The night itself was a very positive one and finding the EVP adds to the atmosphere of the night. Thank you to Barry for all his hospitality too.
Amanda Horley
This site seemed very typical of a modern museum and a number of other places that we have investigated. What appeared to be a small hangar opened up into a Tardis of rooms and display areas making the place seem so much larger from the inside. The hangar area was split into two with a mezzanine walkway around both sections. Aircraft displays filled the ground floor level with displays relating to different eras of the Army Flying Corps up on the mezzanine level.
During the initial walk round there were two areas that caught my attention, in particular a Scout helicopter and the Falklands display. I wanted to spend more time with the helicopter and felt that there was a spirit linked to it. The Falklands area made me feel very tearful. After the walk round I did the baseline tests with Emma and Barry. There were slight temperature variations around the building, but two quite distinct spikes, one in the remembrance area next to the Falklands display, and the other by the Northern Ireland display where an area of carpet was very warm. In both places there was no explanation for the temperature increase. We carefully checked the area below the “hot†carpet, and there were no lights of electrics that could have caused the hot area which was the size of a saucer. The K2 also spiked in several areas with no apparent reason.
We split into our teams and along with Rob, Emma and Barry I went to the further ground floor area of the hangar and the Scout helicopter. We were able to sit inside the helicopter and again I felt that there was a presence here. Rob, Emma and I got different names, George, Alfie and Charlie, but the overriding sense I got in this area was a pride in the helicopter. Sitting inside it felt safe and comfortable. In fact I very irrationally would have loved to take it home with me.
Whilst we were sitting in and around the helicopter there were a lot of unexplained noises which via the radios we were able to confirm had not come from any of the other teams. Yes, some of them could have been put down to the building settling after a day with the lights on, but some of them were incredibly loud, and on one occasion it definitely sounded like someone was dragging furniture around. At one point I got the distinct impression that I had seen someone move up on the mezzanine level near to the café area. Both Rob and Emma also saw this at the same time, and a quick call on the radio confirmed that no-one was anywhere near that area.
We then moved to the lower remembrance area. There was a crucifix trigger object set up here and it felt very warm in this area. We didn't however pick on anything particular, and the moment we rounded the next corner it cooled down considerably. We then moved around to the area of the ground floor below the café. Whilst we were sitting inside one of the displays there were several flashes of white light coming from the back of the display. They seemed to be coming through a hole in the wall, and could have been flashes from the other teams' cameras. However, when I stood at the front of the display, the flashes were still happening, but I couldn't see any lights outside the display at all, suggesting that it wasn't from camera flashes.
Our second vigil was on the left hand half of the mezzanine layer. We started in the Falklands display and neighbouring remembrance area, and I very quickly found myself becoming tearful again. There was a picture of the Canberra there and I felt that a “lad†called David had been on HMS Antelope when it was hit and had subsequently died on the Canberra. I felt that he was connected to something in the room, but when I spoke to Barry (from the museum, not the one in my team) he was unable to confirm where the various artefacts had come from. We also heard several “gunshots†from outside whilst we were in this area, but neither of the other teams heard these, and nor did Barry from the museum who was sitting in the foyer area. I am fairly certain they were gunshots as they sound just like what I can hear at home from the nearby Naval base firing range.
Next we held a group vigil in the far area of the ground floor. We tried glass divination and an Ouija board with no success, but there were again a lot of knocks and bangs, not all of which could be put down to the building, and table leg nearest me which was metal sounded like someone was tapping on it repeatedly. I can confirm that no-one was touching it, but can't explain the noise. Simon called out, and this did seem to lead to an increase in the noises.
For the final vigil my team were again on the mezzanine level, but his time at the far end. Both the other teams were in the other part of the hangar and we started our vigil in the portrait room. We had been given a sheet with German phrases on it, basically asking the sort of questions that we would normally ask during an investigation, so we decided to try asking out in German. This seemed to provoke a large number of knocks and bangs, some of which seemed to be coming from immediately outside the room. We also heard footsteps and what sounded like a sigh. When we went out onto the open part of the mezzanine the majority of knocks and footsteps seemed to be coming from round by the café. We walked round there and I noticed that although the mezzanine we had been on earlier had creaked with every footstep we took, this side was incredibly solid and didn't creak as we walked round. Standing round by the café I again called out in German and again there were several knocks, bangs and footsteps from both the other part of the mezzanine and the ground floor. We checked with the other teams and they were still both in the other part of the building. At one point we heard what sounded like shuffling or something being dragged across the floor below us. I don't know if we were in contact with a German, or if it was an English spirit that took offence to my calling out in German, but it definitely seemed to provoke a response. Unfortunately we couldn't get anything specific on who or what was making all that noise, and the vigil and the night all too quickly came to an end.
Thanks have to go to Barry and the Museum of Army Flying to visit. This was, for me, an extraordinary investigation, as I hadn't been part of the group that visited in 2007. However, I will be first on the list if another investigation is arranged here.