St. Eval, Devon
This story is fiction but the crash was real.
The two friends were enjoying an evening meal when Dave said, "Do you think you are able to take a trip to an old RAF base, Alec?"
Alec thought about his deteriorating health and replied, "Yes, where did you have in mind?"
Dave commented, "Have you heard of St. Eval in Devon?"
"I can't say I have, but as you say it's in Devon and most of Devon is near the coast, am I to assume it is a Coastal Command Airbase?"
"You are right, it is Coastal Command. I had a call from a friend of mine last week, he says he thinks he saw a ghost walking the airfield dressed in a USAAF uniform. I know you believe in spirits trapped in this realm as you write a lot about the subject. I was wondering if you'd like to pay the area a visit to see if anything is happening?"
"You know me, Dave, any spiritual exercise and you can count me in. If it weren't so far, I would have liked to visit RAF Montrose in Scotland, but the journey is too much for me now."
Dave commented, "I didn't book us a room as I was unsure if you were up to the journey, but at this time of year we'll have no problem getting one, as it's off-season. I'll call my friend and see what information he can dig up for us."
A couple of days later Dave confirmed the booking at a guesthouse in the area. The journey involved both a long train trip and an equally long bus ride as the base is on the North coast, and the nearest train station is on the South coast many miles away.
On arrival at the guesthouse, the landlady showed her guests their room, as requested, they had the downstairs room because of Alec's condition. "There'll be a pot brewing when you are ready, gents," she said as she turned and closed the door.
Dave asked, "I know it's early to say, but what do you think, is there a chance of a ghost at the base?"
Alec replied, "Th answer is yes. It is a bit early, but I did some research, and my thinking is that there are ghosts there. Your friend probably encountered one of the several spirits I feel is trapped at the base."
Dave was aghast and asked, "What makes you think there are several spirits trapped there?"
Alec replied, "I can't be sure yet, there may be more incidents I haven't heard of. In 1943 there was a crash on the runway between two bombers, and there were no survivors."
Dave asked the question he thought should be asked, "Why do you think they are trapped?"
"I have my theory, but I will need to see the spirit to confirm the theory before I say more, Dave."
"I understand, you could always use this journey for one of your ghost stories."
"The idea has crossed my mind, Dave."
The friends left their lodgings and went along the coast path to the former airbase, along the way Alec kept looking out to sea. He longed to travel further, but he knew his health wouldn't allow it, so he contented himself with his memories of old journeys. One, in particular, was to Canada and had inspired a spiritual story https://www.draft2digital.com/book/32129 .
"Do you miss the travel?"
Alec shook his head to clear his mind, "Sorry, I was miles away in another time then, Dave. I did for a while, but I am not envious of people who can travel now, I had my time and saw places and things I never thought I would see. All in all, I had a good time."
Dave smiled and commented, "I'll take a wild guess; eight years ago in Canada?"
Alec smiled then replied, "Correct on both counts. I still miss my friend, Faye. Right, here we are. Shall we see what we can find?"
The base had been out of use since the late 1970's so there was no fence, only the remains of the control tower and the last few broken bits of the runway showed what had once been there. As they stood silently, Alec said, "I sense there is a presence here. Someone is trying to cross but needs our help, Dave."
The friends watched the air move across the broken tarmac, in the stillness they saw a slight shimmering, "I've come to help you," Alec called.
As if on request, the shimmering became solid, and a young man in a USAAF uniform appeared, "Hello, I'm Bombadier Mike Collins, who are you, and where are my crew?"
Alec had to think how to approach the subject, "Hi, Mike. I have some bad news for you. Your crew died many years ago, and your spirit has been trapped on the base since 1943."
Mike blinked and replied, "What do you mean since 1943, what year is it?"
Dave replied, "The year is 2017, Mike."
Mike looked around at the station he had known and said, "That explains why I can't see them, they passed on and I was trapped here. What happened?"
There was a pause, then Alec commented, "There was a crash on the runway, your Liberator was hit by a Whitley carrying depth charges. The heat of the fire caused the bombs to explode and kill both crews."
Mike thought about the incident, then recalled, "I was in the bomb bay when I felt the bump, the next thing I recall is being trapped under falling fuselage sections as the flames tore through our plane."
Alec patted Mike on the shoulder and said, "The station commander couldn't send the fire crew to the scene because of the risk of the bombs exploding. Once the fire had died down, the others were taken out of the planes, but you're trapped under the fuselage and got forgotten. It was an accident of fate, but it meant your spirit has been trapped here for all these years. Now we're here, you can cross over to the other realm in peace; we will inform the authorities about your location."
Mike smiled and said, "Thanks, guys, finally we can be together. It's been lonely all these years down here." With that comment, his image faded into the mist.
The two friends were enjoying an evening meal when Dave said, "Do you think you are able to take a trip to an old RAF base, Alec?"
Alec thought about his deteriorating health and replied, "Yes, where did you have in mind?"
Dave commented, "Have you heard of St. Eval in Devon?"
"I can't say I have, but as you say it's in Devon and most of Devon is near the coast, am I to assume it is a Coastal Command Airbase?"
"You are right, it is Coastal Command. I had a call from a friend of mine last week, he says he thinks he saw a ghost walking the airfield dressed in a USAAF uniform. I know you believe in spirits trapped in this realm as you write a lot about the subject. I was wondering if you'd like to pay the area a visit to see if anything is happening?"
"You know me, Dave, any spiritual exercise and you can count me in. If it weren't so far, I would have liked to visit RAF Montrose in Scotland, but the journey is too much for me now."
Dave commented, "I didn't book us a room as I was unsure if you were up to the journey, but at this time of year we'll have no problem getting one, as it's off-season. I'll call my friend and see what information he can dig up for us."
A couple of days later Dave confirmed the booking at a guesthouse in the area. The journey involved both a long train trip and an equally long bus ride as the base is on the North coast, and the nearest train station is on the South coast many miles away.
On arrival at the guesthouse, the landlady showed her guests their room, as requested, they had the downstairs room because of Alec's condition. "There'll be a pot brewing when you are ready, gents," she said as she turned and closed the door.
Dave asked, "I know it's early to say, but what do you think, is there a chance of a ghost at the base?"
Alec replied, "Th answer is yes. It is a bit early, but I did some research, and my thinking is that there are ghosts there. Your friend probably encountered one of the several spirits I feel is trapped at the base."
Dave was aghast and asked, "What makes you think there are several spirits trapped there?"
Alec replied, "I can't be sure yet, there may be more incidents I haven't heard of. In 1943 there was a crash on the runway between two bombers, and there were no survivors."
Dave asked the question he thought should be asked, "Why do you think they are trapped?"
"I have my theory, but I will need to see the spirit to confirm the theory before I say more, Dave."
"I understand, you could always use this journey for one of your ghost stories."
"The idea has crossed my mind, Dave."
The friends left their lodgings and went along the coast path to the former airbase, along the way Alec kept looking out to sea. He longed to travel further, but he knew his health wouldn't allow it, so he contented himself with his memories of old journeys. One, in particular, was to Canada and had inspired a spiritual story https://www.draft2digital.com/book/32129 .
"Do you miss the travel?"
Alec shook his head to clear his mind, "Sorry, I was miles away in another time then, Dave. I did for a while, but I am not envious of people who can travel now, I had my time and saw places and things I never thought I would see. All in all, I had a good time."
Dave smiled and commented, "I'll take a wild guess; eight years ago in Canada?"
Alec smiled then replied, "Correct on both counts. I still miss my friend, Faye. Right, here we are. Shall we see what we can find?"
The base had been out of use since the late 1970's so there was no fence, only the remains of the control tower and the last few broken bits of the runway showed what had once been there. As they stood silently, Alec said, "I sense there is a presence here. Someone is trying to cross but needs our help, Dave."
The friends watched the air move across the broken tarmac, in the stillness they saw a slight shimmering, "I've come to help you," Alec called.
As if on request, the shimmering became solid, and a young man in a USAAF uniform appeared, "Hello, I'm Bombadier Mike Collins, who are you, and where are my crew?"
Alec had to think how to approach the subject, "Hi, Mike. I have some bad news for you. Your crew died many years ago, and your spirit has been trapped on the base since 1943."
Mike blinked and replied, "What do you mean since 1943, what year is it?"
Dave replied, "The year is 2017, Mike."
Mike looked around at the station he had known and said, "That explains why I can't see them, they passed on and I was trapped here. What happened?"
There was a pause, then Alec commented, "There was a crash on the runway, your Liberator was hit by a Whitley carrying depth charges. The heat of the fire caused the bombs to explode and kill both crews."
Mike thought about the incident, then recalled, "I was in the bomb bay when I felt the bump, the next thing I recall is being trapped under falling fuselage sections as the flames tore through our plane."
Alec patted Mike on the shoulder and said, "The station commander couldn't send the fire crew to the scene because of the risk of the bombs exploding. Once the fire had died down, the others were taken out of the planes, but you're trapped under the fuselage and got forgotten. It was an accident of fate, but it meant your spirit has been trapped here for all these years. Now we're here, you can cross over to the other realm in peace; we will inform the authorities about your location."
Mike smiled and said, "Thanks, guys, finally we can be together. It's been lonely all these years down here." With that comment, his image faded into the mist.
1. Nice, but I want more description of the health issues, the base, and the spirit to help build suspense.
ReplyDelete2. A number of run on sentences, which make the flow a bit jerky in spots