| 27 March 1999 | BGS Newsletter | Issue 7 |
| W | elcome to the seventh edition of the Borley Ghost Society Newsletter. This is the anniversary of the 1938 threat by Sunex Amures to burn down the rectory. |
The Alan Gregson
story is now posted. I've been told this will be the last word from him
on the subject. He is one of the last living survivors of the Borley era!
By sheer coincidence, I have been contacted by Richard Lee-Van den
Daele, who located both Alan and Anthony Gregson. The results of his research
were published within the pages of The
Enigma of Borley Rectory by Ivan Banks. The sons tell very different
tales of their stay at Borley. One question that is raised by their testimony
is why Capt. Gregson sent both of them for help. Would it not have
been better if one stayed behind to help with the fire, or did the Captain
wish to be alone? Perhaps he was simply too excited to think it out clearly?
Questions that may never be answered.
I almost feel like song
and Maureen says I am welcome,
but I've been gone so long
I no longer have a home.
Vince;
"I have been looking through The End of Borley Rectory yet again.
Therein lies a good clue as to the location of Marie Lairre's grave. Said
Christian burial is what the seance entity desired and anyway whoever was
buried on the site of the rectory deserved to have a decent burial.
"Anyway the photograph was taken late in the afternoon 5.42pm of May
29, 1945. Although we have to subtract an hour because at that time there
was British Double Summer Time.
"If Liston Church was aligned along an E-W axis the approximate burial
site of the 'nun' is close to the north wall of the Chancel.
"If you go back, walk round the east end of the church (altar end).
Stand at the corner so one looks west back down the body of the church
and walk 6-8ft. Turn so your back is to the wall and walk about 1 1/2 times
the length of your body, (8ft).
"I have no idea if the site is marked. I hardly think the burial is
mentioned in the church records but church law may compel the rector to
record all burials-even two small pieces of bone. The box buried is less
than shoe box size.
"I have deduced this from the picture in the book with the assistance
of the shadows cast on the ground. Have you looked near there? That area
is as close as anybody will probably get.
"I haven't abandoned all hope of going to Borley so a good trawl through
available English ordnance Survey maps ought to enable me to find the principle
places. I wonder if 'The Bull', Long Melford still rents rooms? At least
I may be able to stay where Price's researchers went for some R+R when
off duty."
Neil Purling
[Yes, The Bull is still active. Stewart Evans and I looked for the grave, but it is unmarked - publically at any rate.]
Vince;
"I wonder whether the whiteness of the flying brick (as well as those
lying to the right of the picture) may not be Suffolk whites but rather
regular bricks with morter, plaster, or whitewash attached. Just a thought.
Why, one wonders, would there have been reason to use white-firing bricks
in a house built from standard Victorian reds? It certainly was convenient
that the brick selected for in-flight freezing should have been pale enough
to look good against the black doorway."
"You are doing all who are interested a great service by continuing
to publish your newsletter and for garnering so much information and images
not previously available to readers of the well-known books."
Noël Hume
Dear Vince;
"Last week I was absolutely amazed when a friend visiting from Wales
gave me Dingwall, Goldney and Hall's The Haunting of Borley Rectory.
I last read this in 82 when it was virtually unobtainable and I had to
have it sent to my local library from the central British Lending Library.
I sat down and read it again from cover to cover. As you know, the three
authors do their damnedest to totally destroy every aspect of the legend,
not to mention the reputations of many of the key players in the drama
- your mother included.
"Whilst much of the report is acceptable if you believe that virtually
everyone connected to Borley was a complete fraud, a liar or mentally unstable,
quite a bit certainly isn't. The best (or worst) example of this is their
explanation for the keys shooting from the locks. This is casually brushed
aside as being caused by air pressure??? God alone knows how they hit upon
this and managed to make it sound such a normal, everyday occurrence. They
probably had visions of Marianne kneeling furtively behind the doors with
a pea shooter. Also many of the witnesses who claim definite paranormal
experiences are quickly and quietly glossed over.
"I also can't help but wonder about their explanation on page 114 of
the famous wall messages. Are they correct in their claim that, underneath
the printed words I CANNOT UNDERSTAND TELL ME MORE which immediately follows
the scribbled GET HELP WELL TANK BOTTOM ME the single word Marianne is
indeed your mother's signature? Is this definitely stated anywhere, verified
and admitted by her or are they assuming this? Could it alternatively be
the first word of the next message - seeing as all the other scribbles
begin with a very similar Marianne and the fact that the next piece of
print (although attributed to Kerr-Pearse) is unsigned?
[My mother firmly denied any connection with the Wall Writings.]
"There is no denying that Price was quite a complex character and something
of a loveable rogue - I would give anything to have met him. He certainly
suppressed items that didn't fit with his view of the Borley legend and
bent the truth here and there where it suited him for greater effect and
better book sales, but it seems to me that he found a very genuine haunting
and used it to make money and further his fame. To dissect over a century
of paranormal happenings and claim that the whole thing was a fraud and
the participants liars and idiots seems a little hasty.
"I understand a further report by Robert J Hastings came out which
looks into The Haunting Of Borley Rectory. Do you have any idea
if it's obtainable or posted anywhere on the Internet?
[I have a copy. Let me see how I can get it posted - quite long - without
transcribing the entire thing - maybe with photocopies, but I don't want
to break the spine. As far as I know, mine is the most comprehensive site
on Borley available. I would be grateful to learn otherwise.]
" I also notice from Trevor H. Hall's later solo work The Search
For Harry Price that, in the 1970s, he lived in Selby - a market town
just ten miles away from me. Do you know if this gentleman is still alive?
If he is, I shall certainly try looking him up.
[Trevor Hall is no longer among the living.]
"Speaking of survivors, you [mention] that Alan Gregson is [one of
the] last [people] still alive from the Borley period. I was wondering
about the Smith's maid, Mary Pearson and also whatever became of the Foyster's
little girl, Adelaide? She gets very few mentions in any account of Borley
other than Dingwall, Goldney and Hall naming her on page 106, in their
inimitable way, as a probable arsonist.
[Hmm, good point. I don't know about Mary Pearson, but Adelaide has
told me she wants nothing to do with the story, and says she can't remember
it anyway!]
"By the way, have you any idea where I could find a copy of their second
collaboration Light Mass Dallas where the authors prove that the
blurred photograph of the woman throwing bottles at the motorcade from
the grassy knoll was definitely Marianne."
Ian Jarvis
Dear Vince;
"There must have been quite a few people who took photographs of the
Rectory. Are there any pictures of the fire damage inside and out which
have not appeared in any books? I believe there must be.
"That floating brick picture was either true or a very good hoax. I
do not believe that the photographer would waste film trying to get one
shot of the brick in the right place - not with only twelve shots on a
roll of film.
"The film he was using would probably have been in the region of 80
ASA for an average sort (like Kodak Plus X Pan). Tri X was around 160-200
ASA. As I said his lens would possibly have been a around 80mm if he had
a fixed lens camera. Its speed would have been probably f4 or possibly
f2.8 if it was a good lens.
"There's not a lot of chance of getting a sharp picture of a fast moving
brick if you used less than 1000th of a second - which he wouldn't have
had. Probably a 300th or even a 5ooth but no faster.
"The picture showing the
whole of the remains of the Rectory appears to be taken on an overcast
day. So then how did he capture the brick in mid-air if its not a camera
trick?
"I guess the jury will be out for a good long time unless LIFE has
the original negative in their archive."
Neil Purling
Carmen Hutchinson takes care of her children while working on her college degree. She is from the States, but identifies with England where she and her husband Tom are currently stationed. They have traveled quite a bit, and are in the process of posting pictures on the Internet related to some of their stops. Carmen explains, "I now live in NorthYorkshire in the United Kingdom. I have been interested in ghosts for quite a while. I even had to visit Berry Pomeroy Castle upon hearing it is the most haunted castle in England. When I visited the Castle, the woman who worked for English Heritage said some people have a terrible feeling and don't want to go into the castle, but for me it was quite the opposite - I did not want to leave. While traveling around I always pick up ghost books. Recently, while taking a college English class, I did not know what to write about, so I picked Ghosts because of my extensive library. By looking at Peter Underwood's book Ghosts and How to See Them, I got the idea to write about how several different parapsychologists research cases and hauntings. Then while searching the web I remembered Borley and got different peoples names for research."
For those of you who have profiles on my web site, I have moved
them to their own special folder so that you can use them without compromising
our hidden BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY address. From now on they will be at
http://www.borleyretcory.com/profiles/yourname.htm
This way, you can tell people you have your very own web page, and
freely give them your URL!
If you would like me to make a profile page for you, just tell me a little about yourself and attach a photo to an e-mail.