#r-101

[archivist-crow]

R-101 CASE

Case involving the Irish medium Eileen Garrett, who allegedly solved the mystery of the crash of the British dirigible R-101 using information communicated to her from the spirit world.

Garrett claimed to have had a series of premonitions of the disaster, which killed 48 passengers and crew. She sent a warning to the director of civil aviation, Sir Sefton Brancker, but he refused to take it seriously and declared the R-101 to be as 'safe as a house, except for the millionth chance’. She received a message during a séance from a deceased Captain Hinchcliffe, warning his friend, Ernest Johnston, the navigator of the R-101, not to go on the ship's flight because it would crash, but Johnston also did not take the message seriously.

The R-101 lifted off on 4 October 1930 and crashed the next day near Paris. Garrett allegedly knew about the crash before news reached the media. Brancker was one of the victims. A few days after the crash Garrett conducted a séance and, through her control, Uvani, began to receive messages from the dead captain of the R-101, Flight Lieutenant H Carmichael Irwin. The information that was received about the airship was of such a confidential nature that Harry Price, one of the sitters who was investigating Garrett's mediumship, worried about espionage. He sent a copy of the séance transcript to Sir John Simon, chairman of the Court of Inquiry investigating the disaster. The press got involved, as did a number of military officials, including Major Oliver Villiers, a close friend of Brancker.

Lieutenant Irwin allegedly communicated again and was joined by other members of the crew. The spirits claimed that the R-101 had had a gas leak and a number of other problems, which had been ignored by officials who wanted to launch the vessel on time. Major Villiers was convinced Garrett had been communicating with the spirits of the dead crew but Sir John Simon ruled that nothing could be done with the testimony as it would not be accepted in a court of law. Villiers, however, remained convinced that the dead crew wanted the world to know what had really happened, and 25 years later he gave a copy of the séance records to author James Leasor, who went on to write The Millionth Chance: the Story of the R-101.

Text from The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Hauntings by Theresa Cheung (HarperElement, 2013)

[727l30bucktommy]

[727l30bucktommy]

2 things about this

1. Gross, he let that old but not that old lady slobber on his chest

2. They should have had a scene with aaron and robert like this

[archivist-crow]

Paranormal Casefile

The R-101 Case (1930)

Incident involving the famous Irish medium Eileen J. Garrett (pictured below), in which spirits of the dead allegedly solved the mystery of a tragic airship disaster, the crash of the British dirigible R-101 on her maiden voyage in 1930. All 46 persons on board were killed. The spirits of the dead crew communicated evidential information through Garrett, thus providing support for survival after death. The case had interesting legal implications.

Garrett had several premonitions of the impending disaster years before it happened. In 1926, Garrett was walking her dog in Hyde Park in London one day when she had a vision of a phantom dirigible in the sky. It appeared normal. In 1928, while walking near Holland Park in London, she saw the airship again, only this time it was partially covered by clouds; it wobbled, gave off smoke, was buffeted about and disappeared. She believed it to be a real disaster and was surprised to find no news of it in the press. Meanwhile, the construction of two dirigibles in England, the R-100 and the R-101, was made public. One was to fly to India on its maiden voyage; Garrett was certain it would be the R-101, and that it would crash. Garrett sent a warning to Sir Sefton Brancker, director of civil aviation; Brancker laughed at her. Also in 1928, during a séance, Garrett gave a message from a deceased Captain Raymond Hinchcliffe warning his friend, Ernest Johnston, the navigator of the R-101, not to go on the maiden voyage because the ship would crash. Johnston did not take the message seriously. In 1929, Garrett saw a third vision of a dirigible in the sky over London, in flames.

The R-101 was declared by Brancker to be "safe as a house, except for the millionth chance." It lifted off on October 4, 1930 and crashed in France on October 5. Garrett knew about it before the news reached the media. Brancker was among the victims.

Three days after the crash, Garrett conducted a séance intended to communicate with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who had died on July 7. Garrett's control, Uvani, began to relay messages from the dead captain of R-101, Flight Lieutenant H. Carmichael Irwin. The specific and technical information about the airship, its testing and flight was of such a confidential nature that Harry Price, one of the sitters, worried about espionage. He sent a copy of the transcript to Sir John Simon, chairman of the Court of Inquiry, who was heading an investigation of the disaster. When the seance story appeared in the press, other military officials became interested, including Major Oliver Villiers, a close friend of Brancker.

Irwin allegedly communicated again, joined by several others who had died in the crash, including Brancker, Major G.H. Scott, Wing Commander R.B. Colmore and Ernest Johnston, the navigator. The spirits claimed that the R-101 had had a gas leak that had been ignored by officials who wanted to launch on time. The ship had been too heavy for the engines, which backfired and ignited the escaping gas. Furthermore, the ship had been plagued by other problems: a bad air pump that failed and an improperly functioning fuel pump. The ship had never reached cruising altitude and had scraped treetops as it passed over France. The problems had been known prior to launch, but the decision had been made to proceed. The crew had not wanted to appear "faint of heart," and had figured that if they made it across the English Channel, they could come down in France and claim that bad weather had forced them to land.

Villiers was convinced he had spoken with the spirits of the dead crew, and he gave information from Garrett's seven seances to Simon. Simon said he could do nothing with it, however, as testimony from the dead would never be accepted in a court of law.

Twenty-five years later, Villiers gave another copy of the seance records to author James Leasor, who wrote The Millionth Chance: The Story of the R-101. Villiers believed the dead crew wanted the world to know the truth of what happened.

The information was not considered in the official inquiry of the crash because of the alleged sources, spirits of the dead.

Text from The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Third Edition by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (Checkmark Books - 2007)

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“R-101 Survivors Follow in Procession of dead,” Toronto Star. October 8, 1930. Page 19. --- CAISSONS BEARING REMAINS OF VICTIMS ESCORTED TO BEAUVAIS STATION Reproduced ABOVE is a tele-photograph showing three survivors of the R-101 disaster following in procession of caissons bearing remains of victims under escort of French soldiers to the Beauvais railway station for shipment to London. The three survivors, seen in CENTRE, are from LEFT to RIGHT: J. H. Binks, engineer; Arthur V. Bell, engineer; and H. J. Leech, engineering expert of Cardington Airship Works. The bodies of the victims arrived in the heart of the empire to-day where they were met by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and group of cabinet ministers and guard of honor from the Royal Air Force. The remains will lie in state in Westminster Hall, London.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Victims of R-101 Disaster Come Home,” Toronto Star. October 10, 1930. Page 01. ---- DESTROYER BEARS FLAG-DRAPED COFFIN TO DOVER - ENGLAND HONORS HER DEAD --- Reproduced ABOVE is a radio photograph showing British sailors carrying ashore the flag-draped coffins containing the bodies of the ill-fated R-101 victims, from the destroyer Tempest, following their arrival at Dover from France. The forty-seven caskets were taken by train to London and reposed in the Westminster chapel mortuary, as all Britain paid solemn homage to the dead heroes of the disastrous flight. Memorial services were held in St. Paul’s cathedral after which the bodies will be buried at the Cardington air field.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“La cabine des contrôles du R-101,” La Presse. October 24, 1929. Page 01. ---- Le commandant Atberstone, premier officier du gigantesque dirigeable anglais R-101, consultant le compas au cours d'une envolée au-dessus de Londres. Le première envolée d’essai fut considérée comme satisfaisante; le dirigeable atteignit une vitesse de cinquante milles à l'heure

[crnkl]