|
|
 |
|
|
Spirit writing gave clues to lost expedition
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 LONDON/ARCTIC CIRCLE. It is a common mistake, even among Spiritualists, to assume that the “paranormal” did not capture the public’s attention until the birth of Spiritualism in 1848. But Prof Peter Wadhams of Cambridge, in retelling the story of Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated polar expedition in search of the North-West Passage, helped correct this false impression at the June meeting of the Society for Psychical Research in London.
Franklin and his party set off in 1845, in the “Erebus” and the “Terror”, in an attempt to find a natural passage through the Arctic Archipelago that would provide a short route to China and India. Their failure to return after a reasonable time led to 40 parties going in search of them – nearly all of whom took wrong turnings and found no sign of the expedition.
But clairvoyants were quick to offer their help – just as they are today – and among those who used their “travelling clairvoyance” (akin to remote viewing) to locate the missing mariners was the Aberdeen Herald’s own clairvoyant. They invariably saw the expedition’s members alive and dressed in fur, having taking refuge on land.
 One of the strangest – and ultimately most striking – paranormal “clues”, however, came from Louisa, the dead daughter of a Captain Coppin, who was known to Lady Franklin. “Weesy”, as Louisa was affectionately called, appeared to members of her family as either a spirit or a blue light. Asked about the fate of Franklin’s expedition, the words “Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Point Victory, Victoria Channel” appeared in glowing blue letters on the wall and slowly faded.
When Lady Franklin heard of this, six months later, she sent her own yacht, the “Prince Albert”, to follow the spirit’s guidance. It came remarkably close to finding the remains of the expedition, but the yacht turned right instead of left at a crucial point close to where – it was subsequently discovered – the yachts had taken shelter.
Interestingly, the spirit-inspired route was not one that seasoned mariners or polar explorers would have guessed, and Prince Regent Inlet was thought at that time not to provide a route through the rock and ice – yet it does.
As for the other clairvoyants, they were talking nonsense. Sir John Franklin and the other crew members were almost certainly dead at the time of their being reported alive and clothed in fur.
Prof Peter Wadhams, himself a polar explorer, is professor of ocean physics and head of the Polar Ocean Physics Group in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. His work is closely linked to climate change and the environment. His fascinating account of the Franklin expedition was part of a lecture entitled “Psychic Factors in Polar Exploration” at the Kensington Public Library on 8 June.
 A statue of Sir John Franklin, on which a sculptor has depicted the imagined scene of his burial (see image), is to be found in central London, close to Carlton House Terrace. A memorial in Westminster Abbey reflects his Lady Franklin’s belief in an after-life. It reads:
“This monument was erected by Jane, his widow, who, after long waiting, and sending many in search of him, herself departed, to seek and find him in the realms of light.”
|
Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006
Category: Mediumship
|
| Return |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|