Spiritualism, Superstition and the Supernatural During the First World War
The Battle of Mons was the first major land engagement between the British and German Armies. The legend arose that the British were saved by the supernatural intercession of angels – the Angels of Mons.
Did a Frenchman’s Lucky Coin Save a British Soldier at the Battle of Mons? More than one soldier during the First World War put superstitious faith in a lucky coin, here is one man’s story from the Battle of Mons and the Retreat after. As a former regular soldier, Scotsman Joe Cassells was a first-class […]
Private Cleaver Swears on Oath to Having Seen the Angels at Mons The only named witness to the Angels of Mons to come forward during the First World War was Robert Cleaver, a private in the 1st Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment. Not only did he claim to have seen the Angels, he swore an affidavit […]
Arthur Machen Claims Short Story ‘The Bowmen’ Inspired the Angels Legend The writer Arthur Machen claimed to have invented the greatest supernatural mystery of the First World War: the Angels of Mons. The problem was, nobody believed him. When World War I broke out, Welshman Arthur Machen was living in London and earning a living […]
Controversy surrounding the Angels of Mons legend prompted the Society for Psychical Research to launch an investigation. Assistant Research Officer Helen Woollgar de Gaudrion Verrall (later Salter) was given the task of collecting and weighing the evidence in the case of the alleged angels at the Battle of Mons: had it been a supernatural intervention to save the British Expeditionary Force, or had it been something else?