The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New report of airman’s apparition revealed
Reported sighting of ghost of Royal Flying Corps lieutenant
Sightings of the ghost of a young pilot killed in an accident at Montrose airfield are still being reported 105 years after his death.
Dr Dan Paton, curator of Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, said the most recent reported sighting of Lieutenant Desmond Arthur was just a few weeks ago.
He was speaking as volunteers gathered to lay flowers at the airman’s grave this weekend on the anniversary of his death in 1913.
“Two weeks ago, in a new building on the site, a figure appeared in front of a young volunteer,” said Mr Paton.
He said the “ghost” was dressed in oldfashioned flying gear, much like a figure reportedly seen emerging from a mist and walking through a wall in the old headquarters building two years ago.
Some believe it was the spirit of Lt Arthur, one of a number of Irishman with No 2 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps which arrived at Montrose in February 1913.
The squadron was flying from a farm at Upper Dysart, south of Montrose.
Lt Arthur fell 2,000ft to his death when the upper wingtip of his BE2 aircraft No 205 broke up and the structure collapsed.
The wreck of the BE2 fell 200 yards away in a field near Lunan, next to the railway line.
An inquiry found the crash was caused by a faulty repair to the upper wing.
Lt Arthur was buried with full military honours at Sleepyhillock Cemetery, Montrose, the first pilot interred there.
Dr Paton said: In early 1915 the airfield at Montrose quickly became a busy RFC base again.
“Officers lived in the old Barracks building in Montrose which is where Lt Arthur had briefly resided prior to his death, and it is there that a ghostly figure began to appear in 1916.
“It made its first appearance to a Major Foggit but was soon witnessed by other officers, an apparition wearing a uniform like themselves.”
Between 1936 and the outbreak of war in 1939 there were no fatal accidents at Montrose and pilots attributed this to the benign influence of their ghostly comrade.
However, strange incidents were recorded during the war. These included sightings of ancient biplanes and figures in flying gear at the old entrance to the air station and in one of the hangars.
“Visitors to Montrose Air Station ask about the ghost and we tell them the stories but, unlike some visitor attractions, it does not figure prominently in our marketing or our exhibitions,” said Mr Paton. “We hope that he truly rests in peace.” The death of Lt Arthur revealed a romance after the portrait of a young woman was found on his body. She was Miss Winsom Ropner, daughter of a ship owner in Hartlepool.
Lt Arthur’s diary revealed that he visited the family home of Miss Ropner and they were frequently in company, though never alone together.
In his will he left her the bulk of his fortune, amounting to more than £1 million in modern money.
In 1918 she married another RFC pilot. She did not forget her first love, however, and named her first-born son Desmond.
The portrait was donated to Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre by her family.