Could this ghostly figure be that of WWI driver, Friend Peel?
Shopkeeper Alison Lambert is baffled over a photo taken last May and the ghostly figure that appeared in it.
The Box of Cards, which is located in Farsley, near Leeds, shop owner had a photo taken of her while she stood in front of the shop’s display window. However, she was shocked to see a shadowy figure standing behind her clutching a painting of the nearby Farsley centonaph – a monument where names of servicemen who died during World War I are embossed.
Could It Be Him?
Miss Lambert, 41, had tried to solve the mystery after seeing the photo by scouring through the names written on the Farsley cenotaph and searching about them one by one. And now, after months of doing her personal research, she is fully convinced the ghostly figure who stood behind her in the photo was non other than Driver Friend Peel, a young soldier who carted horses for the 10th Battery 147th Brigade in the Royal Field Artillery.
Peel was among the unknown Briton soldiers killed at the start of WWI. The only known fact about his military career was his death date which was placed on May 26, 1915.
However, Miss Lambert’s claim he is the spooky ghostly figure. Moreover, he turning up in one of her photographs might just catapult this soldier from the bottom to the top.
Upon her discovery of Peel’s old photo, she said the resemblance was unmistakably there and in great proportions. According to her, she clearly saw his face when she blew up the picture. And that, for her, is just bizarre. Of course, she had taken pictures before and is no stranger to shadows and other stuff that seem to appear in some of the photos but seeing a “proper figure” in the said photograph just blew her mind away.
She even admitted that she breathed out a loud “Oh my god!” when she saw it.
Dangerous Duty
Peel had one dangerous role in the World War I. Since he was a Driver, a rank equivalent to a Private, it was his duty to cart ammunition into the front-line with the use of a horse. This division was also responsible for the medium gun cannons set up front.
Peel was most likely killed doing his obligation.
Double-Minded
Nevertheless, Colin Cook, the photographer who took the photo during the Farnsley Festival just this year, is skeptic to the shop owner’s theory.
In face of the photographer’s skepticism, Miss Lambert remains undaunted. She said she will continue on with her investigation regarding Driver Peel including any connections he might have with the building where her business is housed. She believes she will get to the bottom of this in time and will find out why his ghostly figure appeared in that photo, hazy, yes, but so clear in her eyes.