Soldiers marching past ruined farm buildings, haunted by the ghost of a comrade, Western Front, 1918 (c)

Soldiers marching past ruined French farm buildings, haunted by the ghost of a comrade, 1918 (c).

Oil on board by Cecil C P Lawson (1881-1967) 1918 (c).

The horror of the World War One battlefields gave rise to a number of myths, rumours and superstitions. Ghosts of former comrades killed in action were regularly reported by troops. In another such legend, the Angel of Mons was reputed to have appeared in the sky to safeguard British soldiers during the retreat from Mons in August 1914. The origin of this supernatural occurrence was a fictional short story published in the 'Evening News' in September 1914, in which English bowmen killed at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) rose up to defend their countrymen in the contemporary conflict. It became almost unpatriotic to doubt the veracity of such ghostly sightings.