Helen Duncan was a
materialisation medium in whose presence the
so-called 'dead' appeared to their loved ones in
temporary physical forms and often spoke with
them and embraced them.
SURVIVAL
EVIDENCE AND A FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
In the Second World War, Helen Duncan's
mediumship provided irrefutable evidence of the
survival of the soul after death. In one of her
seances a 'dead' sailor fully materialised
wearing his naval cap on which was written the
name of his ship HMS Barham. He stated
that his vessel had been sunk in enemy action - a
fact which the British government categorically
denied - but the 'dead' man had spoken the
truth: HMS Barham had indeed been sunk
but the British War Office had not yet received
this official news.
Modern
Spiritualists claim that Helen Duncan was then
arrested as a spy, on the authority of none other
than Winston Churchill, Britain's war-time Prime
Minister: they believe that the government of the
day feared that her brilliant mediumship might
pose a threat to national security, especially as
they were then planningthe D-Day landings and
they didn't want these secret details to be
released by 'dead' servicemen who appeared at
Helen's seances.
In 1944,
Helen Duncan was tried at the Old Bailey in
London under the antiquated 1735 Witchcraft Act,
and millions of people have come to believe that
she was found guilty through a miscarriage of
justice. Forty witnesses testified to
experiencing her genuine abilities and at least
300 others were prepared to take the stand and
vouch for her mediumiship. Helen offered to hold
a seance in the courtroom under strict test
conditions to prove that her abilities were
genuine but the Judge denied her request,
fuelling speculation and a government conspiracy
theory. Helen Duncan was imprisoned for nine
months.
Later, in
1951, the outdated Witchcraft Act was replaced by
the Fraudulent Mediums Act, which at least
recognised the existence of genuine mediumship;
and following this in 1954 a British Act of
Parliament officially recognised Spiritualism as
a religion.
There is
still an active campaign to clear Helen Duncan's
name, visit:
The Official Helen Duncan
Website.
There's also an informative book about Mrs
Duncan's mediumship and life, written by Alan
Crossley: The
Story of Helen Duncan.
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