Claim: Ghost of deceased Soldier, Freddy Jackson, captured in a photo

ParanoidSkeptic2

Active Member
This is quite a popular photo that has been circulating around the internet for a while. This photo dates back to Word War 1 and is usually called the 'ghost of Goddard’s Squadron.' Behind one of the soldier's a face of a bald/balding man without a cap that looks somewhat like an apparition can be seem behind one of the soldiers. This is the original photo

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source:https://www.skeptic.com/insight/should-goddards-squadron-drop-dead-fred/


This is an zoomed in version of the photo
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source:https://www.skeptic.com/insight/should-goddards-squadron-drop-dead-fred/

Although the photo was taken around the time of the first world war, the photo was allegedly released around 1975. His funeral took place on the day of the photograph. The conjecture that most people go with is that Freddy was unaware of his death so he attended the photograph session, thinking he was alive.

Article:
Some articles refer to the photo as first being published in 1975. A little research turned up that Sir Robert Victor Goddard KCB, CBE, published a book that year titled Flight Towards Reality in which the photograph is (to the best of my knowledge) first described in print.


The story goes that an air mechanic called Freddy Jackson had been accidentally killed by an aeroplane propeller two days prior to the photo being taken

There was in fact a Freddy Jackson that died, however, the details of the death are different to what people usually state.

Article:
Registry number 591269 records the death of a George Frederick Jackson, who had worked in the R.A.F. Aeroplane Repair Section. He died on April 13, 1918 at the 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. When I first got this information I was curious about why the date didn’t come close to the Armistice Day (end of WWI) date that was part of Bobbie Capel and Goddard’s version of the story.


In addition, the R.A.F officer who originally published the story, Sir Goddard, did have a history with the paranormal excluding this incident.

Article:
While Goddard had risen quite high in the military ranks, he effectively had a second career as a paranormal enthusiast after retiring. His book Flight Towards Reality is largely a collection of thoughts about the nature of the spirit, ESP, and continued consciousness. He was a strong promoter of spirituality and alternative modes of healing.


This is one of the most popular ghost photos yet surprisingly received little skeptical attention. A lot of people also say that this could not be double exposure because the "ghost" is not wearing the cap that the other soldiers are wearing.
 
A lot of people also say that this could not be double exposure because the "ghost" is not wearing the cap that the other soldiers are wearing.
it also can't be a ghost or he'd be wearing his cap. :)

i'd like to start by saying that based on what i've seen, the Brits keep EVERYTHING from way back, so i am sure the original photo is available in some archive. You need to find a British person willing to trudge through some old boxes or microfiche or a local raf museum!



i cant really find any matching buildings from the stated location and dates, the closest are these hangers but they little windows or roof vents at the top of the doors.

but do these doors look metal to you? I'm wondering if it was just a sunspot and Goddard "enhanced" the photo to show what he decided it was. He does look like the typical "add a ghost in" photos people used to like to do.
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or it was just some guy who got tired of holding the pose, waiting for the camera and step sideways a bit and removed his cap briefly to wipe his brow when the shutter went off. or he didnt actually want to be in the picture for whatever reason and was trying to duck. he is in the same row as these back row guys (ive heard people say in the past there was no bleacher step back there so it couldnt be just a person...but there is a bleacher step)

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or it was just some guy who got tired of holding the pose, waiting for the camera and step sideways a bit and removed his cap briefly to wipe his brow when the shutter went off. or he didnt actually want to be in the picture for whatever reason and was trying to duck. he is in the same row as these back row guys (ive heard people say in the past there was no bleacher step back there so it couldnt be just a person...but there is a bleacher step
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned that before as a possibility, seems way more likely than a ghost.

I think it might be foul play here, he wrote a lot on paranormal and it seems like this photo was his biggest claim to fame.
 
There was in fact a Freddy Jackson that died, however, the details of the death are different to what people usually state.

Article: Registry number 591269 records the death of a George Frederick Jackson, who had worked in the R.A.F. Aeroplane Repair Section. He died on April 13, 1918 at the 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. When I first got this information I was curious about why the date didn’t come close to the Armistice Day (end of WWI) date that was part of Bobbie Capel and Goddard’s version of the story. Source: https://www.skeptic.com/insight/new-facts-concerning-goddard-squadron-photo/

More pertinent to this is that Sheffield is at the other end of the country to Lee-on-Solent.
 
More pertinent to this is that Sheffield is at the other end of the country to Lee-on-Solent.
That's what I didn't understand, these places are approximately 240 miles apart, that's the only Freddy Jackson that we have the evidence for his existence in that squad, the story just doesn't add up.
 
If this is not a result of photo enhancement, the facial features of the person in the front and 'ghost' behind are very similar. I guess it could be one and the same soldier who put on his cap just after the lens cap was taken off for exposure and shifted his position a bit while doing so. I also think that this happened before a magnesium flash went off. Or the other way around, he removed his cap and shifted position after the flash but before the lens cap was replaced.
 
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that's the only Freddy Jackson that we have the evidence for his existence in that squad,
I dont see data that says he was in that squad. the Skeptic.com paperwork says
1622926760228.png

i couldnt see really if "Woking" was a different airfield. although i guess Woking could just be where they did the paperwork.

I cant find that certificate. These records are a bit of a mess, and i gave up ...as you really need to click each one and look at the handwritten paperwork. also "Freddie" could have just been a nickname. ??

i did find (so far):
*nothing saying "Calshot" or "Lee on the Solent", some have squadron numbers and im not gonna look up where each squadron is from :)

**i'm using AMerican date style m/d/y, where as paperwork is English style d/m/y




This is the site i got the above link from, there are some National Archive links as well, i didn't spend much time on

  • RAF officers deceased from 1916 to 1920 – pensions paid to relatives (PMG 44) at The National Archives.
  • RAF officers invalided from 1917 to 1920 – Officers’ pension records (PMG 42/13) at The National Archives.
  • RFC, RNAS and RAF casualties 1915 to 1928 - cards record deaths, injuries and illness. Together with a roll of honour and other records they can be searched and viewed online - RAF Museum
Content from External Source
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...l-flying-corps-and-royal-air/casualty-records
 
If this is not a result of photo enhancement, the facial features of the person in the front and 'ghost' behind are very similar. I guess it could be one and the same soldier who put on his cap just after the lens cap was taken off for exposure and shifted his position a bit while doing so. I also think that this happened before a magnesium flash went off. Or the other way around, he removed his cap and shifted position after the flash but before the lens cap was replaced.

Further down on the Skeptic.com page the guy does an overlay of the 'ghost' face:

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A good match up. Though would it not be expected that at least one of the other men in the photo would also show up blurred/differently positioned?
 
he also might be wearing an airmen's cap, as several ive seen wear them way off to the side
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this guy's (below) name is F. Jackson (but they dont say what the F is, and he is an airman, photo stationed here (1917-1919 sometime) in Essex. https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/5612

I dont think this is the ghost, but just sharing to show how many of these guys look the same and how they wear their caps. There is though only one other airman in the full ghost picture staff. Which is interesting on it's own, as im searching through for "training school" photos im getting alot of group shots but they all have all or many airmen caps.

f jackson rochford essex.png



In Canada:
the "Mechs" likely would wear airmen caps for pictures ??? https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/18880
1623006420286.png
 
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I dont see data that says he was in that squad. the Skeptic.com paperwork says
1622926760228.png


think this is the guy from the skeptic.com link. so no propeller accident, and doesnt look to me like it is at the lee-on-solent or calshot base (i think that ghost photo was at calshot because they do have a matching hangar..attached below)

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http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/archive/7000295158-jackson-g.f.-george-frederick




Northern Aircraft Repair Depot​

Formed December 1916
Coal Aston in north Derbyshire; often known as Greenhill and Woodseats
Renamed as 2 (Northern) Aircraft Repair Depot
Content from External Source
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/aircraft-repair-depots/
 

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Further down on the Skeptic.com page the guy does an overlay of the 'ghost' face:

1622952226801.png

A good match up. Though would it not be expected that at least one of the other men in the photo would also show up blurred/differently positioned?
wait i think there actually is. on the other side of this guy. hes truly a "ghost" magnet lol. am i trippin and see faces in pattern or could this exactly be what you were looking for to support your theory??

D92FDF91-3447-4628-8BF6-D6C5C370EDD6.jpeg
 
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He came late for the picture, took position in the rear row when the exposure started and put his hat on. Then he stayed still for the rest of the exposure time.
 
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned that before as a possibility, seems way more likely than a ghost.

I think it might be foul play here, he wrote a lot on paranormal and it seems like this photo was his biggest claim to fame.

It seems like pareidolia/apophenia and photoshop. All the ones that are 'obviously a face', rather than 'vaguely facelike' have tell-tale signs of being processed. The one with the fewest signs of being cleaned up is the least face-like, which I think is telling. Some of the images have clearly been rescanned after being printed using half-toning techniques, so there's no way of telling of the image that was being half-toned had been previously 'shopped, but either way it's been half-toned, so it's not close enough to the original to make any judgement about the original from. So my inductive mind leads me from "obviously a face" to "obviously a fake", it's only a one letter change, not a huge leap at all.
 
he also might be wearing an airmen's cap, as several ive seen wear them way off to the side
1623005287589.png

this guy's (below) name is F. Jackson (but they dont say what the F is, and he is an airman, photo stationed here (1917-1919 sometime) in Essex. https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/5612

I dont think this is the ghost, but just sharing to show how many of these guys look the same and how they wear their caps. There is though only one other airman in the full ghost picture staff. Which is interesting on it's own, as im searching through for "training school" photos im getting alot of group shots but they all have all or many airmen caps.

f jackson rochford essex.png



In Canada:
the "Mechs" likely would wear airmen caps for pictures ??? https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/18880
1623006420286.png
I've seen this photo discussed on many paranormal forums. It never occurred to me he could have been wearing an airman's hat to the side. Makes sense.
 
If you're from Yorkshire you'd definitely consider it "the other end of the country" - especially in the 1940s. :cool:
 
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