RAF pilot dead 72 years seen on Northumberland motorway

By Hugo Gye for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 05:52 EDT, 10 August 2015 | UPDATED: 07:30 EDT, 10 August 2015


A pair of motorists were terrified to see a 'phantom hitchhiker' standing at the side of the road - and believe it may have been the ghost of a Second World War pilot.

Rob Davies and Chris Felton were driving along the road in Northumberland when they spotted a man dressed in beige apparently trying to flag down a lift.

Moments later, the spooky figure disappeared from sight - even though no other cars had passed and there was nowhere for him to go.

Realising that the man appeared to be wearing an RAF uniform, the radio DJs looked up the history of the area and discovered that Spitfire pilot John Knight died just a few metres away when his plane crashed into a field in 1943.

The incident happened last week when the pair were driving along the A696 near Belsay after recording a programme on a medieval battle which took place nearby.

Mr Davies, 27, said: 'We saw a man standing at the side of the road. We both actually jumped at first because we didn’t see him until very late.
'He was dressed in a beige colour from head to toe. He was sticking his arm out for a lift, but we could not stop in time due to being at 60mph.

'Chris, who was driving, decided to turn around for him but we both agreed that he looked a bit odd. We were two miles north of the nearest village and there was nothing for miles.

'We said we would pick him up if he was real and just make sure he was dropped at the nearest village, and joked he might be a phantom hitchhiker.

'I started filming on my iPhone as it seemed a bit odd. We couldn’t remember how far back he was, but we saw him again and slowed.
'He was dressed in what I can only describe as RAF gear and was holding something under his arm, which looked like a helmet or some kind of bag.'

When they arrived at the spot where they had seen the man, he had vanished without trace.

'It was only seconds and no other car had been past, but when we turned around he was gone,' Mr Davies said. 'We continued driving and there was nobody walking on either side of the road.

'We cannot explain it - the only explanation is that he walked off into the darkness.'

When they researched the area online, they realised that Sergeant John Knight, a trainee RAF pilot, died in a Spitfire crash at nearby Middlepart Farm in July 1943.

The pilot, who was 20 or 21 at the time, originally came from Dorset and was based at RAF Eshott, around 15 miles from where he died.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192105/Is-ghost-RAF-pilot-killed-WW2-Motorists-believe-spirit-dead-airman-trying-thumb-lift.html#ixzz5FPxDkZTN

(Hmm. Re-enactment of a medieval battle and presence of an RAF pilot 72 years dead?)