| Main Performers | Eric W Stuart,
Estelle Roberts [spirit guide 'Red Cloud'],
Rev. Dr Donald O Soper - speakers,
Owen Brannigan,
Gwen Catley - vocals,
Charles Smart - organ |
| Set List | 'The World Hath Felt a Quickening Breath'
'Within These Temple Walls', from The Magic Flute, Mozart (Brannigan, Smart),
'Invocation' (Roberts),
'The Lord's Prayer' (Catley, Smart),
'Largo', Handel (Smart),
'Somewhere A Voice Is Calling', Tate (Brannigan, Smart),
'As You Pass By', Russell (Catley, Smart),
'Demonstration' (Roberts),
'Air Du Rossignol', Saint-Saens (Catley, Smart),
'The Lost Chord', Sullivan (Brannigan, Smart),
'Father! Again To Thy Dear Name We Raise' |
| Performance Notes | "The fundamental unity of those who believed in the world of spirit in the face of the supreme enemy - materialism - was stressed by famous Methodist preacher, Dr Donald Soper. ... Materialism, he was convinced, was the supreme enemy which they must fight and therefore if they could find a bond of unity to make that fight effective and achieve victory they should forget their differences. ... Another reason why he was glad to be on the platform, said Soper, was that at this time of remembrance he was glad to know that death was a very small and unimportant gateway to future life. ... There had been two world wars as a result of evil. They should see to it that what had happened in our time should not happen to our children. Moral responsibility was essential. Merely to know the facts of another world was not enough. Even with all that knowledge they still could be blin, selfish and impure. His third and greatest reason for being on the platform, Dr Soper declared, was his conviction that nothing could take the place of truth. People set up their prejudiced and set up fascism and totalitarianism to defend those prejudices. All men should follow the truth; they should sit down in the presence of truth like little children...
Estelle Robert's demonstration:
"Dramatic, witty and sympathetic, Mrs Roberts proved in this and other messages that her gift, after 35 years of public mediumship, is undimmed. 'Are you Mr Barr?' she began by asking the recipient who was sitting in the stalls. 'Your father is in the spirit world?' - 'Yes.' 'He says 'That is Herbert.' Are you Herbert?' - 'Yes.' 'He wants to send his love to your wife,' said the medium. 'Are you there?' she called out. At this point a woman sitting alongside Mr Barr raised her hand. 'Your father-in-law sends his love,' the medium relayed. 'Peter is with him. Peter is a brother.' Mr Barr confirmed this last fact and also the fact that there was an anniversary very close. He acknowledged that it was his mother's birthday that was referred to, and that it was this month. ...
The opening message of the evening was one for a woman named Frost. When she had been identified from amongst the sea of faces ranged row upon row in the enormous auditorium she ackowledged that her christian name was Rita. She confirmed that her sister was in spirit. When the medium mentioned that a man named Johnny was with her sister she confirmed that she knew him too. The name Emily was also placed. Rita Frost agreed that her sister had died young and that she would have grown up by now. 'She asks me to remind you that there is an anniversary in December,' said the medium. This fact was also confirmed. A curious feature of this message like the one to Mr Barr was that the only unidentified person mentioned in it was someone named Annie, brought, the medium declared, by the communicator called Johnny. Johnny, Miss Frost agreed, had been particularly close to her during his earth life.
Looking for someone with the name Smith would not appear to be a very auspicious way of finding the right recipient in an audience of 5000. But Estelle Roberts piled up circumstances and names until upon slight foundations she had built a formidably evidential mass of detail. Smith, it transpired was a solider killed in the first world war. The recipient, a male cousin of the deceased, confirmed this fact. ... 'Who is John, known as Jack?' - 'My brother.' 'He is with him. So is Nellie and Jenny, and Polly and Fred.' 'Yes I know them all.' 'He has met George, Aunt Lizzie, Nelly and he has brought Ted with him.' When Mr Smith confirmed these names Estelle quipped 'I think you've about had all your family by now.' Then she added 'I think there is one I have left out, that's Alfred - is that right?' There was a prompt affirmative. 'Do yo realise that your brother from the other side comes to see you and that he often brings with him a little girl who died, but who is now grown up? Your sister?' Replied Smith 'My mother's sister.' 'Who is Mary?' was the next question. 'My mother's sister also,' was the reply. 'They've met Tom Whitechurch or is it Whitehouse?' 'Whitehouse' was the response. Smith acknowledged that there was an anniversary on June 4. The medium's parting shot was a personal question. 'Is your leg any better?' 'Yes, thank you.'
A soldier named Joe Birch contacted a man in the audience. His complete name was relayed perfectly correctly, as well as the fact that he was killed in world war two in the early part of the battle of El Alamein.
A rather shy woman, whose christian name was Jean, was given a message from her dead husband. She confirmed Mrs Roberts' details in an embarrassed, almost inaudible whisper, which compelled the medium to move across the wide stage to her side of the auditorium. All the communicator gave to begin with was the information that he was looking for his wife and that her name was Jean. The rare circumstance that no surname was mantioned seemed to put Estelle on her mettle. 'I'm going to fund her,' she vowed. Find her she did. Having more or less wrung an admission of her identity from Jean she plied her with details. Her husband had not been over long? Correct. His name was Harry? Yes. He had had difficulty with breathing during his life? Yes. There was an anniversary, not her husband's, of someone she knew very well> There was, agreed the recipient. 'Don't be afraid Jean. I am not afraid to stand up here and give the message,' said the medium encouragingly to the obviously overwhelmed woman."
(Psychic News, 13 November 1954) |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1954/154) |