Angels of Mons

Entry in A Dictionary of Ghost Lore
The First World War ghost story of the Angels of Mons is one of the most curious in the annals of the supernatural: curious because though the man who first wrote about the legend insisted it was a work of fiction, many reports were later received from soldiers who claimed they had actually seen the phantom bowmen! The story began on September 29, 1914--St Michael's Day--when the Welsh author and journalist Arther Machen (1863-1947) pubished a story called "The Bowmen"" in the London Evening News.  The inspiration for his story had been the terrible Battle of Mons on August 23, 1914, when British troops, outnumbered by ten to one, had held fifty German division at bay and helped enormously in the French withdrawal. So moved was he by this bravery, that Machen wrote a short story about a British soldier, who, staring defeat in the face, had uttered a Latin prayer and then seen a group of phantom bowmen firing their flights of silvery arrows into the advancing German forces. The amazed soldier and his colleages saw the enemy troops fall by the hundreds and when later they examined the bodies, found they bore not a single wound. In the depressed climate of Britain that autumn of 1914 the inspiring story of "The Bowmen" was enthusiastically received by countless readers. But a curious sequel then occured. Slowly, reports began to filter back from France that troops there had actually seen the ghostly saviors in the sky; they were not bowmen, however, but angels. Although there were some variations in these accounts, the basic facts were the sam. Dozens of soldiers claimed they had witnessed the appearances of phantom figures in the sky who rained death on the advancing enemy. As soon as he began t hear these accounts, Arthur Machen quicky protested that he had made up the story--that there was no truth in it. But few people would listen. The account was so inspirational they wanted to believe God was on the Allies' side. So the legend of the Angels of Mons was born. It remains famous to this day, and the part played in it by Machen and the soldiers who deepened the mystery are studied in Ralph Shirley's The Angel Warriors at Mons (1918).