The Amberley Ghost Story

were put forward about what had happened to him.

After nearly two months, the stories faded. James’s mother’s funeral took place, attended by a huge crowd. It was rumoured that most of the people had come to see if James would suddenly turn up. Unfortunately, the attendees were disappointed. There was no sign of James Crabtree. The fanciful stories about James’ whereabouts were resurrected for a week or so, but his disappearance slowly faded into legend.

Eleven Years Later

what had happened all those years previously, and the events of this evening.

The guard asked the signalman what he wanted to do about the missing passenger. The Railway Rule Book did not cover disappearing passengers, especially identical incidents that had occurred eleven years apart.

The guard suggested that he and the driver kept an eye out en route to Pulborough, as they had done eleven years previously. This they did; but just as before, there was no sign of the missing passenger.

MR JAMES CRABTREE lived alone in a cottage in Pulborough, West Sussex.

He was in his late sixties, had never married and had been retired for the last four years.

Mrs Crabtree, the ninety-year-old mother of James Crabtree, still lived in the family home in the village of Amberley, a few miles to the south of her son’s home.

It was Friday 13th February 1959, a bitterly cold winter’s day. James Crabtree journeyed from his home in Pulborough to his mother’s cottage in Amberley. He always visited on a Friday by train.

His train arrived at Amberley.

As with every other Friday, he made his way towards the village and his mother’s house, a distance of around half a mile.

Each week James would buy some groceries for his mother and he set off again, walking the last few yards to his mother’s house.

When James arrived at his mum’s house. He called out a welcome, but there was no reply.

James took the groceries into the kitchen and left them on the table. Returning to the front room, there was no sign of his mother. He called out, more urgently, but the house was silent.

He hurried to his mother’s bedroom and knocked on the door. There was still no reply. He pushed the door open slowly. His aged mother was still in bed. He rushed to her side. She looked so peaceful, but she was lifeless.

Mrs Crabtree had lived to a good age, but during the night, the angels had come to take her. It was late in the day when he found himself back at Amberley Station.

It had been snowing during the early evening, and the fresh crisp layer of snow was undisturbed as James made his way up the station yard. He made his way across the footbridge to the opposite platform, to await the arrival of the train.

The man at the station who sold the tickets also had the signal box in the same room so was graded as signalman. As the train approached the station, the signalman left the office, and went over to look after his passenger in the snow covered platform. The signalman could see James Crabtree’s footprints in the snow. It looked like he had come down from the footbridge and walked towards the front end of the platform, but there was no sign of him returning to the main part of the platform. In fact, there was no sign of James Crabtree anywhere on the station.

The train pulled into the station and slid to a halt on the slippery rails. The guard leaned out of his window, not keen to stay out in the cold air for too long.

The signalman walked up to the guard and mentioned the fact that there should be a passenger to get on for Pulborough. The guard replied that it was a rotten night for anyone to be out and about.

‘But I don’t know where he’s gone,’ the signalman said, concerned. He told the guard about the footprints in the snow and the events of the day in James’s life.

The guard suggested that the signalman should advise the driver to keep a lookout, in case the man had decided to continue walking off the end of the platform and worse still, was lying on or near the line, so this he did.

As the train departed he again looked at the footprints in the snow. They just seemed to go off the end of the platform. After that, the snow lay crisp and even, apart from the rails where the train had departed. Where had James Crabtree gone?

The local policeman was sent to call on James Crabtree at his cottage in Pulborough. He found it empty, just as James Crabtree had left it the day before, and there was no sign of anyone being there since.

Over the next few weeks, no one came near the cottage. The disappearance of James Crabtree was a talking point in both villages and many far-fetched explanations

It was the same day: Friday February 13th, but the year was 1970. Again, it was a cold evening, and it had been snowing in the Amberley area. Just as it had done eleven years previously, the snow lay thickly on the ground.

An elderly man entered the booking hall, then made his way to the opposite platform. Snow lay evenly on the tarmac of the station platform. The signalman watched the man head for the footbridge, leaving his footprints in the snow.

After signalling the train the signalman made his way to the opposite platform, there was no sign of the elderly passenger. The signalman could see footprints in the snow where the intending passenger had walked over the footbridge, but instead of going to the cover of the waiting room, the footprints led him to the end of the platform. After that, the snow lay unbroken on either side of the rails, and there was no sign of the footprints returning.

The signalman stood looking at the footprints in amazement. There seemed no logical explanation for what he was looking at. He was brought back to reality with the arrival of the train on the platform. The guard opened his door. The signalman walked up to him.

‘What’s up?’ asked the guard. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost!’

‘I think I might have!’ replied the signalman.

‘Yeah, that’s about all you will see around here this time of night!’ laughed the guard.

‘No,’ replied the confused signalman. He told the guard about the vanishing passenger.

It was now the guard whose face drained of colour. By a strange coincidence, he had been the guard on the same train eleven years ago.

The guard told the signalman all about that journey eleven years ago. He recalled, with a jolt, that it had been the same day: Friday 13th February. Both men shuddered as they thought about

The next day, the local policeman, having heard the tale of the night before, visited Amberley station with a photograph of missing person James Crabtree.

The signalman looked at the photo in absolute shock. Staring back at him was the face of the passenger who had disappeared looking to board the train the night before.

Could this have been James Crabtree, trying to get to Pulborough on the same train, eleven years later? Even if this was so, he would have been eleven years older – but the man he had seen last night looked identical to this photograph.

The most likely explanations speculated about eleven years ago had been that James had either disappeared for pastures new, or had fallen into the river and been swept away in the dark of the night.

So could this have been the ghost of James Crabtree, still trying to get home?

Since then, February 13th has fallen on a Friday some six times, but no sign has been seen of an intending passenger for the London train after eight o’ clock in the evening. Could it be that the conditions have not been the same? Perhaps the ghost of James Crabtree will only appear when there is snow on the ground.

For many years, the station at Amberley has not been staffed. The last time February 13th fell on a Friday was in the year 2015. I wonder if anyone saw anything unusual there at eight o’clock that evening?

The next time that date falls on a Friday will be 2026, which gives us a long time to wait.

There is one final point. I was that Signalman on duty at Amberley in 1970

I have no answer to the question, ‘what happened that night?’

Do ghosts exist?

TED COOK

Signalman at Amberley 1967-1970

GROBY SINGS ... at the Movies

WE SEEM TO BE rapidly heading towards summer now which means that things are hotting up for Groby Sings as we’re excitedly beginning to look forward to performing our first concerts back at Brookvale Groby Learning Campus, Ratby Road, Groby LE6 0FP (known locally as BGLC or Groby College).

We hope to welcome back in the audience the many supporters from home and abroad who enjoyed our previous 15 concert seasons as well as other music lovers who have yet to experience the joy and enthusiasm of the community choir that is Groby Sings. Make sure to put these dates in your diary:

SATURDAY 24th JUNE 7.00pm and SUNDAY 25th JUNE 3.00pm

TICKETS - only £5 - will be available from 22nd MAY at THE GROBY CLUB (during normal opening hours), GROBY LIBRARY on Wednesdays or Saturdays 10.00am-12.00pm and via GROBY SINGERS.

Whilst many singers are happy to be on stage, we know that it’s not for everyone and so taking part in Groby Sings concerts is entirely optional. If any singer has mobility issues or concerns about standing for long periods, there will be seats in front of the stage and space for wheelchairs and we always try our best to cater for everyone’s needs. It’s important too that anyone who enjoys singing but prefers not to take part in concerts knows that they are still always welcome to join us on Wednesdays and we hope that non-concert singers will take the opportunity to come along and appreciate the performances as part of the audience.

Our theme this summer, Groby Sings at the Movies, is proving very popular with the choir as we’ve included songs to suit all ages and tastes from films such as Top Gun, Jailhouse Rock and Disney’s Aladdin. We’re delighted that our Youth & Children’s Choir has doubled in number since restarting and we’d love more young singers (age 7 and over) to join us as their fresh and lively voices add so much to our overall sound. Their rehearsal time is 3.404.40pm at The Groby Club, including a short break for a drink and snack, every Wednesday in term time. Adult singers can join sessions at 1.303.00pm or 7.30-9.00pm also on Wednesdays, term time.

Enquiries via our website www.grobysings.org

Groby Sings is a Registered Charity no. 1180490