http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2417504/Is-WW1-soldier-window-Shopkeeper-baffled-spooky-snap-silhouette-glass.html

Almost a century after he died in WW1, could this this ghostly figure in a card shop window be Driver Friend Peel of the Royal Field Artillery 147^th Brigade?

• Alison Lambert, 41, is convinced a soldier in uniform appeared from the grave in a photograph taken in May
• The shopkeeper has identified him as Driver Friend Peel from 10th Battery 147th Brigade in The Royal Field Artillery
• Driver Peel died on 26 May 1915 in battle

By Mia De Graaf

PUBLISHED: 08:58 EST, 11 September 2013 | UPDATED: 12:47 EST, 11 September 2013

It is almost 100 years since Driver Friend Peel was tragically shot down in battle towards the start of the First World War.

One of an estimated eight million Brits to lose their lives, he became a speck in a cloud of tragedy.

Little is known about the young soldier who carted horses for 10th Battery 147th Brigade in the Royal Field Artillery, except that he died on 26 May 1915.

But news that he has been spotted looming in a West Yorkshire gift shop could turn the long-dead serviceman into a legend.

In a photograph taken this May of Box of Cards in Farsley, near Leeds, a ghostly figure has been spotted standing in the window. And shopkeeper Alison Lambert is convinced it is Driver Friend.

In this intriguing image, heis pictured in his uniform behind Ms Lambert, 41, clutching a painting of the nearby Farsley cenotaph where his name is still embossed today.

 

 

Friend Peel, a soldier who died in WWI, is believed to have re-appeared as a ghost in Box and Cards' window in Leeds, Yorkshire. The soldier from 10th Battery 147th Brigade The Royal Field Artillery died on 26 May 1915

Alison Lambert, shop owner of Box of Cards, was shocked when she was shown the spooky snap

Ms Lambert, who flagged up the paranormal figure in her photo, has declared she it is him after months of research.

Having scoured through records of all names on the Farsley cenotaph, she finally landed on what she believes is an uncanny resemblance.

Ms Lambert said: 'I just went "oh my god".

'It wasn’t until I blew it up and stood over it that I saw his face.

'I’ve taken pictures in here before and there’s been shadows and stuff but I wouldn’t expect a proper figure like that. It’s just bizarre.'

Alison Lambert, the owner of Box of Cards, next to the window in which the ghostly image appeared

Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, she dug up photographs of every veteran she could until she founded a match.

The Royal Field Artillery was the largest of the artillery.

The horse-drawn division was responsible for medium calibre guns howitzers deployed close to the front line.

Box of Cards in Farsley, where the spooky snap was taken in May this year

As a Driver, an equivalent rank to Private, Peel would have carted the horse-drawn ammunition onto the front line.

It was a dangerous role that was phased out by 1918.

Reasonably mobile, it was organised into hundreds of brigades that were deployed all over the world in various colonies.

The local photographer, who took the photograph during Farnsley Festival this year, is not convinced by Ms Lambert's theory.

Colin Cook, who also runs Restore Old Photos business, said: 'I take thousands of photographs around the village and I keep all the photographs and a few that I have taken, you get some odd things that are strange and I think nothing of them but this one I thought, "I don’t know what that is".'

Undeterred, Ms Lambert is continuing her search for details of Driver Peel and any connection he has with the building.

Convinced: Alison Lambert, owner of Box of Cards, is certain the man pictured is Driver Friend Peel, who died in battle more than 98 years ago on 26 May 1915. His name is on the Farnsley cenotaph

It is not the first haunted incident Ms Lambert has reported.

For years, she has described seeing John and Samuel Hollings, who owned the building when it was a barbers during the 1800s. 

But she insists this is not a figment of her imagination.

She said: 'I’m not barmy but when you say something like that to somebody people just look at you like you’ve got a fruit bowl on your head.

'I just want to know who he is.'

Haunted: The shop's 19th century owners - from when it was a barbers - are believed to appear now and again