Was Robert the Bruce spotted riding a horse in Hartlepool in the 1920s?

The answer is they were all part of an intriguing story which made the pages of the Mail in Hartlepool 100 years ago.

It’s a tale of ghostly apparitions and it is best told by historian Graeme Harper.

“In 1922, RAF officer JJ Moore from the No. 60 Squadron then stationed in Kohat, India (now Pakistan) was reading the local Indian newspaper.

“He was surprised to find an article there regarding ghost stories from his hometown of Hartlepool. He send a clipping to his parents who lived in the Belle Vue area of town. They in turn passed them to the Northern Daily Mail.

“The accounts are credited to only to “JD” and concern two sightings that the author had personally witnessed.

“JD said at the time that he had been for a long walk between Horden and Hartlepool.

“At about 10pm, he was strolling back over the Town Moor on “a beautiful night, moonlight and warm”.

“JD sat down to rest and was so tired he fell asleep. He woke up 90 minutes later and had an “uneasy feeling”.

“‘Then I saw galloping towards me a great white horse, on its back a bearded man holding a sword. His hair streamed behind him. He appeared to be wearing a short fancy tunic. That's all I saw as I hid my face in my arms until the figure had passed.’

“Petrified, J.D started running and didn’t stop until he reached the town.

“JD later wondered if this ghostly apparition could be none other than Robert de Bruce himself revisiting the site of an ancient battle.

“JD’s next story concerned a ‘mysterious man who beached his frail canoe on the North Sands between Hartlepool and Hart, got out and walked off’.

“Nothing unusual about that, except that JD noted ‘he never left one footprint in the sands and when the canoe was examined two gaping holes were found in it. It couldn’t have floated for ten seconds, yet he was seen to paddle it ashore...no one has ever learned who he was, whence he came or whither he went.”

Two great stories from 1922 and we thank Graeme for sharing them.

But who remembers these great tales that he has already regaled us with in the past?

There was the fascinating tale of the Hartlepool man who gave up his job as a pitman to become a miracle healer.

We are indebted to Graeme for telling us about the town family which was beset by bad luck after making a grim discovery.

Marie Louise Ross, from Hartlepool, found a mummified figure whilst exploring the caves at Marsden Rock in 1933.

And who can forget Graeme’s story about the day Lynn Street held an auction?

Nothing unusual in that, except the auction was of a kangaroo, bear and a monkey.

Thanks to Graeme for some wonderful contributions. If you have a historic Hartlepool tale to tell, get in touch by emailing [email protected]