Ghostly tales going on radio

by Adrian Royles

AN EASINGWOLD author's ghostly tales of Second World War airmen is to hit the airwaves when his widow reads extracts from the book on local radio.

Kate Currie will read three stories on BBC Radio York from husband Jack's Echoes In The Air, which was completed shortly before his death in October 1996, aged 74. The book is to be published on June 9.

One of the stories Kate will read centres on the tale of the ghost of a Canadian airman who haunted the Golden Fleece pub, in Pavement, York. Jack believed he too had been spooked by the ghost.

One day as Jack was writing up the ghostly tale at his word processor, it went haywire, erasing most of the work.He had just written how the ghost of Geoff Monroe had haunted April Keenan and her family, first at the Golden Fleece and then at their home in Quincy, California.

As the computer wiped away most of his words, it threw up its own sentence: "Quincy, North California. He's making my life a misery."

Jack saw it as a message that the story was not complete. He phoned the landlady at the Golden Fleece, to be told she had heard from the Keenans that everything was now all right and the ghost had "walked into the light".

Kate says she is delighted that the book is to be published and hopes a second volume will be on sale by Christmas.And she is looking forward to reading extracts on the radio.

She said another of Jack's books, Convoy - a factual account of the Second World War U-boat conflict - is also to be published next month.

Eight of Jack's books are already in print and sell across the world.

Friends have placed a memorial bench outside The George, Easingwold, where Jack used to write at the bar over a pint or two.A squadron leader, he flew 30 operational missions with Lancaster bomber squadrons during his 21 years with the RAF.

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