An Inspiration15th Jul 2006 T.C. Lethbridge is best remembered for his experiments with a pendulum during the 1960s. His investigations into Ghosts, ESP, divining and precognition inspired a whole generation intrigued by his discoveries. It is likely that those currently enthralled by the revitalised BBC television series Dr. Who would find his work fascinating. His research into time, space and the existence of parallel dimensions instigated in the late 1950s, was responsible for inspiring a generation of science fiction scriptwriters from Terry Nation through to Arthur C. Clarke. It would therefore not be inappropriate to portray Lethbridge as the inspiration behind this genre of entertainment. The 1977 cult children’s TV series The Children of the Stones written by Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray was also inspired by Lethbridge’s understanding that stone circles are somehow able to store and release energy. Lethbridge’s conjecture, explored in The Legend of the Sons of God, was likely to have been inspired by his love of Gurdjief. Gurdjieff too was also intimately acquainted with earth forces. In War on Sleep, he describes being with a party in a mountain village, when he got to hear that there were dolmens in the area and he asked to be taken to one. The dolmen in question proved to be a sort of giant stone coffer with a lid. Asked about the nature of such stones, Gurdjieff replied that they were 'road signs' showing the way to places of initiation. It was a view that revealed that he possessed some esoteric knowledge about the stones and their purpose. This is confirmed by what happened next. Gurdjieff asked his guides if there were any other dolmens in the area; they said no. He then made certain measurements and calculations, and led them through thick woods, which had to be cleared with hand axes. He led the party to two more dolmens, both heavily overgrown and unknown to local people. Their guides were astonished. In his own account of the journey, Gurdjieff makes a cryptic remark suggesting that various experts among his pupils - in engineering, astronomy and archaeology assisted him in resolving ‘the problem of the dolmens’. Unfortunately, no record of this ‘solution’ was ever documented. When Lethbridge died in 1971, the study of earth energies was in its infancy, but I am sure if he had lived a further decade he would have been regarded as a leading figure in this line of enquiry. His theories discussed in The Legend of the Sons of God undoubtedly inspired the likes of John Michell and Paul Deveraux, pioneers of this genre, to contrive their own remarkable theories and conclusions. Lethbridge’s belief that ghosts were in fact ‘recordings’ made onto the ether of their surroundings inspired the cult film The Stone Tape. Scripted by Nigel Neale and directed by Peter Sasdy, the film was commissioned by the BBC as a Christmas ghost story in 1972. The story revolves around a research team from an electronics company who move into an old Victorian house to start work on finding a new recording medium. When team member Jill Greeley witnesses a ghost, team director Peter Brock decides not only to analyse the apparition, which he believes is a psychic impression trapped in a stone wall - dubbed a ‘stone tape’, but to exorcise it too - with terrifying results. Lethbridge’s belief that every inanimate object had the capability to ‘record’ its own history within itself led him to pose the question; “Was there indeed something of its past locked up in every ancient object which simply awaited the correct treatment to bring it to light?”(1) Lethbridge believed that the supernatural of one generation would eventually become the natural of the next and that all occult phenomenon, would in time, be explained by science. Many considered his study of the 'odd' to be misguided, but science is now finally embracing theories he investigated almost forty years ago. His understanding of dimensions operating on different vibrational rates is akin to String Theory, an ongoing branch of science instigated in the late 1960s by the theoretical physicist Gabriele Veneziano. Lethbridge's contributions to archaeology between 1920-1955, were considered at the time, to be both radical and contentious, but in recent years he is finally being recognised for his achievements, not just in the field, but through his unique interpretation of British history. His distinctive ability to investigate without prejudice enabled him to examine controversial subjects, for example, the lost gods of Albion, alongside the formalities of unearthing a Hebridean broch, or wheelhouse. Although he acknowledged and recognised the role of the specialist, he truly believed that to advance learning, a more generic approach was required. It was a belief that once led him to remark, “There is no wide-ranging school which could give degrees in general knowledge and thus ensure that a body of men existed who were really educated.”(2) His approach to archaeology remained at odds with the Cambridge academics, but his methodology undoubtedly inspired the creators of Channel Four’s Time Team, which is indebted to Lethbridge’s holistic approach to unearthing the past. Lethbridge’s investigations into the ancient seafarers of the northern oceans, has a distinct bearing on many modern day mysteries. His analysis of The Kensington Stone and The Westford Knight in North America, provide proof of pre-Columbus trans-Atlantic crossings. His investigations suggest that the Westford Knight was attributable to the St. Clair/Sinclair family who were responsible for the building of the Rosslyn chapel near Edinburgh. Earl Wiliam St. Clair the first ‘Jarl’ of Orkney, was, supposedly, the Grand Prior of the Scottish Templars, a subject currently of interest to those embroiled in the Da Vinci Code phenomenon. What is extraordinary about Lethbridge’s life is that it encapsulated key moments of the twentieth century. From the discovery of new lands during three Arctic adventures in the 1920s and 1930s, through to his investigations into occult phenomenon in the 1960s, his astute ability to record and document has provided us with an unrivaled legacy of an age on the cusp of industrial and social revolution. His influence is far-reaching and thorough and it is only a matter of time before T.C. Lethbridge is acknowledged as being one of the greatest, but overlooked minds of the twentieth century. welbourn TEKH - Lincoln - July 2006 Notes: 1. Lethbridge T.C. (1961) Ghost & Ghoul Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.70 2. Lethbridge T.C. (1976) The Power of the Pendulum Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.77 |
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