RAF Montrose, now the Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre on the coast of Angus, Scotland, holds a unique distinction in the annals of British supernatural history — it is the site of what is widely considered the first recorded ghost of the Royal Flying Corps, and therefore the first military aviation ghost in British history.
Lieutenant Desmond Arthur, an Irish-born pilot serving with No. 2 Squadron RFC, was killed on May 27, 1913, when his BE2 biplane nosedived into the ground on the airfield. The accident was attributed to a faulty repair — the aircraft's control wires had been incorrectly reconnected after maintenance. Arthur was just twenty-five years old. Within days of the crash, fellow officers began reporting his ghost.
The first sighting came when an officer entering the mess found Arthur sitting in his usual chair. The figure was so lifelike that the officer spoke to him before Arthur faded from view. Subsequent sightings occurred with remarkable frequency throughout 1913 and into the war years. Arthur's ghost was seen walking across the airfield, standing beside aircraft, and appearing in his quarters. On one occasion, a group of officers reportedly saw him clearly enough to confirm identifying details of his uniform. A pilot who had not known Arthur and was unaware of the ghost reports described encountering a figure on the airfield who matched Arthur's description exactly.
The case was documented by contemporary military sources and has been investigated multiple times since. The heritage centre at the former base acknowledges the ghost story as part of the station's history, and Arthur's phantom remains one of the best-attested military ghosts in Britain. His grave is in the nearby Sleepyhillock Cemetery, but his spirit appears reluctant to rest.