The Unfortunate Airman

St George's Hotel Nr Teesside Airport, Middleton St George

Does a bizarre tragedy hold the key to the haunting of the St George's Hotel which sits overlooking Teesside Airport in Middleton St George? The hotel, a brown brick regimental structure, was originally the RAF Officer's mess during World War Two and remained as a pilot training base until the early sixties when it was transformed into the stylish and atmospheric St George Hotel. In November 1954 an RAF pilot named Raymond Norman lost control of the Meteor Jet he was training in. Bizarrely, when the jet shot across the car park at the front of the hotel, only one of the thirty cars parked there was damaged, it was Raymond's own car.

The West Wing of St George Hotel

The jet crashed into the west wing of the building and only one room was damaged, again it was Raymond's. Raymond survived the initial impact and managed to climb from the wreckage only to be killed by falling masonry. From then on the west wing has been home to much supernatural activity.

It's a cold part of the building and guests and staff alike have seen the apparition of an airman in a leather flying jacket indicative of the war years. Many guests have reported feeling a weight upon them as they lay in their beds as though someone were sitting on them. In the 1980s, a stewardess, who was staying in the hotel passed a man in the corridor one morning and said hello to him. When he didn't reply she turned round to find he had vanished. Again she spoke of a leather flying jacket no longer worn by the RAF.

In another incident a woman guest awoke in the semi darkness of her room to see her husband stood looking out of the window. To her horror and disbelief she then became aware that her husband was in fact still in bed with her, fast asleep. The figure of the man by the window then vanished.

If this is the restless spirit of Raymond Norman then staff and guests maintain he's a friendly ghost. It's as though he's simply lost, wandering around the hotel looking for something, peace perhaps.

Of course it may not be Raymond. During wartime there were many fatalities connected to the airbase at Middleton St George. One incident in particular stands out. A Canadian Pilot called McMullen was heading back to the aerodrome on 13th January 1945. His Lancaster Bomber had been hit by enemy fire and when he realised it wouldn't make it back in one piece he ordered the flight crew to bail out whilst he bravely remained to ensure the plane did not crash into the nearby town of Darlington.

McMullen brought the plane down but sadly did not survive the crash. He was indeed an honourable and brave man and he is commemorated in Darlington by having McMullen Road named after him.

We cannot leave this tale without mentioning the heroism of another Canadian pilot. Andrew Charles Mynarski was on a mission over France when his Lancaster was hit by enemy fire. The rest of the crew bailed out but Mynarski crawled through burning oil – in mortal agony – to free his chum who was trapped in the rear gunner’s section of the plane.

Statue of Mynarski outside the St George Hotel

Click Here to read about these extraordinary events, and of the bravery of Mynarski and the other men who gave their lives so that we could remain free.

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