Conversations with Raymond

Some of the most interesting news tidbits are the ones, like Yellow Fever Feathers, that are presented as throwaway asides to fill out columns in a newspaper. I came across another one of these strange, out of context remarks in the Courier Record, May 6, 1932:

London—Sir Oliver Lodge, octogenarian scientist, testified in court that he had talked with his son, Raymond, after the latter had been killed in the World War.

This brief sentence packs in loads of information ripe for speculation. Let's try to find some facts!

Sir Oliver Lodge was a British physicist, best known for his work in radio and electromagnetic radiation. At the time of this news brief, we would have been in his early eighties, which confirms the court appearance mentioned above was a contemporary occurrence. He did have a son named Raymond, who was killed in World War I. 

The first thought, given these twin streams of ideas, is that Lodge may have been continuing his work in radio on the spiritual side, perhaps exploring EVP (electronic voice phenomenon). A quick look seems to disprove this theory, however neat it would have been. Lodge seems to have been exploring spiritualism in a more prosaic manner.

A newspaper reporting on April 14, 1932, records the following account:

Sir Oliver Lodge to-day gave evidence in the case in which Mrs. Morris, a trance medium, was proceeding against "The Daily Mail" for damages.
Sir Oliver told the court that he had a private talk with Mrs. Morris; who was soon under control. She began to talk in a masculine voice similar to an orator or a preacher.
Sir Oliver Lodge informed the court that he forgot the presence of Morris, and simply questioned "power," who answered completely and intelligently about the etheric bodies. There was no question of trickery on Morris's part. She was perfectly honest in the phenomenon. He believed that Morris' was simply doing mediumistic work as a sense of duty.
Replying to Mr. Justice McCardie, witness said the denizens of the other world were present in faith. There were many kinds of existence in the other world. He learned recently that they were in a world of illusion where they could get anything they wanted. "I put it to my boy Raymond: 'You live in a world of illusion?' He replied 'So do you father'."
Sir Oliver added: "I am sometimes conscious of assistance of denizens of the other world when engaged in the problem of lectures."

At last, a tangible name to connect to the court case! Another very talented history blogger has covered the tale of Mrs. Morris in more depth in When Christ came to court: the Mrs Meurig Morris case, so I will not retread old ground here as we examine the Sir Oliver Lodge side.

"The heaven that Sir Oliver and Sir Arthur report is the heaven imagined by fat-headed old women who love the dark and two dollars," detail, by George Wright Hand, 1918. Courtesy The Library of Congress

Despite the newspapers tending toward sensationalism, perhaps attempting to insinuate Lodge was becoming senile and hallucinating these conversations with his son, it must be remembered this was not uncommon at the time. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his wife were also intrigued by spiritualism, perhaps for the same reason as Sir Oliver Lodge. Many families had experienced losses of family members, often sons cut down in their prime during World War I. It was senseless and confusing, and unfortunately, it can be easy to fall for any person offering a shred of comfort to assure you that your son is safe now.

Lodge, writing in the introduction to Notes of Spiritualism, combines this need for reassurance with his scientific curiosity:

It is no light task and no small service which the few exceptionally endowed mediums have performed and are performing. They have thereby been privileged to bring comfort and restore faith to the bereaved, to reunite otherwise broken family ties, to demonstrate the truth of survival in the most practical and definite way, and generally to assist scientific investigators in their endeavour to understand better the nature and properties of the human soul, apart from its customary bodily manifestations.

It is certainly a noble cause to try to understand the concept of "life" and individuality, and whether some essence of a person can survive death. But by the 1930s, the world had become much more skeptical and cautious of believing anyone with a claim for mediumship, while still holding some hope that communing with the dead might provide spiritual comfort. An editorial in the Suffolk News-Herald for August 5, 1931 captures this dual tension. The writer mentions hearing Lodge speak on Spiritualism, and then muses about a book purportedly written through a medium by Woodrow Wilson.

One finds himself entranced while reading this interesting book. However much it may, or may not, have been faked, it brings relief and a hope that Mr. Wilson is really the author of the book. One reads of the life in that other world where there is no need for employment; no rents to pay; no bills to settle; no demand for foods; no aches, or pains. . . . Such books may have a tendency to injure many immature minds and may do much harm. On the other hand they give delightful entertainment and a certain vague hope that they may be true. . . . The subject of spiritualism is a dangerous one and should not be followed unless one is quite composed and sure of his mental and physical condition. It may lead to insanity. 

Although Spiritualism was waning in the 1930s (due perhaps to many mediums admitting to fraudulent activities or being exposed by skeptics like Harry Houdini), vestiges of Spiritualism can still be found around the world today. Raymond, or Life and Death is available to read for free at Archive.org, so you can gain a more direct understanding of Lodge's perspectives of communication with those who have passed on. If you're feeling skeptical, you can also peruse Houdini's A Magician among the Spirits for the other side of the spiritual fervor.

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