What Was The Angel At Mons?

At the beginning of the First World War, British and German forces clashed for the first team near Mons in Belgium. The British were faced with a much larger German force and, after giving a good account of themselves in the first engagement, retreated under fire towards Paris. Some British soldiers claimed that, as they moved, they saw an apparition in the sky which appeared to be that of three angels. The one in the centre was said to be larger than the other two and was sometimes reported to be wielding a sword.

The British force escaped to Paris largely intact and rumours that the British side had had supernatural assistance spread quickly through the ranks of the soldiers and, before long, to Britain itself. Already by 1915 the story of "The Angel at Mons" was being repeated everywhere, in articles and plays, and is still quite well known today.