ABOUT THE PHYSICAL MEDIUM AND HEALER GEORGE CHAPMAN

Last month marked fifty years from the time when George Chapman first became involved in spirit communication, which led to his remarkable healing mediumship and partnership with Dr William Lang. As someone who knows something of his work, and has experienced the benefit of absent healing through him, I would begin with my own personal observation: this being that George Chapman comes across as a medium with a strictly no-nonsense approach, and his feet firmly on the ground. Furthermore, despite the attention that could be derived from his accomplishments, he has chosen rather to quietly devote himself to his healing work. In fact, in view of what he has achieved, not only in healing but in providing evidence of survival, he is undoubtedly a medium who stands out prominently in the sphere of twentieth century mediumship. One recognition of this was gaining the 'Spiritualist of 1975' award, presented to him by Harry Edwards.

George William Chapman was born in Bootle on 4 February 1921. After the death of his mother when he was five years old, he was brought up by his grandparents, during the time of the Great Depression. After leaving school at the age of fourteen, employment was scarce although he managed to secure a number of different occupations, e.g. garage attendant, professional boxer and docker, before joining the Irish Guards. He was then transferred to the Royal Air Force and also served in the Royal Navy.
George recalls that by about this time: 'Apart from a keen interest in animals and a natural ability to nurse them back to health, there were no signs in the first twenty-five years of my life that I would become a healer'.(1) After marrying Margaret in 1944, Vivian, their daughter was born a year later. However, only a short time after her birth, George and Margaret were told that she would not survive, and only four weeks later she died. At this point, George was confronted with the questions faced by those in a similar position, e.g. how such a thing could happen. Nonetheless, on reflection, he views this as a turning point in his life: 'For the first time I began to think seriously about the possibility of an after-life...I asked as many people as I could. Clergymen, to my dismay, were of little help apart from warning me not to dabble with the supernormal'.(2)

Despite the all-too-obvious lack of information about survival, George continued his quest to find answers; it was after being demobbed and starting work in May 1946 as a fire officer with the Aylesbury Fire Brigade, that the first indications of an answer began to appear. With another officer, he passed away the time between call-outs, using an upturned glass and alphabet, and it duly moved spelling out messages. Aware that it is argued that such communication only arises through the subconscious mind of the sitters, George's conclusion was that, 'sometimes the content of the messages was so astounding that this theory could be instantly ruled out'.(3) George also tested this mode of communication with his wife and when he did so, messages from his mother, about whom he knew little, were received; on investigation of what was being relayed, he discovered that the communicator could only be his mother. One item of information received was that she was now caring for Vivian.

Prompted by what was happening, the next step in George's progress was developing trance mediumship, sitting for three hours each day. In these periods he accomplished astral travel and made contact with both his mother and Vivian. In view of what was taking place, George began to meet with other persons interested in the subject; on these occasions he would become entranced and a number of regular communicators would make themselves known. With these, one communicator, who would change George's life, spoke to those who were present: he gave his name as Dr Lang.
Following up what George had already been told on a number of occasions, i.e. that he possessed healing powers, Dr Lang advised George that his mediumship would relate to the work of healing, and furthermore, he would have the principal role in George's activity. The significant feature about Dr Lang was that, unlike many other guides and controls whose pre-mortem existence cannot be verified, he had lived in Britain in the twentieth century, and George therefore went to great lengths to verify this. George argues that verification of identity is of major importance: 'The spirit communicator should speak as near as possible to the way he spoke on earth, using the same phrases and mannerisms and manifesting personal characteristics. He should be able to give dates, names and details of his earthly experiences that can be verified, and be able to discuss intimate matters with relatives and colleagues still on earth'.(4) And indeed, George reports that, 'William Lang, however, satisfied all my demands', and he was able to contact people, both colleagues of Dr Lang and the people whom he had treated, and, 'they confirmed it was the same Dr Lang they had known'.(5)
From this time, George has gathered together information about the life of Dr Lang and demonstrated the continuity between the surgeon and his own mediumship. One incident that he describes is when a Dr Singer heard that a 'Dr Lang' had been successfully treating people suffering from cancer and made an appointment to see George: Singer was in fact suffering from cancer himself. On walking into George's healing sanctuary, he was quite unaware that the 'Dr Lang' working through George was the very same Dr Lang who had taught him at Middlesex Hospital many years previously. But this suddenly changed when Dr Lang spoke through the entranced George, and greeted Singer with the words: 'Hello my dear boy, I am happy to see you again'.(6) George has supplied many examples of when a person, who knew Dr Lang before he died, has recognized him in George's mediumship.

In time, more requests were made to George for healing, and eventually these came from abroad. Not wishing to leave his family, that by now included his two children, Michael and Lana, George attempted to initially work while remaining in this country. This in itself caused problems as: 'One of the penalties of being well known is that people find out where you live and turn up on your doorstep, without an appointment, expecting to receive healing on the spot'.(7)
Some of those who unexpectedly arrived at George's home in Aylesbury even included those who had travelled from abroad. A number of these had seen many healers but there had been no improvement in their health. In the case of one person who saw George after flying from Morocco and was seeking help for her daughter Isabelle, 'what impressed her about Dr Lang was that he was the first healer who did not promise to cure Isabelle. All he said was that he would do his best'.(8)

In view of the number of requests for healing from those living in Europe, George established clinics in various European locations, and began to travel to treat people requiring Dr Lang's assistance, e.g. Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the United States of America. In fact, by the close of 1974, he had been referred to as 'England's most travelled healer'. George relates how his life has involved hectic travelling between cities in different countries, and because of patients submitting progress reports, he needed typists and translators; his working 'day' often went into the early hours of the morning. One of the reasons for working abroad was the fact that he became aware that it was primarily only the wealthy who could travel to England to benefit from Dr Lang's skill: by setting up clinics abroad, this ensured those who were not in such an advantageous position could also benefit. Accounts of George's work appeared in Psychic News; one eyewitness told Maurice Barbanell that she had seen spirit operations carried out by Dr Lang on over a hundred people. These included a boy deemed to be an imbecile, who after treatment by Dr Lang, appeared to be enjoying virtual normality as he left the consulting room. Patients suffering from cataracts, glaucoma, arthritis and a host of other ailments were successfully treated by Dr Lang through George's mediumship.(9)

Dr Lang's achievements are not restricted to treating human illness; his work has also included animals, e.g. Fella, a guide dog, who, ironically, suffered from cataracts, and was successfully healed. One Paris vet, who was so impressed with the improvement in his own health after contacting George, began to send his own cats to him for treatment. In fact, animals benefiting from George's presence goes back to the days of his early childhood: as a young boy in the Bootle area he was energetic in caring for injured/stray animals during the years of the Depression. On realizing the extent of animal suffering, he began to run errands and use the money earned to feed the animals for which he was caring.
Due to his perseverance, this eventually led to him running his own sanctuary in someone's cellar in return for doing the owner's shopping and cleaning. The result was: 'People began to talk about the boy who undertook any errand or job to earn a few coppers to buy food for his stray cats and dogs, and who put splints on their limbs and nursed them when he found them injured'. Indeed: 'To this day, some of the people in Bootle talk about the unselfish boy who nursed animals with such tenderness'.(10)

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to know which of the healings effected by Dr Lang working through George, can be cited, simply because there are so many from which to choose. Therefore, the following are selected at random. One, in October 1974, when Dr Lang treated Mme. Gutowski for poor blood circulation and a fibroid (a non- malignant tumour in the womb), brought about unexpected results. Five months later she wrote to George saying: 'Dr Lang told me I would be healed by December 26th... Not only was his prediction correct but there has been a bonus. As soon as I was healed I became pregnant, and I am expecting a baby during the first week of October 1975'.(11)
In 1974, a physician directed Joseph Tanguy to George. This young man was suffering from a malignant tumour in the brain, and after an unsuccessful operation was told that he had only six months to live. Distant healing was commenced immediately and was followed up by a spirit operation by Dr Lang in the December. After two further consultations, Dr Lang advised that the disease had virtually disappeared. Five months later at the Raymond-Poincar‚ Hospital, the young man was examined and 'considerable improvement' was noted. This continued and his recovery was so noticeable that he was able to resume full-time work. The conclusion was: 'Eventually, further EEG [electroencephalograph] examination showed the tumour had completely disappeared'.(12)
The doctor who sent this patient to George stated in writing: 'I have, therefore, complete trust in sending to him [Dr Lang] those patients for whom all known therapies have failed...The healing of M. Tanguy's brain tumour, which had been beyond all therapeutic resources, is a completely convincing example'. In fact the same doctor has sent many patients to George, and in fact even did so as 'a block- booking' without George even knowing what their ailments were.(13)

A number of examples of George's healing successes are given by S. G. Miron, L.D.S., R.C.S. (Eng.), a dental surgeon who wrote in 1957; one of the cases that he cites was of a young girl suffering from serious kidney disorder and facing the prospect of the right kidney having to be removed, although the left one was not working properly either. After a number of unsuccessful operations, it appeared that her life expectancy was no more than a year. Miron observed: 'the outlook could only be described as very bad...one could be honest and say pretty hopeless from a medical standpoint'. As her health began to rapidly deteriorate, her parents contacted George and after absent healing, there was an improvement. This was followed up by contact healing and in less than a month, her health 'was greatly improved'.

Dr Lang continued to treat her on a monthly basis and on returning to the hospital shortly before Miron wrote his book, it was discovered than her right kidney 'was beginning to function and the left kidney was functioning practically normally'. Miron's book includes an introduction written by the Revd William Rose, an Anglican priest who referred to witnessing George's work and added: 'I emphasize that he does not work for gain, nor claim any merit...He regards himself as a servant sent with the Power to heal'.(14)

In the case of spirit operations carried out by Dr Lang through the mediumship of George Chapman, a fascinating account is supplied by Morton B. Jackson, a Californian lawyer: the operation in this instance was to alleviate the painful condition of rheumatoid spondylitis (a condition that attacks not only the joints, but the ligaments that bind them). On entering the room where George worked, he related how he saw George, a man in his forties, who spoke as 'an elderly gentleman', and 'somehow I found no difficulty in accepting the fact that it was actually Dr Lang with whom, I was conversing...Everything was very easy and natural'. After a cordial conversation, Dr Lang began his spirit operation on Jackson, who became: 'aware of the sharp cracking noise of his snapping fingers occasionally accompanied by instructions to Basil [Dr Lang's son who died in 1928] and others apparently assisting him. The nature of the touch, while light, seemed consistent with the handling and utilisation of invisible instruments...All this while...Dr Lang explaining, as he went along, what it was he was doing and why'.(15)

Another witness to George's mediumship was Lady Barbirolli who was treated by Dr Lang in April 1972. Of this event, she recorded that after George had said that he was about to become entranced:'He seemed to have become another man, and to have changed in appearance, voice, manner and age'.(16)
During the spirit operations that were carried out by Dr Lang, it was noticed that he operated with his left hand, while George is right-handed; furthermore, a tremor was observed. On making enquiries, it was ascertained that Dr Lang, before he died, did in fact suffer from tremors, and as this was less of a problem in his left hand, he tended to use this hand when carrying out surgery.

One report by Dr John Best described the remarkable healing of a friend's wife who had been diagnosed as having a thyroid disorder, with only eight months to live. Best details how after a few visits for contact healing by Dr Lang, her terminal illness was cured, and she became active and enjoyed life again. However, as Best's fiancee, Marjorie, had died not long before this time, he wrote to George and asked whether he might speak to Dr Lang about the questions that he had concerning the afterlife.
An appointment was arranged and on entering George's consulting room, the medium was already entranced and Best noticed that the personality of George, whom he had met before, was wholly absent and had been replaced by Dr Lang. While asking Dr Lang questions, that were duly answered, Best was advised about how he could secure a better communication with Marjorie. Best followed the advice that he was given, and found that a link was established in which he had no doubt that he was communicating with his fiancee.(17)

And who was William Lang? Firstly, although he was, and is, invariably addressed as 'Dr Lang', he was actually 'Mr Lang' in view of being a surgeon, but through his warm character, most of his patients preferred to call him 'Doctor'. In the initial stages, George was very anxious to confirm Dr Lang's identity, and contacted the BMA (British Medical Association), but it could not confirm his existence due to the lack of details supplied and the fact that 'Lang' was a common name in the field of those practising medicine. However, later, Dr Lang was speaking with one of George's fire brigade colleagues and he said that he wanted a book to be written about his healing work, adding that he had not revealed much information earlier on, as he did not want his identity to be revealed. He therefore went on to give details about his life, i.e. he had worked at Middlesex Hospital. On making enquiries, it was discovered there had indeed been a William Lang working there as an ophthalmic surgeon between 1880 and 1914.
With this information, the BMA was approached again and it was duly confirmed that Dr Lang had been a distinguished surgeon and ophthalmologist. George was still unsure but he reports that, 'over the months the kind doctor...slowly revealed more about himself which left us in no doubt'. The life story of William Lang, born on 28 December 1852 in Exeter, only serves to demonstrate his marvellous skill and untiring dedication to the work of healing.

When only eighteen years of age, he entered the London Hospital in Whitechapel and then qualified in 1874 as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Five years later, he became a Fellow. In time, he developed an interest in sight, and became the assistant surgeon to the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital (later Moorfields Eye Hospital), at the age of twenty-seven. His achievements included several publication of important works regarding ophthalmology, and with others, founded the Ophthalmological Society. It would be impossible to deal with, or even list all of his accomplishments herein; however, an indication of his high- standing is given by testimonials reproduced in Surgeon From Another World, together with other details concerning his extraordinary abilities.(18) After Susan, his first wife, died in 1892, he married Isabel; his joy was made manifest in Basil, his son, who became a distinguished surgeon and often worked with his father. However, Basil died in 1928 after developing pneumonia, and the world and hopes of Dr Lang, collapsed; he then retired to Crowborough and died there on 13 July 1937, aged eighty-four.

In the obituary notice for William Lang, his abilities were praised and there is reference to the deep respect with which he was held: he was a man, 'always good tempered, always courteous, always full of sound advice'. But what is most striking is the amazing conclusion to this notice:- 'When we all foregather in the Elysian fields there will be one pleasure that we wish - to see him again perform...'.(19) While the writers were entirely correct in thinking that Dr Lang would continue his healing work after his death, little did they realize that he would do this in the present world. It is interesting to note that in his childhood, Dr Lang had witnessed paranormal phenomena in the family home and his father had told the young William these were caused by unseen persons: 'They are spirits', he would say, 'and there is nothing to be afraid of...they just come to visit us, to be around and help us'. Later on, the idea of life after death became a subject of great interest to him and it was often a topic of discussion with other academic colleagues who shared the same interest.(20)
Surely one of the most important statements concerning Dr Lang's continuing activity through George, is the one made by his own daughter, Marie Lyndon Lang: 'an active and very well-educated woman with a level-headed approach to life and death' . After meeting George, and seeing him regularly for many years, and speaking with Dr Lang while George was entranced, she was only too willing to make the following crucial statement: 'I can truthfully say the William Lang who operates via the body of George Chapman is, without a doubt, my father'.(21) In addition to speaking with her father through George's mediumship, she was also able to do this with her mother and Basil. George regularly met Dr Lang's daughter together with a group of friends and medical contemporaries of Basil Lang, who also knew William Lang, and they 'questioned and tested' both George and Dr Lang. Of these occasions, Dr Lang's daughter stated: 'We could only come to one conclusion: that the person who speaks through George Chapman and claims to be William Lang is, without a doubt, my father...It is a fact that William Lang, my father, is as much alive today'.(22) Noteworthy is the fact that it was Dr Lang's daughter and this group of persons who encouraged George to take up healing full-time, which he did in 1957.
Confidence is also expressed by the Revd Allan Barham, a experienced member of the SPR and Churches' Fellowship for Psychical and Spiritual Studies. On meeting George, he observed that the man with whom he spoke when George was entranced, 'had the appearance, voice and mannerisms of an elderly doctor of a generation earlier. He was obviously a cultured man with an extensive vocabulary'. Moreover, Barham remarked on how he understood, 'that a number of William Lang's former colleagues recognised him in George Chapman when the latter was in trance, and would meet him regularly...Sometimes they would even bring their patients for consultation and treatment'.(23)

An excellent review of George's work is supplied by Joe Bernard Hutton in his very readable Healing Hands, that has already been cited. The book was first published in 1966 and has been reprinted several times as well as being translated into several languages.
Hutton begins his account by describing how in 1963 his doctor advised him that he was suffering from poliomyelitis. Hutton, a journalist, had suffered poor eyesight for most of his life, and from 1958 had been under the care of a leading ophthalmic specialist, but in 1963 he was faced with the dire prospect of becoming blind. He had already been told by his specialist that without certain complex operations, he would become permanently blind. However, due to the risk element, he had decided not to undergo the operations. By 1963, clear signs of this awful reality had begun to appear, i.e. a person standing just ten yards way was no more than 'an indistinct outline'. One day his wife passed him a copy of Psychic News, and asked him to read a certain article; only with tremendous difficulty and great discomfort did he manage to read the article: this described 'some remarkable happenings in Aylesbury', relating to a Dr Lang working through George Chapman.
Hutton's wife implored him to 'give it a try', and it was with only the greatest of reluctance did he consent. An appointment was made to see Dr Lang, and Hutton travelled to George's home. On entering the consulting room, the first thing that struck Hutton on seeing George were the 'wrinkles and lines...of true old age, but I knew Chapman was in his early forties'. Dr Lang introduced himself ('Even the voice sounded old'), and on holding Hutton's