openminded
Joined: 07 Sep 2012 Posts: 56 Location: Altrincham, Cheshire
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:09 am Post subject: CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK MID 1970s |
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Back in the 1970s I worked for an industrial security firm that sent me all over London covering banks, art galleries, etc as security firms then dealt with almost all aspects of security. I was assigned to the Canadian Imperial Bank on Bishopsgate in the dity of London-14 hour night shifts- 6 at night till 8 in the morning five nights a week with weekends off. Any staff working after 7 pm had to report to me so I could check on them from time to time, but my duties were mostly to man reception and answer telephone calls. Once all staff were gone then I set the alarms and began my hourly patrols. One particular evening I had no staff working late-or so I thought-and began my patrol at 8 pm to switch off lights, check toilets for flooding, heaters left switched on, etc when I entered the third floor and discovered a young woman still working in the office. I was very angry that I had not been informed that anyone was working late. "Miss. I,m rather annoyed that you didn,t tell me you were working late!" I confronted her. "I,m sorry. I forgot!" she replied, then put down her papers she,d been reading and walked by me as if she were heading for the toilets, but instead opened one of the large windows and instantly THREW herself out! I rushed to the open window and glanced down to see her crumpled body face down on the pavement. With my heart in my mouth I ran down the stairs and out into the street to where I,d seen her broken body to find NOTHING-no sign of blood or anything! Confused I rushed back inside and rang the police and explained what had happened. The police and an ambulance arrived fairly quickly, but the police could find nothing and witnesses stated they,d not seen anyone fall. When I rang the Head Messenger to tell him what had happened he said:"I,m so sorry I didn,t have a chat with you before, but I have something to tell you in the morning and in the meantime I,ll call the police to put their minds at rest!" I wondered at his words, but completed my incident report once my initial patrol was finished and one of my mobile supervisors had come around to see what had occurred. When John the Head Messenger arrived to take over from me in the morning he called me into his office and offered me a fresh cup of coffee. "Before I explain what happened may I ask if you believe in ghosts?" he began. "If you had asked me that question Before I joined the american air force I,d have said "no"! "But now I know differently!" I told him. He began:"Back in 1955 I had only started here as a messenger having just left school. There was a very pretty ledger secretary called Alice McCarthy who worked for a firm of solicitors who at that time had offices on the third floor. She was young and very naive and had an affair with a senior member of the firm. And of course she became pregnant. In 1955 a single woman getting pregnant was treated far differently than now and when she told her older lover she was pregnant he told her there was no way he could leave his wife and marry her. The girl,s father had already thrown her out of the family home so in despair one night while working late Alice Threw herself out the window of the third floor and every now and then someone witnesses her going through the act again. Infortunately this time it was you!" "So I saw a ghost?" I asked. "Undoubtedly, and you,re certainly Not the first and probably won,t be the last and I must ensure any future security people are informed before the police start complaining about wasting their time! She looked very real to me and incidentally the papers she,d been working with Disappeared as well! |
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