The Curious Case of David Thompson and Victor Zammit

Admin wrote:I will soon know what he is charging and yes someone in the USA has made it clear that if he does not have a Work Visa it will be illegal. Hope DT has dotted the i's and crossed the t's he would be well aware that there is a strong possibilty the US authorities will know of the event.

Same source says a New Jersey medium who attended his single seance in New York was very unimpressed but the Tampa Bay environment may suit him.

Oh, yes, the Immigration Authority allows only certain activities in line with the Visa type held. They're pretty keen on this....

And if we were really mean - and we're not - then someone, say, already in the USA might perhaps, just perhaps, call both the Immigration Authorities and the INS to let them know what he's up to...just in case he's forgotten to let them know.

Unimpressed? I can't believe that!

Tampa Bay? Lovely - I'm sure it will suit him down to the ground

LOL Mac I totally understand your points and I would certainly be unwilling to gamble on the fact that as this news spreads out this would not happen. I feel that for DT to take such a bet may be very unwise although it may not be in our natures personally to do this , however, law abiding tax paying Citizens of the USA may feel that he should pay his dues and act in a proper manner given the amounts of money that may be involved.

Admin wrote:LOL Mac I totally understand your points and I would certainly be unwilling to gamble on the fact that as this news spreads out this would not happen. I feel that for DT to take such a bet may be very unwise although it may not be in our natures personally to do this , however, law abiding tax paying Citizens of the USA may feel that he should pay his dues and act in a proper manner given the amounts of money that may be involved.

hear, hear!

I suspect this is already enough information on the internet for folks to make an informed choice about whether they attend one of his seances or not so I wouldn't worry too much.

Admin wrote:I hear on the grapevine that DT has 6 seances of 30 people sold out in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.

Just wonder what he is charging for this and how it will pass by the US authorities. Is he going anywhere else I wonder? I notice that it is not mentioned either on his site or by VZ. Maybe afetr the problems created by the old SCR he wants no one to know.

He will be in Florida in November certainly between the 8th and 15th according to various websites.

Hi All,

It appears that the old problem about the non existence of William Charles Cadwell and Timothy Booth has reappeared upon the Physical Mediumsip For You(PM4U) forum on the COSC board. I am not a member and am sure that because Robin Foy is so close to DT I would not be accepted upon there. However from time to time people alert me to events whicg\h are happening there. Normally there is nothing of note because anyone who says anything not to the liking OF COSC and Dt is ejected and their postings removed. This is well known because a number of other members of the old SCR went on to try and follow up the questions that form the basis of this thread. However someone in a very gentle way has raised the issue of proving th existence of Timothy Booth and WCC.

The first responses were from close DT associates notably Chris Hood his circle leader and his partner Rosheen Mason who is DT's business manager. They have tried to hose down the importance of the reality of the people saying it is the superior nature of the communication that matters. Here they ask us to suspend the obvious questionable nature of these "communications", telling people who die two weeks later they no longer have cancer, prescribing aspirin to already pregnant women to prevent downs syndrome and insisting on a link between downs syndrome and aids.

Despite all their best efforts as I knew DT personally (before I was aware of all these problems) I was sure DT was not able to relinquish that these were real people.

To this end he posted the following on PM4U yesterday
"Reply by David Thompson 1 hour ago

Hi all,

I often read information that is placed on websites/blogs, etc about our circle and my mediumship, and may I add alot is so far from the truth it is not real.

Maybe I should make a few points here:

1. Both William & Tim have been checked out properly by Guy Lyon Playfair who was carring out the research in relation to them on-behalf of the late Montique Keen, who carried out an investigation into my mediumship (his findings can be found on our website). its true some people have made attempts by various geneology websites to find them but have been unsuccessful, it took Guy Lyon Playfair at least two visits to the main birth/deaths/marriages offices in London to find the information that proved their excistence.

2. There have been people in the past, who I shall not name who because they have not found William & Tim on these somewhat limited geneology websites shouted out that they are not real. Let me state the people concerned, in the past have tried to dicredit my mediumship because of the circle having to ban them from sitting with us because of inappropriate behaviour.

3. I do have a copy of Camillas book, but it is in Swedish and I am unable to read or speak Swedish so cannot comment on any of its contents.

4. It suprises me how people become so consumed by who William & Tim are and often fail to mention or understand the true purpose of our circle and that is to prove that our loved ones live after death, something you will see has been done many times if they care to read the testimonials on our website.

I dont wish to or will enter into any lengthy conversation as to William or Tim, I wish to respect their privacy as has been asked by William .

Many Thanks

David Thompson"

HMM let us look at this bit
1. Both William & Tim have been checked out properly by Guy Lyon Playfair who was carring out the research in relation to them on-behalf of the late Montique Keen, who carried out an investigation into my mediumship (his findings can be found on our website). its true some people have made attempts by various geneology websites to find them but have been unsuccessful, it took Guy Lyon Playfair at least two visits to the main birth/deaths/marriages offices in London to find the information that proved their excistence.

Guy Lyon never worked with Montague to reaseach DT's mediumship and the one seance Montague attended was not a test seance and Guy Lyon was not there. These are indisputable facts

Guy Lyon has confirmed he never researched Timothy.

On the Michael Prescott Blog Guy Lyon had a debate with Lis ( http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2008/08/rethinking-david-thompson.html?cid=126956044#comments ) about his research, He finally conceded in his one visit that his diary only recorded a birth in 1843 no death date. I am posting the key bones of that thread in the next few posts to show how poor his research was. Lis gave full details to Guy Lyon who conceded that he may have to revisit his research.

Yet I believe after DT posted yesterday Guy Lyon was contacted and resurrected his findings of the death which he felt was near enough. This despite his concession that his diaries show this is not what he found in the Michael Prescott Blog . I am stunned that a senior SPR member researcher and committee member would continue to propound information he has already agreed was wrong. I understand he compounds this by claiming the records are transcriptions from tombstones. Even the most basic genealogical researcher knows that is untrue as they are formal government or parish documents now interlinked with census findings, really a statement like that is an elementary howler. I fail to understand why a senior researcher like Guy Lyon does not give the information he gave on Prescotts Blog thereby aiding DT and COSC in their attempts to evade the truth.

Now in the interests of the record I will copy over bits of Michaels blog, most of it is postings by Lis which indicate the thoroughness of her research. Once again I can highly reccomend to all Michaels Blog.

This is vitally important it is clear DT is desperate that these guides really existed clearly he, if not his circle members who generally, especially the current circle leader and business manager had no experience of either physical mediumship or Spiritualism before DT's arrival in Oz circa 2005/6, understands the serious implications to his Mediumship if his "evidence" is found to be wrong.

Jim

Here is the key sections of Michael Prescott's b;og which prove that the information Guy Lyon is still handing out is wrong and that he has agreed with this finding

http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2008/08/rethinking-david-thompson.html?cid=126956044#comments

When questions arose about the reality of Thompson's purported spirit control, a certain William C. Cadwell, Playfair did some research in Mormon family history records and apparently found there was a William C. Cadwell who died within one year of the date of death given by Thompson's "William." There seems to be some question as to whether the person Playfair uncovered was named Cadwell or Caldwell. (As I am told Guy Playfair sometimes reads this blog, perhaps he can be prevailed upon to clear this up.)* Moreover, some people say it couldn't be Thompson's "William" because the spirit control claimed to have come from London and the person listed in the Mormon records lived in a different part of England. According to my correspondent, however, the Mormon records did not list Cadwell/Caldwell's place of origin. In any event, there does appear to be at least some support for the existence of a William C. Cadwell/Caldwell in the appropriate timeframe.
[*Update, September 15: In the comments thread (below), Guy Lyon Playfair confirms that the name he found in the Mormon records was W. C. Cadwell. This person was born in 1843 in London. Guy did not note the year of death but says he will check it when he can. Another commenter, Lis, says that according to other records, this individual was actually born on August 4, 1842, but not christened until August 2, 1843. She writes, "Sadly, this William Charles Cadwell died at the age of 23 in the December Quarter of 1865.... It is obvious that this William Charles Cadwell is not the 'etherean' who claims to be William Charles Cadwell born 1830 died 1897."]
Hi Michael,
I would like to address one of the issues raised in in your report. First, you state that "when questions arose about the reality of Thompson's purported spirit control, a certain William C Cadwell, Playfair did some research in the Morman family history records and apparently found there was a William C Cadwell who died within one year of the date of the death given by Thompson's 'William'."
May I clarify for you that initially David Thompson claimed that it was the SPR and Montegue Keen who had undertaken the research into the existence of William C Cadwell and they "had found him". This apparently was said to have occurred back in 2005 long before any questions were being raised about this William's existence.
Shortly after questions did arise, in mid November 2007, Thompson then claimed that it was Playfair who had done the research and found William, back in 2005.
Thompson wrote, on November 20, 2007 on the now defunct SCR that "the the report was also done with Guy Lyon Playfair who did the checks on William and found him, I will ask the lady who is a member of this site to put up the recent email she recieved from Guy Lyon Playfair regarding William and his exsistance."
This letter was never made available to the members of the SCR despite a number of requests.
Subsequently some confusion arose because it seemed that Playfair had found not a William C Cadwell, but a William Caldwell, who had died in 1899, not in 1897 as claimed by Thompson's 'control'.
You are right therefore when you say "There seems to be some question as to whether the person Playfair uncovered was named Cadwell or Caldwell."
In fact, Playfair could not have 'uncovered' a William Charles Cadwell, as no such person appears to have existed, and certainly not in the 1830 - 1897 time span that Thompson's purported 'control' claims were the years of their existence.
The first person who seems to have raised concerns about the existence and claimed life of Thompson's William Charles Cadwell was a Leo, on the SCR on 15 November 2007. They wrote:
"When I wrote last time I was quite excited by David Thompson's remark about his main spirit friend and contact William Charles Cadwell who passed in 1897 and that this William Cadwell had been checked out by the SPR and Monteque Keen and was found to exist."

"I had a look around and found that William Cadwell was according to David Thompson's website born in 1830."

"I thought I would try to find out more and so looked at the Government Record Office Death Registrations (what used to be called the St Catherine Deaths Index) and I also looked at the Census records for 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891."

"There was no point looking for a birth registration because it was not until the second half of 1837 that such registration came into effect. Without a known place of birth it would be very difficult to establish the church where a person was baptised in 1830."

"Anyhow, I have decided to let people on the Spiritualism Chatroom know what I found."

"In brief - NO William Charles CADWELL died in 1897, nor did a William Cadwell or a Charles William. No such person died the year before or after either."

"In the 1841 census records there was NO William or William C Cadwell born 1830 anywhere in England. Because in the 1841 census records ages were rounded down (eg 43 would be recorded as 40, 47 as 45 etc) I next checked the 1851 census and found just 8 William Cadwell - NONE were born in 1830."

"There was one William Charles Cadwell found in the 1851 census records - he however was born in 1843 in Chelsea. Sadly he died in the December Quarter of 1865 in Chelsea - so cannot be considered a possible for David Thompson's William Charles Cadwell."

"The subsequent census records also do not show any William Cadwell born 1830 - so all such records fail to show this purported guide who plays such a vital role in David Thompson's physical mediumship and seances."

"Feeling frustrated I took a look for Timothy BOOTH the child guide who is said to play an important role in the seances. He is said (on the circle of the silver cord website) to have been born in 1899 and died in 1908. Oh dear!!! There were NO Timothy Booth's born in 1899 anywhere in England. There were NO Timothy Booth's who died in 1908."
It seems that this Leo has some experience in genealogical research. A number of other people subsequently undertook an investigation and also arrived at the same conclusions as set out above.
I am one of those people, and I have extensive experience in genealogical research. Indeed, I am also currently using that training to research, using genealogical records, various famous Spiritualists, as a means of providing insight in the different written records on these people.
I can confirm that there was no William Charles Cadwell who died in 1897. The census records do not show any such person existing in England, never mind living in London between 1841 and 1901.
There was a William Caldwell (note not a Willian C Cadwell) who was born about 1832 in the Northern part of England who died in 1899. His death is indexed in the Government Record Office Index to Deaths for that year: 1899 in the registration district of Leigh Vol 8c page137.
There were NO William Cadwell's (or William Charles, or Charles William's) who died between 1890 and 1900.
Let me make it quite clear, I can provide you with a complete list of Cadwells who were born and died between 1837 and 1900. I assure you, you will not find a Cadwell that fits the claims of Thompson's WCC.
I can also confirm that there is no Timothy Booth born 1899 - died 1908 either.
In short, there is no evidence to support the existence of William Charles Cadwell and I rather doubt that there ever will be.
Thompson's mediumship, regardless of whether we call him a physical medium or a materialization medium, is fundamentally based on the existence of this Cadwell, who claims they are in charge of all phenomena and 'materializations' that take place in Thompson's seances. This primary 'control' has made claims of an existence, with a year of birth of 1830, and a year of death of 1897. Further, this 'control' claims that this existence was in London, and that is where they died and were buried. They also claim they were a 'man of science', and again there is no evidence found to substantiate this further claim.
When the basic premise of Thompson's mediumship, namely 'his friend and guide'William Charles Cadwell, is found not to stand up to reasonable and objective investigation,it cannot but give rise to doubts as to what else in Thompson's mediumship may not hold up to closer scrutiny.
I have never attended a Thompson seance, and have no desire to, not that he would be willing to have me in one. I cannot, therefore comment on what goes on in such seances. I can, however, comment with a fair degree of certainty about this purported 'spirit control'.
I, for one, would be very interested to see the 'evidence' Playfair found to substantiate what appears to be the non-existence of this character.
Regards Lis
The name I found in the Mormon Family History Centre in London was CADWELL, W C. If anyone doesn't believe me, go and look for yourself.
Posted by: Guy Lyon Playfair | September 12, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Thanks, Guy, for this information. It squares with what I'd already been told, but since there seemed to be some dispute about it, I couldn't be sure.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | September 12, 2008 at 12:55 PM
With respect, I feel it necessary to ask Mr Playfair in what record did he find CADWELL, W.C. in the Morman Family History Centre in London?
It has been suggested that no record of a death of any William Cadwell, or W.C. Cadwell has been found in the official Government Death Index records in 1897 or in the two years prior or after that year. This fact too can be easily checked in any Morman Family History Centre anywhere in the world.
I do not wish to suggest that Mr Playfair is not telling us the truth I do feel that rather more information about what he found and in what record is really necessary, especially if he maintains that he has found evidence for the existence of Mr Thompson's main guide and friend that no one else seem able to find in any death or census records.
I would therefore appreciate Mr Playfair enlightening us on this matter.
Lis
Posted by: Lis | September 12, 2008 at 04:10 PM
For the record here is a complete list of CADWELL deaths registered and recorded in the Government Record office Deaths Index between 1895 - 1900. The information includes the Quarter of the year in which the person died, their name, age at death, District in which death occurred and Volume and Page Reference.
1895
Jan - March Quarter - None
April - June Quarter - None
Jul - Sep Quarter - CADWELL
Beatrice 1 Luton V3b P246
Frank Andrew L 11 Wandsworth V1d P402
William 0 Burnely V8e P170
Oct - Dec Quarter CADWELL
Elizabeth 69 Redruth V5c P158
1896
Jan - March Quarter CADWELL
Elizabeth 50 Bolton V8c P294
John 57 Ormskirk V8b P552
Apr - June Quarter CADWELL
Enoch 78 Ormskirk V8b P499
John Stanley 1 Camberwell V1d P562
Jul - Sep Quarter CADWELL
Betty 0 Rochdale V8e P48
Ellen 42 Portsea V2b P301
Harry 0 Luton V3b P232
Oct - Dec Quarter CADWELL
Emily 71 St Saviour V1d P68
Gertrude Florence 6 Luton V3b P267
Peter 0 Ormskirk V8b P572
1897
Jan - March Quarter CADWELL
Caroline 66 Redruth V5c P168
James 51 Ormskirk V8b P537
Apr - June Quarter CADWELL
Edward 0 Whitehaven V10b P385
Jul - Sep Quarter CADWELL
Mary 46 Thame V8a P504
Oct - Dec Quarter CADWELL
Agnes 0 Rotherham V9c P403
Jane 5 Ormskirk V8b P567
Jane 4 Ormskirk V8b P540
Thomas 0 Burnely V8e P131
1898
Jan - March Quarter - None
Apr - June Quarter CADWELL
Jane Parker 16 Ormskirk V8b P542
Jul - Sep Quarter CADWELL
Ann 67 Ormskirk V8b P601
Betty Rimmer 0 Ormskirk V8b P617
Mary 0 Ormskirk V8b P614
Oct - Dec Quarter CADWELL
George William 0 Rotherham V9c P412
Robert 49 Rochdale V8e P19
1899
Jan - March Quarter CADWELL
Blanche 83 Redruth V5c P159
Sarah 66 Chesterfield V7b P472
Apr - June Quarter CADWELL
John 71 Ormskirk V8b P559
Jul - Sep Quarter CADWELL
Ernest Aubrey 0 Luton V3b P269
John 12 Wirral V8a P309
John 17 Ormskirk V8b P693
Oct - Dec Quarter CADWELL
Jane 0 Burnely V8e P132
Mary 84 Redruth V5c P150
1900
Jan - March Quarter - None
Apr - Jun Quarter CADWELL
Eliza Ellen 0 Hitchin V3a P326
Maria 1 Ormskirk V8b P581
Jul - Sep Quarter CADWELL
Ann 81 Ormskirk V8b P579
Oct - Dec Quarter CADWELL
John Carpenter 56 Leicester V7a P132
That is ALL the CADWELL DEATHS registered between 1895 and 1900.
I can supply actual images of all CADWELL deaths registered if you don't wish to take my word on this.
Since these are the only CADWELL deaths that have been recorded in the official deaths index I again ask Mr Playfair if he would be so kind as to provide us with the details of the record that he found.
Regards,
Lis
On the old Spiritualist Chat Room site (transferred to the new SCR I understand) the suggestion was made that the information Mr Playfair had found was actually for a William CALDWELL who had died in 1898 or 1899.
Mr Playfair has on this thread made it clear
"The name I found in the Mormon Family History Centre in London was CADWELL, W C. If anyone doesn't believe me, go and look for yourself"
Nevertheless, in order that there be no uncertainty (some might think that William Charles CADWELL just might have been incorrectly recorded under the CALDWELL surname) I provide below a list of all William CALDWELL'S whose death were registered between 1895 - 1900. The CALDWELL name is significantly more common than that of CADWELL.
1895
Jan - March Quarter CALDWELL
William 56 W. Derby 8b 405 (b. 1839)
Apr - June Quarter CALDWELL
Henry William 3 Newcastle T 10b 84
Jul - Sep Quarter - no William's
Oct - Dec Quarter CALDWELL
William 0 W. Derby 8b 227
1896
Jan - March Quarter - no William's
Apr - June Quarter CALDWELL
William James 72 Marylebone 1a 386 (b. 1824)
Jul - Sep Quarter CALDWELL
William 40 W. Derby 8b 328 (b. 1856)
Oct - Dec Quarter CALDWELL
Wallace William 0 Newport M. 11a 127
1897
Jan - March Quarter CALDWELL
William Reginald 4 Toxteth Park 8b 180
Apr - Jun Quarter CALDWELL
William 76 Warrington 8c 125 (b. 1821)
Jul - Sep Quarter CALDWELL
William 55 Barrow F. 8e 583 (b. 1842)
William 87 Portsea 2b 319 (b. 1810)
Oct - Dec Quarter CALDWELL
William 57 W. Derby 8b 413 (b. 1840)
William 0 Warrington 8c 137
1898
Jan - March Quarter CALDWELL
William 67 Lambeth 1d 195 (b. 1831)
Apr - Jun Quarter - no William's
Jul - Sep Quarter - no William's
Oct - Dec Quarter - no William's
1899
Jan - March Quarter CALDWELL
William 62 Prestwich 8d 554 (b. 1837)
Apr - Jun Quarter CALDWELL
William 67 Leigh 8c 137 (b. 1832)
William 26 Newcastle T 10b. 51 (b. 1873)
Jul - Sep Quarter CALDWELL
William 59 W. Derby 8b 544 (b. 1840)
Oct - Dec Quarter - no William's
1900
Jan - March Quarter CALDWELL
William 73 Prestwich 8d 358 (b. 1827)
William 71 Lutterworth 7a 3 (b. 1829)
Apr - Jun Quarter CALDWELL
William 69 Toxteth Park 8b 201 (b. 1831)
William George 45 Holborn 1b 409 (b. 1855)
Jul - Sep Quarter CALDWELL
William 0 Runcorn 8a 135
Oct - Dec Quarter CALDWELL
William 0 Oldham 8d 482
May I point out that none of these CALDWELL William's are William Charles. None lived in London and none died in London area in 1897. I have also tracked all these William CALDWELL through the census records and established that they did not live in London area, and were not "a man of science" nor involved in publishing of scientific material. None were incorrectly recorded as CALDWELL on the Death Registration Index but previously recorded in census data as CADWELL.
The same applies to all the William CADWELL'S that are recorded. They can all be tracked through the various census records between 1841 and 1901. No William Charles, or W.C. or William CADWELL fitting the information provided by "William Charles CADWELL" - Mr Thompson's guide - can be found in the census records.
It is for this reason that I am so interested in what Mr Playfair has apparently found at the London Morman Family History Centre. Especially since there is no IGI record, no Ancestral File record and no other submission or extract Birth, Death or Marriage, on the Morman Family History website relating to a William Charles Cadwell, or W.C. Cadwell.
Please help us out here Mr Playfair in the interests of research. I understand that you are a serious investigator and so feel sure that you would have available the details of the record you found.
Regards,
Lis
When I get a spare afternoon I'll go round to the FHC and check whether I was hallucinating last time.
Posted by: guy Lyon Playfair | September 13, 2008 at 04:03 AM
Hi Guy,
Thanks for that - I do hope that you will find to visit the FHC soon - and hopefully you were not "hallucinating last time"!
I really am a serious researcher and have been a genaeologist for over 10 years but I am always willing to accept new evidential information if someone is able to provide it. (if this site had smiley's I would put one in here).
Seriously, I do hope that if there is information that contradicts the Death Index records you can share it with us. The issue of David Thompson's guide is an important one. So much of what goes on in his seances relies on the intregrity of this entity and to substantiate, if possible, his existence, since the entity himself places so much reliance on his existence 1830 -1897, would certainly help to resolve one of the issues around David Thompson's mediumship.
Regards,
Lis
In view of the passions Mr Cadwell still seems to arouse, I went through my 2003 notebook and found this for December:
'Mormon FHC: William Charles Cadwell, b. 1843 London. Only one'. [meaning no other Cadwells on file]
I didn't note date of death which I should have, and next time I'm down that way I'll pop in and check.
Posted by: Guy Lyon Playfair | September 13, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Thank you for clarifying what information you had found Guy. I can further enlighten you on the William Charles Cadwell you have mentioned.
He was in fact born on Aug 4 1842 in St Martins in the Fields, the son of William Andrew Cadwell and Ann Adam. His father was a Waterman and W.C. was not actually christened until a year after his birth, on 2 Aug 1843 at St Martins.
In 1861 (at Census time) this William Charles Cadwell was residing at 3 Brewer St Chelsea with his parents. He was recorded as being 18 and a Gilder by occupation.
Sadly, this William Charles Cadwell died at the age of 23 in the December Quarter of 1865 (GRO Deaths Dec Q 1865 Chelsea 1a 141). His father William Andrew Cadwell died aged 59 in 1870 (Dec Q 1870 Chelsea 1a 172).
It is obvious that this William Charles Cadwell is not the "etherean" who claims to be William Charles CADWELL born 1830 died 1897.
It would seem that this supposed entity did not have the physical life they claim and this gives rise to serious concerns about the validity of the apparent communications from this "William Charles Cadwell".
I am grateful to you for being so honest and providing the information you discovered and for confirming there was no other one in the records.
Back on Sep 27 2007 David Thompson wrote on the SCR, when referring to his various guides:
"my main friend and contact is: William Charles Cadwell, who passed in 1897. (William was check up by the SPR when Monty Keen did his report into my mediumship and was found)."
Subsequently, when the statement which appeared to suggest Montegue Keen had found 'Cadwell', was challenged, and Keen's wife confirmed he had not searched for this information, David Thompson then claimed that it was you who had done the research and had confirmed that his 'guide' William Charles Cadwell had been born 1830 and died 1897.
Clearly, the brief piece of information on the existence of a W. C. Cadwell noted by you does not do that.
I can state that in 2006 Mr Thompson, when a guest at our Spiritualist organization informed me directly that evidence of Cadwell's life and death had been found and had confirmed his earthly existence.
It is obvious that this was not the case.
Regards,
Lis

Furthur to recent remarks by David Thompson:

Being concerned by the statements Mr Thompson made in the COSC thread on the PM4U website I decided that contact should be made with that website's owner and administrator Mr Robin Foy.

I wrote directly to Mr Foy on 3 Nov 09 and again on 4 Nov 09. I have received no response from Mr Foy.

In brief I drew Mr Foy's attention to Mr Thompson's remarks and advised Mr Foy of the following matters:

1. The research undertaken in the existence of 'William Charles Cadwell' and 'Timothy Booth' was not as Mr Thompson claims on "somewhat limited geneology (sic) websites." It was a comprehensive genealogical investigation carried out by a competant researcher.

2. That clear evidence of what Mr Playfair had and had not found regarding William Charles Cadwell could be found on Michael Prescott's blog and that contrary to Mr Thomspon's statement Mr Playfair had never undertaken any investigation into the existence of 'Timothy Booth'. I had done so and no 'Timothy/Timmy Booth could be found in any records being born in 1899 and dying in 1908 as Mr Thompson claims.

3. That to suggest such research constitutes "attempting to discredit" Mr Thompson's mediumship is incorrect. That Mr Thompson should attempt to impugn the person/persons who undertook the research was unacceptable.

4. That Mr Thompson's claim the people who had tried to discredit his mediumship had done so because they had been banned from sitting with him because of inappropriate behaviour was incorrect.

5. That Mr Thompson's claim that these "three people" who had been banned started the Spiritualismlink website and that "one of the persons being of VERY dubious personality because of past criminal activity" was not only incorrect and untrue, but defamatory and libellous.

6. That this site was originated by one person not three. That Jim was the person who created the site and was the only person who had been banned from attending a Thompson seance in Adelaide in 2007. This apparently occurring after Mr Thompson took exception to comments made in a series of discussions in which he took part on the old SCR site and that this banning had occurred without warning or explanation and was accompanied by highly derogatory but unsubstantiated remarks.

7. That though there was only one originator of the site, there were two other administrators neither of whom had ever been banned from attending a Thompson seance.

8. That none of these people, that is Jim, or the other two administrators were of "dubious personality" nor had any been in the past or any other time involved in "criminal activity"

9. That a statement claiming a person who started this site was of "VERY dubious personality because of past criminal activity" was a defamatory and libellous statement damaging to the reputation and standing in the Spiritualist community of the person to whom the remark was directed.

10. That these false statements published by Mr Thompson would not go unchallenged.

11. That Mr Thompson must either provide evidence to substantiate his allegations or remove the offending material and make a full public written retraction and apology.

After providing Mr Foy with ample opportunity to respond to these concerns and receiving neither acknowledgement or reply I am making the contents of my communication public.

I had hoped that Mr Foy would recognise that allowing such defamatory material to remain on his site was contrary not only to the rules of conduct for the site host, but also to the best interests of his site, and Mr Thompson's reputation.

Nothing that has been recorded here makes mention of or attempts to discredit Mr Thompson's mediumship. It does however, directly challenge the validity and appropriateness of his statements on PM4U.

Thank you very much for that excellent summary Lis, DT's inflammatory comment, which you refer to, was kindly placed upon this site by Vince who had been the recipient of it, as reply to him on Robin Foys site this appears in the General Chat forum on page 2 of the Leslie Flint thread.

For a matter of interest this is what COSC wrote to me as the reason for the ban

"Your need again to use a public forum, such as the Spiritualist Chatroom, to air your reservations about David's mediumship instead of directing them to the Circle, can only invoke negativity where there is a need bring harmony. "

I then contacted the Moderator of the old SCR forum involved, where all my posts had appeared, I was stunned at what level of comment may be regarded as negative because I actually felt I had not crossed any obvious lines,

The moderator responded in a Private Message, which is amongst material rescued from that old Spiritualist Chat Room during the many hacking attacks that resulted in its final disablement. The message said
"Hi Jim

I am quite shocked by that news. Speaking as mod of the PM forum, I am unaware of anything inappropriate that you have said or done. May I have your permission to share your message with the forum admin. I am very uneasy and disappointed about what's happened."

Robin Foy is in breach of the Acceptable Use and Conduct Terms and Conditions of his website.

zerdini wrote:Robin Foy is in breach of the Acceptable Use and Conduct Terms and Conditions of his website.

I wonder if that will concern him - none so blind as those who will not see...

mac wrote:

zerdini wrote:Robin Foy is in breach of the Acceptable Use and Conduct Terms and Conditions of his website.

I wonder if that will concern him - none so blind as those who will not see...

It might concern him when they take his website down lol

obiwan wrote:

mac wrote:

zerdini wrote:Robin Foy is in breach of the Acceptable Use and Conduct Terms and Conditions of his website.

I wonder if that will concern him - none so blind as those who will not see...

It might concern him when they take his website down lol

Who's gonna take his website down? His service provider who makes money from him? The forum members by going elsewhere?

I have my doubts....

mac wrote:

obiwan wrote:

mac wrote:

zerdini wrote:Robin Foy is in breach of the Acceptable Use and Conduct Terms and Conditions of his website.

I wonder if that will concern him - none so blind as those who will not see...

It might concern him when they take his website down lol

Who's gonna take his website down? His service provider who makes money from him? The forum members by going elsewhere?

I have my doubts....

The service provider may. If they permit him to continue publishing defamatory statements following complaints and he doesn't respond to warnings or they might find themselves on the end of a writ. I came across this statement on a random trawl.. If a distributor knows about a defaming statement and continues to distribute the information, liability is not so easily avoided.. To put the remark in context, distributor here referred to an internet service provider, Compuserve. I am no expert on such matter though

obiwan wrote:

mac wrote:

obiwan wrote:

mac wrote:

zerdini wrote:Robin Foy is in breach of the Acceptable Use and Conduct Terms and Conditions of his website.

I wonder if that will concern him - none so blind as those who will not see...

It might concern him when they take his website down lol

Who's gonna take his website down? His service provider who makes money from him? The forum members by going elsewhere?

I have my doubts....

The service provider may. If they permit him to continue publishing defamatory statements following complaints and he doesn't respond to warnings or they might find themselves on the end of a writ. I came across this statement on a random trawl.. If a distributor knows about a defaming statement and continues to distribute the information, liability is not so easily avoided.. To put the remark in context, distributor here referred to an internet service provider, Compuserve. I am no expert on such matter though

We'll see...