The Admiralty withheld public confirmation of Barham's loss while the Royal Navy adjusted its dispositions and secured its remaining strength. During that period, Helen Duncan claimed that the spirit of a sailor from the battleship had contacted her. She is identified here as the last person imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Her claim concerned a naval loss whose public announcement had deliberately been delayed.
Notable Point · 2:39:34-2:40:07
Barham's secret loss and the Helen Duncan case
The Admiralty's temporary concealment of Barham's loss intersects with medium Helen Duncan's claim that a dead sailor had revealed the sinking.