by Travis Sanders

Many people hail the late Gordon Higginson as one of the greatest mediums to have ever graced Spiritualism. Higginson, however, held another to such high esteem. He viewed Estelle Roberts as what he referred to as the “perfect medium,” artful and highly skilled in mental mediumship, trance mediumship, and physical mediumship, Roberts has been described by others as “the most versatile British medium of the time.”

Roberts was born in London in 1889, claiming psychic experiences at an early age. It wasn’t until marrying Arthur Roberts in 1920, that a neighbor invited her to a spiritualist circle. Within the circle, Roberts was told that she was a medium, and that if she didn’t believe it, to go home and sit for Spirit at a small table, which she did for 6 days with no indication or proof or her alleged mediumistic skills. This was until day 7, when exasperated, Roberts stood up and walked away, and the table responded by following her to the other side of the room. It was then she heard a voice saying…

“I come to serve the world. You serve with me, and I serve with you.”

Red Cloud

The voice was that her control, or Spirit guide, Red Cloud, who much like Silver Birch, the Spirit guide of Maurice Barbanell, (a friend, colleague, and supporter of Roberts), Red Cloud, would become well-known in his own right.

Roberts was masterful on the platform, and demonstrated all over the UK for thousands of people at a time, including an audience of 6,000 at the Royal Albert Hall. In her book Great Moments of Modern Mediumship Vol. 1, author Maxine Meilleur, describes Roberts “unflappable tenacity” with a brief transcript of one of Roberts’ demonstrations.

“He has brought a Jim with him.
I cant place a Jim.
He’s your mother’s brother.
Yes, thats right.
He’s met Aunt Jinny.
I dont remember her.
She’s an in-law connected with your mother. Her name is Mary Anne Jane.
Oh, Yes!
They have brought Mary with them.
Mary? I cant recall her.
Well, I must help you then. She is your father’s sister.
Oh, Yes! “

Perhaps Roberts most important work in her career was ushering in the recognition of Spiritualism as a credible religion, and the overturning of the outdated witchcraft act (replaced with the Fraudulent Medium Act) when she demonstrated powerful and convincing clairvoyance in the British House of Commons in the 1950’s.

Estelle, went home to the Spirit World in 1970.

Sources:
The Spirit Book: Buckland
Great Moments of Modern Mediumship: Meilleur
50 Years a Medium: Roberts

Online Sources:
voicebox.com/robertsestelle.htm
insightsfromspirit.com