posted March 06, 2008 02:03 PM
Bigging up the West Midlands as a hot seat of global unity 
well we're reasonably civilised individuals for the most part --------------------------
Ring road tramp Fred dies
The tramp who has famously lived in a tent on Wolverhampton’s ring road for more than 30 years has died.
The body of 87-year-old Josef Stawinoga, who was affectionately known in the city as Fred, was discovered just before 5pm yesterday.
*See Fred’s life in pictures.*
A police cordon was placed around his green tent on Ring Road St John’s and officers today confirmed his death was not being treated as suspicious. It is not known who made the grim discovery.
Council leader Roger Lawrence described it as “very sad news”.
“Mr Stawinoga was someone the community took to their hearts and provided with a lot of support, even though it was extremely difficult given his circumstances and background,” he said.
“He gained everyone’s respect and the city’s social services supported him in a way that was sensitive to his wishes. It did attract criticism from outside the city but we did not treat him as a social problem.”
Fred, originally from Poland, has been a legendary figure of Wolverhampton since he opted to live under canvas, where drivers often saw him sweeping up leaves around his tent. Wolverhampton City Council’s Meals on Wheels service visited him every day while worshippers at the nearby Hindu Shree Krishna Mandir Temple also regularly brought him Indian food and pizza.
Few facts were known about him, but he was thought to have been detained in a Russian prison camp during the Second World War and came to Wolverhampton in the 1950s.
He worked at Stewarts and Lloyds steelworks in Bilston but one day did not turn up to work. The next his colleagues knew he was pushing a pram with all his possessions and had grown an ankle-length beard.
Police spokeswoman Joanne Hunt confirmed early indications showed Fred’s death was not suspicious.
West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman John Hawker said crews received a 999 call to the central reservation at 4.53pm and pronounced a man dead at the scene.
Only last month he became a hit around the world after an internet fan club was set up in his honour, attracting more than 6,600 members.
l Visit www.expressandstar.com to see a video tribute to Fred.
http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/10/29/ring-road-tramp-fred-dies/
------------------------------
The Guardian's version:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/06/4?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews
A tramp who became a Facebook phenomenon for living in the central reservation of a city ringroad for 30 years left an estate worth thousands of pounds when he died, in October.
Officials are searching for relatives of Josef Stawinoga – who only answered to the name Fred – to pass on his hidden wealth.
Treasury Solicitors will not reveal exactly how much the 87-year-old's estate is worth but it is believed to hold 20 years of unclaimed pensions.
Stawinoga, who was born in Poland and moved to Wolverhampton after the war, became an instant Facebook hit when a networking group was set up to honour him as a local institution.
The group, called We Love u Wolverhampton Ring road Tramp!, has more than 6,800 members. A newer Facebook tribute group - We want a memorial for the Wolverhampton ring road tramp – now boasts 5,735 friends.
The solicitor handling Stawinoga's estate has advertised in a local newspaper trying to trace his family. If no one is found, the money will be returned to state coffers.
Little is known of Stawinoga's life. He reportedly moved to Wolverhampton in the 1950s and worked at a steelworks until his brief marriage to an Austrian woman fell apart. He quit his job and settled to live on St Johns ringroad.
Although he shunned society, the city council provided him with meals on wheels and replaced his tent when necessary, and some of Wolverhampton's Asian community revered him for renouncing all worldly possessions. A Sikh woman travelled six miles a day to leave a flask of hot tea and a sandwich outside his tent.
A former work colleague, Juliusz Leonowicz, once said of the hermit: "London has London Bridge, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Wolverhampton has Fred. He's a landmark."
Lindaland
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
posted March 06, 2008 02:03 PM
posted March 06, 2008 03:02 PM
