Harry The Tramp !!

[old tup 30]

In the 80s I was working for Fletchers Bakeries as a driver-salesman,I had a vanlad to help with the job as it was all handballing ,loading and carrying in to the shops,racing the clock all day.I loved the job great products that we sold in huge quantities,my round was from one end of the Hope Valley to the other starting at Bamford to Hathersage,Grindleford,Eyam,Baslow,Tideswell,Bradwell finishing at Castleton.One day we were at the Lovers Leap cafe Stoney Middleton having a sarny and cuppa[free of course] after serving them with Bread and Baps,Teacakes and the usual tray of 60 large Eccles cakes,the hikers loved em,we departed.At the rear of the wagon stood a scruffy smelly tramp Harry his name waiting for something to eat[Whats tha want Harry?][Can I have a plain loaf mester?]I gave him one and he wolfed it there and then.Some days he wanted a pack of teacakes whatever he wanted we let him have it.He was a bit disturbed mentally,he used to do a little jig all the time.At the cafe the lady gave him a sarny and a pint of tea daily which he had el fresco because he would smell the place out if allowed in,Harry lived in a cave up the gorge I asked him how he kept warm in the severe winter weather,he told me he dug a hole in the floor built a fire in it then covered the fire with earth and slept on top of it.All the locals tried to help him the vicar at Eyam did a hut out for him with a bed and chair plus blankets,the local ladies gave him warm clean clothes tried to get him to do chores,he couldn,t handle the routine,he soiled all his clothes and left he was beyond help very childlike.He used to walk to Chesterfield every week to collect his £8 benefit payment,I always wondered what happened to him if he had a family somewhere,what a sad existance but I suppose he was happy in his own way!!.

[retep 68]

In the 80s I was working for Fletchers Bakeries as a driver-salesman,I had a vanlad to help with the job as it was all handballing ,loading and carrying in to the shops,racing the clock all day.I loved the job great products that we sold in huge quantities,my round was from one end of the Hope Valley to the other starting at Bamford to Hathersage,Grindleford,Eyam,Baslow,Tideswell,Bradwell finishing at Castleton.One day we were at the Lovers Leap cafe Stoney Middleton having a sarny and cuppa[free of course] after serving them with Bread and Baps,Teacakes and the usual tray of 60 large Eccles cakes,the hikers loved em,we departed.At the rear of the wagon stood a scruffy smelly tramp Harry his name waiting for something to eat[Whats tha want Harry?][Can I have a plain loaf mester?]I gave him one and he wolfed it there and then.Some days he wanted a pack of teacakes whatever he wanted we let him have it.He was a bit disturbed mentally,he used to do a little jig all the time.At the cafe the lady gave him a sarny and a pint of tea daily which he had el fresco because he would smell the place out if allowed in,Harry lived in a cave up the gorge I asked him how he kept warm in the severe winter weather,he told me he dug a hole in the floor built a fire in it then covered the fire with earth and slept on top of it.All the locals tried to help him the vicar at Eyam did a hut out for him with a bed and chair plus blankets,the local ladies gave him warm clean clothes tried to get him to do chores,he couldn,t handle the routine,he soiled all his clothes and left he was beyond help very childlike.He used to walk to Chesterfield every week to collect his £8 benefit payment,I always wondered what happened to him if he had a family somewhere,what a sad existance but I suppose he was happy in his own way!!.

 

Is this him old tup,

http://www.ddimages.co.uk/PHOTO%20GALLERIES/BLACK%20AND%20WHITE%20GALLERY/harry.html

[hillsbro 28]

Members of the sheffieldhistory.co.uk Forum can download a file of "200 famous Sheffielders" which includes Harry:

 

Harry Greenwood, 1927-1999. Known as "Harry the Tramp", he was born in Parkwood Springs and took to the road about the 1960s, making a living by doing odd jobs. He settled in a cave near Stoney Middleton 1982/3; he played the piano at St Anne's Church, Baslow, and died in Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

 

The GRO deaths index actually confirms that Harry died in January 1997.

[old tup 30]

Hi Retep=Thats him all right christ he looks muckier in the picture and a lot older than I remember him to be.It must have been taken near the end of his life,he made an impression on all who came in contact with him he had nothing material to his name but he was contented with his lot,who,s got it right and who,s got it wrong?,who knows!.:confused:Old Tup.

[retep 68]

Hi Retep=Thats him all right christ he looks muckier in the picture and a lot older than I remember him to be.It must have been taken near the end of his life,he made an impression on all who came in contact with him he had nothing material to his name but he was contented with his lot,who,s got it right and who,s got it wrong?,who knows!.:confused:Old Tup.

 

The family lived on Wallace near "stinker" Toothill.

[old tup 30]

The family lived on Wallace near "stinker" Toothill.

I bet tha darn,t call Albert "Stinker" to his face Retep!!:hihi:

[retep 68]

I bet tha darn,t call Albert "Stinker" to his face Retep!!:hihi:

 

I'll blame Whitey, he can have his face sat on

[hillsbro 28]

Here is an extract from what Harry's nephew Stephen Greenwood posted this on the Sheffield History site:

... Harry was good with electrical equipment and had his own shop (not sure where, but presumably in the same area). He was also something of a wanderer. He married a Greek woman in the late 40s/early 50s but after a few years decided that domestic life wasn't for him and went on the road. He would reappear at his mothers' and siblings' houses sporadically over the years and did seem to wander around the country. He returned to Derbyshire in the mid 80s, where my Dad ran into him in Baslow while on a walking trip. At first he denied who he was but then admitted and was quite pleased to be reunited. At that time he was living in a cave near the Robin Hood Inn, Chesterfield Road. My Dad took me to visit him and my memory is of a nut brown elderly man who looked the spitting image of my grandma, surrounded by bits of old electrical equipment ...

[old tup 30]

I'll blame Whitey, he can have his face sat on

Arr thats what I used to do every time I got caught out ,blame it on Whitey mind you the rotten get did the same to me!!

[Cycleracer 10]

I love storys like this always interesting about ecentrics,, Iv'e never heard of this guy and though Iv'e been to Stoney a million times can't recall seeing him.

I feel Iv'e missed out.....