Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

After I posted an answer to Ronniej's post earlier I remembered something else you would see regularly on the roads in the late 1950s and early 1960s :Tramps.

Living on the A5 here in North Wales tramps were a regular sight until they all seemed to disappear at the end of the 1960s.
Many were waifs and strays of course but some were interesting and friendly characters,
There was one in particular who's appearance in the May and September of every year was eagerly awaited by anyone with a faulty or broken fob watch or clock.
He always pulled his possessions in a small four wheeled cart behind him.
He wore a felt hat, was always clean and spoke in a posh-ish voice.
He used to stay in a hay barn near the village and spent two or three days here repairing timepieces. One year I remember him servicing our long case (Grandfather) clock with a roll bag of tools he kept in the cart.

Interesting characters you rarely see these days.
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Ray White]

I can only really remember one Tramp from my school days in the '60s. He was nicknamed "Holy Joe" because he would hang around the school gates and with Bible in hand preach to anyone who would listen. Only the "bully" element would talk to him and then only to ridicule and blaspheme. Sad really. Some of the lads thought it was funny that he would rummage about in the bin at the bus stop in search of food etc. and at one point would leave sandwiches and fags for him to find; not that they cared but because they found it hilarious.

Some things never leave you.

[emmerson]

We had a tramp called Isaac. He just used to turn up, stick around for a few days, then disappear again.My Father used to give him the odd day's work around the yard, and he used to sleep in the shed. I don't remember any of us village kids being afraid of him, but when my "townie" cousins came to stay, they were terrified of him!
This was in the 50s, and I guess he must have been elderly then.
I wonder what happened to him.

[Peter_L]

I remember two in Barnsley. A man and a woman although they didn't go around together. Not sure when they vanished, probably by the late 60's.

[Ronniej]

As I child we lived in a Glasgow tenement. This was in a relatively affluent area and was not the Dickensian slum often shown in old photos of Glasgow.
We did not see tramps as such but had men, who were clearly in reduced circumstances, who came round periodically and sang in the back courts.
They would be rewarded with a few coppers and sometimes a “piece” (sandwich) which might have been given as an incentive to go away as there were no Pavarottis among them.
This was in the early ‘50s and much later when I reminisced about this my mother explained that many of these men had been “damaged” in the war.
I expect this was PTSD which was not understood back then.
Anyway, I am pleased to say they were treated with some humanity and respect.
School holidays were spent with my grandmother who lived in the country.
There were occasional visitors of the type described by Ellis. There was even a French onion seller!
Again they were treated with respect although my uncle, who had a word for everything, would refer to them as “milestone inspectors” when they were out of earshot.
Ronnie J

[roverdriver]

I don't remember tramps because I turned 5 on the way to Australia, however as I grew up, there certainly were 'swagmen' so called because they carried a bedroll of blankets on their backs which was called a 'swag'

Some were itinerant workers with a genuine interest in earning money, others merely adopted the lifestyle and managed as best they could. Certainly some were ex diggers (Australian soldiers). As in the U.K. they seemed to disappear in the 1960's.

My father told of the French 'Onion Johnnies' who came to England to sell their wares. He also told stories of some of London's colourful street sellers and street entertainers of the 1920's.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Riley Blue]

I don't remember any from the '50s or '60s as much of that time was spent in married quarters but in the mid to late '70s there was a chap who kept popping up around the Hallatrow/High Littleton area. I used to see him quite regularly on my daily commute to Bath though never in the winter which made me wonder whether he'd survive till next year.
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David

1963 Riley 1.5
1965 Riley 1.5

[Dipster]

[Rootes75]

I remember only last year in Brixham there being a female tramp. She's an old lady and has apparently been there for a few years now.

[Ashley]

My parents lived on the Horspools Hill on the Gloucester Stroud road in the forties and tramps were regular callers for cups of tea. My mum used to give it to them in a jam jar because they'd pinch the cups.

They were mostly soldiers who's families didn't want them back, wives having remarried etc. I remember one walked into the shrubbery and laid down, next morning he was still there, so I told my mum who took no notice of me. Someone eventually found him, he was dead, so then we had the police and everything.

[baconsdozen]

Not a tramp as such but a well known local character. Nicknamed 'Marigold' this chap could be seen in the city of Norwich 'directing' traffic.He got his nickname from his habit of wearing bright coloured washing up gloves and could often be seen at various points in the city enthusiastically 'directing' traffic to the sound of car horns from equally enthusiastic drivers who over the years got used to both seeing him and totally ignoring his instructions.
I understand he is still about although now in poor health,I doubt he'll be seen again but is remembered with great affection by many in Norwich.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Penman]

Hi
Again not a tramp but a real Roma Gypsy who spent some time every year near my parents' shop in Stoke Gifford.
He had a bow topped van and a flat bed wagon, always had 2 horses/ponies but often more.
He used to get his water from us in a spottless S/steel container, Mum used to read his letters for him and help, if he needed it, to reply.
He used to buy a pack of 5 Woodies each week and when the dropped the 5 cig packs my Dad would sell him 5 out of a ten pack and he would come back the next week for the other 5.
He generally collected scrap as wel as a bit of farm work so dressed accordingly, but when the Cheltenham Sales were on he dressed in a smart tweed jacket with Jodhpurs and bought a ten pack of woodies which he paid for from a thick roll of notes the like of which wasn't seen for the rest of the year.
When they were filming the Haley Mills pic Sky West and Crooked (Gypsy Girl in the US) he was paid to move up to the Badminton area to be part of the encampment.
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
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[peter scott]

My mother used to talk about an old tramp living locally whose name was "Asawas". These photos from my mother's collection could be him. They date from the 1920s. Dreadlocks are obviously nothing new.

Peter


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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[poodge]

In my schooldays,I had a teacher,whom i shall call"John".
Legend has it that his whole family was killed by a drunk driver,which sent him over the edge into alcoholic territory,and living on the streets.
He was often seen riding a bike(no doubt someone else's) the wrong way up one way streets,right down the middle.Meanwhile giving all and sundry "the fingers".
He was a huge man,and it took six burly coppers to get him under control when he started playing up.It was said he did that on purpose on christmas eve,so he could get a nice meal free in pokie.
Haven't seen him for years now,so i presume he has died.