Józef Stawinoga

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Józef Stawinoga
Born	15 December 1920(1920-12-15) Kórnik, Poland
Died	28 October 2007 (aged 86) Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England
Other names	Fred
Occupation	Hermit
Known for	Lived in a public place for more than 40 years, gaining a local reputation as a hermit

Józef Stawinoga (15 December 1920 – 28 October 2007), also known as Fred and incorrectly reported as Josef, was a homeless Pole who lived in a tent on the Wolverhampton Ring Road in the West Midlands, England for nearly 40 years.^[1] Little is known about the recluse, but he is thought to have been involved in the Soviet invasion of Poland (1939), before emigrating to the UK in the 1940s.

1 Wolverhampton
2 Death
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Wolverhampton

After the war he remained in Wolverhampton, finding work and a place to live – and an Austrian wife who left him after a year, according to Juliusz Leonowicz, who identifies himself as Stawinoga's friend.^[2] At a date given by different sources as 1954^[3] and 1967,^[4] he opted out of society for unknown reasons, left his job, and became homeless. He was evicted from several lodging houses,^[4] and by the 1970s he had moved into a tent on the central grass reservation of the town's inner ring road. The council tolerated his presence, as he was claustrophobic, and he became something of a local character. A series of replacement tents were erected by the authorities over his original plastic sheeting;^[5] in April 2003 this involved "an operation involving the army, the police, social services and environmental health".^[6]

Fred was treated as a holy man by the Hindu and Sikh communities, with many people believing he lived a truly enlightened life.^[3] A group devoted to him on the social networking site Facebook had over 4,000 members in early October 2007.^[4]

[edit] Death

Józef Stawinoga died on 28 October 2007, aged 86. Wolverhampton City Council has announced that it will cover the cost of his funeral if none of his family come forward, and are discussing the possibility of a memorial to him. His tent was removed by the council at the request of West Midlands Police, who were concerned that the area would become a tourist attraction.^[1]

After Stawinoga's death Leonowicz said that he had been told that the hermit had been a member of the SS during World War II. ^[7] If he indeed was member of SS, it is unknown whether he volunteered or was forcedly enlisted.

On March 6, 2008 it was reported that Stawinoga had thousands of pounds worth of pension money that had been untouched.^[8] The council is searching for any relatives to give the money to, if there are non then the money will be returned to the state.