Fred the Ring Road Tramp
Little is known of Josef’s earlier life other than he worked at Stewarts and Lloyd’s steelworks in Bilston when he first came to this country after being held in a Russian prison camp during the War.   
Fred – properly Josef Stawinoga – was perhaps the most famous of all characters to grace the streets of our fair city and was known to everyone as The Ring Road Tramp.  He gained this appellation because he lived on Ring Road St John’s, in a tent, for over 30 years. 
He first came to the public’s attention in the 50s when he could be seen in the town centre pushing an old fashioned pram containing his possessions.  As some of his possessions were black Labrador cross puppies, he immediately captured the hearts of the populous who would give him food for them.  In his latter years he could be seen sweeping the road, skillfully dodging fast moving traffic.  He was looked after by many people: Those who worked in the Solicitors’ offices would buy him lunch; the Hindu Shree Krishna Mandir Temple gave him Indian food and the Council provided Meals on Wheels and replaced his tent when necessary.
Amazingly, Fred was never harmed by anyone in anyway even though there were stories that he had a fortune concealed within his tent.  Someone even made a fake satellite dish for him.
It was on October 28 at around 4.50pm when the ambulance service received a call that his body had been found.  Post mortem results revealed that Fred was 87 years old and that no money was hidden in his tent.
He was buried, at public expense.
A website was built in his honour and he became an international cult figure with a fan club of over 6,600 members.
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Josef Stawinoga