Nobby the Tramp deserves his Peterborough celebrity status

Thornton on Thursday column with Peterborough Telegraph's deputy editor Nigel Thornton - peterboroughtoday.co.uk

There were those who questioned such terms as ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ when describing Michael Ross (Nobby’s real name).

And some of them used this as a chance to sneer at Peterborough because of Mr Ross’ status as one of the city’s most famous residents of recent times.

It is true that if you Google ‘famous people from Peterborough’ Nobby is always there.

It is also true that Nobby has had a play written about him.

It is also true that the story about his death was viewed by thousands and thousands of readers.

Certainly a lot more than would read about my demise – unless it turns out I popped my clogs from coronavirus which I’d caught in a passionate embrace in Kylie Minogue’s boudoir.

As so often the comments belittling both Nobby and the city say more about the authors than their intended targets.

When I first arrived in Peterborough more than two decades ago I did find it odd that a tramp should be a local celebrity.

But it was undeniably a great story – a homeless man lives in bus shelter and gets sent gifts from all over the world addressed to “Nobby, The bus shelter, Peterborough’’.

My memory tells me the bus shelter was even given its own postcode, but that may be an urban myth.

Nobby himself added to his ‘man of mystery’ image when he was spotted swinging a golf club. With a twinkle in his eye he told a newspaper reporter he was going to be a golf pro. There were other (unsubstantiated) tragic tales of how he had ended up homeless.

His health was not great, hardly surprising after years on the streets, and eventually he allowed the authorities to help him and was found a home where he saw out his days in Dogsthorpe.

It is great credit to the local health and care staff of the NHS, the city council and Cross Keys that he lived his last years off the streets.

And it is great credit to the people of Peterborough that they took Nobby to their hearts.

A fitting way to remember him would be to help the homeless either by a donation or other act of kindness.

Whether he was an icon or a legend or just, as one of his neighbours at the sheltered housing scheme where he lived put it “a nice man,” he should not be forgotten.