Tuesday 7 August 2012

Homeless Man Newcastle Dies

Update: http://anthonydormanphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/ice-cream-and-aesop-and-truth-about.html

I was informed a few days ago that the homeless man I have photographed on a number of occasions has passed away. I have held off from commenting or posting about this until I had received confirmation of his passing. Although I have searched Google everyday since I have found no official account of his death the overwhelming chatter on facebook does point to his passing.

See the image on flickr here © Anthony Dorman

                                                          See the image on flickr here © Anthony Dorman

                                                       See the image on flickr © Anthony Dorman

Although he was known as Homeless Jimmy it appears that he may have been called Arthur (although I was once assured his name was Dave by a reputable source. Like many people in Newcastle I have been aware of him for some time, probably 15 years at least. On a few occasions I bought him food and gave him some money. People say that you should not give homeless people money only food but I'm sure he simply used it to buy tickets to ride the Metro System. Despite what people say I have been told he always had a valid ticket. Considering that he never begged or harassed people I was alarmed last year to be told that Newcastle's main shopping mall had banned him from sitting inside the public areas.

 My first image of him was a candid shot taken through the door of a town centre shop. The most recent black and white images were different, I quietly asked him if I could take his photo and to my surprise he said yes. Although I have never started a 'Homeless' project as some people on line have claimed I am glad to have taken his photograph. As I am someone who is interested in human faces he has such a deep expression that goes against everything modern society deems acceptable. I have seen and heard people mocking him, only the moronic who are uneducated and weak minded would act in such ways. I don't know the back story of this mans life but from experience I found him to be humble and passive. I hope that he did not suffer too much in his last few days after such a hard life. Although I'm not a religious man I do hope he is now in a better place and at peace.

Since taking the initial candid image a few years ago I have been contacted by many people all sharing positive experiences, encounters and often acts of generosity towards this man. I know these are just photographs however I hope that in some small way they will remind people to be more compassionate to those people in our society who are less fortunate and need assistance. We are all just a few poor decisions or moments of bad luck away from having nothing.


31 comments:

  1. Great photos and it is a shame he passed away. I also remember him from Newcastle. I used to live in Heaton and on my way home I saw him several times looking out of his window in a house in Warwick Street in Heaton.

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  2. very interesting pic's and a moving tribute

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  3. Sad news and a touching tribute. Like most people I never spoke to him, but saw him often.

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  4. Moving read, and moving tribute. I applaud you for this. Having never seen this man, I feel we should do more to help others. Seems genuine old values are rare these days.

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  5. You may not be religious, but you certainly have added to the recognition of his humanity, for which we may all be grateful. Those of us who are religious can be genuinely thankful for your care toward him and will certainly hold him in our prayers on behalf of all of us.

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  6. Touching, moving and beautifully written. I remember seeing him in Newcastle when I worked in the Farmers many years ago. A sad story both for 'Jimmy' and humanity.

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  7. Yeah, I used to live in Warwick Street and would often see him walking up and down it, and going into a house there. Perhaps he wasn't really homeless, just eccentric? Sad to hear he's gone though. He seemed nice.

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  8. I used to see him everywhere. I remember a time pulling into s gosforth, he was sat minding his own business. Two young lads were bashing on the window "ya f*in Harry !!" flicking the v's and. Laughing callously at him.

    For me it was a very profound moment. Not sure why. Made me think about why people are cruel to people who are already hurt and down (well that said, he may have been perfectly happy for all I know).

    Since then, (and also thanks fto my grandad's philosophy) I've always given money or a bite to anyone who asks, in some ways to atone for all the nasty people.

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  9. Yes I've seen him in town many times & Give coins to him & touching tribute it's a shame people live like this R.I.P 'jimmy'

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  10. Thank you for this tribute and collection of pictures. I saw this man around Eldon Square when I moved to Newcastle 9 years a go. A friend at the time tried to give him money, which he refused. While it is easy and patronising to sing the praises of someone just because they are no longer with us, I was genuinely saddened by the news of his death. For all anyone knew him, he seemed like a good person.

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  11. Lovely write up from yourself, he would be touched if he knew how many people are saddened by his death.
    Peace and love xx

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  12. this is not the same man from heaton even though they looked similar,for the past seventeen years jimmy slept at the rising sun and never bothered a soul,rip to a kinder place you travell.

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  13. Rest in peace. Excellent photos.

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  14. What a lovely tribute, Anthony.

    It saddens me that somebody's presence on earth may be instantly forgotten and hopefully your photographs and article can keep this man's memory alive.

    I have seen him on and around the metro many times and, as noted, have never seen him bother a soul.

    Rest in peace, 'Jimmy'

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    1. since posting the other day,i have been checking the place where arthur slept at the time i would have normally seen him there asleep,this afternoon i had a further look ,there was a bit of cardboard,a blue blanket over a tree branch and an empty bottle of cough lingtus beside the cardboard,i hope it is true that there have been recent sighting of you as have been said on facebook and you have just moved locations.

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  15. R.I.P beautiful artical. Shame those idiots don't realise this is someones son hope this man died in no pain. Rest with the angels.

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  16. How do we know he has died? I one day gave him a £5 hope I did not offend him as he jumped as I approached and I apologised for startling him. Shame on those who moved him on.

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  17. I am seeing some posts on Facebook that this man has been seen since my post. I really hope he is alive and well and not dead as I posted. I posted this article after trying to find out through as many sources as possible weather he had died as all the social media outlets were stating. Without knowing his name I contacted a local homeless charity who told me that he had died and that a number of local press had also made such enquiries. I am going to make further enquiries tomorrow to try and resolve the speculation. I hope that I can re-post with good news but I fear the worst. I would like to thank those people who have sent kind comments which gives me faith in society. If anyone reading this has any further definitive news I would like to hear from you.

    Anthony Dorman

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  18. Dear Anthony,

    My family and I are desperate to know if you have had confirmation if Jimmy is well? Our thoughts and prayers are with him regardless.

    Warmest wishes,


    Kezra

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  19. Dear Kezra,
    Thanks for your interest and prayers for this man. Things have become quite complicated with this story since I posted this story. I can confirm that the man in my photographs is not called Jimmy, Authur or Albert however. I can't go into too many details at the moment due to the complicated nature of this situation. All I can say to protect the feelings of people involved is that the man in my photographs has been identified however it is still to be known if he is the un-named homeless man who died in hospital last month. There are measures being taken to confirm this as we speak, I fear the worst for the man in my photographs I'm afraid.

    Kind regards,

    Anthony

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  20. is there any updates anthony,thankyou

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  21. Nothing official to report I'm afraid. Still waiting for further news. The press are now interested as I have had two local newspapers contact me this week. Hopefully things will be cleared up soon.

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  22. Dear Anthony,

    Any further news you have would be very much appreciated. We are still full of sorrow for his family and all that were touched by this kind and gentle soul. I think of him often. Many thanks for all your efforts.

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    1. Hi - Still no official news yet although I can say that the man in my photograph is believed to have passed away. There are some DNA results still to come through but his family are aware of what has happened and are deeply saddened by his passing. Due to my photographs and this blog I recently met with his sister who told me of the ongoing investigation and the sad circumstances of his life. Thank you for your interest in his well being. Sorry for not replying sooner I had disabled my notifications by accident and had not seen your posting.

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    2. Thank you Anthony. Our Geordie Gentleman will be missed by many.

      Warm wishes to all,


      Kezra & the kids

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  23. Hi,

    I remember this gentleman from my days living on Tyneside. I'd just like to express my appreciation for your pictures and the way they help us focus on the fact that this was a human being who was loved by someone as a brother or a son. You photos reinforce this man's dignity and humanity and for that you ought to be proud.

    Matt

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  24. On "his" facebook page its saying hes alive and in a hostel. Just wondering if you know the truth?? Facebook is full of liars and people that mock the homless, so not the most trusted website in the world.

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  25. Hi - the facebook post is rubbish. I have spoken with the Hostel mentioned this morning who have never heard of the man mentioned. They do not actually take homeless people either. I have spoke also with the family of the homeless man and whilst their is still an official police investigation I won't name this man but here are some facts.

    1) A homeless man was taken into hospital in a serious condition. He gave his first name and birth date. The surname he gave was almost identical to the name of his family who have come forward. First name and birth date were an exact match. This man who was in hospital for a few weeks never regained his health and passed away.

    2)His Family who do not live in Newcastle watched his reported sightings on facebook and via communication with police support officers for years. When they had not heard anything they reported him missing to the police. Both the family and the police used my photographs to confirm the identity of the man. Unfortunately his body was cremated before a formal family identification could take place.

    3) There is an ongoing DNA test going on which is taking a long time much to the annoyance of the family who would like finally to put this whole thing behind them.

    I would also like to add that the family (I met up with this man's sister recently) gave me his entire life story. He chose to be homeless and suffered with mental health issues. They have for years tried everything imaginable to get him off the streets and look after him. They are devastated by what has happened.

    A second person who knew him came forward on my twitter account and gave me the same name as the family did.

    I don't know why people feel the need to be so nasty on social networking sites. I have a feeling that the 'Jimmy' group will end up in trouble at some point. I can't post on the page because i'm banned. I was banned for defending myself. Someone thought it was acceptable for me to be abused whilst sticking up for the plight of homeless people.

    As soon as the legal issues have been resolved and with the blessing of the family i will tell this mans story ASAP.

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    1. This really sad to know, but at least the truth will come out and stop all this Facebook nonsense, which can't be helping his family.

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  26. To answer the question did he have a valid metro ticket? Yes, on several occations I was on the train when he was checked and produced a day saver. Inspectors never bothered him.

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