Billy Bluelight pseudonym of William Cullum. (Born 1859/1863? Norwich

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

- died 1949 Shipmeadow

Shipmeadow

Shipmeadow is a small village located on the Beccles to Bungay road. Shipmeadow has no shop or even a church because it was made redundant in 1980.- History :...

, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

). A much loved legendary figure in Norwich and well known for his races against steam pleasure boats in the 1920/30s along the River Wensum

River Wensum

The River Wensum is a chalk fed river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare despite being the larger of the two rivers. The complete river is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation ....

 and River Yare

River Yare

The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches the river connects with the navigable waterways of The Broads....

.

Early life

Cullum was born in the slums

Slum

A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...

 of his home city of Norwich. He never received a formal education, but he did however teach himself to read. He worked briefly at Caley's chocolate factory and by 1907 he was already legendary for his racing and street selling activities.

Later life

He never married and lived with his mother, until her death. They lived at several addresses in the city including Oak Street, Colegate and Pkyerell House at St Mary's Plain. After his mother's death around 1930 he was reported to have entered Woodlands, part of the West Norwich Hospital. By the 1940s he was living at Palmer Road on the Mile Cross Estate which was built between the wars. In his eighties he entered the West Norwich Hospital and was later moved to St James Hospital at Shipmeadow, Suffolk where he died in 1949.

Five years after his death, writer R L Potter wrote this description of him

Nickname

Many theories have been put forward to how he received his name. In 1907, a reference was made to the 'bluelight' of his eloquence, another suggestion of his blue nose in winter or that he sold blue-tipped matches. Blue light was the Victorian term for teetotaller or temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

 worker. Although he spoke out against the dangers of alcohol, there is no evidence to prove that this was the case.

Legacy

There are several reminders of him in the Norwich area including the Crude Apache theatre company that produced a play about his life entitled "Natures Gentleman-The Story of Billy Bluelight"

Close to the Woods End Inn, Bramerton

Bramerton

Bramerton is a village in South Norfolk 4¾ miles south-east of Norwich, just north of the main A146 Norwich-Lowestoft road and on the south bank of the River Yare. In the 2001 census it contained 158 households and a population of 350.-The village:...

 a life-size statue has been erected in his memory on the Wherryman's Way long distance footpath.

In 1994 Woodforde’s Brewery

Woodforde’s Brewery

Woodforde’s Brewery is a micro-brewery located in Slad Lane in the village of Woodbastwick, in the county of Norfolk. The brewery produced its first commercial brew in 1981 from original brewery in the village of Drayton north east of Norwich. In 1996 the brewery’s popular Wherry bitter became...

renamed their outlet The Freemasons Arms in Hall Road to The Billy Bluelight. Since March, 2005, after a change of ownership the pub is now known by its former name.

Racing career

Slight and wiry and dressed in long white shorts, cricket cap, plimsolls and medals on his chest. He would issue his challenge to pleasure boat passengers that he would beat them to their destination. Setting off, walking and running, he would be waiting to meet the boats at the next landing stage to receive acclamation and pennies of his admirers. On the return journey he would regale day-trippers with the following rhyme He is said to have remained '45' for many years.