William Cullum (10 April 1859 – July 1949), known as Billy Bluelight, was a popular English flower vendor and cult figure in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. He was well known for his races, when he would run the 20-mile stretch alongside the steam pleasure boats beside the rivers

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

and Yare.

Early life

Cullum was born in the slums 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

Cullum never married and lived with his mother, until her death. They lived at several addresses in the city including Oak Street, Colegate and Pykerells 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 1939, he was living at Palmer Road on the Mile Cross Estate which was built between the wars. In his 80s, he entered the West Norwich Hospital and was later moved to St James Hospital at Shipmeadow, Suffolk, where he died in 1949, aged 90. Five years after his death, writer R L Potter wrote this description of him:

Legacy

There are several reminders of him in the Norwich area. The Crude Apache theatre company produced a play about his life, entitled ''"Nature's Gentleman - The Story of Billy Bluelight"'' Close to the Woods End Inn in Bramerton, a life-size statue has been erected in his memory on the

Wherryman's Way Wherryman's Way is a long-distance footpath in the English county of Norfolk. Route Wherryman's Way is long, running between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. It follows the course of the River Yare where possible, with some significant stretches a ...

long-distance footpath. In 1994 Woodforde's Brewery renamed their outlet ''The Freemasons Arms'' in Hall Road, Norwich to ''The Billy Bluelight''. Since March 2005, and after a change of ownership, the pub has now reverted to its former name.The Billy Bluelight public house
Retrieved August 5, 2008

Racing career

Cullen was slight and wiry, and typically dressed in long white shorts, cricket cap, and plimsolls with 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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billy Bluelight People from Norwich 1859 births 1949 deaths