'The Cat Man' (Bill King), remembered by George Piggin
Bill King, of Waterside died suddenly in the late 1990s. He was known to so many as the Cat Man and the town lost one of its well-known characters. Bill, a former local Postmaster, was 86, but could be seen riding his bicycle around the town every day, in all weathers.
For many years, he had fed the stray cats. He would gather blown or dented tins of food from various retail establishments, although if these were in short supply he would pay for food out of his own pocket. The cats gathered to meet him at several points - at the Station, at the top of Townfield Steps and at the former Gas Works site along the Backs, where they would await his arrival just as if they had built-in time clocks!
Prior to the former rubbish dump at Latimer Road being upgraded to its present layout, he would also cycle down every morning to feed some ten or a dozen cats who lived there.
Written by the late George Piggin in 1998 or 1999.
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