Harry

I came across Harry Greenwood at Baslow in Derbyshire some years ago.

In this image you can see his long hair poking out of the hood of his duffle coat where it has been worn away by putting his head down on the compacted earth in a local farmers small outbuilding where he slept.
I have sat and talked to Harry on numerous occasions and found his hard looking exterior to contain a most gentle person.

At one point in his life he lived in a small Cave on the A619 below the Robin Hood Pub only eventually to be driven out by local hooligans. He was given a small outbuilding to live in by a local farmer at Baslow where he spent his final days.
He developed a leg infection which turned gangrenous. He was taken into hospital where he was told if his leg wasn't amputated he would die.
Harry knew that if he allowed the operation it would mean a long stay in hospital and he knew that meant being away from his outdoor life and his farm animal friends. Harry made his choice and refused the operation.

On Baslow green a small bench seat was constructed in his memory. The inscription reads....
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on rippled grain
I am the gentle autumn rain
I am the happy wanderer.