A brief account of The Life and Times of SMOKEY JOE.

‘Smokey Joe’ was born George Curnow

on 29 December 1886 at Neckinger, Bermondsey. His father was George Curnow and his
mother was Emma Curnow, formerly Harding. At age 14 he was noted as being an errand boy.
George enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery at Woolwich on August 27th 1914. He was 28 years
old and was a leather worker’s labourer at that time. He could sign his name. He was 5 feet 4
inches tall and had a reddish complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He said he was Church of
England. His military career was short-lived. He was discharged on September 16th 1914, at
Shorncliffe, having served only 21 days. He was discharged “in consequence of being unlikely to
become an efficient soldier”. Note that this was right at the beginning of WW1. On leaving the
army his intended place of residence was to be the Salvation Army, Blackheath Road. It would
appear that from this time on he led the life of a vagrant never having any form of gainful
employment, and never marrying or having any children. In 1959 a local newspaper report stated
that by that time Smokey (George) had 45 previous convictions going back to 1909, aged 23, the
majority for begging and for being an ‘incorrigible rogue’. In 1958 at the age of 72 he was
sentenced to 5 years preventive detention for the theft of a bicycle at Bexley.
In the late 1960s Smokey’s health started to decline and the local authorities found a place for
him in a home in Oaklands Road, Chislehurst. A local paper printed a photograph of him, smartly
dressed, enjoying a cup of tea with a fellow resident along with the attached photo which stated
he was not happy at the home, missing life on the road. He was later transferred to Oakwood
Hospital, Maidstone and finally to West Kent General Hospital, Maidstone where he died on
January 1st 1975. He was nearly 89 years old. There was a post mortem but no inquest. His
body was buried, but his burial place so far as we are aware, remains undiscover.

Hundreds of people seem to recall him – mostly fondly, although apparently he used to terrify
some of the more timid and youthful populace!
George Curnow:
His real name was George Curnow, and it’s believed that he was born in Bermondsey in 1886:
discharged from the army during the Great War, he spent the rest of his life tramping the streets
of South-East London – usually wheeling his bike, and carrying his few possessions…
A “gentleman of the road”, he was said to have been well educated, a keen ornithologist, and
fine singer: he was also extremely ‘well known’ by local police forces, who’d often lock him up for
the night to keep warm. (He often travelled whilst wearing a police helmet)…
A tough old boy, “Smokey Joe” lived on well into his 80s: he died in Maidstone Hospital in 1975.
Here at the Local Studies Centre, we’ve a wonderful small collection of articles and notes about
“Smokey Joe” - (just ask for pamphlet box PAM 920 SMO)…
Call in and take a look ~ you’ll be amazed!.
We hope that these photos (some kindly donated by Mr Hadley of Sidcup) will bring back some
memories.
And, if you do have memories or stories about this very singular character, do add them here:
we’d love to hear from you.
DO YOU REMEMBER “SMOKEY JOE”?...

‘terrifying sound’ of him riding

‘balance bike’
 remember him well - with his old paint pot with a fire in it hanging from the handlebars of his bike.

 My mother used to give him a drink and something to eat. She also gave him a grey suit of my
fathers. The problem being she didn't realise it was the NEW grey suit he had bought the previous
week. Smokey Joe was very pleased with it but the same couldn't be said about my father!!

At one time he was resident under one of the old Sidcup Station buildings. The first time I saw him 'in action'
was when I was walking from Faraday Ave towards the station when I heard an almighty clattering noise,
looked round and saw him screaming down Station Road on his bike, no tyres on the wheels, no brakes, straight
through the red traffic lights with a mass of red sparks flying up behind him from the hobnails on his boots.

Yes I remember smokey Joe, I used to work for G. Shepard & Sons Rectory lane Sidcup, VW Porsche &
BMC main dealers, in those days when we did work on a vehicle we'd take it out for a test drive on
completion of work, used to regularly bump into smokey down rectory lane we used to stop have a
fag & a chat with him, in the winter time he'd smash a few shop windows & they used to lock him up
until spring, on one occasion his bike was left in the police compound & a good few ton of coal was
dropped on it he made the police dig it out when he was released, loved his bike both pedals hang
down no tyres & a smoking pot on the handle bar

My father used to talk to Smokey Joe & there was a rumour he came from a wealthy family but I
think it was only a rumour. I heard about him smashing windows to get locked up! There was a photo
of him in a library booklet that Bexley libraries used to sell