Bartley Gorman King of the gypsies

When Reg Kray died I had the pleasure of sharing a funeral car with Bartley Gorman, King of the Gypsies.

I had never met him before that day and have never forgotten him since.

He was a giant of a man in more ways than one. He was as sturdy as an oak and his fists were as knurled and burred.

As we made our way to Chingford Mount Cemetery he amazed us with his tales of Gypsy life and his role within that community. "King of the Gypsies" he said, is not a title that is inherited but one that is earned through "blood, snot, sweat and gore".

One day he said he would write a book about his life, something that I would eagerly keep an eye out for.

We had a few drinks back at Reg's wake, said our farewells and went our different ways.

I had only known him a few hours but the warmth and friendliness he showed towards me and the other occupants of the funeral car has remained with me to this day.

Almost 18 months later I was looking through my local bookshop when I saw the familiar face of Bartley staring back at me from the new books section.

I felt excited that he had at last put pen to paper and quickly flicked through the pages to get a feel about what the book contained.

At the back of the book was a Tribute .... to whom I wondered. As I read on I realised it was a tribute to Bartley himself who sadly died a month before his book was published.

He died of cancer on Friday the eighteenth of January 2002 at a hospice in Derby. The funeral took took place a week later in Uttoxeter, his adopted hometown and he was buried in a small cemetery in nearby Rocester. Peter Walsh who co-wrote the book with Bartley said in his tribute "It was a bleak, wet day, and a sad one for those who knew this remarkable man".

I had always hoped to meet him again one day and maybe talk about his book but now it is too late.

I pay my respects to you Bartley Gorman, King of the Gypsies.

King of The Gypsies by Bartley Gorman with Peter Walsh. Published by Milo books.