Community Honors Homeless World War II POW Who Couldn’t Speak

More than 30 years after his death, a British World War II veteran who spent much of his life homeless and unable to speak, has been memorialized.

William Clements, better known as “Barton Billy,” was a prisoner of war (POW), held captive by the Japanese military in WWII. Following the war and his liberation, Clements suffered from severe claustrophobia, affecting him so badly that he couldn’t sleep inside his home in Barton, Gloucester, England. 

While he died in 1995 and was cremated, no marker was laid to signify where Clements’ ashes had been scattered. Until recently. Last week, thanks to the kindness of author Paul James, a commemorative plaque was placed in the veteran’s hometown to honor the former POW soldier. 

James led a fundraiser to pay for the plaque, talking to friends of the late veteran who recall him fondly. They greeted him often in the streets, offering food, drink and hospitality.  

“His experience as a prisoner of war left a long-lasting mark on his life,” James told the BBC. “He couldn’t bear to be inside; he lost the power of speech. Lots of people used to see him on a day-to-day basis and the community helped him a lot by giving him food and drink and clothing and even free haircuts.” 

With Clements’ memory still evoking powerful emotions, James knew something had to be done to remember the veteran permanently. 

“That’s why we wanted to make sure we had a visible tangible memory of his life.” 

‘Local Character’ 

The plaque was unveiled last Wednesday and was well attended with friends, servicemembers from Clements’ battalion, local police officers and veterans from the Royal British Legion all there to pay respect. 

Kevin Price, a cop who patrolled some of the streets Clements called home, said the WWII veteran frequently slept in doorways. 

“Some people were frightened of him, but he was harmless,” Price said. 

For the most part, folks in Barton rallied around Clements. 

“A lot of them when they came back from the war, they’d been so ill-treated,” Price said. “The local people took him into their hearts – he became a local character.” 

Pat Gifford, a local reverend, was a friend of Clements and was honored to officiate his memorial service. 

“It was a huge privilege,” she said. “I met Billy long before I went into ministry (and) I’ve lived in our community for 53 years.” 

Many in Barton who know Clements have plenty of stories to share.  

Helped Shape Community 

“Many years ago, I worked in our local pub. One evening I was there on my own, Billy came in. He sat down; I thought I’d take him over a pint of orange juice,” Gifford said. “When he finished, he got up, walked over to the bar and I wondered what would happen. He put the pint glass down and shook my hand and off he went. What I realized that night is it wasn’t a drink that he wanted, it was company on his own terms.” 

Gifford believes the homeless veteran made a lasting impact on the small British community. 

“Still today people here look out for each other and look after each other and don’t judge and I think it’s because of people like Billy, we’ve learnt that over the years.” 

James described the fundraising effort as remarkable with more than 60 people donating to provide a plague to a man that died three decades ago. 

“As well as people who knew Billy we’ve had representatives of his regiment, the Royal British legion were here and former police officers,” James said. “I’m sure he would have been very touched.”