Born in 1894 in London, Jack Cummins lived in Brighton from 1959. This book was published on the day of his death – 9th October 1981, so sadly, it also becomes his memorial. Jack was a religious young altar boy who worshipped in the Chapel of St. Anselm and St. Cecilia in Sardinia Street, London. As a boy, he played football for Bourne Athletic Club in Holborn, expressing an interest in physical fitness as well as in spiritual matters. As an adolescent, he became a Labour and suffrage activist and a conscientious objector to wartime activity. As an adult, he surprised everyone, least of all himself, by joining the army in the First World War as, paradoxically 'the only pacifist who took up arms'.

This is the sequel to Poverty, Hardship but Happiness. Brightonian, Albert Paul, left school at the tender age of fourteen and began work as a carpenter, rising from the position of apprentice to that of master craftsman. Albert remained in his job throughout his life, in an era when people usually continued to work for one employer throughout their working lives. This second book vividly describes how he supported his family during his working life as a carpenter/joiner in Brighton from 1917 to 1968. His hard work and commitment throughout his career, which lasted fifty-one years, is an example to us all. This book was written in 1975, one year before the author died.

This autobiography looks at the working life of milliner, Marjorie Gardiner, from 1925 to 1945, including an account of her working life during the Second World War. Marjorie's story is told in a lively and evocative manner, and describes her experiences as a shop assistant working in a Brighton hat shop, where she met all manner of elite customers. Those were the days when women were particularly fashion-conscious and there was a huge variety of different types of hat styles available. This first-hand account provides a fascinating insight into shop life during the first part of the twentieth century.