"It all seems so long ago now, but so many times the memories of my childhood come flooding back to me.

I first saw the light of day at 22 Charlton, Singleton, in West Sussex amid those lovely Southdown hills.

That was almost 73 years ago now.

My father George, and my mother Lucy, were both honest and hard working Sussex folk. Dad spent most of his time working in the woods cutting down trees, and all the other jobs that go with forestry. Sometimes to get a little extra money he would do a few jobs on the local farm, such as helping with the harvest, and hoeing in the turnip fields. All these jobs had to be done by hand, or with horses, as the tractor and the farm machine age was yet to begin. Mother spent most of her day working in the house. She was a good cook. She used to make beautiful stews with just a little meat and lots of vegetables which came from my father's garden. We had lots of steamed puddings and plenty of fresh fruit..."

The above few lines of poetry, and the prose abstract is a sample of Ernest's diary writing; if you want to read more