Hard times, good times

Small child in Hayllar's Cottages looking west, January 1935

Brighton & Hove in Pictures

During the 1930s economic depression life was hard for the majority of the national population.  Many were willing and able to work, and marched to London for jobs and the means to feed their families.

On this page and in The Pawnbrokers , memories of how local families coped during this dark period are explored.

Further memories can be found by exploring  Our community 1920-1940 and its inner pages.

You can download Hard times, good times and its accompanying page by clicking here (PDF format).

I seemed to become aware of the words hardship and poverty. We were always hungry, or so it seemed. Looking back it must have been a nightmare for my Mum and Dad. He had been demobilised from the army and gone into the building trade as a labourer and a hod carrier.

School time was always welcome, as we were always warm there, teachers understood our plight and would encourage us to run and exercise in the small playground. I hated being poor though and even now I can remember the times when we had holes in our shoes. During prayer times in the hall, we had to kneel on the floor and I was always conscious of the state of the soles of my shoes.

I never blamed my Dad for these things. How could I? I loved him very much and after all most of the kids in our school were in the same boat.

They were lovely times when Dad was in work. My brother George and I would take Dad's dinner down to him at midday. It would be wrapped in a cloth and steaming hot in a basket, together with a jug of tea. It's a small wonder that we never got burnt, as the tea would be freshly made and the dinner just cooked. This was so that Dad didn't have to leave the job as they worked on bonus work. Poor Dad's hands were always chapped and raw and he always carried something called a Melrose Tablet in his pocket, it looked like a ball of yellow grease and he used to lubricate his hands.

They were lovely times when Dad was in work. We used to go for bus rides along the front and to Rotting-dean. There was a little single decker bus like a charabanc that used to run from the top of Elm Grove to Woodingdean; we got off at the Downs Hotel and walked down the Falmer Road to Rottingdean and then on a bus home. This idyllic situa­tion was not to be long lived, however, for the start of the thirties once more brought unemployment and hunger.
Georgina Attrell - Backyard Brighton

Although she (mother) had very little money, we always had tasty meals.

The only means of cooking was on a blacklead kitchen range in the back room (scullery). This had an open coal fire on which a kettle always stood to supply a small amount of hot water. I remember coming in from school on a cold day to the sound of the kettle singing.

On the left hand side of the fire was the oven with the hobs on top for the saucepans. It has always amazed me how mother turned out such beautiful cakes and pastry when she had no way to test the heat of the oven. Although she had very little money, we always had tasty meals.

When Mother had her first gas cooker installed in the scullery, it made life a great deal easier, although we were all a little apprehensive of it at first. Shortly before I left school, electricity and main drainage were laid onto the cottages. What a transformation these things made to our lives.
Margaret Ward - One Camp Chair in the Living Room

The Salvation Army were very good to the poor families. About 3 times a year they would give to about 200 boys and girls a tea-party at the Congress Hall.
Albert Paul - Poverty, Hardship but Happiness