By Garth England

Garth England was born in Bristol General Hospital in 1935, four years before World War II broke out. His mother named him after a blind pianist in a romantic novel by Florence Barclay, a blockbuster in its day. Garth spent almost all of his seventy-nine years living in neighbourhoods in south Bristol: Knowle West, Hengrove, Totterdown and Bedminster. The jobs he held throughout his life – paperboy, telegram boy, milkman and railway man – meant that he had a deep understanding of the rhythm, architecture and people of this part of the city.
This book is made up of exquisitely detailed drawings by England of different stages of his life. Together they tell the poignant story of a childhood lived through a world war and its aftermath; the development of Britain’s Welfare State and social housing provision; vernacular architecture, indoor toilets and fitted kitchens.