| Description | DOB: 20 January 1894
DOD: UNKNOWN
Born in Liverpool.
Raised in Jordan Place, a slum district of Liverpool with a four-room house and backyard toilet.
Lived in extreme poverty — barefoot until about age 10, first boots came from a charity.
Family frequently relied on pawnshops for clothes and necessities.
Witnessed harsh social conditions: communal toilets, crowded living, night men inspections for overcrowding.
Very close to his mother; she worked tirelessly but died of consumption due to poor conditions in a wash house.
Attended school from age 5 to 14
Academically gifted — won a diploma for an essay on British naval power at age 8
Loved reading; read romantic serials to an illiterate moneylender as a side job
Offered a scholarship but couldn't afford the required books
Started working at age 12 in a grocer’s shop for two shillings/week
Later full-time work as:
Greengrocer’s assistant (carrying heavy goods, dock deliveries)
Cork factory worker (cutting cork bungs; exposed to hazardous conditions)
Paid minimal wages (e.g. five shillings/week, later seven and six)
Long work hours: often 8am to midnight, particularly on weekends
Passionate about reading, especially adventure stories
Loved the theatre, spent weekly allowance on plays and penny paperbacks
Hobby of building model aeroplanes; early attempt at parachuting led to a broken leg
Enjoyed Sunday School outings; saved up for occasional charabanc trips outside Liverpool
Mother's illness and death due to harsh working conditions
Childhood accident attempting parachuting with an umbrella
Routine pawning of clothes and reliance on charity
Night inspectors checking bed-sharing, leading to fines and evasion tactics
Missed opportunity for a scholarship due to poverty
Shared hospital memories: described his first hospital bed and good food as “glorious”
Type-written
Liverpool slums, poverty, charity clothing, pawnshop, wash house, childhood resilience, barefoot, grocer, cork factory, night inspectors, education, theatre, model aeroplanes, essay award, adventure books, public relief stigma, soup kitchens.
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