Schoolboy, Servant, GWR Apprentice by David Wilkins

Schoolboy, Servant, GWR Apprentice by David Wilkins

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

A unique glimpse into the life of a young servant boy and GWR apprentice in the late nineteenth century

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free delivery in Australia
  • Supporting authors with AuthorSHARE
  • 100% recyclable packaging
  • Proud to be a B Corp – A Business for good
  • Buy-back with Ziffit

Schoolboy, Servant, GWR Apprentice by David Wilkins

Alfred Plumley, son of a coachman, was born in 1874 in Somerset's Mendip Hills. Written in his old age, this memoir of his youth was discovered in an auction sale. In it, Alfred vividly describes his country childhood and first job as a serving boy at the grand house on the hill above his village. At age 16, Alfred decides to improve his prospects by 'going on the railway' and is sent to a tiny village station on the Somerset coast. He quickly comes to love his new life and, undeterred by an unhappy temporary posting to the grim and chaotic engine yards of Bristol, ends up spending forty-five years as a GWR employee. Alfred writes charmingly, and always with the authentic voice of a West Country lad. His memoir has been edited by David Wilkins who adds just the right amount of detail to place the story in its proper historical context.
ALFRED PLUMLEY worked for the GWR for 45 years from the late nineteenth century until the 1930s. DAVID WILKINS is a retired public health campaigner, now a writer and a keen collector of old diaries and letters. He acquired Alfred Plumley’s memoirs at auction and has lovingly transcribed them for this book.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780750969932
ISBN 10 0750969938
Title Schoolboy, Servant, GWR Apprentice
Author David Wilkins
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher The History Press Ltd
Year published 2017-06-02
Number of pages 160
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.