Chapter 1 from Fred Kingdom's memoir 'Looking Back Over Time'. Frederick John Kingdom was born on July 4, 1924, in Giants Grave, Briton Ferry, a close-knit, working-class village in South Wales. He fondly recalls his early childhood, including living at 2 Customs Houses with his parents, sister Joan, and grandfather Joseph Hampton. The family later moved to Ruskin Street during the 1920s, a time marked by economic hardship and political unrest, such as the 1926 General Strike, during which his father, a railway guard, was suspended. Despite financial challenges, Kingdom describes a happy upbringing, supported by his mother’s skills as a dressmaker and homemaker. Their entertainment was home-made, with limited technology like gas lighting and an early loudspeaker radio. He began school at Brynhyfryd Elementary, where large class sizes limited learning. Though he was briefly top of his class, he ultimately failed the eleven-plus exam and chose not to pursue technical school. Kingdom’s school memories are dominated by football and mischief in class, rather than academics.The chapter offers a vivid and affectionate look at working-class life in interwar Wales through a child’s eyes.