George Grout was a member of one of Brighton’s best-known family bakers. He learnt the skills and craft of baking from his father and brothers at a young age, and can attest to hard times as well as recalling many happy memories of laughter and fun.
In his 1992 memoir. George recalled the years when he lived and worked at the bakery at 34 Coombe Road, where his bedroom was full of paper bags, there were horses in the stable and he had to get up very early in order to get to work on time. He reminisced about his ten brothers and sisters, his strong and gentle mother and the man who was his teacher, his boss and above all his father. In a nutshell he loved his work, stating that “being one of ‘The Smiling Bakers’ kept me going. That was the name that we called ourselves.”
This book presents a unique and detailed picture of working lives in Brighton from 1900 through to the Second World War.
This book is currently out of print, but you can download a PDF of the original text of The Smiling Bakers by clicking here.
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