With its backdrop of Brighton in the Second World War, International Service tells the tale of Kathleen Wilson’s naive teenage years, leaving school at 14 on the outbreak of war to work in a factory, going on to work in a baker’s, as a domestic help and in the grocery trade.
Kathleen lived in the shadow of her domineering father who chose the jobs that she took and actively discouraged her passion for writing by destroying her manuscripts.
The book vividly describes wartime life in Brighton: Preston Park being turned into allotments, the introduction of rationing, and the bombing of the Preston Road viaduct. After the war Kathleen volunteered as an escort for disabled servicemen at St Dunstan’s, and she recalls the 1951 smallpox outbreak in Brighton.
It covers the time she spent working in family-run shops, through to her years at the International Stores at 82 Preston Road and brings to life the atmosphere of the local shop trade in the period up to the 1950s.
Editorial team: Jackie Blackwell, Keith Hood, Sheena Macdonald, Pamela Platt
International Service is now out of print but is available as a free (or donation!) PDF download of the original text. You can download it by clicking here. To make a donation for this booklet, please click on the button below.
