A detailed story of life in Dagenham during and just after the war as seen and remembered through the eyes of a working class 'scruff' or urchin. Largely based on reminiscence columns written for the Dagenham Post, it also includes his life at sea (as a 'sea urchin'). As well as being personal recollections of events that happened to him, the book also reveals a picture of a Dagenham, perhaps a Britain, w long gone.