Yesterday's Papers, Volume Three: Life in England between the wars 1918-1934, from the pages of The Isle of Wight County Press

While the Victorian way of life is a whole world away from today, the same is not true for the inter-war years. Much of what is familiar now was familiar then. By the 1930s the car, the telephone, electrical appliances of every type and even air travel had become a part of everyday life for those able to afford them. Against a background of music from radios and record players and in fashions regarded as decadent by the previous generation, the moderately wealthy could enjoy a pleasant, carefree lifestyle. The war was behind them and life was for living.

For many others the 1930s were not so cheerful. Long term unemployment became a way of life for thousands, and this was especially so on the Island where many jobs depended on manufacturing.

The County Press faithfully recorded every shade of these highs and lows in great detail and set them before their readers once a week. Today their work gives an account of the way of the world in times gone by in a thoroughness that only local newspapers can achieve.

There will be readers who, for better or worse, have first-hand experience of life as a child in the 1930s. Some of them may be lucky enough to find accounts of their relatives in these pages and perhaps learn a little more about where they themselves have come from.