As Phil Carradice says in this hugely entertaining and evocative book the memories of childhood have no order. What they do have, however, is a resonance and an ability to quicken the heart beat and transports you back to a time when the entire world was young and free and intriguing.

Phil Carradice’s account of growing up in Pembrokeshire in the years after the Second World War is one of adventure and discovery - all the while bordered by a warm and loving family that provide the security needed to grow and test the limits imposed by society. In many respects the childhood and adolescence described here are no different from many others - look at them in another way and they are a unique and fascinating period, caught in a time long gone and a way of life that is now as distant as the moon.

Pembroke Dock in the 1940s, 50s and 60s was a wonderful combination of rural and urban living. It offered an amazing range of experiences. Phil Carradice grabbed them with both hands. And we are lucky that he has the words and the images to describe what he experienced, making this book an invaluable piece of social history.