This website is a record of the life of a young Sussex working man during the  final decade of Queen Victoria’s reign. It is drawn from the diaries Billy Hoad kept from 1893 through to the turn of the century and from some reflections on this period of his life that he recorded in his old age. 

How to use this site

The diary excerpts and other writings were  posted progressively. from mid 2009 until the final posting on 11th September 2010. Each posting has been  listed sequentially in the left hand column of this homepage.

If you are new to Billy Hoad's site, you will probably want to start at the beginning.
Click here to read from the first post

If you are a regular reader you will probably want to go to the latest , and now the final, posting.
Click here to read from the latest post

If you want to read a specific excerpt or topic, please select the menu on the left hand side of this page.

Left click on any thumbnail image to see a larger version of the image; select the return left arrow at the top of your screen to return to the narrative. If the title and source statement for a thumbnail image shows a hot link, this will take you to the source of that image; select the return left arrow at the top of your screen to return to the narrative.

We have provided RSS functionality to allow you to be kept informed about the latest postings. Click here to read more about RSS feeds.

 Click here to subscribe to the RSS feed

Contacting the Editor

If you wish to contact the editor on any matter relating to this site, use the link at the foot of this homepage. These will be treated as private communications unless you indicate that you would like your comment to be added to a particular page of the diaries.