This is the remarkable story of a partially-sighted vagrant as he tramped around the British Isles. At each town he visited, Harry Payne earned a few pence by writing a review of the place for the local newspaper. His articles provided a unique ‘worms-eye’ view of Britain before and during the Great War. These perceptive snapshots, presented by historian and local history writer Quintin Watt, challenge the myth that poor people left no written evidence of their lives and experience.

Photo: Children barefoot outside their home in a slum area before the First World War. Harry Payne would have witnessed such sights on his journey around the British Isles. © Imperial War Museum