In this memoir Jim Bennet portrays the Halifax of the 1930s and '40s: one full of coal smoke and rival gangs of young boys, freight trains and pine tar soap. He takes the reader "down the bank" with him to adventures all over the city's south end and beyond, offering a glimpse of childhood where a boy had free rein far beyond his backyard. For Jim and his neighbours, the playground was the seashore, the tracks, the ponds and parks, the tramcars, the Commons, the Citadel. Through his eyes we see the impact caused by the Second World War on daily family life. Bennet's gift for storytelling is evident as he recalls the details of ordinary life from the perspective of a boy growing up. This book will bring memories back for some readers; for others, it is a window into adolescence at a time when the world was rapidly changing.