In the late 1970s, retired Grimsby schoolmaster, Harry Goulding, wrote his memoirs, longhand, on sheets of paper rescued from a skip and they lay for many years in the safe-keeping of his grandchildren until they were transcribed into two books, the first (this book) detailing his childhood days up until the end of his college days, the second, 'Man's Estate, ' chronicling his often-turbulent career as an eccentric schoolmaster in Grimsby.In 'Henry the Ninth' we learn of the poverty of his childhood, the struggle to supplement his ¿d per week pocket money, the rat-catching and the pig-keeping, his annual trips on the trawlers, the yearning for independence from his domineering father, the family war over his grandfather's will, his struggles at school, and his eventual and reluctant choice of profession, among many other incidents, happy and bitter. In addition, his story represents a valuable local history insight into life in the poor quarter of Grimsby in the early part of the twentieth century.