One such memoir was written by a miner from South Wales, the title of which was: "Too Old at Forty". From this particular memoir one learns a great deal of first hand information about the experiences of an older person suffering from unemployment in interwar Britain.
He worked in a pit from the age of twelve, in May of nineteen twenty-six, some years later a great walkout commenced and this led to the general strike. He stated that he never got back to work after that day. He went out at least three times a week to find work however he was turned down due to his age. He was even turned down from a place where he had worked for seventeen years in the past, the reason he was given was because they wanted younger workers. One can surely imagine the impact that would have had on the workers self esteem? He began to draw unemployment benefit in June nineteen twenty-seven. He had enough money to pay his rent but had very little left over for anything else, he became dependant on his eldest son to find employment, (who was fifteen) he did get a job as did his next oldest child. The family was now able pay the rent and have enough let over to buy little treats for themselves. In March 1932 however his unemployment benefit came to an end, and the family were giving a food ticket for twenty-three shillings per week, this stopped in January of nineteen thirty-three because of the dreaded Means Test. This was one policy brought in by the government that enhanced and worsened the experiences of the unemployed. This meant that the family of six were dependant on the incomes of two of their children. .
This account highlights one of the main differences in the variations of experiences between the unemployed in terms of gender. It shows that there was a higher possibility of someone younger finding work and being in employment than an older worker. The historian Bernard Harris agreed with this factor as he suggests that the evidence shows that men over the age of fifty-five are twice as likely to be unemployed as those aged eighteen to twenty-four.
