Worthing Herald 27th December 1927
An Old Hand
I had the pleasure at a recent informal concert of meeting one of Worthing's "old hands" Mr George Westbrook and he told me some interesting incidents. He mentioned that Mr Harry Hargood JP and he were the only survivors of the original committee of nine which was responsible for the formation of the local Conservative Association. Mr Westbrook is one of the old Tarring Bonfire Boys, he has fought for a seat on the Council (and lost to Mr Farncombe), and he was also one of the leading spirits of the Tarring Flower Show. The show, by the way, has been allowed to lapse although there still exist the silver trophies and a sum of money in the bank to £50. To cap all, Mr Westbrook showed that he is not a negligible quantity by contributing to the concert the song "The Old Armchair" which takes one back several years.
Worthing Herald 5th July 1940
Aged 82-He Works 12 Hours a Day and Likes It.
82 years of age, hale and hearty, Mr George Westbrook of Chancton View Road, Worthing, believes in hard work and plenty of it. Although well past his allowance of three score years and ten, Mr Westbrook still puts in 12 hours of work every day and enjoys every minute of it. Since getting his first job at the age of seven, he has never known a day's unemployment. His first wage packet earned by seven days scaring crows from crops, contained one shilling. "And my father took that" said Mr Westbrook with a rueful grin. He gave me one penny for myself which I spent on mint and lemon drops. Unfortunately, my parents were very fond of minties, so in the end all I had were the lemon drops. Realising he had his own way to make in the world, young Westbrook gave up crow scaring and went to work turning a spinning wheel for a woman who made spun twine into horse nets. For this he received, if he turned properly, 2s 6d and "a smack on the head if I let the wheel stop". This sudden wealth fired the boy with ambition. He worked for his father in the timber yards, he took a job as "boots" in a Havant hotel and later became second chef at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He liked the work and thought he had settled. But he eventually had to leave and for an unusual reason. The kitchens were underground and were gas lit. Electricity was installed but the constant flickering of the early installation began to get on his nerves.
Out into the open again, he secured a post in the Worthing goods yard. This lasted for some time and then George tried job after job. "Anything and everything. It was all experience" he said. Finally, he decided to go into business for himself and took up the pig rearing he still carries on. For thirty years he had studied and bred pigs and now even likes them!
During his life, Mr Westbrook has had countless adventures. He was a member of Broadwater Fire Brigade-they only had the most primitive outfit but plenty of enthusiasm! He was the first member of the brigade to do a whole night's duty. A fire broke out next door to George, and after the brigade had done its stuff, the Captain detailed a man to stand by all night. George was that man.
George's discovery that a pal had his heart on the right side resulted in quite a lot of free refreshment for the pair of them. Both members of an ambulance brigade, George couldn't find his friend's heart when he followed doctor's instructions during a drill. This led to the discovery of the transposed heart and the doctor was so intrigued that he made numerous examinations of the man at his surgery and paid twelve and six a time to the man for his trouble.
Mr Westbrook was for three years Captain of the Tarring Bonfire Boys and has been a great worker for numerous slate clubs. He has saved five lives, one from burning, the others from drowning. Now he is perfectly happy with his piggery taking all his working time, and a glass of beer and a yarn with his pals in the evenings.