A much-loved autobiographical tale of childhood in 1920s Isle of Wight is set to return to bookshop shelves, after being rescued from obscurity for a second time.
‘Pon My Puff: A Childhood in 1920s Isle of Wight’, by the late Peter Stark Lansley, is being re-published by Austin Macauley – ensuring the Island favourite is once again available in local bookshops.
The manuscript was originally discovered in 2013 by Peter’s son, Dr Charles Lansley, following the death of his mother. Written in the early 1960s, it lay hidden for decades in a rusty old trunk before being published in 2021 by Newchurch-based Beachy Books, 60 years after it was completed. The first edition proved a great success, but when Beachy Books ceased trading in 2024, it quickly went out of print.
Determined not to let his father’s work disappear again, Charles, 74, began a search for a new publisher – a mission that has now paid off.
The autobiographical novel, originally written under the same title, is told from a child’s perspective and follows Peter’s upbringing by his mother, Annie, and grandparents William and Harriette Stark, initially in East Cowes and later at Woodside Villa, Wootton. With his father away at sea in the Navy, the book paints a vivid portrait of Island village life a century ago – from innocent musings on God and the afterlife to magical Christmases and childhood adventures along Wootton Creek.
To give modern readers context, Charles has added annotations identifying people, places and events, making the work both a charming memoir and a resource for family historians.
Peter, born in Portsmouth in 1919, had a strong naval background and later worked for the Ministry of Aviation as a Telecommunications Officer. He died in Shanklin in 1999.
‘Pon My Puff: A Childhood in 1920s Isle of Wight’ will be available from Babushka Books and Glyn Morgans in Shanklin, Medina Books in Cowes, Ryde Bookshop, and online.
