J. Alfred Eggar was born in Binsted in Hampshire, England, in 1840. At the age of 72 he was persuaded by his family to write his reminiscences of his life in Binsted and the surrounding area - Bentley, Crondall, Farnham, Aldershot, Long Sutton, Frensham, and Alice Holt - and these form a fascinating picture of Hampshire country life in the mid to late nineteenth century. As the author writes in his preface "a good deal of information of a local nature has been accumulated which will not only interest and amuse, but, I venture to hope, be useful in future for a reference as to customs which prevailed in the past, and the general life of the countryside."