Born in Brighton in 1891, Harry Cowley, known as the ‘Gov’nor’, was a Brighton chimney sweep who later became a local legend. He fought for the rights of the under-privileged; for the homeless and unemployed as well as for market traders and old-age pensioners. Harry also battled against social injustices that he came across in his lifetime; for example, he opposed Moseley’s fascists in the 1930s and campaigned against what he described as tight-fisted councils and unjust governments. His autobiography encompasses the changing nature of working class life and politics in Brighton during the twentieth century, and shows how one man, with his rallying cry of ‘it don’t come right to me’, struggled to overcome adversity and lived a fascinating and eventful life. Harry died in March 1971.