Mr. Harry Martin, pictured left, recounts in a book published in 1995, his days working on Penarth Dock in an article named 'The Dear Dead Days'. [326] He recalls the Custom House and Port Authority Offices and provides us with a unique personal insight into the workings of the dock ; thank you Harry.

'There are still two buildings standing at the dock entrance, the Custom House and the old Port Authority Offices. I had the honour of working there. There's the big building there at the bottom of the hill. Now say you're facing the building. On that side of it was the Dock Manager's Office on the ground & first floors, and a caretaker's flat up above. In the middle upstairs was the Customs & Excise. Nice fellows. To help them, save the old skippers coming over, I used to take their transize and all, to reduce the customs. Then, adjoining it, single-story building where they assembled the crews when they were signing-on crews on a wet day. If it was a nice day, old Sylvester and the union man would be outside, you know. It was the Board of Trade and the Docks.