An old man sits at a table looking down at a bag of monkey nuts strewn before him. A squirrel, stuffed in a glass case, gazes hungrily on. The eponymous "money" appears to have gone on paying for this meagre repast. This is a vision of post-war poverty. The green tablecloth is threadbare and has a gaping hole; the walls are dark and sombre. A ration book is tucked behind a jug containing sewing equipment and string – a powerful reminder of the make-do-and-mend culture of wartime Britain. A pipe on the table lies empty and cold, but this is not a painting without hope. A portrait of Queen Victoria, onto which is pinned an unpaid bill, inspires patriotism and a call for fortitude and endurance during difficult times. Stuffed behind the picture a bunch of Honesty conveys its own symbolic message, while alongside is a framed message of hope and faith in God. Charles Spencelayh was born in Rochester on 27 October 1865. His father reputedly knew Charles Dickens and Spencelayh was brought up to revere the author, whose realist novels were to have a great influence on his work. Spencelayh trained at Dr Burns school in Rochester before enrolling into the Royal College of Art. He continued painting in the style he learnt there for the rest of his life, eschewing the seismic shifts in art during the first half of the century. Particularly inspired by the stoicism and defiance of the men and women left behind to guard the home front during War World Two, Spencelayh's work focuses largely on the men too old to fight. While his paintings depict the realities of war as experienced at home – from food rationing and the anticipation of losing a loved one – they also present a reassuring and nostalgic vision of domestic life in Britain.