Original: He left school at the age of 14, sent out by his father to earn his living in a local gas store for 16s 10d (84p) a week.
Simplified: His father worked in a bank. He left school when he was 14 and got a simple job in a gas store where he earned 16s 10d (16 shillings and 10 pence, which is 84p in modern British money) a week.