Hiram Crosland Firth was born in August 1885 in Stanningley, Yorkshire and, after school, trained as an electrical engineer - although this appears, as his later career shows, to have covered a broad range of engineering skills. In 1915, he married a local girl, Annie Tate and Hiram accepted a position at the Ericssons factory in Beeston as an engineering tool maker and the couple moved to live at 41 Imperial Road, Beeston. Betty, their daughter, was born in Beeston in March 1918 but, tragically, Annie died just two years later, aged 33.

In the following year, Hiram married Sarah Alice Gee (known as Alice and shown on the left in the photograph, with Gladys, a friend) who was born in Beeston in August 1882, the daughter of Sarah Gee. After a few years they moved to live at 61 Marlbough Road, Beeston and it was there that they raised Hiram's daughter Betty, alongside two more children, David Crosland Firth, born in April 1922 and Mary Firth, born in April 1924. By this time, Hiram's position at Ericssons had progressed, such that he was now in charge of the engineering toolroom as its foreman - a position so vital to the smooth running of the factory that the company had a telephone installed at the Firth's home - something that was a very rare thing in Beeston households in those days!

Hiram and Alice, along with their children, were very active members of the Baptist Church in Beeston which had its origins in 1804 and had opened its first church on Nether street in 1806. It was from there that John Clifford emerged as a national figure in the Baptist Church. In 1899, Clifford took part in the opening ceremony of a Union church on Dovecote Lane, with Baptists alongside Congregational Church members, although the original Baptist church was renovated and continued in use up to 1936 when both Baptist congregations combining at the Dovecote Lane church, then named John Clifford Memorial Church, the Congrationalists then having their own church at the top of Boundary Road, Beeston.

By the time of the Second World War, the family had moved to 40 Larch Crescent, Chilwell and had been joined by Mary Gee, known to the family as Auntie Polly, the then 89 year old, unmarried sister of his wife's mother. Mary had remained dedicated to her parents - shoemaker, Joseph Gee and Rebecca (née Jackson) - up to their deaths in the last decades of the 19th century and continued to support others in the family by holding them together when they needed it. This included her sister Sarah and Sarah's daughter, Sarah Alice Gee, who, as we have seen, later married Hiram Firth. It must have been difficult but, somehow, they managed to survive by working at Beeston's declining silk mill and later at Pollard's lace factory, including lace mending at home in the evenings. But, by around 1910. Mary had managed to open a small sweet and tobacco shop at 130 Chilwell Road, just on the Beeston side of the Hop Pole. At first, Polly, Sarah and Alice worked together and, after Sarah's death in 1915, Polly and Alice continued, despite a set-back in 1918 when the Chilwell explosion blew-in the shop window, when they responded typically by taking in and treating many of the casualties. It was there that they developed their special ice cream which they mixed every day during the summer months using their secret recipe which they never revealed.

During the 2nd World War, Hiram served as a Special Constable, alongside his continuing important work at Ericssons. After returning one night after a bombing raid, he said "I'm like a lot more people tonight, I'd like to get my hands on that Adolf Hitler". Aunt Polly responded, showing her inherent kindness, "Now, now, Hiram. You know that's a wicked thing to say. There's some good in everyone!". No-one answered! It was a very sad day in July 1941 when Polly died. She is buried in Beeston Cemetery with her mother, sister Sarah and others, where their memorial survives.

During that war, Ericssons - like industry as a whole and, indeed, the entire population - was focussed on the war effort and survival against the enemy. Clearly, the company's expertese in telecommunications made a vital contribution but, beyond that, the special skills of individual employees were called upon as they became needed. It is now known that Hiram's skills played a vital part in that when, in absolute secrecy, he worked to produce bomb 'hooks', probably used to hold and release bombs during raids over Germany. He is said to have worked alone in secret, sometimes eating and sleeping in the workshop. The image shown here shows the interior of the workshop - but not, of course, at the time of the secret working. For this valuable contribution, he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the King's birthday honours list in 1943, followed in February 1944 by the investiture at Buckingham Palace when Hiram was proudly acompanied by his wife and daughter Mary, resplendent in her Land Army uniform. For her contribution to the war effort, she worked on farms in Lincolnshire where she met her husband, John W Smith, and settled there after their marriage in 1946. Her brother David served in the Army.

Sadly, Alice, Hiram's wife died in June 1946, aged 63 and was buried in Beeston Cemetery. In the second half of 1947, he married Ida Gee, a half first cousin, once removed, of Alice, who had also worked at the Chilwell Road sweet shop. They moved to 211 Cator Lane, Chilwell where they continued to live up to her death in 1955. After this, Hiram moved to live with his daughter Mary's family in Louth, Lincolnshire. He died in May 1962, aged 76.