The name Hovis® comes from the Latin, Hominis Vis meaning strength of man. The name was suggested by Herbert Grime when S Fitton & Sons launched a naming competition, winning Mr Grime the £25 prize fund and officially launching the Hovis® Bread Flour Company Limited in 1898.
What does the Latin phrase "hominis vis" which inspired the name "hovis" mean?
Fitton & Sons Ltd developed the brand, milling the flour and selling it along with Hovis-branded baking tins to other bakers. The name "Hovis®" is derived from the Latin word "hominis vis" (meaning "strength of man"), reflecting our commitment to providing delicious bread for all.
A national competition was launched to find a brand name and it was won by Herbert Grime with his suggested name 'Hovis' that was the shortened version of the Latin 'hominis vis' - strength of man.
The Mill was bought by McDougalls in 1917 but sadly burned down in 1925 and reopened in 1928. In 1957 Hovis-McDougalls was formed and then four years later became Rank Hovis McDougall until April 2015 when it was acquired by Premier Foods.
Carl Barlow was the young boy in the advert. Although he attended drama school, he gave up acting and became a fireman in the London Fire Brigade. Five years later, comedian Ronnie Barker was featured in a parody of the Hovis bike boy advert.
The 1973 Hovis advert - Largo (New World Symphony)
Directed by leading Hollywood director Ridley Scott (who also directed Alien and Gladiator), the 1973 Hovis advert featured a young boy pushing his bike up a cobbled hill to deliver bread before free-wheeling back down.
Married to wife Ann Corrigan from 1955 until her death in 1995, they raised four children together. Sadly, Hovis passed away in 2003 of esophageal cancer at the age of 67.
Joseph Rank, the founder of the company, began in the milling business in 1875 by renting a small windmill. Rank explored new milling methods to improve his competitive position against foreign imports. In 1885 he built a mechanically driven flour mill in Hull.
The story goes that the “ō” derived from the headcode for Hounslow. Even if this story is substantially correct, the date can't be verified. In the advert above from 1921, the product is named as HõVIS with a small tilde, rather than a macron, as in “ō”.
The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Hovis is British & Irish, which comprises 45.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (35.9%) and Italian (3.1%).
What's in a name? The name Hovis® comes from the Latin, Hominis Vis meaning strength of man. The name was suggested by Herbert Grime when S Fitton & Sons launched a naming competition, winning Mr Grime the £25 prize fund and officially launching the Hovis® Bread Flour Company Limited in 1898.
Hovis has been bought by a Leeds-based private equity firm for more than £75million. Endless, which has previously invested in Crown Paints, Jones Bootmaker and the West Cornwall Pasty Company, edged out Italian grains and dairy business Newlat Food in a bidding war.
Earlier ice cream trucks and carts had bells and bugles to attract attention but in Australia, the Mr Whippy trucks played the most recognisable tune 'Greensleeves', as they also did in Britain and in New Zealand.
The series 3 - 9 opening theme tune was sung by Pauline Quirke & Linda Robson. The first and second series theme song was the original version of "What'll I Do", written and performed by Irv Berlin.
Ridley Scott talks about the original 'Boy on the Bike' advert. You may not know this but famous Hollywood producer Ridley Scott produced the original Hovis® 'Boy on the Bike' and he's immensely proud of that fact.
McDougall is recognized as one of the Fathers of Confederation because he represented Canada West as a delegate to the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London conferences of 1864-66, which provided the basis for Confederation in 1867.
Though he appeared as the wrestler Nikolas in Jules Dassin's film noir, Night and the City (1950), Richmond was perhaps most recognisable as the shirtless gongman banging the enormous gong preceding the opening credits for films produced or distributed by the Rank Organisation.
