Freeman, Hardy and Willis

The shoe retailer was established in 1875 and was named after three employees of the company, one of whom was Alfred Freeman, a Russian shoe maker who lived in St Pancras, London. For many years, there was a branch in nearly every town in the United Kingdom. In 1929 the company was acquired by Sears plc. Its subsidiary, the Leicester-based British Shoe Corporation, went on to own the Trueform, Curtess, Dolcis, Manfield, Saxone, and Lilley & Skinner brands. The name was also simplified to Freeman Hardy Willis in order to have bolder lettering on shopfronts. During the early 1960s the paper bags used to wrap the shoes were imprinted with the FHW letters and the legend "For Happy Walking".