Harold Maud Hirst (1887-
Harold was born on the outskirts of Leeds in 1887 (Jubilee Year) and because of his initials his friends came to know him as His Majesty. His parents, who were farmers, moved to Cayton around 1900 and then later to Ganton, at which time, Harold was a pupil at the Municipal School and used to cycle in each day.
Following in his grandfather’s footsteps (a herbalist) he was apprenticed to Crosby’s Chemists. Duties would include selling petrol to motorists, developing masses of dry plate photographs, mixing thousands of gallons of cod liver oil and delivering flavouring down to the ice-
Following this he was employed with a Bradford wine merchant, then Boots the Chemists at Doncaster and then, four years later, Boots Chemists in Leeds, “a posh shop where he had to wear a frock coat”.
During the 1914-
His hobby was botany and he would help local apprentices by inviting them to his home to study botany eventually (in 1920) starting classes at the Evening Institute in botany which ran until 1932. These classes needed herbarium specimens so he started the Ashburn herb garden, which eventually became so famous he was sending specimens all over the world.
Harold joined the Scarborough Field Naturalists’ Society on February 11th 1921.
Scarborough Field Naturalists’ Society offices held
President 1929
Committee Member 1924
Other Society Memberships
Chairman of the Scarborough branch of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Chairman of the Law Society of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Member of the National Health Service Executive Committee for North Riding
Chairman of the Scarborough Allotment Holders Association
Secretary for the Chrysanthemum Show
Chairman of the Scarborough Townsmen’s Association Battle of Flowers Committee
Member of the management committee of Chelsea Physic Garden
In addition to the above he was a regular contributor to the Scarborough Evening News on the subject of gardening and also wrote a technical article each month in the trade magazine of the retail chemists.
Known as the ‘Doyen of Scarborough Chemists’
Collections
There is a pharmaceutical herbarium of his at Wood End Museum.