As the nation commemorates the centenary of the First World War, this old wartime photo from Harpley Forge hints at the origins of one of Norfolk's most famous names in farm machinery.
The desperate fires of conflict have so often proved to be the furnace in which engineering innovations are forged.
And although he wouldn't have known it at the time, the young lad in this old photo, watching army farriers training during the First World War, grew up to become one of Norfolk's best-known names in farm machinery.
Pictured proudly sitting on horseback in 1915 is Charles Thomas Mountain, whose initials became synonymous with sugar beet cleaner loaders after he founded CTM Harpley Engineering in the village between Fakenham and King's Lynn.
Like many agricultural manufacturers, the company evolved from the village forge and started making farm machinery after the Second World War, when Charles' farrier and blacksmith skills were needed on the home front.
Today, the family firm still thrives under the management of the founder's four grandsons including Nigel Mountain, who said: 'As you can see, the family goes back a long way on the site and there has always been a connection with the smithing and the forge.
'When I was a lad 40 years ago it used to be used pretty much daily, as my grandfather was still blacksmithing and farriering.
'We have got the forge mothballed now, and it does not look much different to when that picture was taken. We keep it locked these days – but we could still fire it up and make a horseshoe if we wanted to.'
Today, the company manufactures and imports sophisticated equipment which is a world away from the first cleaner loader which bore the CTM name in 1950.
Mr Mountain said: 'We have a machine in the yard at the moment which we did up for our 50th anniversary in 2000. That was built in 1958 and it was actually on-farm for 40 years. Within those 40 years it loaded about 90,000 tonnes of sugar beet.
'Today, the machinery that we make is about eight times the size and some of these machines are actually loading up to twice that – 180,000 to 200,00 tonnes, in one year.
'We have always had an emphasis on cleaning as well as loading, so unknowingly grandfather was an advert for the green side of things.
'All the dirt that we have extracted from the sugar beet crop has reduced the amount of lorries on the road, and that environmental aspect is very important today.'
After Charles Thomas Mountain made the first sugar beet cleaner loaders in 1950, his two sons Michael and David expanded the business after taking the reins in the 1960s. David died earlier this year, on the day before the Royal Norfolk Show, which his nephew Nigel said was 'the first show he had missed in 50 years'.
The third generation of Mountains now runs the company – Michael's sons Nigel and Adrian, and David's sons James and Andrew – while the fourth generation is also now represented by Andrew's son Connor.
Nigel Mountain said: 'We are still very much a family business. We all more or less depend on each other's expertise within the company. It works well.'
Despite its well-established heritage, the company is not resting on its laurels. It is exporting to countries including Russia, China and New Zealand. And, as well as manufacturing, it now also imports ROPA beet harvesters and self-propelled beet cleaner loaders from Germany, and in recent years it has branched out into the potato industry with the launch of its Rockstar destoner separator, and the Ridgestar bed former.
'We have been here a long time and we intend to carry that legacy forward,' said Mr Mountain.
The lasting legacy of Charles Thomas Mountain:
The founder of CTM Harpley Engineering, left a lasting legacy on his industry and his home community.
His grandson Nigel said: 'He was very hard-working and meticulous, and he was a very humble man, as people of that era often were.
'He did a lot for the Methodist Church in the area and he was always doing something for the community. He also designed and made the village sign at the forge here.
'A lot of people in the village won't realise that Charlie did that. He left his mark on the village and we are very proud of what the family has done here.
'His initials have been forged into a household name in regards to the sugar beet industry. He has had a big impact on keeping the disruptions of the sugar beet campaign to a minimum by reducing the amount of soil and stones being transported on lorries to the sugar beet factory. That's his legacy.
'Charlie would have been tickled pink to have his name on the internet and to have machines in China and Russia that evolved from the machines he made in the 1950s.'
Charles Thomas Mountain died in 1993.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here