Description:A view of Rist's Wires and Cables Ltd. factory off Lower Milehouse Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme. Originally built for the Birmingham Small Arms Company Ltd in 1940 it was later leased from B.S.A. by Rolls Royce Ltd. who had a workforce of 2,700 working on jet engines. Rolls Royce terminated this lease in 1945 when the war ended and Rist’s took it over in 1946, having moved from their original home in Nuneaton.
The managing director was Mr David Albert Victor Rist (1887-1960), who had worked his way through the company from the time he was apprenticed in 1902, when it was known as Prested Miners' Gas Indicating Electric Lamps Ltd. Due to lack of demand for gas lamps, the company changed to producing car and motorbike parts. In 1927 Mr Rist inherited the company on the death of its owner and , it became A. Rist 1927 Ltd.
By 1940, the company was known as Rist's Wires and Cables Ltd. and had expanded to three factories. During World War Two it moved from London to Nuneaton to avoid the danger posed by enemy planes and made telephone cords, aircraft wires and specialised cables for 'secret devices'. In 1946, however, they had to downsize and move to Newcastle-under-Lyme with only 30 staff members as the demand experienced during World War Two had fallen, and raw materials were scarce. In the 1970s, Rist's had become Newcastle-under-Lyme's biggest employer, with over 5,000 employees and was producing electrical wiring systems, power leads and battery cables.
Having started on the shop floor himself, Mr Rist was said to value his workers highly and was always keen to promote those who worked 'faithfully and energetically'. He started a Works Liaison Committee, where each department could elect a representative. The company also had sports and social clubs, and dances and concerts were held in the company concert hall.