Sixty years of manufacturing marked with regal flourish
Three generations of Haworth’s military accoutrement manufacturer Wyedean Weaving have celebrated 60 years in business.
The West Yorkshire firm, which was formed in 1964 by husband and wife team David and Norma Wright, is Haworth’s oldest employer and today produces over 10,000 uniform-based items each year including the King’s Coronation Medal ribbon and most recently, the British Armed Forces’ regimental flags.
On Monday 8 April, the Wright family, led by Managing Director Robin Wright, his wife Debra and daughters Susannah and Rosie, hosted a special event for customers and invited guests, to celebrate six decades in business and showcase the team’s latest intricate embroidery work on the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards Company Colours, which consist of the King’s Colour to be used at this year’s Trooping and their Regimental Colour.
Picture: Lorne Campbell / Guzelian Wyedean Weaving’s 60th anniversary celebrations their mill in Haworth, West Yorkshire. Picture shows embroidery supervisor Aileen Henderson working on the Standard for the Trooping of The Colour. PICTURE TAKEN ON MONDAY 8 APRIL 2024
In a special twist to the celebrations, Wyedean’s team of three skilled embroiderers Aileen Henderson, Wendy Hatton and Susan Jones and long-serving project manager Melanie Kaye, were awarded with the King’s Coronation Medal for the integral part they played in creating new ceremonial items for the Coronation.
Robin Wright said: “Our 60th anniversary has been a celebration of many things – not only marking six decades since my parents went into business at Bridgehouse Mill, but the completion of our recent £300k investment programme and our team’s manufacture of the latest King’s Colour, made as part of our seven-year, £5m contract to replace all British Armed Forces’ Standards and Colours with the King’s insignia and the Tudor Crown.
“Just days before our event, we were told that our hard-working embroidery team and project manager Melanie – who this month marks 25 years as an integral part of Wyedean – were to be recognised for their contribution to the official Coronation events with a Kings Charles III Coronation Medal. This was an incredibly special moment for us all.”
Wyedean was founded as a manufacturer of braid and military uniform accoutrement in Haworth in 1964 by David Wright who ran the business with his father Frank Wright, a former textile machine designer who was awarded an MBE in recognition of his invention of a new yarn spinning technique called centrifugal spinning.
The Wright family celebrated the company’s 60th year alongside customers and guest of honour, the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson CBE, who said: “One of my personal aims as LL is to try to shine a light on everything that is excellent in our great County, which brings us to Wyedean. This remarkable business has a rich history through the 60 years of Wright family ownership and through the excellence of the products made here.”
The event was held over six floors at Wyedean’s historic Bridgehouse Mill in Haworth and included a special recognition presentation to Norma Wright, Wyedean’s chairwoman, who after 60 years in the business – and as a previous 1939-1945 war medal recipient – thanked guests for their many years of support.
Wyedean’s customers include the British Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces, the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Armed Forces. With 25 inhouse staff today who still weave, braid and hand craft, Wyedean has widened its manufacturing net to manage a global supply chain which ensures it is a fully turnkey uniform supplier.