31-03-2025
On this day: Haworth family business Wyedean marks 60th anniversary
On this day in 2024, the Telegraph and Argus reported that four generations of Haworth-based family business Wyedean Weaving were set to celebrate the firm's 60th anniversary.
The military accoutrement manufacturer invited guests to witness the business's finalising of the intricate embroidery of the Irish Guards' regimental Colour, alongside the King's Colour, which had been selected to be carried at the King's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) on June 15 of that year.
In 2023, Wyedean Weaving was awarded a seven-year, £5 million contract to replace all British Armed Forces' Standards and Colours (military flags) with the King's insignia and the Tudor Crown.
That contract helped to fuel the company's investment in a £300,000 refurbishment to "future-proof" its 150-year-old Grade II listed mill building in Haworth.
Managing director Robin Wright said: "Sixty years ago my parents set up shop here in Haworth with a fledgling business.
"Since then, Wyedean Weaving has employed over 1,000 people, with many local family members working here over two and three generations.
"Sixty years on, we are Haworth's oldest employer and also one of its largest, and we wanted to host a celebratory event to say thank you to our team and our customers and to showcase our recent refurbishment, alongside the ceremonial regalia for His Majesty's Forces and His horses that we create every single day.
"We are also offering a unique opportunity to see our team's hand-embroidery work on the regimental Colours and Standards ahead of the King's Birthday Parade in June."
Wyedean Weaving was founded as a manufacturer of braid and military uniform accoutrement in 1964 by David Wright, who ran the business with his father Frank Wright, a former textile machine designer awarded an MBE in recognition of his invention of a new yarn spinning technique called "centrifugal spinning."
