At Wyedean, we are thrilled to celebrate our 60th anniversary and share some exciting news from our recent event. During our Diamond Anniversary celebrations on Monday (8th April), we had the honour of announcing that four of our dedicated team members – Melanie Kaye, Aileen Henderson, Wendy Hatton, and Susan Jones – were recognised by the Ministry of Defence as recipients of the King’s Coronation Medal for their exceptional work on the new Colours and Standards for the Royal Navy, the Life Guards, the Royal Air Force, and the Grenadier Guards.
With a collective 115 years of service at Wyedean, our embroidery team, led by long-service project manager Melanie Kaye, spent countless hours creating these intricate and meaningful military flags using traditional applique ornamental needlework and hand embroidery techniques. Their skill, hard work, and determination played a significant role in the King’s Coronation and the subsequent Trooping the Colour ceremony.
As part of our 60th anniversary event, guests witnessed our embroiderers working on our latest project, the Irish Guards’ regimental King’s Colour, which will be trooped at the King’s Birthday Parade on 15 June. The surprise announcement of the King’s Coronation Medals for our team members was a highlight of the day, and we couldn’t be more proud of their achievements.
Founded in 1964 by David Wright and his father Frank Wright, Wyedean has been a stalwart of the Haworth community, maintaining our position as the oldest employer in the area. We continue to uphold the traditional techniques and materials used in ceremonial items, while also embracing modern, technical textile yarns for various applications.
We were honoured to have the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson CBE, as our guest of honour, who recognised Wyedean’s rich history and the excellence of our products. Our chairwoman, Norma Wright, who has been with the company for 60 years and is a previous 1939-1945 war medal recipient, also thanked guests for their support over the years.
Embroiderer Aileen Henderson summed up the sentiment of the day, saying, “We just can’t believe we have received King Charles’ Coronation Medal – the work we do at Wyedean is very rewarding and meaningful. Military flags honour the fallen and are incredibly important to our troops. The skills and craftmanship used 100 years ago is still something we are doing today – and to get royal recognition for it is an incredible honour.”
At Wyedean, we are proud to serve 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. As we reflect on our incredible journey over the past 60 years, we want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our story. Although the thriving Yorkshire textile industry of 60 years ago has largely disappeared, our niche business in military narrow fabrics, braids, embroidery, and ceremonial uniform accoutrement continues to thrive, both at home and overseas with other Commonwealth countries that follow British traditions in ceremonial uniform dress.
