Archived Report - Gannex. Broad Lea Mills, Elland. March 09.

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Gannex. Broad Lea Mills, Elland.

Bit of history for those who don't know about this famous mill:

GANNEX was founded in the 1950s by Joseph Kagan, a Lithuanian refugee and former concentration camp inmate.

Its most famous product, the Gannex coat - bonding a nylon waterproof outer coating to a woollen lining - was worn by Harold Wilson and the Duke of Edinburgh and was issued to police forces UK-wide.

When Harold Wilson, the rising star of Labour politics, started wearing his Gannex raincoats in the mid-1950s, the brand and Lord Kagan's name became well-known, not just in Britain but across the world.

Soon other leaders including American president Lyndon Johnson, Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev as well as Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were also wearing his coats.

Lord Kagan suffered a fall from grace in 1980 after he was charged with tax evasion and sentenced to 10 months in Rudgate Prison.

Although he was stripped of his knighthood he retained his peerage and was a prominent speaker in the House of Lords, tackling a wide range of subjects.

Sales of Gannex coats helped turn Lord Kagan into one of the UK's top tycoons.

The UK company closed in the early 1990's due to changes in fashion and cheap foreign imports.


Lord Kagan.

It's a huge mill but unfortunately a lot of it is blocked off internally, I'm sure there is so much more to see here. I really enjoyed my time photographing what I could of this place. If you want to know more about the saga of Lord Kagan and Gannex lookie HERE

Pictures:

Yes that is a boat in the foreground!








Pattern room.




London Transport uniform pattern.












More crumbling patterns.


Garment store.






Gauge porn!

Thanks for looking.


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