THE BOSS of Wyedean Weaving has two war heroes in his own past.

Men of Worth Project research uncovered information about service in the First and Second World Wars by Robin Wright’s grandfather and father.

His grandfather, Herbert Hiley, was a Second Corporal in the Royal Engineers, while his father David Wright flew highly-dangerous sorties over the sea as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm.

Lieutenant Wright qualified as a pilot in 1940, becoming one of 804 Squadron’s “catapilots”, flying Hawker Sea Hurricane fighters catapulted from merchant ships.

Sailing in Atlantic and Arctic convoys, he would be launched to attack approaching Condor bombers, after which he was ordered to ditch his plane in the water to be picked up by a passing ship.

Instead he perfected a manoeuvre in which he rolled the plane on its back, jettisoned the canopy and dropped into the water as the plane crashed.

David survived 24 launches in this way before switching to flying Martlets and Seafires from the fleet carrier Formidable, and taking part in the Allied landings in North Africa, Sicily and Salerno.

Son of a textile machinery designer, David Wright returned to Haworth after the war where he founded Wyedean Weaving Company to make gold braid and medal ribbons. For armies and police around the world.

David founded the Haworth Round Table, helped open a private airfield at Black Moor, Oxenhope, played the organ for 60 years at Hall Green Baptist Chapel, and regularly rode a motor-cycle through flaming hoops at Haworth Gala.

David’s wife Norma was the daughter of Todmorden-born Herbert Hiley, who joined the army in 1914 and was wounded twice during service in France, once after being buried by debris after German shell exploded close by.

After the First world War Herbert first worked first as mechanical draughtsman, then for Bacon and Coates electrical shop in Keighley. He died in 1927 at the age of 32.