Why Princess Di’s wore Damart thermals under her silk dress

PRINCESS Diana wore Damart thermals under her silk dresses and explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes wore them in the Arctic.
Princess Diana visiting Damart in 1991Princess Diana visiting Damart in 1991
Princess Diana visiting Damart in 1991

Now the famous brand is celebrating 60 years with a trip down memory lane at its Yorkshire base.

Leonard Falkingham, 84, the first person to set foot in Damart’s Bingley head office when it opened in 1967, helped to celebrate the anniversary.

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The former works engineer has scrapbooks full of everything that happened over the 27 years he worked for the home-shopping brand, which employs over 600 people in Bingley and Steeton.

Highlights of his time include meeting the Princess of Wales when she visited Damart in 1991 and seeing the canal being moved into the car park to make way for a new road in 1992.

He said: “I was the first person through the doors in 1967; it was an old mill and was in a bit of a state with oil over the floor.

“It was my job to make it habitable and I enjoyed every minute of it.

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“It’s good to share my memories of Damart and I’ve enjoyed being part of the celebrations. Many of the people I worked with have now left, of course, but it’s lovely to hear what’s happening now.”

Damart was established in 1953 in France, launched in the UK in 1966 and opened in Bingley in 1967.

Marketing director Phil Anderson said: “Damart has a rich heritage as an innovator starting 60 years ago when we invented our famous thermolactyl and we wanted to celebrate that history with our colleagues, former colleagues and customers.

“It’s great to hear all about Leonard’s memories and see his fabulous collection of material which is all part of our history.

“We’ve clothed everyone from Princess Diana and Ranulph Fiennes to Geri Halliwell and the cast of Coronation Street and we’re even mentioned in a James Bond book.”

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