Lancashire is famous for its textile industry, cotton drove the industrial revolution, and it is thanks to cotton that we have our fine town and city centres, and our many grand houses. However, many people overlook that Lancashire as a world leader in textiles led development well into the 20th century. It was at a research laboratory in Accrington that a major discovery was made, a fibre that is now far more common and widespread than cotton, manufactured in all corners of the world and made into every sort of textile imaginable.

The very first polyester fibre was made in Lancashire at the Broad Oak Printworks in 1941. It was named 'Terylene' by its inventor Rex Whinfield, who along with his assistant chemist James Dickson had managed to synthesise a fibre-forming polymer from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.

This breakthrough was not announced immediately because of the war, but a patent was registered. Later in 1941 Whinfield was seconded to the Ministry of Supply as Assistant Director of Scientific Research where he continued his work and by 1943 Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd (ICI) had entered into a development agreement with the Ministry. After the war in 1946 a new 50 ton per year spinning plant was authorised at ICI Hillhouse, Fleetwood using polymer chips made at ICI Huddersfield. Only then was the patent accepted, US rights immediately acquired by the chemical giant DuPont, and the wider world told of this breakthrough. In 1947 the company behind the Broad Oak Printworks, the Calico Printers Association, assigned their worldwide patents and rights (outside the USA) to ICI Ltd on an agreed royalty basis.

The story continues with the development of polyester filament yarns and then staple fibre, and the blending of fibres to create new and ever more versatile textiles, but sadly no longer in Lancashire. This teachers' pack from the early 1950s reflects a time when the domestic textile industry was looking forward and still hoping for a bright future.