COPPER & COURAGE
Our story begins not in a factory, but on a battlefield...
On 7 March 1917, in Mesopotamia, now Iraq, Private Jack White of the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment was mid-river under heavy fire. His pontoon was riddled with bullets. By the time it reached the Diyala’s centre, he was the only man left unwounded. With the boat drifting towards enemy fire, he seized a copper telephone wire, tied it around himself, and plunged into the water, towing the wounded and their weapons to safety.
FROM SOLDIER TO MAKER
For this act of bravery, Jack White received the Victoria Cross, the highest honour for gallantry in the British Army. That moment of courage became the foundation of everything we stand for. Today, we call it Copper & Courage.
After the war, Jack returned to Manchester. He began an apprenticeship as a pattern cutter in his local raincoat factory, rising to general manager and later sole owner.
By the 1930s, the soldier who had once crossed a river under fire now commanded one of the city’s great coat makers.
Though he died young, his values endured: resilience, integrity, and a belief in doing things the right way, not the easy way.
THE LAST
REMAINING FACTORY
THE LAST
REMAINING FACTORY
IN THE FIRST
INDUSTRIAL
CITY
Manchester was once known as Cottonopolis, the world’s textile capital. Our factory, founded in 1853 on the banks of the River Irwell, is its last stand-alone clothing factory. Its archive of 25,000 patterns and 15,000 garments continues to inspire everything we make.
Every Private White V.C. garment is hand-cut, sewn, and finished in our Manchester factory by skilled craftspeople, many of whom have been with us for decades. We source over 90% of our materials within 20 miles and work only with Britain’s most venerable mills. We do not compromise. Every coat must meet the highest standard: ours.
IN THE FIRST
INDUSTRIAL
CITY
COPPER RUNS THROUGH EVERYTHING
WE DO.
Copper runs through everything we do. The rivets on every collar, and the zips, buttons, and fasteners on our garments, are more than details. They are symbols, linking battlefield to workshop, courage to craft.
A century on, we honour Jack White’s legacy not with words but with work - every stitch, every seam, every coat a testament to British craftsmanship, military precision, and the enduring spirit of courage that still defines us today.
