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How Gannex boss Joseph Kagan used his chess skills to forge a place in British history
A fascinating chess collection gives a remarkable insight into the life of one of Calderdale's most famous businessmen.
According to his widow Joseph Kagan would always ask new acquaintances if they played chess.
His reasons were twofold. He relished the battle of minds across the chequered board.
And, secondly, according to her, he believed that two hours of playing the game was the best way to judge somebody's personality.
The game clearly played a huge part in the life of one of the 20th century's most charismatic and colourful businessmen and peers who died in 1995.
And now, thanks to Lady Margaret Kagan who is 83, the extent of his love affair with the game has been made public for the first time.
It was while clearing possessions from the former family business at Gannex Mills, Elland, that Lady Kagan discovered a treasure trove of 20 chess sets, all unusual and exotic, and said to be worth hundreds of pounds.
And after dusting them down she has now given the majority of them to Huddersfield Chess Club so they could be put to good use once more.
She said: "I suffer from hoard-itis – it's very painful for me to throw anything out. "I thought Joseph would have wanted them to be played with and appreciated. So I was glad that someone wanted them."
One of the sets features pieces based on some of history's most famous politicians including Harold Wilson, Enoch Powell, Margaret Thatcher and Jim Callaghan.
Another is on an Alice in Wonderland theme. And there are more ornate and highly colourful pieces that come from Russia, India and Spain.
One of the chess club's committee members Chris Stratford said: "They are quite amazing. I am sure they will generate a lot of interest and everyone at the club is grateful to Lady Kagan. We have only recently received them so have not decided what to do with them yet."
Lord Kagan, a Lithuanian Jew, and his wife escaped the Nazis during World War Two, thanks to a friend who risked his own life to save theirs. They settled in West Yorkshire in 1946.
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.
He was also part of the House of Lords team which played the first-ever chess match against the House of Commons.
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