Percival Nathan Whitley (1893 – 1956), eldest son of

J. H. Whitley John Henry Whitley (8 February 1866 – 3 February 1935), often known as J. H. Whitley, was a British politician and Georgist. He was the final Liberal to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, a role he held from 1921 to 1928. Family an ...

, was a cotton spinner and educationist.

Early life and education

Born 1893 in Halifax,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, the eldest child of John and Margherita Whitley. Percival was educated at Rugby and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

.Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion
/ref>

Career

Percival was in the BEF during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and participated in the attack on

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. Like his grandfather he went into local politics, working mostly in the Education sector. He is credited with starting vocational education in

Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the up ...

. He was Mayor of Halifax during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

between 1941 and 1942Mayors of Halifax
and his sister, Margaret Phyllis, was Mayoress. He took over the family Cotton Spinning business, S. Whitley and Son, up to his death.

Later life

Percival died, unmarried, in 1956 and is buried in the family plot, 456, i
Lister Lane Cemetery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Percival Nathan 1890s births People from Halifax, West Yorkshire 1956 deaths British educational theorists Mayors of Halifax, West Yorkshire People educated at Rugby School