Percival Nathan Whitley (1893–1956), eldest son of J. H. Whitley, was a cotton spinner and educationist.

Early life and education

Born 1893 in Halifax,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

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

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

.Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion
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Career

Percival was in the BEF during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and participated in the attack on

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

. 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, which had a population of 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 ...

. He was Mayor of Halifax during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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