By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford
bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else
about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on
holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist
and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and
held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative,
talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all
his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into
a humble working-class family and attended school until he was
nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking
examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by
the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy
an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both
hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment
troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the
front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment
career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the
Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time
groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy
joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the
cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres
in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in
comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his
third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage
of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire
Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote
all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic,
dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly
in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he
could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network
for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his
paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented
cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family
man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were
a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with
similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often
eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society.
His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact
contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th
century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique
record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford.
Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and
comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90
images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high
quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.
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