J.B. Priestley

John Priestley (he added Boynton later on), born in Manningam in 1894, was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in "The Good Companions" (1929), which first brought him to wide public notice. Many of his plays are structured around a time slip, and he went on to develop a new theory of time, with different dimensions that link past, present and future. In 1940, he broadcast a series of short propaganda radio talks, which were credited with strengthening civilian morale during the Battle of Britain. In the following years his left-wing beliefs brought him into conflict with the government and influenced the development of the welfare state. He wrote a number of plays during this period, including his best-known one "An Inspector Calls" (1945). Priestley continued to publish well into the 1970s. He received several honours late in life, including (belatedly) the freedom of the City of Bradford and an honorary degree from Bradford University. He had previously declined both a knighthood and a peerage but in 1977 accepted the Order of Merit, as this was the gift of the sovereign, not party political. He died in Alveston in 1984, a month short of his ninetieth birthday..