Sadly Geoffrey Brindley died on Tuesday 26th August 2015, a name that will mean very little to most people, but mention “the Jesus man” and faces in west Yorkshire will light up. I can remember being out in the playground at Calverley Parkside School in the 1960’s and the word would go around “the Jesus man is coming and virtually every child would stand at the wall and wave as the figure clad in a brown, monks habit, strap sandals and carrying a shoulder bag would walk past, smiling and waving. During the forty six years I lived in West Yorkshire, I frequently saw “the Jesus man” he never appeared to age, I didn’t know anything about him, but motorists would toot their horns and wave as they saw him.
The story goes that in 1960, aged 33 years, Geoffrey Brindley gave up his job as a machinist following a message he received from God. He went to a cave near the market town of Settle in North Yorkshire, where he lived for twelve days and returned to Bradford twelve days later dressed in his familiar garb and set about walking every day and waving to people. Following his death there were reports in the tabloid press that he was no Jesus character and was a heavy drinker and lived rent free in a friends house in Baildon. Following his death at the age of eighty eight a book of condolence was set up in Bradford cathedral and tributes were recived from around the world from places like America, Russia and Malaysia and he had over twenty thousand followers on social media.
Was the man mad? Was he sent by God? Was he Holy? Was he a scoundrel and a cheat? We will never know. One thing I know for certain is that this one solitary man, whoever, or whatever he was brought a smile to people’s faces, delighted children and even fifty odd years on, many of us will smile at the memory of this one unique man. He made a difference to the world and thousands of people will remember him, far more that most of us when our time on earth comes to an end. There is a bench with this inscription in his memory.
“A Memorial Bench in Remembrance Of The bradford Jesus Man (AKA GEOFFREY BRINDLEY)”
“Take a seat, do not weep, I have walked and now I sleep, Once again we both shall meet, Until then, God gave you feet”