Claude Percival TAUBMAN

TAUBMAN, CLAUDE PERCIVAL (b. Sydney, NSW, 24 March 1886; d. 19 July 1970). Paint manufacturer and active layman in the Church of England.

The only son of Nathaniel James Taubman and Mary Elizabeth Higgs, Claude Percival Taubman was educated at Cleveland Street School, Sydney, and Sydney Technical College. He m. Mary, elder daughter of John Burleigh and Isabella Holden on 21 Jan 1914 at St David's Church Surry Hills where he was a Sunday school teacher.

His father Nathaniel and uncle George had founded Taubman's Ltd, a paint and varnish manufacturer. In 1914 Nathaniel sold his interest in Taubman's to his brother George and, with his son Claude, founded the Sterling Varnish Company. Claude and Mary Taubman had two sons and two daughters (of whom Marie Elizabeth m. D W B Robinson, sometime abp of Sydney). The family home was established in the parish of St James Croydon where Taubman became warden, Sunday school superintendent and reader of the lessons in church for several decades. He represented Croydon at diocesan synod for many years, taking an active part in debates. He was a member of both Provincial and General Synods. A kindly Edwardian gentleman, he devoted much of his time to the affairs of the church and held at least nine key positions, including membership of Standing Committee, Moore Theological College council, the Glebe Board and the Trinity Grammar School council. This service to the church was at no little personal cost: the fortunes of the Sterling Varnish Company waned.

Taubman's contribution at Trinity Grammar School was particularly crucial. He was one of a small group of men who refused to contemplate the closure of the school during the depression and who were prepared to back the school with personal guarantees. Their forceful support of Trinity in synod and standing committee reversed the diocese's decision to close the school. They rallied support that ultimately enabled the school to survive, grow and prosper.

Taubman was also very active in CMS serving on the Federal Council and was the chairman of the Aborigines Committee of the Society. He visited both Tanganyika and the Northern Territory on CMS work. Taubman was a keen amateur movie photographer and combined with often serving as the driver for Abp Mowll, he took many records of events in the diocese and showed his films of CMS work to encourage support in many parishes.

STEPHEN JUDD