Son of Swindon who literally changed the map
Ink Heritage focus - The life and times of Ron Johnston
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This is our monthly ‘Heritage focus’ editions which will normally appear on the third Thursday of every month. The first Thursday is ‘Business’, and the second Thursday of the month is ‘Education’, and the final Thursday is ‘Food & Drink’.
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Professor Ron Johnston, geographer, campanologist and lifelong Swindon Town fan (1941-2020)
By historian and author Angela Atkinson
It’s only two-and a-bit weeks now to the local elections and both existing councillors and potential councillors are campaigning hard for your vote. But did you know that the work of a son of Swindon has had a huge influence on the way our politicians do their campaigning?
His 2020 obituary in The Guardian observes: ‘Ron Johnston, who has died aged 79, was a human geographer whose work in the field of electoral geography was drawn upon by political parties and policymakers, and influenced legislation on constituency boundaries.’ And we’ll come back to that in a bit.
The offspring of Joyce and Louis Johnston, Ron entered the world on 30 March 1941. He grew up in Chiseldon, where his parents ran the village post office. And I have no doubt that his start in life helped him to put his stamp on the world. Boom! I fear it doesn’t get any better than that so brace yourself!
Ron’s father had the misfortune of being captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore, in WWII. Apparently one of Ron’s early memories, was that of his mother introducing him to his father, when he returned in late 1945.
In his school career he performed well enough but nothing standout. He did though pass his 11+ and went to Commonweal Grammar School. There he performed well. Though it seems that, in later life, he derived much amusement from being described, in a school report, as ‘cheerful but irresponsible’.
Geography – a passion
Though fascinated by maps, Ron’s true passion lay in geography. Like many children of his generation, he didn’t at first consider university. But both his father and his teacher encouraged him to think about it. Thus, he went on to get both a degree and a Master’s degree at Manchester University. From there he went to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where he completed a doctorate. He met his wife, Rita, in Manchester and they married in 1963.