Material collected by John Clayton during the course of his scouting career, including records from his time as a boy scout in the 8th Wolverhampton troop as well as material from his time as a scout leader. The collection includes items relating to the World Scout 'Jubilee Jamboree' held at Sutton Park in August 1957; and items of personalia including military and scouting medals.
Taken as a whole the collection provides an insight into scouting during the mid-late 20th century.
John Arthur Clayton was born in Penn, Wolverhampton on 10 February 1934 and was a long-standing member of the scouting movement. His early scouting life was based in Wolverhampton where he became known, by his initials, as 'Jac'. He enrolled on National Service during the early 1950s: Royal Signals, Army 1952-1954; British Forces Germany, Army 1953-1954; and was awarded the Crown and Country National Service medal.
He married Ann Daniels in 1958, the marriage registered in the district of Bilston, and the couple had one child, Jackie.
In 1967 he moved from Wolverhampton to Hurdis Road, Shirley, Solihull and then, later, to Scribers Lane, Hall Green. His working life began with the General Post Office (GPO) which later became British Telecom. He retired in 1990. His hobbies were always linked to scouting, fishing and hiking.
John Arthur Clayton died on 3 September 2019, aged 85.
His recorded service with the scouting movement totalled over 67 years:
10 February 1952 [start date] to 31 December 1967 [end date], Rover Scout [role], West Mercia [county], Wolverhampton South [District/Group];
21 February 1952 to 10 October 1952, Assistant Scout Leader [SL], West Mercia, Wolverhampton South / 10th Wolverhampton;
10 October 1952 to 10 February 1955, Scout Leader SL, West Mercia, Wolverhampton South;
10 February 1955 to 10 November 1955, Assistant Venture SL, West Mercia, Wolverhampton South / 8th Wolverhampton;
10 November 1955 to 1 December 1961, Scout Leader, West Mercia, Wolverhampton South / 8th Wolverhampton;
1 December 1961 to 8 November 1967, District Venture SL, West Mercia, Wolverhampton South;
24 July 1964 to 8 November 1967, Scout Leader, West Mercia, Wolverhampton South / 8th Wolverhampton;
3 January 1968 to 12 February 1970, Instructor, Solihull, Blythe / 1st Monkspath;
13 February 1970 to 31 December 1973, Scout Leader, Solihull, Blythe / 1st Monkspath;
28 June 1972 to 31 December 1974, Assistant District Commissioner, Solihull, Solihull West;
1 January 1975 to 12 May 1987, District Commissioner, Solihull, Solihull West;
13 May 1987 to 5 October 1987, Instructor, Birmingham, South Birmingham / 274th Birmingham;
6 October 1987 to 14 July 1989, Group Scout Leader, Birmingham, South Birmingham / 274th Birmingham;
14 July 1989 to 31 December 1993, District Commissioner, Solihull, Solihull North;
1 January 1994 to 31 December 1995, Assistant County Commissioner, Solihull;
1 January 1996 to 11 February 1999, District Commissioner, Solihull, Solihull East;
10 February 1999 to 10 February 2009, County Adviser, Solihull;
1 January 2005 to 26 February 2011, District Administrator, Birmingham, Birmingham Cole Valley South;
2 November 2010 to 3 September 2019, Scout Active Support Member, Solihull.
During his scouting career he was awarded the following:
28 July 1967, Chief Scout's 15 Years Service;
20 June 1972, Medal of Merit Solihull;
18 January 1982, Wood Badge [since September 1919 adult volunteers in the Scouts have been awarded the Wood Badge on the completion of their leader training];
23 April 1984, Silver Acorn;
11 May 1992, Chief Scout's 25 Years Service;
23 April 1994, Silver Wolf;
29 January 1999, Chief Scout's 40 Years Service;
6 June 2006, Chief Scout's 50 Years Service;
19 January 2015, Chief Scout's 60 Years Service.
Sources: papers of John Arthur Clayton; information supplied by the depositor; Free Births, Marriages and Deaths website accessed 17 December 2019 via www.freebmd.org.uk
Open, access to all registered researchers.
Presented, December 2019
Please see full catalogue for more information.
Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, December 2019, in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and in-house cataloguing guidelines.
Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material
Following John Clayton's death, this material came into the possession of his daughter and was subsequently gifted to the Cadbury Research Library.
