Papers retained by Sam Johnston, relating to his involvement in the YMCA. Includes printed materials relating to the YMCA in England and Wales; correspondence; papers relating to YMCA West Bromwich; papers relating to The Centenary Club, YMCA, Rome; research notes and biographical information; various newspaper cuttings; and a collection of photographs.
The records provide a snapshot of activities undertaken by Sam Johnston during the 1960s to 1990s.
Sam Johnston joined the YMCA as Leader and General Secretary of Portadown YMCA in Northern Ireland in 1959. He moved to Liverpool YMCA in 1960 where he served as Residential Secretary, 1960-63 and Programme Director, 1963-65. In 1965, he was appointed as General Secretary of the newly refurbished Swansea YMCA and in 1968 moved to become General Secretary of the West Bromwich YMCA. Here he created a new YMCA consisting of Sports Hall, dining area facility for 75 and a block of 50 self-contained flats (opened in 1974), the first YMCA in the country to open a purpose building of self contained flats.
In 1978, he became Regional Secretary for the Central Region where he set up a Training for Life scheme in Ipswich, re-opened a number of redundant YMCAs and oversaw the opening of the Milton Keynes YMCA. From 1982 until 1991, he served as Head of the Education and Programme Department of the National Council where he was involved in developing in such national programmes as Y-Link, Drugs Education, Health & Fitness and Day Camps. Between 1991 and 1992 he was Head of Administration of the National Council and in 1993 was appointed as Acting National Secretary.
He served as Honorary Secretary of the World Federation of Association of Secretaries and President of the Professional Staff Association of Great Britain and Ireland.
In later years, as part of Y's Retired of the UK and alongside the late Colin Williams, great-great-grandson of Sir George Williams, Sam was instrumental in ensuring the history of YMCA's involvement in the First and Second World Wars would be forever remembered. He worked with YMCA Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, YMCA England and other retired members of YMCA to fundraise for, and implement, a lasting memorial stone, which was erected within the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire.
Sam was married to Maureen, and the couple had three children: Steven, Valerie and Lauren.
Sources: papers of Sam Johnston; obituary of Sam Johnston viewed 8 February 2019 via https://www.ymca.org.uk/latest-news/10217-2
Open, access to all registered researchers.
Presented in 2003
Please see full catalogue for more information.
Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, February 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
