THE JOHNSTON PAPERS

ZJO/1. DIARIES AND COMMONPLACE BOOKS.

ZJO/2. TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY NOTEBOOKS AND DIARIES.

ZJO/3. MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC NOTEBOOKS.

ZJO/4. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTEBOOKS.

ZJO/5. CUTTINGS BOOKS.

ZJO/6. TRAVEL ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS.

ZJO/7. LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS.

ZJO/8. MISCELLANEOUS.

<p>For further information see also GBO/28/402.</p>

Dr John Johnston was born at Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1852. He studied Medicine at Edinburgh University, and began his medical career at West Bromwich Hospital in 1874. He came to Bolton in 1876, and established himself as a General Practitioner. He played an active part in the development of the St John Ambulance Service in Bolton, for which he provided lectures and instruction. In 1904, he was appointed Medical Officer of the Kingsgate Institution by Bolton Board of Guardians. During the early years of the First World War, Dr Johnston worked as a Civilian Medical Practitioner at Queen Mary's Military Hospital, Whalley. In 1917, he was appointed Assistant Medical Officer, later Medical Officer of Fishpool Institution. He retired from this post in 1919, and removed from Bolton to Bispham, near Blackpool.

Dr Johnston was prominent in literary circles in Bolton, and a founder of the Whitman Circle. He travelled extensively abroad, including a visit to Walt Whitman in America.

Dr Johnston died at Bispham on 3rd September 1927, and an obituary appeared in the Bolton Evening News of that date.