A FORMER local politician who gave years of her life to public service has died aged 65.

Pam Johnston was a prominent member of the Liberal Party who served at all levels of local government during her career and was most recently clerk for Kennington Parish Council.

During her time as a county councillor she was education and social services spokeswoman for her party, serving on the relevant committees.

She played a leading role in the revival of Botley Youth Club for over 14s in 1982 and also succeeded in a campaign to improve bus services to Kennington.

Pamela Johnston (née Davies) was born July 6, 1948 at a nursing home in Oldbury, Worcestershire.

She was the daughter of a production engineer, which meant her family often moved but her first home was fittingly on Pamela Road in Northfield, Birmingham.

Because of her father’s occupation she attended a number of primary schools in Birmingham and Australia.

She studied for her A-Levels at a school in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, before going to Dundee University in 1967.

She left there after just a year and moved to Bournemouth in 1969 to take a maths and physics degree.

While studying there in October 1969 she met her future husband, Bob Johnston, at a dance.

They married in the town’s register office shortly afterwards on June 20, 1970.

The couple then moved to Oxford together in 1971 when Mr Johnston took a job as a lecturer at Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University), while Mrs Johnston took a part-time job as a sales assistant in Selfridges. During that period she finished her degree at the polytechnic through part-time study and later attained a postgraduate certificate at Westminster College, Oxford, through full-time study in 1977.

The couple had their first child, Michael, in 1971, followed by Gwilym in 1976.

Michael died after an asthma attack in 1984.

Mrs Johnston became involved in politics in 1977 when she joined the Liberal Party.

In 1978 she trained as teacher and went on to teach at Rye St Antony School in Headington for nine months, but later decided to return to Selfridges.

In 1979 she fought an election to become a Vale of the White Horse District councillor for Hinksey, but failed to get elected.

However, she did succeed in becoming a North Hinksey parish councillor, a role she had until 2001.

In 1982 she and her family moved to Kennington.

She fought her second major election in 1981 for the county council in Hinksey and unseated long-time incumbent Conservative Stan Brogden.

It was reported in the Oxford Mail at the time that Mr Brogden had been tipped to be the next council chairman.

Mrs Johnston served as a county councillor for Hinksey until 1993 and also as district councillor for North Hinksey from 1991 to 2003.

She took a job at RM, known as Research Machines at the time, in 1990 and stayed with the firm until 2002.

In 2003 she became clerk for Kennington Parish Council, a role in which she continued to work on projects centred on children and other causes she was passionate about.

Mrs Johnston retired from the clerk position in 2012 due to ill health.

But a legacy of her time there still remains.

PJ’s BMX track, otherwise known as Forest Side Recreational Ground in Kennington, remains well used after opening in 2012.

Pam Johnston passed away peacefully in the Churchill Hospital aged 65 on January 27.

She has left her body to medical science.

Mrs Johnston is survived by her husband Bob, county councillor for Kennington and Radley, her son Gwilym and two grandchildren.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 2.30pm on March 22 in St Swithun’s Church, Kennington.

All who knew her are welcome to attend.