Who Was Beth Johnson

Beth Johnson, after whom the Foundation is named, was a woman who spent much of her life caring for others. During the Second World War, she was a Red Cross nurse at Stafford General Infirmary and at Sandon Hall, and later, she became involved with the Meals on Wheels service.

Born Beth Sawyer, in Princes Road, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, on 23rd March 1910, she was one of a family of two brothers and a sister. Her father, Henry Charles Sawyer, originally a member of a Wiltshire farming family, had moved to North Staffordshire to become a glazed tile manufacturer.

Beth was educated at a private school near Stoke-on-Trent before going to Wycombe Abbey for five years. As an adult, Beth met Alfred Johnson, the son of a pottery manufacturer, and they were married.

When Beth Johnson died on 12 October 1971, her husband Alfred suggested that the proceeds from Beth’s estate should be used to establish an organisation which would benefit older people. It was in this way, in 1972, that the Beth Johnson Foundation was formed.