FORMER Commonweal student Ron Johnston, who became an influential academic and acted as an advisor to political parties, has died.

The co-author of more than 50 books, he was born in Swindon in 1941 and grew up in Chiseldon.

After passing the 11plus exam he went to Commonweal Grammar School and subsequently won a county scholarship to Manchester University in 1959, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

He then moved to Melbourne, Australia, where he obtained a PhD at Monash University and then to the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

After returning to England in 1974 he held the posts of Professor at Sheffield University, vice-chancellor at the university of Essex and finally Professor at Bristol University.

Ron was an influential academic in the area of human geography.

He was a prolific researcher, specialising in the geography of elections and was an advisor to all the main political parties.

Among the 25 highly-rated awards he received during his career, were the Murchison Award and the Victoria Medal, which both came from the Royal Geographical Society.

He was recognised with the Prix Vautrin Lud at the International Geography Festival in 1999 - the highest award in the field of geography and regarded as equivalent to the Nobel Prize.

And the Association of American Geographers gave him a lifetime achievement award.

Ron, who was 79 when he died, held honorary doctorates from the Universities of Essex, Monash, Sheffield and Bath.

He was elected founding academician of the Academy of Social Sciences and made a Fellow of the British Academy.

In a tribute to the academic Essex Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster said: “Professor Johnston was one of the outstanding geographers of his generation.

“He was also known for his warm spirit, kindness and being an all-round wonderful person.

“He remained a good friend of the University of Essex over the years and will be sadly missed by many.”

As well as many books, he co-author 800 papers and edited a further 40 books, including The Dictionary of Human Geography. He also wrote two books on Bell-ringing and served as President of The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.

He was awarded the OBE in the 2011 Birthday Honours list for services to scholarship and his name appears in Debrett’s, Who’s Who and the list of Outstanding People of the 21st Century.