John James CBE
John James CBE (25 July 1906 - 31 January 1996) was an English business man and philanthropist.
He was born at 96 Philip Street, Bedminster, Bristol (now the site of Windmill Hill City Farm) and won a scholarship to study at the Merchant Venturers School.
After school, he joined the RAF and trained as a wireless operator. He had a brief spell as a salesman before rejoining in 1938 and during the war, became a Squadron Leader working on the development of radar at Farnborough.
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On leaving in 1946, he bought his first radio shop in Broadmead, Bristol and launched the Broadmead Wireless Company which at one point was the largest independently owned chain of radio shops in the World. He sold this business and after a brief spell in the Caribbean, started in business again eventually establishing the John James Group, a publicly quoted company, which concentrated on West Country light engineering and manufacturing. This was sold in 1979 to Wolseley.
John James made numerous private donations and was actively involved in the Dawn James Charitable Foundation, a charity set up in 1966, following the tragic death of one of his daughters, and the John James Bristol Foundation, set up in December 1983. Following his death, the two funds amalgamated in 1998.
His main areas of philanthropy were the elderly, health and education and he is particularly remembered for:
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Bristol Old Folk’s Festival:
In 1963, he donated £12,000 to the Bristol Post to meet the cost of the first Festival which provided free entertainment for anyone over 70 within the greater Bristol area for a week during May. From 1966, it was funded through the Dawn James Charitable Foundation and there were variety shows at the Bristol Hippodrome, coach trips to resorts, cinema visits and trips to the Bristol Zoo. Gifts were provided for those that were housebound and unable to attend. The variety shows continued until 1980 and the trips until 1996. In total it is estimated that over 270,000 people attended the variety shows and 500,000 enjoyed free excursions.
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Health:
In 1980, he donated £300K to Harefield hospital to maintain their heart transplant programme and £500K towards the creation of St Peters Hospice in Bristol. In 1985, £1 million was donated to purchase the first MRI machine for Bristol at Frenchay Hospital and three years later, a further £1 million to buy a shock wave lithotripsy machine for Southmead Hospital. Further donations of £1 million were also made to purchase an ultra sound scanner for the ante natal clinic at Southmead and towards the creation of the new Bristol Children’s Hospital.
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Education:
Following the cessation of the direct grant scheme in 1976, he made significant donations to all of the ex direct grant schools in Bristol to provide bursaries or assisted places to enable children of similar backgrounds to his own to have the same start in life. He challenged the ten comprehensive schools to raise up to £100,000 each which he matched to create enrichment funds to support worthwhile activities and develop the personal qualities of every pupil. He also started annual donations to these schools for awards and activities at the Heads’ discretion which are still ongoing.
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For more information about John James visit: John James (businessman and philanthropist) - Wikipedia
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