If you’ve lived on Farringdon long enough, you’ll have probably been familiar with a lad called Adam Johnson, not the disgraced SAFC footballer, for that matter, to get that out of the way.
With his signature blonde hair and glasses, Adam was a regular feature of the estate and could usually be seen no matter where you walked on Farringdon. I never truly knew him, but I was familiar with him for many years.
Adam lived a troubled life of sorts, and went down the wrong path. He wasn’t about to do anything with his life, and ended up getting involved some stupid stuff, including robbing a co-op in South Shields as part of a deal to get £150.
On doing that, he voluntarily surrendered himself to the police, and ultimately paid back that money. He escaped with a slap on the wrist.
In general, Adam was liked by his peers and people around the estate. Those who knew him recognised he wasn’t really actually any bother locally. He was a quiet individual at heart and never had much to say.
However, Adam sadly passed away in 2019, being only in his mid 20s. It was a sad way to see a young life come to an end, because as much as he was troubled, he had the rest of his life ahead of him to turn himself around.
After he died, some graffiti appeared next to the shops outside of Farringdon School on Allendale Road, saying “RIP Adam Johnson“. For all it was someone’s property, it was a touching tribute to him.