Johnson, John Stobert

Gosford District Casualties of World War One

Bragg, Edmund Allen Service Number 1494

Killed in Action 19th May 1915 Gallipoli Peninsula

Gosford District Casualties of World War One

Johnson, John Stobart Service Number 5118

Died of Wounds 22nd June 1917 1st Australian Hospital Harefield, Middlesex

Gosford City Council gratefully acknowledges the voluntary efforts of

Benalyn Campbell

And Vivienne Tranter

in compiling this resource

The information in this file has been extracted from official records

held in the

The Australian War Memorial and

National Archives of Australia

(© Commonwealth of Australia [National Archives of Australia] 2013)

Further information on this soldier may be found online at:

Commonwealth War Graves

The AIF project

Content advisory: This file may potentially contain disturbing accounts of service-related injury and death, disease and family grief. Adult supervision is recommended for children

using these resources. Individual files should be viewed within the context

provided by wider research on service conditions in the 1st AIF.

This resource is presented by Gosford City Council

for research purposes only. Please note that copyright for resources

contained within remains with the original copyright owners.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en

NAME Johnson, John Stobart

SERVICE NO 5118

UNIT 3rd

Battalion / 16th Rienf.

RANK Private

AGE at Enlistment 22 yrs 7 mths

PLACE OF BIRTH Merewether, Newcastle

ADDRESS

OCCUPATION Labourer

DATE OF ENLISTMENT 6 Sept 1915

PLACE OF ENLIST-MENT

Holdsworthy, NSw

PREVIOUS SERVICE

NEXT OF KIN Parents;- Thomas William & Margaret Ellen Johnson, “Fern Hill” Gosford./ Sister;- Mrs F W Hall, Cardiff, via Newcastle

PHYSICAL DESCRIP-TION

Height-5’8”. Weight-140lbs. Chest-36”. Complexion-Dark. Eyes-Grey. Hair-Brown.

RELIGION Methodist

EMBARKED 1 Apr 1916 Sydney per “Makarini”

DISEMBARKED

NOTES

WOUNDED/ILLNESS 4 May 1917- France GSW Spine

DIED 22 Jun 1917- 3.45 pm-(GSW Spine-& Ascending Pyelitis) 1st Australian Hosp

Harefield, Middlesex.

BURIED 24 Jun 1917-2 pm-Harefield Churchyard England Gve 25- Military Burial

MEDALS British War Medal-35288, Victory Medal-35027. Memorial Plaque & Scroll-326716.

DEPENDANTS

PERSONAL EFFECTS Notebook, Steel Mirror in Case, Wallet, Brush, Housewife, Penknife, Shaving Brush, Comb, 3 Discs, Postcards, Letters, Photos, Testament, Badge/

WILL

CORRESPONDENCE Independent Order of Rechabites SH/ Father/

REMARKS Aunt;- Miss M Johnson Nurse Hostel, Francis Street London was present at the funeral

Gosford Times 31st May 1917 BREVITIES Private J S Johnson, 3

rd Battalion, son of Mr Thomas Johnson, Gos-

ford, has been wounded in France.

Gosford Times 5th July 1917 SOLDIERS' LETTERS The last letter written by the late Private John S Johnson to his parents at Gosford contained the following description of the battle of Lagnicourt, in which the 1

st and 2

nd Australian

Divisions took part:- what happened at Lagnicourt yesterday is one of the bloodi-est episodes in all the long tale of slaughter. At about half past 4, before daybreak, the enemy made a very heavy at-tack upon our lines when we were far beyond the old system of trenches, and in real open warfare of the old style. The enemy's lines were protected with a new belt of barbed wire, but it was this which proved his undoing. his massed attack against the Australian troops has a brief success. Battalions of Prussian Guards charging in waves broke through our for-ward posts and drove a deep wedge into our positions. Here they could, searching around for prisoners and waiting for reserves to renew their attack, but the Australian Staff Offi-cers were swift in preparing and delivering a counter blow, which fell upon the enemy at half past seven. Companies of Australians swept forward in irresistible spirit, flung them-selves upon the Prussians, forcing them to retreat. They fell back in an oblique line from their way of advance, and were forced deliberately in the direction of the Australian attack. At the same time our field batteries opened fire upon them with shrapnel as they ran, more and more panic stricken, towards their own lines. The greatest disaster befell them when they found themselves cut off by their own wire. What happened then was just appalling slaughter. The Australian Infantry used their rifles as never rifles have been used since the first weeks of the war, when the old regulars of the First Expedi-tionary Force lay down at the Chateau, on the way of their retreat, and fired into the advancing lines of the Germans. Yesterday in that early hour of the morning, the Australian riflemen fired into the same kind of target of massed men, so that each shot found its mark. The Prussians struggled fran-tically to tear a way through the wire, to climb over it, or crawl under it. They cursed and screamed and ran up and down like rats in a trap until they fell dead. They fell so that dead bodies were piled upon dead bodies in long lines of mortality before and in the midst of that barbed wire. The cries of the wounded, long and tragic wails, rose high above the roar of rifle fire and the bursts of shrapnel, and the Australian sol-diers, quiet and grim, shot on and till each man had fired over 100 rounds, till more than 1500 German corpses lay on the field at Lagnicourt. The Prussian Guards have always suf-fered from British troops as by some dire fatality. At Ypres, at Contalmaison, in several of the Somme battles, they were cut to pieces, but this massacre at Lagnicourt id the worst epi-sode in their history, and will be remembered by the German people as a black and fearful thing.

Gosford Times 19th June 1918 ROLL OF HONOR JOHNSON-In loving memory of our dear son and brother, Private J S Johnson, died of wounds, June 22, 1917. In our heart he will live, And be loved for ever Inserted by his loving parents, T W and M E Johnson, and brothers and sister, Tom Harry, Edna and Horrie JOHNSON- In loving memory of our dear brother, Private J S Johnson, died of wounds June 22, 1917 In a soldier's grave he is sleeping, One of earth's bravest and best. Inserted by his loving sister and brother-in-law, M and F Hall, and nephews, Cyril, Ramie and Artie. JOHNSON -In loving memory of our dear brother, Private J S Johnson, died of wounds June 22

nd, 1917

To have, to love, and then to part, Is the greatest pain to our hearts Inserted by his loving sister and brother-in-law, Jinnie and Jack Pateman, and nephew, Jack JOHNSON-In loving memory of Private J S Johnson, died of wounds, June 22

nd, 1917

Ever Remembered Inserted by his friend, Jessie Pateman

Gosford Times 20th June 1918 ROLL OF HONOR JOHNSON- Private John Stobart, dearly loved eldest son and brother of Mr and Mrs T W Johnson and fam-ily,wounded on or before 9

th May, died 22

nd June, 1917.

Aged 24 years 6 months. He gave his life, his best, his all JOHNSON-In loving memory of our dear brother, Private John Stobart Johnson, who died form wounds on 22

nd

June, 1817, while on active service, aged 24 years and 6 months Far away from home an dfriends In a hero's grave he lies Inserted by his affectionate Brother-in-law and sister, J and J Pateman JOHNSON-In loving memory of Private Jack Johnson who died of wounds, 22

nd June, 1917

A young life nobly ended. Inserted by Jessie Pateman.

Gosford Times 20th June 1918 ROLL OF HONOR JOHNSON – In loving memory of our dear son and brother, Private John Stabart John-son (Jack), wounded in France, May 4

th,

1917, died Harefield Hospital, England, June 22

nd, 1917

Our hearts for him are lonely, We are lonely night and day; We miss him, yes, we miss him, More than words can say. Inserted by his loving father and mother, brothers and sisters JOHNSON – In loving memory of our dear brother, Private John Stabart Johnson, died of wounds, June 22

nd, 1917

Oftimes our thoughts do wander To a grave so far away; Where they laid our loving brother, Just twelve months ago today Inserted by his loving sister and brother-in-law, Mable and Fred Hall, and nephews JOHNSON- In loving memory of our dear brother, Private John Stabart Johnson, died of wounds, June 22

nd, 1917

We have lost him, we who loved him, And like others must be brave; But we know that he is sleeping In a British soldier's grave Too dearly loved to be forgotten Inserted by his loving sister and brother-in-law, Jinnie and Jack Pateman, and nephew JOHNSON- In loving memory of Private J S Johnson, died of wounds, 22

nd June, 1917

Bravely he answered his country's call, He fought adn died for us all. Inserted by his friend, Jessie Pateman

Abridged record/s courtesy of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) Series No: B2455 Item Barcode: 1827124

Johnson, John Stobert

Documents

Transcript of Johnson, John Stobert