William Henry Johnston (1879-1915)

Not to be confused with William Henry Johnson.

William Henry Johnston
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Born	(1879-12-21)21 December 1879 Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	Ypres, Belgium
Buried	Perth Cemetery (China Wall)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1899-1915 †
Rank	Major
Unit	Royal Engineers
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Victoria Cross

William Henry Johnston VC (21 December 1879 – 8 June 1915) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born 21 December 1879 in Leith, Edinburgh to Maj. William Johnston and Mary Johnston. Johnston was a captain in the 59th Field Company, Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army. He was 34 years old, on 14 September 1914 during the Race to the Sea at Missy, France, in the First World War, he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

His citation read:

At Missy, on 14th Sept., under a heavy fire all day until 7 p.m., worked with his own hand two rafts bringing back wounded and returning with ammunition; thus enabling advanced Brigade to maintain its position across the river.

— The London Gazette, No. 28985, 25 November 1914

Johnston afterwards served with the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers at St Eloi in the Ypres Salient. Mining activity by the Royal Engineers began at St Eloi in early 1915. The Germans exploded mines under the area known as The Mound just south-east of St Eloi in March 1915 and in the ensuing fighting the British suffered some 500 casualties. A month later, on 14 April 1915, the Germans fired another mine producing a crater over 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter. Much of the British tunnelling in this sector was done by the 177th Tunnelling Company and the 172nd Tunnelling Company, the latter commanded in early 1915 by Captain William Henry Johnston VC.

He later achieved the rank of major. He was killed in action, Ypres, Belgium, on 8 June 1915.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum, Chatham, Kent.

File:VCWilliamHenryJohnstonGrave.jpg

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References

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
• Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)
• VCs of the First World War - 1914 (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)

External links

• Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
• William Henry Johnston at Find-A-Grave