JOHNSON, William Gordon
(Service number 74789)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | Unknown | Place of Birth |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | Farm hand | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs K. Johnson (mother), Waitohi Flat, Temuka | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 36th Reinforcements, D Company | ||
| Date | 2 May 1918 | ||
| Transport | Balmoral Castle | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William was a farm hand from Waitohi at the time of his enlistment.
William was originally in the 39th reinforcements but sailed with the 36th. He was posted to the 13th North Canterbury West Coast company, serving on the Western Front, on the 17th of October 1918. On the 5th of November, ,just days before the end of the war, he was wounded in action. William was in action not far from the town of Le Quesnoy and recieved a wound to the abdomen. From Camiers in France he was transferred to Endel Street Military Hospital in the UK. He recovered and was sent to Hornchurch for recuperation, returning home to New Zealand in January 1918.
In 1959 he wrote to the army requesting to get a copy of his dischage papers which were lost in the Japanese occupation of the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 September 2017]; 'Victor and William Johnson' on Unknown Wartriors of the NZEF [Facebook page], 24 June 2016.
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin, South Canterbruy Museum
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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