JOHNSON, Cyril Allen
| Service Numbers: | 1340, 1340A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sheffield, Tasmania, Australia, 26 December 1888 |
| Home Town: | Sheffield, Kentish, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Sheffield State School, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, buried at sea, Gallipoli, Turkey, 14 July 1915, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey. |
| Memorials: | Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural, Sheffield War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1340, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1340A, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1340A, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Private Cyril Johnson was born in Sheffield, Tasmania to Thomas Lewis and Esther Ann Johnson (Haydon) in 1888. He was known as ‘Sid’ to his family and friends. He had served for three years in the local citizen forces the 'Tasmanian Rangers". He enlisted in the AIF during December 1914 in Brisbane, age 27.
He was with the 15th Battalion when it landed at Anzac Cove late in the afternoon of 25 April 1915. They did a lot of work defending Quinn’s Post.
On 13 July 1915 when the Battalion was in reserve from front line duties, the Machine Gun companies of which Cyril was a member, were undergoing instruction, when he was accidentally shot in the chest. Seriously wounded - a live cartridge had penetrated his thorax; he was evacuated to the Hospital Ship 'Gascon' but died the next day of his wounds.
Cyril Johnson was buried at sea between Gallipoli and Alexandria. Reverend Mayne the senior chaplain on board wrote that he was ‘very brave and patient’ and ‘faced the end like a soldier’.
A Court of Inquiry was held into Cyril Johnson's death at the request of Brigadier-General John Monash. After taking evidence from witnesses, it found that it was an avoidable and tragic accident, suggesting steps to avoid its occurrence in the way dummy ammunition was used in training.
Cyril was noted by his father on his roll of honour form to have been ‘a prominent all-round athlete.’
His brother, Jack Roy Johnson, also enlisted in 1915, however as he was underage (17 years) and unable to obtain his father's consent, he enlisted under the alias John Rollins. He was awarded a Military Medal for bravery in Belgium.
A third brother, 2225 Sergeant Vernon Phillip Johnson also served at Gallipoli with the 1st Battalion AIF and returned to Australia in 1919.
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