JOHNSON, Lawrence Leslie
| Service Number: | 106 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 February 1916, Enlisted at Liverpool. |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 19 December 1889 |
| Home Town: | Rozelle, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 April 1918, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 106, 36th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool. | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 106, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 13 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 106, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 17 Jan 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 36th Infantry Battalion, Promoted in Belgium. | |
| 4 Apr 1918: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 106, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 106 awm_unit: 36th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-04-04 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Lawrence Leslie JOHNSON (Service Number 106) was born on 19th December 1889 at Armidale. He was casually employed as a tram conductor from 25th June 1912, and became permanent on 30th December that year. He remained in that position until he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 7th February 1916.
He had enlisted at Liverpool the previous Saturday (5th) and was allotted to the 36th Australian Infantry Battalion. He was unmarried and gave his father, who was living at Black Mountain near Armidale, as his next of kin. Later this would change and the whereabouts of the father would be unknown. Some of the addresses scribbled and overwritten on the Attestation Papers are Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore; ‘Esplanade Café’, Manly; ‘Monrose’, Bathurst Road, Katoomba; and ‘Hillcrest’, Station Street, Fairfield.
Johnson left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Beltana’ on 13th May 1916. He reached Devonport (England) on 9th July. While he was in England undergoing further training he was found guilty of, disobeying a Superior Officer, Absent Without Leave and travelling without a pass. For these offences he was penalised with 7 days Field Punishment No. 2 and the forfeiture of 14 days’ pay.
On 22nd November 1916 he proceeded overseas to France. He returned to England on leave from 22nd November 1917 until 7th December 1917. Back in Belgium he was promoted to Lance Corporal on 17th January 1918.
He was killed in action in France on 4th April.
In 1934 his mother wrote to the military authorities and explained that she had learned from mates that ‘he was buried near where he fell on the left-hand side of the Railway station.’ This site was lost and Johnson is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.