JOHNSTON, Leonard Lewis
| Service Number: | 1504 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Goulds Country, Tasmania, Australia, 25 March 1888 |
| Home Town: | Goulds Country, Break O'Day, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | 1950, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1504, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1504, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Choon embarkation_ship_number: A49 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1504, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Choon, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Leonard Johnston was the son of John and Elizabeth Johnston from Goulds Country in Tasmania, nowadays a small remnant village near St Helens, in the foothills of the Blue Tier.
He was wounded during the August 1915 fighting and evacuated. Leonard Johnston wrote a letter home from England, where he had been recovering from his Gallipoli wound. It was printed in the Launceston Examiner during December 1915, under the heading ‘SECOND TO NONE.’
“Private Leonard Johnston (wounded), writing to his parents at Goulds Country from London, under date November 2, says:-- A few lines once again to let you know I am keeping all right. You will see I am staying at the Y.M.C.A. which is a home for all soldiers. We come here any time we wish to, and get a bed, or a feed, or both. A bed costs us 9d, but plenty of the poor Tommies never have the price of a bed. Still, they are just as welcome as the men with a fortune. My furlough is up tomorrow, and then I will go to Weymouth, which is our base, and from where I hope to be able to give you an address to write to. I suppose I will go back to the front from there, but I don't mind that a bit, as I have been there before, and am not a bit afraid to go back. In fact. when you see how the people of England treat us it makes you proud to fight for them. When they see an Australian coming, he is just the very best. Nobody can do enough for us. At the present-day Australian troops have a name second to none in the world, and I am proud to be one of them. The night before I was wounded, I lost my hat. Early in the morning I picked up a cap from a chap who was lying dead. Next morning, I looked inside the cap, and the name there was Vern Wickens. I found out afterwards he came from Tasmania. You would know if he is one of the Wickens from Hobart.”
(2086 Vernon John Wickens 15th Battalion was reported KIA 6 August 1915)
Leonard was captured by the Germans during the Battle of Bullecourt 11 April 1917. He spent a tough 18 months in German captivity, working on a farm in Germany with very sparse rations. He returned to England early in 1919.
Leonard Johnston had a brother 907 George Johnston 26th Battalion AIF, who was also wounded at Gallipoli.