Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Irvine Cedric Johnston was born on 26 January 1896 in Richmond, New South Wales. (1) Johnston was part of a family that included his mother, Jane Sophia Johnston; his father, Acheson Johnston; and his older brother, Francis Lowry Mervyn Johnston. (2) In the early 1900s, the Johnston family moved to Kogarah, where they lived at 49 Kogarah Road (3), which has since been renamed. During this time, Johnston attended Technical Day School, now known as Sydney Technical High School, which was around the time he served two years in the Citizen Military Forces. (4) This force was established by the Australian government in 1911 to create a large military force of trained citizens, primarily consisting of young ‘boy conscripts’ who were trained under a compulsory training scheme. (5) By the time Johnston finished school, he was seeking work and eventually found employment as a clerk. 

On the 1st of December, 1914, Johnston enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), as the third reinforcements in the first infantry battalion, to fight in WW1. (6) Around two months after his enlistment, Johnston’s unit embarked from Sydney to Egypt on the 11th of February 1915, sailing on board the HMAT A49 Seang Choon. (7) Johnston joined the battalion in Gallipoli on 7 May 1915 as reinforcement. (8) His role, as an infantry soldier, meant he was a foot soldier trained to operate his rifle and equipment.

After many months of enduring the harsh conditions in Gallipoli, on the 7th of August 1915, Johnston suffered a brutal gunshot wound to the left ankle. (9) He was swiftly admitted to an Australian General Hospital (AGH) a few days after the injury near Heliopolis in Egypt. After Johnston recovered, he bravely rejoined the battalion and soon disembarked to France on the 28th of March, 1916. (10)

After months had passed, on 1 July 1916, the Battle of the Somme began along the western front. Johnston and his unit were ordered to fight in this gruesome battle. Eventually, on the 25th of July 1916, Johnston was severely injured, suffering another two gunshot wounds to the face and left hand and was quickly treated in an Australian General Hospital. (11) During his recovery, it was discovered he had also suffered a minor shell wound and was soon transferred back to England after he had healed.

After a few months had passed, on the 4th of January 1917, Johnston returned to his unit (12) Johnston continued his service in France for a couple months before, again, suffering his 4th gunshot wound to the leg on the 11th of April 1917. (13) He was transferred to an Australian General Hospital in Rouen, which was a city in France that became a safe area, containing numerous base hospitals. Johnston survived and was sent to a convalescent hospital in Sutton Vewy in England, on the 25th of April where he spent the rest of his service. (14) In England, was promoted to a temporary sergeant on the 1st September 1919. (15) Johnston finally left England 29th of February, 1920 and rand was discharged 4th May 1920. (16)

On returning to Australia, Johnston likely travelled back to his old family home in Kogarah and abided there for the next few years after the war. Details of Johnston's life after the war are less well-documented, with his employment and place of residence remaining unknown. On the 17th of October 1926, Johnston’s father passed away, followed by his brother a couple years later on the 21st of August 1933. (17) Around the mid 1930s, Johnston went to live at n 13 Sloane Street, Marrickville, NSW (18) where he would later marry his future wife, Phyllis Blanche McVicar, in 1949. (19) Johnston later moved to live with his wife in Heidelberg, Victoria where he would later pass away on the 22nd of September, 1957, at the age of 61. (20)

Endnotes:

Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia
Ken Stevenson. Irvine Cedric Johnston. Irvine Cedric Johnston. World War 1 Honour Board Project. Word Document.
Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia
Ibid
National Museum Australia - Citizen Army. Available at https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/glorious-days/defending-australia/citizen-army
Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia
The AIF Project, UNSW Canberra. Irvine Cedric Johnston 1896 - 1916.
Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ken Stevenson. Irvine Cedric Johnston. Irvine Cedric Johnston. World War 1 Honour Board Project. Word Document.
Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia
Ken Stevenson. Irvine Cedric Johnston. Irvine Cedric Johnston. World War 1 Honour Board Project. Word Document.
Ibid
Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia

Bibliography: 

Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive
Anonymous. Irvine Cedric Johnston Records 1896 - 1957. Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia
The AIF Project, UNSW Canberra. Irvine Cedric Johnston 1896 - 1916.
Ken Stevenson. Irvine Cedric Johnston. Irvine Cedric Johnston. World War 1 Honour Board Project. Word Document.
Virtual War Memorial Australia. Irvine Cedric Johnston 1896 - 1957.
Australian War Memorial - 1st Australian Infantry Battalion. Available at https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51441#:~:text=The%20battalion%20took%20part%20in,of%20Lone%20Pine%20in%20August
National Museum Australia - Citizen Army. Available at https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/glorious-days/defending-australia/citizen-army