Robert (Bob) JOHNSTON

JOHNSTON, Robert

    Service Number: 969
    Enlisted: 7 July 1915, Enlisted in Perth, WA, aged 22 years and 6 months. Next of Kin (Father) Irvine Johnston, Victoria Park, WA.
    Last Rank: Lance Corporal
    Last Unit: 32nd Infantry Battalion
    Born: Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 28 November 1893
    Home Town: Victoria Park, Victoria Park, Western Australia
    Schooling: Not yet discovered
    Occupation: Horse Driver
    Died: 14 February 1970, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered
    Cemetery: Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia
    PLOT Presbyterian-Ha-0555
    Memorials: Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Canning District R.S.L. Memorial
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    World War 1 Service

    7 Jul 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 969, Enlisted in Perth, WA, aged 22 years and 6 months. Next of Kin (Father) Irvine Johnston, Victoria Park, WA.
    15 Aug 1915: Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Promoted to Lance Corporal while serving in C Company, 32nd Battalion.
    18 Nov 1915: Embarked Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide
    18 Nov 1915: Involvement Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: ''
    24 Nov 1915: Embarked AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Unit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT Katuna on 24 November 1915.
    16 Jun 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, The battalion embarked at Alexandria, Egypt aboard the British transport HMT Transylvania, part of the convoy carrying the 8th Brigade (including the 32nd Battalion). They disembarked at Marseilles, France on 23 June 1916, then travelled north by train to the Western Front.
    9 Jul 1916: Imprisoned On 9 July 1916, in the lead‑up phase to the Battle of Fromelles (19–20 July 1916), L/Cpl R. Johnston was shot, wounded on the left side and lung, and captured by German forces at Fleurbaix, France. His battalion initially recorded him as missing, and later as Killed in Action in early August, notifying his family. The AIF remained unaware that L/Cpl Johnston was a prisoner of war until his family contacted them after receiving several postcards from him in September–October 1916, confirming he was being held at Depot II, Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany.
    28 Jul 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Reported Missing in France. Auth AQ1802 DO/46/4575
    4 Aug 1916: Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Reported Killed in Action while serving in C Company of the 32nd Infantry Battalion in France. Service record notes "Particulars not yet at hand".
    6 Nov 1916: Imprisoned Following a number of unofficial reports, he was official recorded as a POW, being held at Depot II, Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany on 6 November 1916.
    23 Jan 1917: Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Officially record as POW at Gefangenenlager Reserve Lazarett III Stuttgart, and wounded at the same place the following day on 24 January 1917.
    19 Dec 1918: Transferred AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Repatriated prisoner of war from Stuttgart, Germany to Dover, England.
    8 May 1919: Embarked AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Embarked from England on HT Devanka, returning to Australia on 15 June 1919.
    1 Jul 1919: Discharged AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 969, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Discharged from the AIF on 1 July 1919. L/Cpl Robert Johnston was issued the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal (the trio).

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