JOHNSTON, Leslie Roy
| Service Numbers: | S63022, SX32853 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 July 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Cowell, South Australia, 28 May 1925 |
| Home Town: | Broken Hill, Broken Hill Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | whyalla Primary School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Dairy HAnd |
| Died: | Darwin, Northern Territory, 31 December 1972, aged 47 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Darwin General Cemetery, N.T. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153252056/leslie-roy-johnston |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 24 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, S63022 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , S63022 | |
| 20 Sep 1943: | Involvement Private, SX32853 | |
| 20 Sep 1943: | Involvement Private, S63022 | |
| 20 Sep 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX32853 | |
| 20 Sep 1943: | Enlisted Barmera, SA | |
| 4 Jul 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX32853 | |
| 4 Jul 1946: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Leslie Roy Johnston (Service No:SX32853) initially served in the ACMF (Private; Service No:S63022), enlisting at Broken Hill, NSW and serving with 10 Labour Coy Woodside, 25 and 33 Garrison Battalions from 24 July 1942 to 19 September 1943. Private Johnston served in Darwin, NT (27 March 1943 - 10 October 1945) and was attached to 2 Platoon 1 Australian Port Maintenance Coy at Discharge on 4 July 1946.
Leslie was born in Cowell, South Australia in 1925, second of five children of Karl (Charlie) Arvid Johansson (b1894 in Kritianstad, Sweden) and Rosemary (Rose) Etheldreda Carruthers (1896 in London, England). Charlie was a Fisherman, based in Sweden and sailing around the world, when he 'jumped ship' at Port Pirie, SA in 1920 and used the alias 'Charlie Johnston'. Rose worked as a Housekeeper and Waitress in London before she immigrated with her brother William in 1922, arriving in Adelaide, SA on board the SS Benalla. Charlie was working as a Fisherman in Cowell when he and Rose married in Adelaide in 1923 - Charlie used the name Charles Arvid Johnson for the first time officially on his Marriage Certificate. Charlie and Rose settled in Cowell, where they raised their family and Charlie was a Fisherman, and in 1934 was the first licensed Bookmaker to open a Betting Shop in Cowell. By 1938 the family had settled in Whyalla, where Charlie worked as a Labourer and Winch Driver. In 1943 Charlie became an Australian Citizen, and he and Rose moved to Adelaide in 1949. In 1960, Charlie legally changed his name to Charles Arvid Johnston.
Leslie was working as a Dairy Hand in Broken Hill, NSW in 1942 when he enlisted in the Army. Following his Discharge in 1946, he lived in Adelaide, where he worked as a Barman until the late 1940s. He then worked as a Seaman around Australia - in 1949 he was in Newcastle, NSW as Seaman on board the Iron King when he met his future wife Margaret. In 1950 he was in Hobart, Tasmania working as a Fireman on board the freighter Kekerangu, and later that year was in Perth, WA when he married Margaret Gwendoline Gilbert (nee Bignell; b1918 in Taree, NSW). Leslie and Margaret settled in Newcastle, where Leslie continued working as a Seaman. Margaret died in 1966 and Leslie died in Darwin, NT in 1972.
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