JOHNSON, Ernest Maxwell
| Service Number: | 5594 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kiama, New South Wales, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Devonport, Devonport, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | State school |
| Occupation: | Seaman |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 5 November 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Plot XXI, Row GG, Grave No. 5A. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5594 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 5594, 17th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 5594, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney |
Help us honour Ernest Maxwell Johnson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Deb Robinson
Parents resided Mowbray Tasmania at time of his death. Brother Leonard was gassed, another brother John was reported missing
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Ernest Johnson was one of three brothers who enlisted in the First AIF. Born in Kiama, NSW his mother and father, John George and Catherine Johnson, lived in Launceston, Tasmania.
His brother 655 Cpl. D'Arcy Francis Johnson, 7th Battalion AIF was later killed in action in France 16/17 May, 1918, aged 26.
Ernest was severely wounded in the head on the same day that he died, by shrapnel. He died in a Casualty Clearing Station.
A third brother, 2711 Gunner Leonard Joseph Johnson survived the war and returned to Australia in 1919.
Biography contributed by Julian Penbrook
Ernest Maxwell Johnson was born in central Illawarra in 1892. His father, John George Johnson, was an itinerant worker of European and part-Indigenous descent, primarily employed in the mining industry. Throughout Ernest’s early years, the family traveled across New South Wales and Victoria, seeking contract work wherever it could be found.
As a teenager, Ernest returned to Tasmania with his family, settling in the state's northwest. He was known as a "cool" character who carried himself with "an air of nonchalance" and was familiar to the local authorities. Despite the challenges he faced, he went on to become a seaman before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
In 1916, Ernest enlisted in New South Wales as a reinforcement for the 17th Infantry Battalion. He took part in the Third Battle of Ypres, a brutal offensive defined by relentless fighting and unforgiving conditions. During this campaign, he was severely wounded by shrapnel and succumbed to his injuries at a casualty clearing station on November 5, 1917. He was laid to rest at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium, far from home but never forgotten.
Tragically, Ernest was not the only member of his family to make the ultimate sacrifice. His brother, 655 Corporal D'Arcy Francis Johnson of the 7th Battalion AIF, was killed in action in France on May 16-17, 1918, at the age of 26. Their second brother, 2711 Gunner Leonard Joseph Johnson, survived the war and returned to Australia in 1919.
Today, Ernest is remembered with deep respect by his extended family in Tasmania, who continue to honor his story and the legacy of all three brothers who served.
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