John Leslie Johnson
Stephen LearmonthOn the morning of the 16th of May, the 2/23rd prepared to relieve the 2/43rd Battalion in the eastern sector of the Tobruk salient. Unfortunately, during the previous few nights, German forces had consolidated positions they had taken earlier in the month. These included posts S8, S9 and S10. The 2/23rd was given a half hour notice to be ready to retake those posts.
The battle began on May 17th 1941, at 0527 with a sustained fire by Vickers machine guns of the Northumberland Fusiliers. It was chaotic and it was dusty. Smoke screens, and artillery barrages laid down by the Australians and the Germans had, unfortunately, resulted in visibility being down to as low as 25 yards.
Captain Malloch led D Company of the 2/23rd, of which Alan Kelly was a member, southwards close to the perimeter. The supporting British Matilda Infantry tanks lost contact with the infantry and returned back to their original assembly area. The infantry pressed on their attack. Casualties began to mount, especially when the Germans fired air-burts from their 88-mm artillery pieces. By 0700 hours two forward platoons of A Company, 16 and 17, had few effective men left, and the company’s reserve platoon was back at S11. The men of 16 Platoon fought their way into the German sangars (shallow sand scrapes lined with rocks), overlooking Post S7. They found themselves in the middle of a killing ground and caught in the open. Allan was killed during this first charge when providing covering fire for another soldier. His body was lost near S7 and later searches failed to find him.
The battalion commanding officer, Colonel Evans (no relation to James), was desperate to capture post S7 so organised another attack by the reserve company, A Company, and eight Matilda tanks. By this time, it was well after 0700 hours. James Evans was part of A Company and a member of one of the two lead platoons. The tanks that had been supporting the advance once again became hopelessly lost and actually began firing on the Australians. Sergeant Stuckey of 7 Platoon turned them around and directed them back into the attack. He walked about 20 metres in front of the tanks, Bren gun blazing away. Unfortunately, after moving over the escarpment, they veered too far to the left and played no further assistance in A Company’s attack. During this time, Lieutenant McRae of 8 Platoon was wounded along with Privates Fox (who was acting Sergeant), Armfield and Howard. James was seriously wounded when he was struck by an anti-tank shell. He died of his wounds the following day.
The fighting around Post S9 had initially been chaotic. However, there had been no reports on the condition of the Australians at the post, so Colonel Evens decided to send a carrier to investigate. John Johnson, in his carrier named “Walwa’, with Jim Swinton, as driver, and Vern Scott, as the third crewman, were sent. Upon arriving at the post they found it eerily quiet, although on the ground there was the detritus of battle. Equipment, weapons, dead bodies, littered the area around the post. John climbed out of the carrier to investigate while Jim drove in circles to avoid being an easy target. When John had seen enough, and found no occupants, he walked across to the carrier. As he was climbing in he was shot in the back by a sniper and fell to the ground. The only way of being able to collect John was for Jim to place the carrier between the sniper and John. They bundled John into the carrier and rushed back to the RAP (Regimental Aid Post), a hole in the ground covered by some tarpaulins. Some records indicate that he had been hit in the spinal cord, just below the neck, severing the cord but not killing him outright. At the RAP he was given a dose of morphine and sent in an ambulance to the 2/3rd Field Ambulance Main Dressing Station, situated in a cave just west of Tobruk Harbour. John died at 1700 hours that afternoon.
Meanwhile, B Company had taken Post S6 and was holding on. However, by mid-afternoon it was discovered that Posts S4, S5 and S7 were held by the enemy. The troops at S6 were in a difficult spot. Enemy armour had also been heard in the area. As the 2/10th Battalion, to the left of the 2/23rd were unable to assist those in S6, it was decided to evacuate the post. At 2000 hours a carrier section of three was sent out to retrieve the wounded and assist those who could walk, bringing them back to the battalion's assembly point in the Ariente area. As the carriers approached S6, they were not aware that the enemy had established a strong anti-tank gun emplacement nearby. The leading carrier, on the left, was in charge of Corporal Pat Joy, with Privates Col Bowden and Jack Lorimer as crew. Approximately 15 metres from the water tower an anti-tank shell penetrated the front of the carrier, killing Pat. At the same time, Col’s arm was shattered and Jack was rendered unconscious (he would remain unconscious for three weeks). Col was able to restart the carrier and drove it back to where the battalion was regrouping.
The total casualties for the 2/23rd Battalion for that day were:
Killed 20
Wounded and brought back 59
Missing, believed killed 5
Missing, believed wounded and captured 23
Missing believed taken prisoner with unknown number of casualties 66
In the course of one day, four of the Upper Murray’s finest, three from Walwa itself, would not be returning home.
John Leslie Johnson was born on the 22nd of July, 1902, at Rock View near Walwa, Victoria. He was the youngest of four children to John Edward and Agnes Eliza (née Dunn). During the early 1920s, John left home and worked as an agricultural labourer on farms around Victoria. He eventually moved to Melbourne where he enrolled at the Collingwood Technical College, and learnt carpentry and joinery.
On the 11th of December, 1925, John married Josephine Mary Gorman Duggan in North Fitzroy. Hard times during the Great Depression resulted in John being laid off by his employer. Unable to repay the mortgage on their newly purchased home in Reservoir, John and Josie sold up and moved back onto the Johnson family farm near Walwa.
John enlisted in the 2nd AIF on the 27th of June, 1940, at Caulfield, Victoria, being allocated the Army Number VX42266. On the 1st of July he was transferred to No. 8 Training Depot and No. 4 Training Battalion at Albury. On the 23rd of August he was posted to “Albury’s Own”, the 2/23rd Battalion. It wasn’t long before his leadership qualities were recognised and he was promoted to Corporal. By this time he was 37 and a devoted family man; the father of six boys and a girl.
On the 25th of August, John was posted from B Company to Headquarters Company of the 2/23rd. He was assigned to the Carrier Platoon and would remain with it for the rest of his service. John named his carrier “Walwa”. The image shows members of the 2/23rd Battalion Carrier Platoon on the beach near Dimra, Palestine, in January 1941. Pat is standing in the back row, second from left, while John stands on the right with a towel wrapped around his head. Four of these men would not return home.
Johnson's unit, the 2/23rd Battalion, arrived in Egypt on 17 December, 1940. With him in the same battalion were two of his best mates from Walwa, privates Alan Kelly and Pat Joy, with John sharing a tent with the latter. During his time in the army, Corporal Johnson became a prolific correspondent with his wife, Josie, and their children. They wrote hundreds of letters to each other and John took care to write to each of his sons individually, eagerly awaiting their return letters. While he was away, Josie gave birth to their eighth child, a girl, Josie Jacqueline.
John’s movements on the 17th of May are described above. He was buried in the Tobruk Cemetery, Libya, next to Pat Joy. John is also remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, and the Walwa Roll of Honour. For his service, he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, the Africa Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-1945 and the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945.
More details of John and Josie’s life can be found in the excellent books “Love Letters from a War” by Len Johnson and “Mother Superior, Woman Inferior” by Josie Arnold (née Johnson).