L/Cpl 21844 George Johnson

The 1881 Census shows the family, with three daughters, in Hawkestone Street, Toxteth Park.  His father was a domestic servant.  

At the time of the 1891 Census the couple are living at 4 Maple Grove in Toxteth. Thomas is recorded as a coachman aged 34 who had been born in Wolverhampton, Mary was 35 years old and born in Liverpool. The 5 year old George had two older sisters – Jane aged 10 and Mary aged 7, a younger sister called Elizabeth aged 2 and a newborn brother called Andrew Mcduff Johnson aged just 3 months.

Florence, 12, is found with her grandparents William and Jane McKinnel in Rerrick, Kirkudbrightshire.

The family lived at 41 Siddeley Street in 1901. Living with George and his parents are siblings Jane who was working as a housemaid, Elizabeth and Andrew and another sister who had been born in 1896 called Margaret Grace. George was 15 and working as a van driver and his father as a cab driver and groom.

By 1911 his parents are still living in Siddeley Street. His father Thomas is aged 56 and is a groom in the Territorial Army, his mother is 55. Four of their children have died. The surviving children declared in the household are; Andrew who is working as a ships electrician assistant, and Margaret Grace who is at school. George isn’t present in the household, but given that crew records show he was a ships cook, he was probably away at sea. Jane (Jean), 30, and Elizabeth, 22, are in service together in Surrey. It is not known what became of Florence.

George served on the S.S.Carmania, a Cunard cruise ship which plied the Liverpool to New York route from 1905-1910 and was converted to an armed merchant cruiser during the war.

George’s father Thomas died in 1912, aged 58. His brother Andrew married in 1913, his sister Jane in 1914, sister Mary in 1915 and his sister Margaret Grace in 1918.

He enlisted on the 17th December 1914 at Liverpool, joining the 19th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 21844. He gave his age as 29 years and occupation as a barman. He was described as being five feet seven inches tall, weighed 124 lbs, 39" chest with tattoos on both arms, a fresh complexion, brown eyes and hair. He gave his address as 21 Treborth Street (which is near Princes Park). He served in No.2 Company.

Formed on 7^th September 1914 the 19^th Battalion trained locally at Sefton Park and remained living at home or in rented accommodation until November 1914. They then moved to the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 19th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. 

George’s conduct did not always go down well with the authorities. While the Battalion were based at Belton Park, George was confined to barracks for creating a disturbance after lights out in May 1915, admonished for striking a comrade in the June, and had 10 days confined to barracks for being drunk in the barrack room and urinating under a comrades bed in September of 1915.
 
On 07th November 1915 he embarked for France from Folkestone with his battalion.

His service records show:

20.11.15 Posted to H.Q. 89th Brigade 

01.12.15 Returned to duty in the field

30.5.16: Appointed unpaid Lance-Corporal.

He was killed in action on the 30th July 1916, aged 30, at the village of Guillemont, France, during the Somme Offensive. 

19^th Battalion Diary 

MALTZ HORN FARM

BATTLE begun. ZERO hour 4:45 am. The Battalion reached its objective, but suffered heavy losses, and had to evacuate its position owing to no reinforcements.

Everard Wyrall gives details of the attack in his book The History of The King’s Regiment; 

"The 2nd Attack on Guillemont- 29th July 1916 the 89th Brigade the 20th King's were to attack on the right and the 19th on the left. During the evening of the 29th the night was dark and foggy when the Battalions moved off and the 19th with Lt Col G Rollo commanding, when passing the South east of the Briqueterie they were heavily shelled first with H E and then with a new kind of asphyxiating Gas shell which had curious results, at first it had no nasty effect but about 8 hrs later men began to fall sick with violent headaches and pains in the stomach. All ranks had to wear gas masks which in the darkness and mist made the going terribly difficult. It was indeed wonderful that they were able to reach their Assembly point at all. But they did and by 2.45 a.m. on the 30th July 1916 the Btn was assembled having suffered about 30 Casualties on the way up ready for the Zero hour at 4.45 a.m.

It is known that the two left Companies of the 19th under Capt. Dodd and Capt. Nicholson advanced in touch with the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on their left although they suffered many casualties from Machine gun Fire did not encounter many Germans and reached their final objective about the time allocated, beginning at once to dig in south of the orchard on the South east corner of Guillemont.  

On the left of the 19th the Scots Fusiliers most gallantly forced their way through Guillemont to the eastern side of the village but were soon overwhelmed by the enemy and few returned. 

At 8 a.m. finding that the village was not held the two left Companies of the 19th received no word from the rear or either flank believed themselves to be totally isolated so were forced to fall back and dig in, their position being untenable.

At midday the effective fighting strength of the 19th Btn was just 7 Officers and 43 other ranks" 

When darkness fell on the battlefield the 30^th Division held a line from the railway on the eastern side of Trones Wood , southwards and including Arrow Head Copse, to east of Maltz Horn Farm. On this line the division was relieved by the 55^th Division during the early hours of the 31^st July. 

Casualties in the 19^th Battalion were 11 Officers and 435 Other Ranks 

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.   

George was at first reported Missing, and his name appeared as such in the list of K.L.R. casualties published on 18th September 1916. 

King’s(Liverpool Regiment) - Johnson, 21844, L.-Cpl G.;   

Eight months later, on 18th April 1917, he was officially reported killed in action. 

Liverpool Daily Post - Wednesday 18 April 1917: 

JOHNSON - July 30, 1916 previously reported missing, now reported killed in action, Lance Corporal George Johnson, eldest son of Mary Johnson and the late Thomas Johnson of 41 Siddeley Street, Lark Lane. (Sadly missed by all.) 

George's body was not recovered from the battlefield or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. 

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.” 

George earned his three medals. 

His Army pay and a War Gratuity of £7 went to his mother, who was awarded a pension of 15/- a week from April 1917.  At that time she lived at 13 Orleans Road, Old Swan, and later moved to 11 Fernleigh Road, Old Swan.

His sister paid tribute to him, on the first anniversary of his death, in the Liverpool Echo on 30th July 1917, under the heading, “Lost At The Battle Of Guillemont”:

“In loving memory of Lance-corporal George Johnson, killed in action, July 30, 1916. - Fondly remembered by his Sister, Jean.” 

George was remembered on the second anniversary of his death in 1918:

“In loving memory of Lance-corporal George Johnson, killed in action July 30, 1916. 

   He nobly answered his country’s call;

   He gave his best, his life, his all.

Fondly remembered by Andrew, Emma, and Jean.” 

In 1919 his mother was asked to provide information on George’s living relatives. She was living with his married sister Margaret Grace Grosse, aged 23 at 11 Fernleigh Road, and his brother Andrew, aged 28 lived at 120 Admiral Grove. No other family members are accounted for. 

His mother drops off the Electoral Roll at Fernleigh Road after 1930-31, no positive death record can be found

Sadly, George has not been definitively identified on any memorial.