Johnson, Bernard Martin
7416 Sapper Bernard Martin Johnson - 7th Field Company Engineers
Bernard Martin Johnson was born in Bethnal Green England in 1881 to William and Catherine Johnson, being one of six siblings in the family.
In 1904 he married Emma Elizabeth Aldred and a daughter Edna was born in 1905. The 1911 census list the family at 7 Port Street Holbeck Leeds and Bernard was listed as a cabinet maker.
Around 1910 the family then travelled to Australia and took up residence in WA. They were listed at 250 South Terrace (later renumbered to 212) South Fremantle and was employed as a cabinet maker. However by 1916 the family were living at 19 Blinco street Fremantle. (later renumbered to 10 Blinco)
On the 7th November 1916 Bernard enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 4 inches tall;'
Weight - 133lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-36 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Brown.
After his successful enlistment, Bernie was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the training depot. In January 1917 he was assigned to the Tunnelling Company reinforcements and was then sent to Victoria to complete his training. At this time the Tunnelling Company reinforcements were being trained at Seymour Army Camp in Victoria.
Bernie would end up training in Victoria for the next seven months. On the 4th August 1917 Bernie and his reinforcement group left Port Melbourne aboard the transport ship HMAT Themistocles and set sail for England. The ship arrived at Glasgow on the 2nd October 1917.
After being disembarked, Bernie and his group were sent to the Tunnelling Details Camp at Parkhouse. He spent a month here but Bernie would not be joining the Tunnellers as on the 7th November 1917 he was transferred to the Engineers Training Depot Camp at Brightlingsea. He spent the next three months here and then on the 10th February 1918 was transferred to France. He spent a few days with the Base Depot Camp but then joined the 7th Field Company Engineers in Belgium on the 18th February 1918.
The 7th Field Company Engineers was part of the 7th Brigade, 2nd Division AIF. They were then in Belgium, in the line between Hollebeke and Messines.
As a result of the German offensive of March 21st 1918, which broke through the British line further south, the Australian divisions left Belgium and proceeded to the Somme front to try and help stop the German advance.
The 7th Brigade went to an area near Ville-sur-Ancre and Morlancourt. On the 10th May 1918 Bernard was sent to the 7th Field Ambulance with feet issues but returned a few days later. On the 23rd May 1918 Bernie was wounded by a gas shell. He was initially treated at the 5th Field Ambulance and then the 20th Casualty Clearing Station. He was then admitted to the 7th Canadian General Hospital at Etaples.
Fortunately it was not a severe case, and on the 4th June 1918 Bernie was sent to No.6 Convalescent camp. He was here till the 16th July 1918 when he was sent to the Australian Base Depot Camp at Le Havre. On the 22nd July 1918 he returned to the 7th Field Company Engineers. They were then in the Villers-Bretonneux sector.
Bernie served with his unit through the next month, and participated in the August 8th attack from Villers-Bretonneux which smashed through the German lines.
The 7th Brigade participated in several actions over the next few weeks, most notably at Peronne and Mont St Quentin in late August, early September 1918. The Engineers were kept busy during the crossing of the Somme River at Peronne. The 7th Brigade was in action until October 4th 1918 when they served at Montbrehain and fortunately Bernie came through this period unscathed. The 7th Brigade were withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest.
The 7th Field Company Engineers were still out of the front line when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918. After the Germans withdrew back to their own borders the Australians were sent into what had been German occupied parts of Belgium and France. The 7th Brigade went to the Charleroi area in Belgium.
On the 11th January 1919 Bernie was given a month's leave to England, and returned to France on the 14th February 1919. On his return to France Bernie was seconded for duty to the 4th Army Dump but rejoined the 7th Field Company on the 26th February 1919.
Bernie had applied for a period of Non Military Employment so was sent back to England in March 1919. He chose a firm to expand his knowledge on cabinet making. He joined the Elsworth Brothers in Woodhouse Leeds for the first three months and then went to the Company, Armitage and Hodgson in Leeds for the final two months.
He finished this non military employment in August 1919 and then was sent to Sutton Veny camp to await be assigned a berth on a troopship home. On the 25th September 1919 Bernie boarded the transport ship Mahana and set sail for Australia, arriving at Fremantle on the 3rd November 1919. Bernie was then disembarked and was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for a medical checkup up.
He was found to have no lingering effects from the German gas and so was discharged from the AIF on the 3rd December 1919.
On his return Bernie resumed Cabinet Making and not long after arriving home, he and his wife were divorced. Bernie now moved to c/o WR Jones in Petra Street Palmyra. He then moved to Claremont and then Swanbourne. Bernie lived in Swanbourne through to the late 1950's.
Bernie died in Perth on the 10th October 1960 aged 79. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.