Johnson, William Frederick
1335 Lance Corporal William Frederick Johnson - 12th Field Ambulance
William Frederick Johnson was born in Shark Bay WA in 1892 to Otto and Nellie Johnson. The family moved to East Fremantle while William was still young and was educated there.
After leaving school he worked for a cordial manufacturing company. He served in the Army cadets and also did medical training to receive a fireman's ambulance certificate. Prior to the Great War he was living with his parents at 82 Sewell Street East Fremantle. (now renumbered to 34 Sewell)
On the 10th September 1914 William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was accepted as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 4 inches tall;
Weight - 123lbs;
Chest Measurement - 34-36 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Dark Brown.
After his successful enlistment, William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to "C" Section of the 4th Australian Field Ambulance. He trained with his unit in WA until near the end of 1914. On the 30th December William boarded the transport “Ajana” in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt.
After their arrival in Egypt in late January 1915, the men were disembarked and sent to Mena Camp to complete their training. Ed remained in Egypt with the 4th Field Ambulance until the 12th April 1915 when they received their embarkation orders for Lemnos Island. Upon arrival at Lemnos they prepared for their role in the landing at Gallipoli.
On April 25th 1915 the landing took place, but the 4th Field Ambulance, as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, did not land until early evening on the 25th. The Bearers had their work cut out for them as casualties were very heavy. The first few weeks of the campaign were brutal for the 4th Brigade with very heavy casualties sustained around Quinn's Post and Dead Mans Ridge. William helped evacuate many casualties over the first few months of the campaign.
In August 1915 William went with the infantry as an attack took place in the northern sector of the Anzac battlefield. Though there was initial success, the crucial heights could not be taken from the Turkish forces. Casualties were again heavy which kept William very busy. So far William had escaped being hit by Turkish fire but in November 1915 he fell ill and was evacuated back to hospital in Egypt.
William recovered well and was released from hospital in early December 1915. As Gallipoli was being evacuated in a few weeks time, William was kept in Egypt and he rejoined his unit when they returned.
Through January and February 1916 William trained with the 4th Field Ambulance. In March 1916 the AIF expanded with the result that half of the 4th Field Ambulance went on to form the 12th Field Ambulance. William, was one of the men sent to form the 12th Field Ambulance After a few more months training in the Egyptian desert, the 12th Field Ambulance embarked for France on the 4th June 1916, arriving in Marseilles on the 11th June. William was now appointed to the rank of Lance Corporal.
After a short stint in the line at Armentieres, the 12th Field Ambulance was sent to the Somme battlefield and was involved at Pozieres for a much longer period than the soldiers in the infantry. The field ambulance men went into the line to help evacuate the Australian casualties from late July 1916 and continued to do so until the first week of September. Casualties were heavy though William emerged unscathed.
After their time at the Somme battlefield, the 12th Field Ambulance were sent to Belgium for several weeks, before returning to the Somme Battlefield. They would remain in the Somme region till March 1917.
On the 12th December 1916 William had fallen ill and was sent to hospital. It was found that he was suffering from gastritis and also trench feet. He was admitted to the 3rd Stationary Hospital at Rouen. He was only there for a few days and was then shipped across to England, where he was admitted to the 3rd Southern General Hospital.
He was there for a month and then on the 22nd January 1917 was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford. He was there for a further month and was then given two weeks furlough. After his leave was over William reported into No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs. He was then transferred to the Training depot at Parkhouse Camp where he had another month. On the 22nd March 1917 William was sent to the Australian Medical Corps Training Depot at Wareham Camp.
William was then transferred to the newly forming 16th Field Ambulance of the 6th Division AIF. This was a new unit forming in England from reinforcements. William would be here for the next few months however with a lack of reinforcements coming from Australia, the 6th Division would soon be demobilised in September 1917 and the men returned to their previous units.
After two more weeks in the training camps in England, William returned to France in October 1917. He spent the next month in the base camp at Rouelles and rejoined the 12th Field Ambulance on the 27th November 1917.
The 12th Field Ambulance had just come out of the line at Ypres and in December 1917 they were sent to Peronne in France. However in January 1918, the 12th Field Ambulance and 4th Division returned to Belgium. From January to March 1918 the 4th Division were holding the front line south east of Ypres near Hollebeke.
On the 21st March 1918 the Germans launched their Spring Offensive which broke through the British lines further south. As a result the Australian Divisions were sent south to help stop this German advance. The 12th Brigade were sent to the sector around Albert and Dernancourt. In late March 1918 they came into contact with the Germans. William survived the initial encounters safely. On April 5th 1918 the Germans launched another large assault on the Australian positions. They made some initial success but the Australians held firm. Casualties were very heavy and William was kept very busy with his field ambulance duties.
The 12th Field Ambulance then moved to the vicinity of Villers-Bretonneux from May 1918. They helped evacuate casualties after an action at Monument Wood on the 3rd may 1918 and would remain in this sector for the next few months and were also involved when Hamel village was successfully captured on July 4th 1918.
William then participated in the 8th August 1918 advance from the Villers Bretonneux front which broke through the Germans lines. He was in action with his unit from August 8th to September 18th 1918. He had a minor shrapnel wound to the buttocks on the 13th September 1918 but appears to have remained on duty.
The September 18th action at Le Verguier was the 12th Brigade's last action in the war. They were then pulled out of the line for a well deserved rest period.
William had also qualified for the Anzac Leave, which was a six month leave period back to Australia, for those soldiers still serving who had enlisted in 1914. On the 12th October 1918 William left England aboard the troopship Port Lyttleton and set sail for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 12th December 1918.
William was then discharged from the AIF on the 17th February 1919.
In 1921 in Fremantle William married Annie Combe Goodall and they had a son called William born in North Fremantle in 1922, followed by Daphne in North Fremantle in 1923 and Robert in 1924. The family were then living in North Fremantle but moved to 14 Attfield Street (later renumbered to 24 Attfield St) in the latter half of the 1920's. During the 1920's William appears to have stopped work at the cordial factory and began work on Fremantle wharf as a Lumper.
By 1931 the family had moved to Livingstone Street Beaconsfield. During World War Two the family moved to Forrest Road in Hamilton Hill. During this time William was still working as a Lumper.
William lived a very long life, dying in Hamilton Hill on the 20th April 1981 aged 90. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery.