Sgt
Charles Edward Johnson
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1894 |
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Place of birth: Walton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Printers Assistant |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Sergeant |
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Service number: 265606 |
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Units: — Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 2/1st Bn. (Buckinghamshire) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 22/08/1917 |
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Place of death: Somme Farm, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 23 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 96 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal — 13/10/1920 |
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Victory Medal Medal — 13/10/1920 |
Points of interest 1
| #1 | Place of birth |
My story
Sergeant Charles Edward Johnson served in the Oxforshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 2/1st Battalion. This unit was part of the 184th Brigade of the 61st Division of the British Expeditionary Force.
On the 22nd of August 1917, the 2/1st Ox and Bucks Battalion attacked, together with the Ox and Bucks 2/4th Battalion and with the 2/5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in support. The place of the attack can be situated near the Pond and Somme Farm, close to St-Julien. At 4.45 a.m. the attack started with the artillery that set in a creeping barrage behind which the Battalion moved forward. The attacking Battalions endured heavy resistance of German machineguns and rifle fire, due to the lack of effectiveness of the artillery. The Somme and Aisne Farms were captured, but the withdrawal from Aisne Farm followed quickly due to a German counterattack.
The Bucks were able to consolidate a string of shellholes at Somme, but were unable to capture the German strongholds of Pond Farm and Gallipoli. In the afternoon the Bucks held their positions and many of them fell victim to German sniper fire. After heavy fighting, Pond farm was taken by the 2/5th Gloucestershire Regiment in the evening of August 22. Because of the capture of Pond Farm, the Ox and Bucks 2/1st Battalion was able to straighten the frontline. At night the Bucks were relieved by the 2/7th Worcesters.
The casualties of the attack by the Ox and Bucks 2/1st Battalion were high. Of the 650 men that participated in the attack, 39 were killed, 153 wounded and 146 men went missing.
Sergeant Charles Edward Johnson was killed in action on the 22nd of August 1917. His remains were never recovered or they were never identified. He was presumably one of the 185 men that were killed or went missing during the attack of August 22 1917 in the area near Pond and Somme Farm, northeast of St-Julien. Charles Edward Johnson is remembered at the Tyne Cot Memorial.
On the 22nd of August 1917, the 2/1st Ox and Bucks Battalion attacked, together with the Ox and Bucks 2/4th Battalion and with the 2/5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in support. The place of the attack can be situated near the Pond and Somme Farm, close to St-Julien. At 4.45 a.m. the attack started with the artillery that set in a creeping barrage behind which the Battalion moved forward. The attacking Battalions endured heavy resistance of German machineguns and rifle fire, due to the lack of effectiveness of the artillery. The Somme and Aisne Farms were captured, but the withdrawal from Aisne Farm followed quickly due to a German counterattack.
The Bucks were able to consolidate a string of shellholes at Somme, but were unable to capture the German strongholds of Pond Farm and Gallipoli. In the afternoon the Bucks held their positions and many of them fell victim to German sniper fire. After heavy fighting, Pond farm was taken by the 2/5th Gloucestershire Regiment in the evening of August 22. Because of the capture of Pond Farm, the Ox and Bucks 2/1st Battalion was able to straighten the frontline. At night the Bucks were relieved by the 2/7th Worcesters.
The casualties of the attack by the Ox and Bucks 2/1st Battalion were high. Of the 650 men that participated in the attack, 39 were killed, 153 wounded and 146 men went missing.
Sergeant Charles Edward Johnson was killed in action on the 22nd of August 1917. His remains were never recovered or they were never identified. He was presumably one of the 185 men that were killed or went missing during the attack of August 22 1917 in the area near Pond and Somme Farm, northeast of St-Julien. Charles Edward Johnson is remembered at the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Sources 2
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2/1 Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/3066/2). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 58-60. Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1633509 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=b4e410d6-54de-456b-8290-a85bf88284f9 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2113551 |