Cpl
Albert George Johnston
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 09/02/1894 |
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Place of birth: Maitland, Southland, New Zealand |
General information
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Profession: Farmer |
Army information
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Country: New Zealand |
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Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Corporal |
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Service number: 32674 |
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Enlistment date: 26/07/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Trentham, Wellington, New Zealand |
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Units: — Otago Regiment, 1st Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 12/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Bellevue 's, Graventafel, 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, New Zealand Apse Panel: 3 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Hubert Paterson served in the 4th Company, Otago Regiment 1st Battalion, of the New Zealand 1st Brigade, part of the New Zealand Division.
On the 12th of October 1917 the New Zealand Division participated, among other, in the First Battle of Passchendaele, a phase of the Third Battle of Ypres. The Division advanced with two Brigades from the east of Gravenstafel. The aim of the attack was to capture the heights at Passchendale. The New Zealand Division was to secure the northern outskirts of the village. There were three objectives : the first being the Red Line ( approx. Friesland Farm – Source Wood ), the second being the Blue Line ( approx. Graf Farm – Goudberg Copse ) and the final being the Green Line ( approx. Exert Copse - Vocation Farm ).
The 1st Otago was allotted to the 2nd New Zealand Brigade on the right of the divisional front. 2nd N.Z. Bde. was to attack with the 2nd Bn. Otago Regiment, the 1st Bn. Otago Regiment and the 1st Bn. Canterbury Regiment. The 2nd Bn. Canterbury Regiment was in reserve. The three objectives were allotted in this order.
The attack began at 5.25 a.m. with the 2nd Otago’s positioned at the front and thus leading the assault. The 1st Otago was to take the second objective, with the 4th (Otago) Company on the right flank of the Battalion. On their right was the Ravebeek, that could be used as a guideline to reach Passchendaele. But shortly after, they got into difficulties because of uncut wire entanglements that lay in front of the jumping off line. This was because the opening barrage didn’t cause much damage and therefore was negligible. The only gap in the wire was at a single point on the sunken Graventafel Road. This breach proved a death trap and many Otagos were mowed down by machine-gun fire coming from the Bellevue crest while trying to clear the gap. The area of the Bellevue Spur was overloaded with German defences and pillboxes. German machineguns mowed the Otago’s down and caused many casualties.
The 4th Company on the extreme right in the meanwhile advanced along the Ravebeek. The banks of this irrigation channel had been utterly destroyed by the constant shelling, transforming the nearby terrain in a bog, honeycombed with watery shell holes. The right companies were quickly held up by a couple of pill-boxes in the marshes near the Ravebeek. The artillery barrage had failed to take out these concrete positions and the men were forced to storm them. The pill-boxes eventually fell, but heavy casualties and renewed German resistance prevented any further gains. The men were forced to take cover in shell-holes waiting till the cover of darkness to retreat to positions short of the Red Line.
The 12th of October 1917 will be remembered as one of the most unsuccessful days in the history of the New Zealand Army. Corporal Albert George Johnston was killed in action during the attack on the Bellevue Crest. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Tyne Cot, New Zealand Apse.
On the 12th of October 1917 the New Zealand Division participated, among other, in the First Battle of Passchendaele, a phase of the Third Battle of Ypres. The Division advanced with two Brigades from the east of Gravenstafel. The aim of the attack was to capture the heights at Passchendale. The New Zealand Division was to secure the northern outskirts of the village. There were three objectives : the first being the Red Line ( approx. Friesland Farm – Source Wood ), the second being the Blue Line ( approx. Graf Farm – Goudberg Copse ) and the final being the Green Line ( approx. Exert Copse - Vocation Farm ).
The 1st Otago was allotted to the 2nd New Zealand Brigade on the right of the divisional front. 2nd N.Z. Bde. was to attack with the 2nd Bn. Otago Regiment, the 1st Bn. Otago Regiment and the 1st Bn. Canterbury Regiment. The 2nd Bn. Canterbury Regiment was in reserve. The three objectives were allotted in this order.
The attack began at 5.25 a.m. with the 2nd Otago’s positioned at the front and thus leading the assault. The 1st Otago was to take the second objective, with the 4th (Otago) Company on the right flank of the Battalion. On their right was the Ravebeek, that could be used as a guideline to reach Passchendaele. But shortly after, they got into difficulties because of uncut wire entanglements that lay in front of the jumping off line. This was because the opening barrage didn’t cause much damage and therefore was negligible. The only gap in the wire was at a single point on the sunken Graventafel Road. This breach proved a death trap and many Otagos were mowed down by machine-gun fire coming from the Bellevue crest while trying to clear the gap. The area of the Bellevue Spur was overloaded with German defences and pillboxes. German machineguns mowed the Otago’s down and caused many casualties.
The 4th Company on the extreme right in the meanwhile advanced along the Ravebeek. The banks of this irrigation channel had been utterly destroyed by the constant shelling, transforming the nearby terrain in a bog, honeycombed with watery shell holes. The right companies were quickly held up by a couple of pill-boxes in the marshes near the Ravebeek. The artillery barrage had failed to take out these concrete positions and the men were forced to storm them. The pill-boxes eventually fell, but heavy casualties and renewed German resistance prevented any further gains. The men were forced to take cover in shell-holes waiting till the cover of darkness to retreat to positions short of the Red Line.
The 12th of October 1917 will be remembered as one of the most unsuccessful days in the history of the New Zealand Army. Corporal Albert George Johnston was killed in action during the attack on the Bellevue Crest. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Tyne Cot, New Zealand Apse.
Sources 2
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Byrne A.E., The Official History of the Otago Regiment N.Z.E.F. in the Great War 1914-1918, (Dunedin, Wilkie & Co Ltd., 1921), pg. 207 - 228. Sources used |
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McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 128-131. Sources used |
More information 5
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/847719 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=09f73a39-5f58-4819-a93e-709c522e2781 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7177244 |
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Online Cenotaph (Auckland Museum) https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/c7797 |
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The NZEF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=131287 |