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William Henry Johnston
Buried	Perth Cemetery, Zillibeke
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1899 - 1915 †
Rank	Major
Unit	Royal Engineers
Battles / wars	World War I
Awards	Victoria Cross

William Henry Johnston VC (21 December 1879 – 8 June 1915) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

He was 34 years old, on 14 September 1914 during the Race to the Sea at Missy, France, in the First World War, he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Biography

Born 21 December 1879 in Leith, Edinburgh to Maj. William Johnston and Mary Johnston. Johnston was a captain in the 59th Field Company, Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army.

Citation

At Missy, on 14th Sept., under a heavy fire all day until 7 p.m., worked with his own hand two rafts bringing back wounded and returning with ammunition; thus enabling advanced Brigade to maintain its position across the river.

— The London Gazette, No. 28985, 25 November 1914

Death

He later achieved the rank of major. He was killed in action, Ypres, Belgium, on 8 June 1915.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum (Chatham, England).

References

1. ^ Johnston, William Henry, Commonwealth War Graves Commission

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
• Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)
• VCs of the First World War - 1914 (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)

External links

• Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
• William Henry Johnston at Find-A-Grave

• 1879 births
• 1915 deaths
• British Army personnel of World War I
• British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
• Royal Engineers officers
• British military personnel killed in World War I
• People from Leith