Frederick Henry Johnson (15 August 1890 – 26 November 1917) was a British soldier and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Details

An Old Boy of Whitgift Middle School (Croydon), now Trinity School of John Whitgift,

St Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference a ...

(Catford) and Battersea Polytechnic, Johnson was commissioned in 1914 as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in the 73rd Field Coy.,

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. He was 25 years old, on 25 September 1915 during the attack on Hill 70 in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

, when he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He later achieved the rank of

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

and was killed in action whilst commanding 231st Field Coy. Royal EngineersNational Archives: War Diary (WO 95/2601) in Bourlon Wood, France, on 26 November 1917 and is commemorated on the

Cambrai Memorial to the Missing The Cambrai Memorial to the Missing (sometimes referred to as the Louverval Memorial) is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial for the missing soldiers of World War I who fought in the Battle of Cambrai on the Western Front. Fo ...

.Johnson,Frederick Henry
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The medal

Johnson's medal is privately owned.

References

# Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) # The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) #

The Sapper VCs The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(Gerald Napier, 1998) #

VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part ...

(Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)

External links

Royal Engineers Museum
Sappers VCs * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Frederick Henry 1890 births 1917 deaths People from Streatham British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Engineers officers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from London