Alexander Colin Johnston (26 January 1884 – 27 December 1952) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Johnston graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst and entered into the

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment ...

. Following a three years secondment to the

Northern Nigeria Regiment Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, he returned to England and received a further secondment to the Army Signal Service. He served throughout the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with distinction, commanding the 10th Battalion of the

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence ...

and later the 126th Infantry Brigade; the latter command made him the youngest

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the British Army. He was wounded several times during the war and received awards for gallantry, most notably the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

with

medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the Military campaign, campaign or Military operation, operation the recipient received t ...

and the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

. His military service continued after the war, albeit in a non-combat role due to his war injuries. Heavily involved in army education, Johnston retired in 1937, but came out of retirement during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to serve with the Political Intelligence Department of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. As a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er, Johnston was mostly associated with

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, for whom he played cricket in the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

between 1902 and 1919. A prolific batsman before the First World War, he placed second in the national batting averages in 1912, behind C. B. Fry and narrowly missed out on playing

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

that year for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Johnston played 108 first-class matches for Hampshire, scoring 5,442 runs and making ten centuries. He also played at first-class level for the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

Gentlemen ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

, and the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket team representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy team had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

Early life

The son of the Scottish cricketer and

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

officer Duncan Johnston, Alexander Colin Johnston was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in January 1884. Johnston was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, where he represented the college cricket team as an

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

and

leg break Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins from ...

bowler. There in his second match against

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, he dismissed eight Eton batsmen for 56 runs. During his time at Winchester, he broke several college batting records. He also played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and rackets at Winchester.

Military career

Early career

From Winchester, he proceeded to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, which he graduated from as a second lieutenant in November 1903; prior to taking up an appointment with the

, he spent a year in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

as a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in June 1907, the same year in which he was seconded to the

for three years, which formed part of the

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognit ...

. Whilst serving in Nigeria, he played

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

for Western Nigeria. After the end of his secondment in October 1910, Johnston returned to the Worcestershire Regiment. Just under two years later in August 1912, he was seconded to the Army Signal Service.

WWI service

With the outbreak of the

on 28 July 1914, Johnston travelled with the Worcestershire Regiment to the Western Front as part of the British Expeditionary Force in the opening days of the war. He saw action in the allied defeats at the

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

and Le Cateau in August, while in September he fought in the indecisive

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne () was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated after the First Battle of the ...

. In that same month he gained promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He was awarded the

in February 1915 for actions at

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

. Johnston was seconded to the 25th Division as a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, 3rd Grade in January 1916, an appointment which disappointed him; however, his appointment to the 25th proved beneficial, as he gained the rank of brevet

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in February – a coveted junior position – an appointment which he took up in March. Johnston was active in the

mining operations Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

around the

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

during 1916 and took part in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

which lasted from July to November 1916. During the Battle of the Somme, he was placed in command of the 10th Battalion,

, who needed careful leadership to bring them up to fighting efficiency. His skill in command was noted by the battalion's success at the end of the offensive and subsequent Battle of Messines in 1917. In December 1916, Johnston was decorated by France with the

croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, while in the June

1917 Birthday Honours The 1917 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

he was made a Companion of the

(DSO) for his efforts at the Somme. The following month he took part in the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

with the 10th, where his strong leadership of the battalion was rewarded shortly after the battle, when he was placed in command of the 126th Infantry Brigade and assumed the temporary rank of brigadier-general, becoming the youngest

in the

. However, just two days after assuming command, Johnston was seriously wounded in action when he was shot by an enemy sniper; it was the fourth time he had been wounded in the war. His wounds were so serious that there seemed to be little hope for his survival, but through the care of

Agnes Keyser Agnes Keyser, DStJ, RRC (11 July 1852 – 11 May 1941) was a British humanitarian and longtime mistress to Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom. Keyser was the wealthy daughter of a Stock Exchange member. She remained with the King unti ...

at the

King Edward VII's Hospital King Edward VII's Hospital (formal name: King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes) is a private hospital located on Beaumont Street in the Marylebone district of central London. Agnes Keyser, later known as Sister Agnes, established the h ...

, he was able to recover, albeit with one leg four inches shorter the other. He subsequently sat out the remainder of the war recuperating in England. Whilst recuperating, he was awarded a

to his DSO in December 1917, gained through his efforts at Passchendaele. One week before the end of the war, he was promoted to the full rank of major. Johnston served with distinction during the course of the war, being mentioned in despatches on five occasions.

Later career

Johnston was made a temporary lieutenant colonel in January 1919. By July 1919 he had recovered from his wounds, when he returned to service and travelled to the occupied Rhineland later in 1919. After the war, he held a number of important appointments in connection with education in the

, with his war-wounds having rendered him unfit for service on an active basis, in addition to leaving him with a permanent limp. He gained the full rank of lieutenant colonel in January 1921, and in the same year he was appointed commandant at the

Duke of York's Royal Military School The Duke of York's Royal Military School, in Guston, Kent, commonly known as the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy with military tradition for students aged 11 to 18. In 2010, the school became an academy under the Ministry of Defe ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, an appointment he held until 1925. Johnston was appointed chief education officer at Sandhurst in August 1927, a post which he held until August 1929. After promotion to brevet

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in January 1931, Johnston served in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

with the

Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gen ...

. There, he was inspector and commandant of the Army School of Education in

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

for six years from December 1931 to until his retirement in 1937. He was placed on the

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

list upon his retirement. Johnston returned to military service during the

, in which he held several

staff Staff may refer to: Pole * Walking staff, an instrument used for balance when walking * Staff, a weapon used in stick-fighting ** Quarterstaff, a European pole weapon * Staff of office, a pole that indicates a position * Staff (railway signalling) ...

posts, including as a staff officer in air defence at the

Aldershot Command Aldershot Command was a Home Command of the British Army. History After the success of the Chobham Manoeuvres of 1853, reformers of the British Army decided to create a permanent training camp at Aldershot. To begin the preliminary work a smal ...

, before joining the Political Intelligence Department of the

. In its service, he returned to India as head of the Foreign Office Mission there. He would serve as an assistant commissioner in HM Forces' Saving Committee between 1945 and 1948, with his duties taking him to Italy and

Allied-occupied Austria Austria was occupied by the Allies of World War II, Allies and declared independence from Nazi Germany on 27 April 1945 (confirmed by the Berlin Declaration (1945), Berlin Declaration for Germany on 5 June 1945), as a result of the Vienna offen ...

following the conclusion of the war.

First-class cricket

Johnston made his debut in

for

against

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the 1902 County Championship, whilst still a cadet at Sandhurst. He played six first-class matches that season, including against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

. Eight further appearances followed in 1903, with Johnston recording his first half century (59 runs) against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. He scored his maiden

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

(105) the following year, in his first match of the season against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, and followed this up later in the season with 108 against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

; his nine matches in 1904, including one for the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surre ...

against the

Players of the South The purpose of this list is to identify all historically significant English cricket clubs and teams which played in significant matches, some of which may have been given first-class status. It concentrates on those which are now defunct or not ...

at the Bournemouth Cricket Week, yielded him 425 runs at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 30.35. Although his average dropped to 18.23 from seven matches in 1905, Johnston returned to form in the 1906 season. His twelve first-class matches that season saw him score 903 runs at an average of 39.26, with two centuries. With his secondment to West Africa, between 1906 and 1910, he played just one season whilst on summer leave in 1908. In that season, he scored 733 runs at an average of 25.27, making one century. His first season back from his secondment was to be his most successful in terms of runs, with Johnston scoring 1,158 runs at an average of 36.18 from 21 matches, with seven half centuries and a single century (130) against Worcestershire. In 1911, he made six appearances for Hampshire, averaging 41.22. In that same season, he played twice for the

(MCC) and played for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

; in that fixture, he played what

Plum Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport ...

described as a "splendid

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

" when he made 82 in the Gentlemen's second innings. In the 1912 County Championship, he played twelve matches for Hampshire, in addition to playing once again the Gentlemen v Players fixture. He passed a thousand first-class runs for the second and last time in 1912, scoring 1,044 runs at an average of 54.94 from fourteen matches. He was second in the national batting averages, sandwiched between teammates C. B. Fry, who led the averages, and

Phil Mead Charles Phillip Mead (9 March 1887 – 26 March 1958) was an English first-class cricketer. He played as a left-handed batsman for Hampshire and England between 1905 and 1936. He was born at 10 Ashton Buildings (since pulled down), second elde ...

. His highest first-class score of 175 came against Warwickshire that season, with Johnston having shared in a stand of 250 for the second wicket with Mead (111). His performance in that season's Gentlemen v Players match also garnered praise from Warner, who noted that in making 89 in the Gentlemen's first innings, he had stood up to the bowling of

Sydney Barnes Sydney Francis Barnes (19 April 1873 – 26 December 1967) was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with ...

on a difficult

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...

. Following this performance, he narrowly missed out on

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

selection for

's match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the Triangular Tournament, with the selection committee being unable to contact him in time for the match. During the 1914 season, which was cut short by the outbreak of the First World War, Johnston made three appearances for Hampshire in the

, having played earlier in the season for the

against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

at Lord's. Despite his wartime injuries, Johnston returned continued to play at first-class level, though he now required a runner; controversially, the cricketing authorities decided not to allow him to play with a runner. He played just once for Hampshire following the war, in the

1919 County Championship 1919 was the 26th season of County Championship cricket in England and the first since 1914. The authorities had doubted if cricket would remain popular after a four-year break and the strain of war. It was decided that County Championship matc ...

against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. Two final first-class matches followed in 1920, for the MCC against the British Army, and for the

against the

Combined Services The Combined Services cricket team represents the British Armed Forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lo ...

. In 108 first-class matches for Hampshire, he scored 5,442 runs at an average of 30.74, making ten centuries, alongside 27 half centuries. Described by Warner as being of "England class", he further described Johnston as "a very fine batsman with a beautiful method of play". A part-time leg break bowler, he took 18 wickets, all for Hampshire, at an

of 44.72. Warner further described Johnston as a "great fieldsman", with him typically fielding long and taking 57

catches Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke * Catch wrestlin ...

for Hampshire. Following the end of his first-class career, Johnston continued to play minor cricket matches on tours aboard, playing the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

with the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an England, English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the ...

and MCC, whilst also visiting Egypt with Hubert Martineau's personal team.

Personal life and death

Johnston was associated with the

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

movement in the United Kingdom and was an organiser for the 3rd World Rover Moot in 1939. Johnston died suddenly on 27 December 1952 at his residence in

Knaphill, Surrey Knaphill is a village in Surrey, England, between Woking to the east and Farnborough to the west; to the south and north on the A322 – its western border – are Brookwood, and Bisley. Some of the village is on a hill, hence its na ...

. He was survived by his wife, Esme, whom he had married in 1912, and their two daughters.

References

Works cited

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Alexander 1884 births 1952 deaths Cricketers from Derby Military personnel from Derby English people of Scottish descent People educated at Winchester College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst English cricketers Worcestershire Regiment officers Hampshire cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Royal West African Frontier Force officers English polo players Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers British Army cricketers British military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Cheshire Regiment officers British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army generals of World War I British Army brigadiers British Indian Army officers British Army personnel of World War II Foreign Office personnel of World War II 20th-century English sportsmen