Major-General James Alexander Deans Johnston, (28 February 1911 – 17 May 1988) was a senior

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 ...

officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Senior Medical Officer at the liberated

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

towards the end of 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 ...

. A

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

portraying his experiences attempting to save the starving and diseased concentration camp prisoners at Bergen-Belsen was made in 2007 entitled '' The Relief of Belsen''.

Early life

Johnston was born on 28 February 1911 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of Walter Johnston and I. C. Gilchrist. He was educated at Woodside School, Woodside, Glasgow. He studied medicine at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

(MB ChB) in 1933. Between 1933 and 1934, he served out his pre-registration year at Taunton and Somerset Hospital as a house surgeon.

Military career

Johnston was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army as a

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 ...

(on probation) on 25 October 1934. His commission and rank were confirmed on 26 February 1935. From 1935 to 1940, he served in India. In 1935, he assisted in the aftermath of the Quetta earthquake. He was promoted 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 ...

on 25 October 1935. From November 1936 to January 1937, he served in the field during the second Waziristan campaign. On 1 January 1937, his commission was backdated to 1 November 1933 and he was given seniority in his rank of captain from 1 November 1934. With the outbreak of the

, he was given a permanent commission on 25 October 1939. As a war substantive major and temporary lieutenant colonel, he was promoted to

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 ...

on 1 November 1943. On 6 June 1944,

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, he landed on

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

, Normandy along with the 3rd Division. For the next year, he commanded field medical units throughout North West Europe. He was

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

32 Casualty Clearing Station. Following its liberation, he entered

on 17 April 1945. In his report the day after, he described Camp 1 as "a dense mass of emaciated apathetic scarecrows". Under the command of Brigadier Glyn Hughes, he was Senior Medical Officer and director of the Camp II's 17,000 bed hospital. From the end of 1945 to 1947, he served as Assistant Director of Medical Services at HQ Malaya Command. From 1947 to 1949, he served as Assistant Director of Medical Services at Southern Command. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 8 August 1948. He was once more posted abroad between 1949 and 1952, serving as Deputy Director of Medical Services at the Headquarters of Middle East Land Forces. He was posted to Germany in 1952 as Assistant Director of Medical Services of the 2nd Division and Deputy Director of Medical Services for the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

's Headquarters. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 29 August 1957. From 1957 to 1961, he was

the British

Military Hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

in Dhekelia, Cyprus. In 1961, he returned to England to take up the appointment of Assistant Director General of the Army Medical Department at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. He was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

on 2 July 1964. Between 1964 and 1966, he was Commandant of the RAMC Depot and Training Establishment. He was appointed Director of Medical Services, Far East Land Forces on 18 November 1966, and promoted to major general. He relinquished the appointment on 1 November 1968. He was appointed Director of Medical Services,

on 16 January 1969, relinquishing the appointment on 22 September 1970. He retired from the British Army on 14 December 1970.

Later life

Following his retirement from the British Army, Johnston lived in the village of

Northiam Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother, East Sussex, River Rother. The A28 road to Ashford, Kent, Ashford ...

, East Sussex. He died on 17 May 1988, at the age of 77.

Personal life

Johnston married Enid Eldridge in 1940. Together they had one son and two daughters.

Honours and decorations

Johnston was awarded 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 ...

(MC) on 10 December 1937 "for distinguished services rendered in the field in connection with the operations in Waziristan, during the period 25 November 1936 to 16 January 1937". He was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

on 10 May 1945 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe". He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) on 18 October 1945 "in recognition of distinguished services during the liberation of prisoners in German Concentration Camps". He was appointed Honorary Physician to the Queen (QHP) on 25 September 1967. He was succeeded on 14 December 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, James Royal Army Medical Corps officers 1911 births 1988 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Glasgow Bergen-Belsen concentration camp People from Northiam