B136879 George David Johnston

Early Life

In November 1915, when George was 7, his oldest brother, William (Bill) lied about his age and enlisted in the army.  World War I had been underway for over a year and Bill did not want to miss out on the action and he enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force (CEF) and in April 1916, left Canada to go overseas.  As with all young boys, George was fascinated by the War and the Uniforms, especially with his older brother off fighting.

George was only about 16 when he decided to move to Phelps Township in 1925 to take advantage of a program that gave people crown land to homestead.  The people who got the land had to clear 7 acres and build a cabin on the land and to work it for 7 years so that it would become their land.  George’s property was located on what is now Pioneer Road.

Enlistment 1942

George was 34 when he enlisted on 23 Nov 1942, at No 2 District Depot in Toronto, ON. He registered as part of the Canadian Forestry Corps, #6 Company R Wing.  His Regimental Number was B136879. On 18 Dec 1942, George was sent to No 26 Basic Training Centre (BTC) in Orillia, ON.

Canadian Forestry Corps

On 10 Mar 1943, he was transferred to the A13 Canadian Infantry Training Centre,  Valcartier, QC. Unlike the First World War, where "Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) personnel did not receive military training other than basic drill, courtesies and protocols", personnel of the CFC in the Second World War received five to seven months of training, mainly at Valcartier, before moving overseas. The decision to provide military training to these men was made in Jun 1940, given the impending danger of German invasion prevalent at that time.

After 5 months of Infantry Training, 0n 05 Aug 1943, George was transferred to the CFC Training Wing in Chicoutimi, QC. George was docked 3 days pay for returning 2 days late off of leave and spent 6 days in the Hospital.

Canadian Forestry Corps

On 25 Jan 1944, George was posted to the No 1 Detachment CFC, Balsam Creek, Serial 2148.

No 1 Detachment CFC was initially established on Sep 5, 1943, with the strength of 1 Officer and 73 other ranks. No. 1 Detachment was formed Nov 11 when a draft from Canadian Forestry Corps, Training Centre, Camp Tremblay, Chicoutimi, PQ arrived at North Bay to complete the establishment. A group of other ranks under Lt CR Silversides have been on the site of the operation since 3 Oct 1943 and have been engaged in camp building. This Detachment has been called into being with the purposes of conducting a firewood operation. Located at Balsam Creek, twenty miles north of North Bay.

No 1 CFC Detachment Balsam Creek

Number 1 Detachment Canadian Forestry Corps Balsam Creek, Ontario was located on 80 Acre Lake, about 7 miles from George’s house. This would have been the perfect job for George, close to home doing work he was very familiar with.

Into The Infantry

In Mar 1944, Service Chevrons were introduced for all members of the Canadian Armed Forces to indicate years of service, replacing Canadian Army in Canada. George was given a Red Chevron signifying 1 year of service. George was listed as one of 10 supernumerary personnel, which may have been the reason for his subsequent posting.

On 23 May 1944 George qualified for the Canadian Voluntary Service Medal and was entitled to wear the ribbon. After D-Day, there was a shortage of infantry soldiers, so many existing occupations were transferred to the infantry. On 14 Jun 1944, George was one of the nine members transferred to No 2 Detachment Depot, Toronto as Infantry replacements.

On 22 Jul 1944 George was sent to No 1 Training Brigade in Debert, NS, and on 29 Aug 1944 transferred to No 1Overseas Training Brigade Serial 294B.

Overseas Posting

George set sail for England on 01 Sep 1944, disembarking on 06 Sep 1944, where he was taken on strength at No 3 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit in Sussex, England. The soldiers were held here for final training before being deployed with their units. On 16 Oct George sailed to Belgium, landing on 17 Oct 1944. He was assigned to D Company of the 1 ^st  Battalion Arygll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada Regiment and arrived  with the unit on 26 Oct 1944, part of a draft of 45 men and 4 officers.

We think George is in the Second Last Row, 2nd from the Right.

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada

The first Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders with headquarters in Hamilton, Ontario, were mobilized on 21 June 1940 as a Mechanized Machine Gun Regiment. By the end of July 1940, the Regiment was deployed to guard the power installations along the Welland Canal and Niagara Falls area.

The Battalion spent almost 22 months on Jamacia and on 18 May 1943 sailed away on the US Army Transport Cuba, having been replaced by the Irish Fusiliers of Canada. They sailed to New Orleans, then returned to Niagara Falls by train.

Argylls in Jamacia

In Aug 1941 the battalion was sent to Jamacia was to guard the internment of approximately 1000 German and Italian prisoners, mostly merchant marines captured at the start of the war.

The Battalion spent almost 22 months on Jamacia and on 18 May 1943 sailed away on the US Army Transport Cuba, having been replaced by the Irish Fusiliers of Canada. They sailed to New Orleans, then returned to Niagara Falls by train.

Argylls to England

. On 23 July 1943 they sailed for England on the Queen Elizabeth, part of the 20,000 contingent of Canadian Service Men and Women. There were 15 troops per cabin, and on deck a space of 6 feet by 3 feet was allocated for the remaining troops. The Queen Elizabeth sailed unescorted as it was the fastest ship in the world. They did not encounter any submarines or enemy aircraft, and on 27 July sailed up the Firth of Clyde, docking at Gourock Pier, Scotland.

Training in England

The Argylls were assigned as part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division.

The entire division was sent to Sandringham, Norfolk then New Hunstanon, to learn how to fight as a Division, combining Armour and Infantry. The area was sparely populated, and the rolling hills was an excellent area to learn combined operations. Signalers, snipers, engineers, and intelligence personnel all received specialized training to compliment the divisional exercises. LCol Stewart assumed command of the Argylls on 23 September 1943 and would lead the Battalion into battle the following summer. On01 October, the battalion moved to Riddlesworth, which is about 15 miles from Bury St Edmunds where the Goodfellow brothers (3 of 4 brothers killed in the Great War, the 4 ^th  was gassed and survived the war, but died early) hailed from.

Uckfield

The Division then moved south to winter headquarters in Uckfield, Sussex. The Argyll’s were well liked by the locals and praised for their deportment and cleanliness. They Argylls hosted a very successful children’s Christmas party and enjoyed traditional Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. The unit was kept busy with sporting and military competitions as well as speciality training in mortars, anti-tank weapons and rifle training.

Into the Fight

On 06 June 1944, the 3 ^rd  Canadian Division went ashore on Juno Beach, and the Argyll’s were primed to follow shortly afterward. Their assault was delayed as the bridgehead was still crammed with Armour and Infantry, and there was no room for another Armoured Division until further progress was made in France. On 17 July, the body of the got the notice to move, and boarded the Liberty Ships Fort Brunswick and Samrak at the Tilbury Docks on the Thames River on 20 July with their Armoured vehicles. Due to bad weather, they got no further than Portsmouth on 23 July, finally landing at Courseulles on 25 and 26 July. The remainder of the unmounted Battalion had sailed from New Haven in the very South of England, not far from Brighton and landed at Arromanches on 22 July.  The entire 4 ^th  Division reunited at Cruelly, about 10 miles northwest of Caen on 26 July, and rested for 2 days.

Operation Totalize

The Canadians were going to be attacking down the Caen-Falaise road. In order to allow the infantry to advance apace with the Armoured units, Gen Simmonds had the M-7 Priest self-propelled guns converted to Armoured Personnel Carriers.

The objective was to break the German positions to the south-east of Caen as part of the broad allied strategy of forcing the enemy back to the Seine. It would be the first operation planned by First Canadian Army and involve several Canadian and British Divisions and one Polish Division. Although the operation was initially very successful in breaking the German lines, the attack slowly lost momentum. In order to maintain pressure on the German forces, as the battle wound down, commanders planned the next offensive, Operation TRACTABLE to begin only a few days later.

Operation Tractable

Operation TRACTABLE was a final armoured push to break through the German defensive lines and cross the Laison River. Although ordered to take Falaise the most important part of the operation was 4th Canadian Division’s move east to the village of Trun, where it was hoped there would be a link up with American Forces advancing from Argentan. This would then trap the German Army in Normandy in what would be called the Falaise Pocket. Because of this potential encirclement, on 16 August, the German commander in Normandy received permission to retreat but by now there was only the small gap in the Dives Valley to do so; 100,000 men and vehicles moved through the valley in columns easily spotted and destroyed by Allied aircraft and artillery. 

Closing the Falaise Gap

 The closing of the Falaise Gap resulted in very heavy fighting in the area around Trun, Chambois and Coudehard for Canadian, British and Polish forces who were blocking the German retreat north. After successfully playing a significant role in defeating the German Army in Normandy, the Canadian Army’s operations in Normandy effectively ended on 23 August.

Maj David Curry VC

Maj David Currie of the South Alberta regiment, shown on the left holding a pistol won the Victoria Cross for his action closing the Falaise Gap.

4th Canadian Armoured Division moved south towards the advancing Americans, hoping to trap the German forces in Normandy in a giant vise. Currie’s squadron, with an attached company of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and some self-propelled anti-tank guns, was told to block the German retreat through the village of St-Lambert-sur-Dives.

Finding the village occupied by Germans, Currie attacked it on the morning of 19 August and by noon had fought halfway through the village. During the next 36 hours, the Germans launched one counterattack after the other, but could not drive the Canadians out. The final counterattack came at dusk on 20 August, but was repulsed by Currie’s skilful defence. With the Germans in disarray — and despite heavy casualties among his own men — Currie ordered an immediate attack and captured the remaining half of the village, blocking any German escape route through it.

Pursuit through Belgium and the Netherlands

The next goal of the Canadian Army was to pursue the fleeing Germans and prevent them from reforming and mounting a counter-offensive. The 4 ^th  Canadian Armoured Division was headed North-East to clear the Channel Ports and commence the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands and push the German forces back into Germany.

The Argylls were involved in battles at Moerbrugge (Crossing the Ghent Canal), crossing the Leopold Canal, and the Battle of the Scheldt to free up the entry to the port of Antwerp.

George Joins the Argylls

. On 16 Oct George sailed to Belgium, landing on 17 Oct 1944. He was assigned to D Company of the 1 ^st  Battalion Arygll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada Regiment and arrived  with the unit on 26 Oct 1944, part of a draft of 45 men and 4 officers. The Argylls had landed in Arromanches on 22 July 1944, 6 weeks after D-Day, and had been involved in heavy fighting in Operations Totalize and Tractable, the Battle of Falaise Gap, Battle of Moerbrugge (Crossing the Ghent Canal), Leopold Canal, Battle of the Scheldt and Operation Suitcase before George arrived. By the time he arrived, the Argylls had suffered 31 killed and 148 wounded.

Battle of the Scheldt

While the 3rd Canadian Division was clearing south of the Scheldt Estuary, the 4th Armoured Division was tasked with clearing north of the Estuary.

On 26 Oct he Argylls moved up to Hoogerheide, Netherlands to clear the woods around Bergen Op Zoom. On 28 October word was received that the Lincoln and Welland and the South Alberta Regiments had taken Bergen op Zoom, so the Argylls moved into the town to a tremendous reception from the populace despite the fact that gunfire could be heard nearby.

The Lincolns were held up at a ditch just north of the town, so the Argylls were tasked to establish a bridgehead on the other side. At 0500 the Argylls got a few men across the causeway and fought house to house most of the day under constant fire, finally clearing a few hundred yards so the Engineers could repair the causeway. The tanks finally crossed the causeway, and the Argylls returned to Bergen op Zoom, suffering 56 casualties.

Steenbergen

The Argylls pushed north to Steenbergen and moved in unopposed as the Germans withdrew. The Argylls rested in Steenbergen for 3 days, receiving 130 reinforcements including several previously wounded soldiers rejoining the unit.

As liberators, the Argylls were warmly greeted by the Dutch.

Christmas Party

The Argylls were pulled out of the front lines on 25 Nov, and spent a quiet period of maintenance, training and recovery.

The Argylls hosted a large Christmas party at Elshout, halfway between Drunen and Huesden for several hundred local children as they had done in England in 1943. The men saved all their rations, chocolate and candies so the children could have a good Christmas.

Christmas Party

Children enjoying Christmas in freedom.

Battle of the Bulge

On 16 December, the Germans launched what would be their final major attack of the War, the Attack in the Ardennes, also known as the Battle of the Bulge. The plan was for the German 5 ^th  and 6 ^th  Panzer Divisions to take Brussels and Antwerp, encircle and eliminate the British forces in Holland. Aided by deception and bad weather limiting reconnaissance, the attack was a complete surprise. Also north of the Maas River was large German force that was expected to move south and join up with the Attack from the Ardennes. Fortunately, the attack from the north was blunted early on.

Battle of the Hochwald Gap

The Battle of Hochwald Gap (Operation Blockbuster) was almost as big as Normandy, but with three times the number of casualties. The Battle itself a was masterpiece of defensive combat by Germans who intimately knew their own territory and set up one tank trap after another. Outnumbered hopelessly, the German fought about as well one could expect. The attack commenced 25 Feb 1945.

Operation Blockbuster was a major armoured assault to the town of Wesel on the bank of the Rhine River in preparation to the final push to Berlin. The attacking force included the 2 ^nd  and 3 ^rd  Canadian Infantry Divisions, 4 ^th  Canadian Armoured Division, 2 ^nd  Canadian Armoured Brigade 2 ^nd  Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery and the British 11 ^th  Armoured and 43 ^rd  (Wessex) Divisions. The assembled force included 90,000 infantry, 1300 artillery guns and over 1000 tanks, most attached to the Canadian 2nd Division.

Canadians at the start of the Attack

The Argylls started off at 1800 hours on 25 February. The plan was to head cross country in 4 lines, but heavy rain had softened the ground and the tanks churned up the earth resulting in many of the armoured carriers becoming stuck and disabled.

The battlefield was congested and confusing, but the Aryglls pushed on, meeting their objectives by 1930 on 26 February. The Battalion had taken 1500 prisoners, at the cost of 6 killed and 25 wounded.

Taking the Hochwald Gap

At 0230 on 28 February, the Argylls advanced, and remained under heavy artillery and mortar fire, and repeated counterattacks by the German forces. B company was cut off and spent the entire day in direct combat with the enemy, unable to be resupplied or to evacuate the wounded. At 2000 tanks and units from the Lake Superior and Algonquin Regiments moved forward finally breaking through the Hochwald Gap. By this time B company had been reduced to 15 men after holding their position for 24 hours.

The main body of the Battalion then headed south towards Sonsbeck then traversed the Balberger Wald.

George Becomes a Prisoner of War

Sonsbeck fell to the Regina Rifles on 06 Mar, and a firm plan was at last evolved under which the Argyll's and South Alberta's would push east from the town toward Veen. At last light, "B" Company, still under Capt Perry , and "D" Company with tanks went forward into Veen. They could make no headway and were ordered to withdraw, but B Company never received the order.

At dawn what was left of the company found itself in shallow pits and ditches still short of the houses, although as close as 50 yards in some places, the whole area dominated by German fire from three sides. Movement of any kind was impossible; ammunition was almost finished. In view of this situation, Capt. Perry surrendered his little force. With him  were taken Lieuts. Maxwell and Stewart, both badly wounded, and a number of men, including George Johnston.

Prisoner of War - Stalag XIb

Decription provided by a fellow POW.

By the time the march ended we had been joined by many other Allied prisoners (British and American) and we were all crammed into railway box cars so tightly that we had to stand most of the time taking turns to sit down and rest. There were only two small openings near the very top at each end of the cars for ventilation, through which a view outside was impossible. As well there was a small stove in the middle of the car by no fuel for it, so we used it as a latrine. The journey to Fallingbostel was “stop and go” all the way, sometimes stopped for hours at a time. We were afraid of being bombed by our own Airforce. During this trip we only had small bits of cheese or similar sized pieces of meat, and water once a day. We were all very hungry.

We arrived in Fallingbostel and were marched to the POW Camp and documented and assigned a wooden double decker bed with no mattress, just wooden boards and a small blanket full of holes. We had no cups, plates, bowls or eating utensils and had to scrounge Red Cross parcel dried milk (L:IM) cans to eat from. We had nothing for personal hygiene use, not even toilet paper. The only thing I had that was not taken away from me was a small bible given to me from the church at home.

Stalag XIb Fallingbostel

We arrived in Fallingbostel and were marched to the POW Camp and documented and assigned a wooden double decker bed with no mattress, just wooden boards and a small blanket full of holes. We had no cups, plates, bowls or eating utensils and had to scrounge Red Cross parcel dried milk (L:IM) cans to eat from. We had nothing for personal hygiene use, not even toilet paper. The only thing I had that was not taken away from me was a small bible given to me from the church at home.

One day about noon, we answered the roll call and at the same time were given about ½ litre of “skilly” which was saltless watery soup with bits of turnip and pieces of long greens that we called whispering green grass, after the popular song of the time “Why Do You Whisper Green Grass”.

Camp Layout

Before I was captured my weight was about 130 pounds and when I was liberated, I only weighed 85-90 pounds. This was not only due to the fact that I was undernourished but also because I got dysentery, probably form the bad drinking water, and the little bit of food I did eat went through me in about 10 minutes and I obtained very little nourishment from it. I was so weak at times, I could not stand and had to crawl from place to place. Men were so undernourished that their wounds would not heal and were washed and wrapped daily with paper bandages because of lack of medical supplies. Men shuffled around the compound with string tied from the toe of their boots to above the knee to keep their toes from dragging on the ground from lack of muscle power.

Liberation

Video of the liberation of  Stalag XIb .

The camp guards left the day before the British 5 ^th  Army arrived on 16 Apr 1945 and threw compo rations from their tanks and vehicles to us which we tore open and ravenously devoured. Needless to say, we got very sick to the stomach, and it was few days before we could hold down food.

George complained about the food, but he was fortunate to be captive for less than a month, Many of the 2,500 captives at Stalag XIb had been prisoners for five years.

Return to England

After his discharge from hospital on 11 May, he was assigned to No 1 Canadian Reception Depot in Crookham, UK located only 6 miles from the hospital. On 01 Jun 1945 he was temporarily assigned to the No 2 Canadian Infantry Training Regiment (2 CITR), and on 23 Jul 1945, assigned to No 2 Canadian Repatriation Depot near Blackdown, UK. On 27 Jan 1946 George was assigned to Canadian Draft 1006 for his return to Canada, and on 16 Feb 1946 was formally removed from his overseas designation.

Soldiers were normally returned home based on the amount of time they had spent overseas. Since George only arrived in Sep 1944, he spent an extended time in England and was among the last to be returned home.

Medals

George was awarded the following Medals for his service:

·         1939-1945 Star

·         France and Germany Star

·         General Service Medal

·         Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp and Maple Leaf Emblem indicating Overseas Service