Sapper Charlie Johnston was born in Victoria Beach, Manitoba, the son of Charles and Harriet Johnston of Great Falls, Manitoba. He grew up on the family farm and was living in Great Falls when he enlisted at Camp Shilo on 9 July 1942. He declared his occupation as being a farmer but said he wanted to be a pipefitter after the war. Charlie reported that he had spent 30 days at the Canadian Army Basic Training Centre with the Winnipeg Light Infantry (November - December 1940) and did not want to go to the infantry but would accept a position in the artillery.
Interestingly, Charlie’s initial interviews and test results indicated he was not suited for the infantry or artillery, and definitely not sapper material in a trades position. Nonetheless, after spending time at the Infantry Training Centre in Shilo for a week, he was sent to A6 Canadian Engineer Training Centre in Camp Chilliwack, British Columbia for Basic Sapper Training. Based on his infantry experience, his basic training was deferred and he went directly to advanced sapper training.
Charlie arrived in Glasgow on 9 Oct 1942 and was sent to the Engineer Reinforcement Centre where he continued training and employment until 29 January 1943 on posting to the 8th Field Squadron. He was qualified as Pioneer ‘C’ on 18 March 1943.
The 8th Field Squadron had already taken up residence at East Horsley, 20 miles southeast of London. For two years, they moved about England building Bailey bridges, training on mines and booby traps, building fortifications and cleaning up damage from German bombs and V-1 rockets. In late July 1944, they arrived in France using the artificial harbour at Arromanches with other elements of the 4th Armoured Division.
Their first task was clearing rubble in Caen while being continually shelled by German artillery. In early August, they were part of Operation TOTALIZE, one of the last battles in Operation OVERLORD and the first for the newly formed 1st Canadian Army with sections riding in half-tracks to keep up with the tanks as they followed a massive creeping barrage. Their task was to build tank positions at Falaise to cut off retreating German forces. After that, they built rafts on the Seine and were the first Canadian engineers to cross over the river.
The Squadron then cleared routes to the Somme and at Pont Remy, on 3 September, built the Ward Bridge, a 90-foot Double-Single, named for one of their officers, Lt John Ward who had won a Military Cross a few weeks earlier. After the Somme, they were in Belgium leading the 4th Division advance to the Rhine through the Low Countries. Among their first tasks was bridging the Leopold and Ghent Canals with a 300-foot Bailey bridge under fire most of the time. They continued forward, bridging, repairing routes and lifting mines.
The Battle of the Scheldt began on 2 October. The 4th Armoured Division pressed forward in flooded terrain, not at all suited for tanks, forcing them to stay on the roads. They built a floating bridge over the Derivation Canal on 5 October and on 12 October they were engaged in the Breskens Pocket supporting the Canadian Scottish Regiment by building a Bailey bridge as the infantry fought hard along a disputed roadway.
Three weeks into the battle, largely supporting the 3rd Infantry Division’s assault over the Leopold Canal and into the Breskens Pocket, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division moved north to support the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division’s assault into the Beveland Peninsula.
The Engineers were tasked with clearing the heavily mined and obstacled approach routes from Antwerp to the start line on the South Beveland Canal. On 21 October, the leading field troop faced eight roadblocks on the route, averaging 200 feet in length with at least 20 felled trees in each one. Every third tree was booby-trapped with artillery shells and Teller mines wired from branch to branch. The sappers were constantly under fire from machine guns, small arms and 20-millimetre cannon as they worked. They lifted Schu mines, R mines, and a 50-kilogram bomb. When a booby-trapped railway gate on the route was pulled open, the explosion killed Lance Corporal Murdock MacDonald, Sapper McCaw and Sapper Trihart, and wounded two others.
The unofficial history of the Divisional Engineers, 4th Armoured Division, Green Route Up, describes how Sapper Johnston was killed.
“Eight tree roadblocks averaging 200’ in length and 20 trees each at RR crossing near Campthout. Booby traps every 3rd tree, some shells, some Teller mines, all wired from branch to branch. On same stretch 3 craters, 2 anti-tank ditches and 2 wired roadblocks cleared. They were fired on by a 20mm gun which bored holes in their 1/2 tracks and a bulldozer struck a mine – badly damaged the blade but protected the men.
Also even worse, Lt. Ditchburn lost 2 mine detectors from small arms fire. One sapper wounded, 20 mines in small nest. Another area 20 ft by 30 – five R mines, six 105 shells, one 50Kg bomb and 2 Schu mines were removed. When a railway gate opened the whole issue blew up killing L/Cpl McDonald, Sprs McCaw and Trithart and wounding Cpls Stewart and Durand. The next 150 yds a solid tree roadblock wounded two German snipers when a charge went off. Cpl Buchanan went forward to recce the north end of the block and lost a foot on a Schu mine. Lt. Ward and Spr Fulham rushed to his aid and Lt. Ward lost a leg on another Schu. Shortly after Spr Johnstone lost a leg after he had helped carry Ward and Fulham out as Fulham having been hit as well by the same blast. Spr Johnston later died of his wounds.”
Sapper Charlie Johnston is buried in the military section of Schoonselhof Cemetery near Antwerp. Two of his brothers also served in the Canadian Army and arrived home safely.
Return to Part 5: Tributes to the Fallen Sappers of the Scheldt
