An unknown soldier who lay buried for decades in the Netherlands has been identified as an Alberta-born gunner killed in action as the Second World War drew to a close.
Trooper Henry George Johnston’s identity was confirmed under a program dedicated to identifying newly found skeletal remains and Canadian service members buried in nameless graves, the Defence Department said in a statement released Monday.
Johnston was buried as an unknown soldier in 1945 in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Mook War Cemetery in Limburg province, a final resting place for more than 300 soldiers killed in the Second World War.
In a statement issued Monday, National Defence Canada said Johnston’s family has been notified and provided with support.
The department said a headstone rededication ceremony will take place at the grave in Mook.
“In a conflict as vast as the Second World War, it can be difficult to remember that behind every casualty was a human being with a life they left behind to serve,” said Lawrence MacAulay, minister of veterans affairs in a statement.
“Events like this remind us of that. Trooper Johnston paid the ultimate sacrifice and will finally receive the recognition he deserves. We remember him today.”
Father to 5 children
The son of Wilbert and Adaline Johnston, Henry George “Archie” Johnston was born on May 2, 1915, in Chauvin, Alta., 265 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
Johnston married Amelia Alice in spring 1939, and together they had five children.
He supported the family working at a saw mill in Chinook Valley.
He enlisted in 1943, and after completing his military training in Ontario, Johnston arrived in the United Kingdom in July 1944.
He was declared killed in action on Jan. 17, 1945, during an attack on his regiment, which was involved in Operation Blackcock, an effort to clear German troops from the Roer Triangle during fighting on the Western Front.
He was 29 years old.
The Johnston family in 1943. Clockwise from top left: Amelia holding Leona, Henry holding Yvonne, Ken, George. (Photo supplied by the Johnston family)
Johnston’s regiment — 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment — was nicknamed the Kangaroos as the unit was charged with transporting infantry soldiers and moving around a lot.
Johnston was killed near Susteren in the province of Limburg in the southeastern part of the Netherlands on the night of Jan. 16 as his company came under heavy shelling. The regiment, along with a squadron of tanks, had temporarily broken away from the rest of the troops in an attempt to offset the threat of heavy counter attacks.
“While the men dove under their vehicles for protection, five were injured and Trooper Johnston, a Kangaroo gunner and radio operator, was hit and killed,” reads Johnston’s biography on the national defence website.
“Witnesses claimed that Trooper Johnston’s remains had been buried though the location was not known.”
New details came to light in 2018
In 2018, a researcher contacted the defence officials, revealing new details about the grave.
The following year — after an exhaustive review of archival sources including war diaries, casualty register cards and exhumation reports — the Canadian Armed Forces confirmed the identity of the grave.
Archival evidence was found that proved that the date of death on the original grave marker was incorrect.
Documents were found that showed the grave was originally located near Baakhaven before being relocated to the Mook War Cemetery.
“Canadian troops proudly fought alongside our Allies during the Second World War, providing key ground support to the British-led operation that pushed back enemy troops on the Roer Front along the Dutch-German border,” Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre, Commander Canadian Army, said in a statement.
“Trooper Henry George Johnston is part of a proud legacy of Canadians who fought valiantly during the fierce battles, demonstrating great courage and character in the face of tremendous adversity,” he said.
“Trooper Johnston will be honoured for his service and his sacrifice will forever remain in our memory.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
