Private Walter Scott Johnson
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Private Walter Scott Johnson Isaac Johnson and Amelia Scott had three boys. Walter born 1896, Arthur born 1894 and Theodore born 1890. They grew up on a farm in St. Vincent Township. Theodore is my Great Grandfather and Walter is my Great Uncle. Theodore owned land in the Meaford area, which is now called the Meaford Tank Range. The army expropriated his land in 1942. Theodore purchased land in the former township of Sullivan, which still belongs to my family. I am interested in going to Grey Roots to learn more about the Meaford Tank range and the process in which the land was taken away from my family. At the age of 21, Walter traveled to Oshawa, Ontario to register for Military Service. He joined the Army on May 11, 1918. According to his Particulars of Recruit, he was six feet even and had blue eyes and black hair. He was single. Walter’s Regimental number was D-3317870. With this number I searched on the Internet and found his name in the Book of Remembrance that is held at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. It contains the names of the individuals who made the supreme sacrifice for their country. When I found his name I also learned that he was a private in the 25 th Battalion. I do not know if he was in any major battles or if he won any medals. In my report I have included a photo of Walter and his wife Marguerite, his particulars of recruit to military services as well as the page from the Book of Remembrance with his name on it. I searched on the Internet using his name and regimental number but was unable to locate any further details regarding his duties during the war. I was able to locate a Walter Scott Johnson who died during active service and found out that he is buried in Europe. At first I thought this was about my great uncle. During more research on the Internet it became clear that this was another Walter Scott Johnson as the Regimental numbers were different than what I had on the original Particular to recruit.
Transcript of Private Walter Scott Johnson
Private Walter Scott Johnson
Isaac Johnson and Amelia Scott had three boys. Walter born 1896, Arthur born 1894 and Theodore born 1890. They grew up on a farm in St. Vincent Township. Theodore is my Great Grandfather and Walter is my Great Uncle. Theodore owned land in the Meaford area, which is now called the Meaford Tank Range. The army expropriated his land in 1942. Theodore purchased land in the former township of Sullivan, which still belongs to my family. I am interested in going to Grey Roots to learn more about the Meaford Tank range and the process in which the land was taken away from my family.
At the age of 21, Walter traveled to Oshawa, Ontario to register for Military Service. He joined the Army on May 11, 1918. According to his Particulars of Recruit, he was six feet even and had blue eyes and black hair. He was single. Walter’s Regimental number was D-3317870. With this number I searched on the Internet and found his name in the Book of Remembrance that is held at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. It contains the names of the individuals who made the supreme sacrifice for their country. When I found his name I also learned that he was a private in the 25th Battalion. I do not know if he was in any major battles or if he won any medals. In my report I have included a photo of Walter and his wife Marguerite, his particulars of recruit to military services as well as the page from the Book of Remembrance with his name on it.
I searched on the Internet using his name and regimental number but was unable to locate any further details regarding his duties during the war. I was able to locate a Walter Scott Johnson who died during active service and found out that he is buried in Europe. At first I thought this was about my great uncle. During more research on the Internet it became clear that this was another Walter Scott Johnson as the Regimental numbers were different than what I had on the original Particular to recruit.
After the war he returned home to the Meaford area and married Marguerite Louise Hawkins and they had ten children. He became a Stationary Engineer for the Knights of Meaford. He also worked for the Bovell Brothers and during World War Two he worked at Kennedy’s in Owen Sound. He became the caretaker of the Meaford Armouries. This was his last job before he retired. He was a member of the Orange Lodge in Thornbury, Chapter LOL 1067. After his death on December 4, 1981 the Orange Lodge held a memorial service on December 6. He is buried in the Lakeside Cemetery in Meaford.
During this project I have learned a lot about my Great Uncle and my family history on my mother side of the family and on my dad’s side of the family. If I had not procrastinated on my research project, I would have contacted the Meaford Legion and the Thornbury Orange Lodge to see if I could see the details of the memorial and if they had any further information about his life during World War 1. My dad did call the Meaford Legion on Sunday, November 12, 2006. There was no one present but my dad left a message with what I was interested in and why he had called.
