Albert Arthur Johnson signature

Albert Arthur Johnson, a yardmaster, signed up in Ottawa on this day in 1917. He was born in Deseronto on October 2nd, 1891, the son of Samuel Johnson and Clarissa (née Hadley). When he enlisted, his home address was 262 George Street, Toronto.

Albert joined the No. 1 Section Skilled Railway Employees with the regimental number 2124812. He was five feet eight inches tall, with a dark complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. Johnson’s unit left Halifax on the SS Ausonia in March 1917 and arrived in England on March 15th. It was redesignated as the 12th (Canadian) Light Railway Operating Company, Royal Engineers on March 16th and No. 58 Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company (Canadians) Royal Engineers on April 7th, 1917. It arrived in France on April 19th, 1917, where it worked to transport troops and supplies behind the lines. The unit was disbanded on April 19th, 1919 in Knotty Ash, England.

Johnson’s service record shows that he travelled back to Canada on the RMS Aquitania in May 1919 and was demobilized in Toronto on May 27th. He married Ruby May Greenwood in Port Colborne on February 11th, 1922. He was still working on the railway: as a conductor. A note on his service file records that he died on November 21st, 1972.