William James Johnson

William James Johnson

Personal Information
Date of Birth	27 Feb 1916
Place of Birth	Armadale, Western AUstralia
Occupation	Labourer
Religion	Church of England
Address	Seventh road, Armadale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs Laura Bishop
Military Information
Reg Number	WX1891
Date of Enlistment	4 Mar 1940
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	2md/11th (City of Perth) Australian Infantry Batalion

War Service

Enlisted at Subiaco and taken on strength of General Reinforcements 2AIF. Granted leave 16-17 Mar 1940, 22-25 Mar 1940, and 30-31 Mar 1940. Transferred to 2/11 Infantry Battalion on 3 Apr 1940, he proceeded on pre-embarkation leave from 8-15 Apr 1940.

Boarded HMT Y3 Nevasa on 20 Apr 1940 and sailed for Kantana in Egypt, arriving on 19 May 1940. After arriving in the Middle East, the 2/11th trained in Palestine and Egypt. In Palestine on 30 Sep 1940 he was charged with sitting down while on sentry duty, and was fined 5/- (50 cents). A decision to reorganise Australian infantry brigades along British lines, with three battalions instead of four, meant the 2/11th was now part of the 19th Brigade, but it remained part of the 6th Division. The battalion went into action for the first time at Bardia on 5 Jan 1941 and, as part of the Allied advance into Italian-occupied Libya, subsequently fought at Tobruk on 21-22 Jan 1941, where on 21 Jan 1941 he had been charged with drunkenness for which he was fined £2 ($4). The battalion went on to secure Derna airfield on 25 Jan 1941. It was advancing to the south of Benghazi when the Italians surrendered on 7 Feb 1941.

On 10 Apr 1941 they embarked in Alexandria harbour for Greece. The Allied forces, however, were unable to hold back the attacking Germans. The 2/11th withdrew from its initial positions at Kalabaka and remained on the move until it occupied rearguard positions at Brallos Pass a week later. It fought and slowed the Germans there on 24 April and then continued its withdrawal to Megara, where it was evacuated by sea on the night of 25 Apr 1941. The battalion landed on Crete the next day. It was subsequently deployed with the 2/1st Battalion to defend Retimo airfield, which was held tenaciously for ten days following the landing of German paratroops on 20 May. German successes elsewhere on Crete, however, made surrender inevitable. Many 2/11th soldiers attempted to escape from Crete but only a relatively small number ultimately succeeded; most were taken prisoner.

On 4 Jun 1941 Bill was listed as Missing, believed to be a prisoner of war, captured in Crete. This was confirmed on 28 Oct 1941, and it was said that he was interred in Stalag VIIA with his POW Number being 92299. In April 1943 authorities were advised that he was now held at Stalag VIIIB. Released from captivity, Bill deplaned in England on 10 May 1945 and was sent to the 1st AIF Transit Camp, and granted proficiency pay. Bill was AWOL from 11:00pm on 9 Jun -3:30pm on 13 Jun 1945. Awarded 4 days confined to barracks and forfeited 4 days pay. On 20 Jun his NOK status changed to wife - Mrs Sylvia J Johnson from Middlesex

On 14 Jun 1945 he embarked on J11 for Australia

Discharged 9 Nov 1945

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