Part 110

=JEROME, RALPH CHARLES=, Corpl., No. 8502, 2nd Battn. Yorkshire Regt., yst. _s._ of Charles Jerome, of 15, Ormeley Road, Balham, Solicitor, Freeman of the City of London by purchase (1883), formerly a member of the New Malden Local Board, and afterwards a member of the L.C.C. for Brixton (1895–1901), by his wife, Florence Elizabeth (died in his absence at the Front), dau. of John Jacobs, of Basingstoke; _b._ Locksley Lodge, New Malden, 15 Feb. 1888; educ. Malden College, Merchant Taylors’ School, Dulwich College, and Margate College; enlisted at Stratford, Middlesex, on 25 Oct. 1906, aged 18 years 9 months, was seven years with the Army and five years on the Reserve; served with his Battn. at Cairo, Alexandria, Khartoum, and other places, and finally at Sialkot in the Punjab; returned to England and received his discharge with an exemplary character; rejoined his old regt. on the outbreak of war; left for France on or about 21 Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, two miles west of Aubers, on the morning of 12 March, 1915. Buried on the field; _unm._ Sergt. Wrist, who stood beside him when he was shot, wrote: “He died a gallant death; the men of his section miss him very much,” and 2nd Lieut. H.S.R. Montesole of the Royal Sussex Regt., attd. 2nd Yorkshires, since killed in action, wrote that he was “always a good soldier, and died as a soldier should.”

=JERRAM, HARRY ESCOMBE RAVENHILL=, Midshipman, R.N., H.M.S. Hawke, 2nd _s._ of the Rev. Arnold Escombe Jerram, of St. Augustine’s Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, M.A., S.P.G., Organising Secretary for the Midland Dioceses and late Vicar of Langford, co. Oxon, by his wife, Anna Christina, dau. of William Waldron Ravenhill, of the Inner Temple, Recorder of Andover; _b._ Bradley Vicarage, Huddersfield, 31 Aug. 1897; educ. Hinwick House, near Wellingborough, Osborne and Dartmouth; appointed Midshipman, H.M.S. Hawke, 14 Aug. 1914, and was lost when that ship was sunk by torpedo fire in the North Sea, 15 Oct. following. He was a cousin of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas M. Jerram, K.C.B., late Commander-in-Chief on the China Station, and great-nephew of the late Right Hon. Harry Escombe, P.C., Q.C., M.L.S., Premier of Natal.

=JERRED, FRANK=, Private, R.M.L.I., 15184, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=JESSE, ROBERT TURVILLE=, A.B., 227397, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=JESSOP, NAPIER ARNOTT=, Lieut., 7th Battn. (1st British Columbia Regt.) Canadian Expeditionary Force, only _s._ of the late George Henry Jessop, of Crediton, Devonshire, by his wife, Ethel Marian, only dau. of the late John Frederick Bell, Capt. Loyal North Lancashire Regt.; _b._ Taunton, co. Somerset, 28 May, 1889; educ. private school at Bishop’s Stortford; went to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in 1908, where he was first farming, and later went into real estate business, received a commission as Lieut. in 88th Victoria Fusiliers, 16 Sept. 1912, and served with them on strike duty at Nanaimo, B.C., from Aug. 1913 until the outbreak of war; appointed Lieut. in 7th Battn., Canadian Expeditionary Force, 22 Sept. 1914; came over with the first contingent in Oct. 1914; left for France, 10 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action near St. Julien during the heroic stand of the Canadians in the 2nd Battle of Ypres, 24 April, 1915; _unm._ His Commanding Officer wrote: “Lieut. Jessop was on the right of our battn. line, the section which was first surrounded, and which was later practically wiped out. Lieut. Jessop, all agree, was perfectly splendid under the fierce attack that was thrown against us that day. He was an inspiration to his men. There is not much to tell, for his platoon were in trenches throughout, and merely fought the Germans off by rifle fire. There was nothing spectacular about it, but it was the height of enduring courage.”

=JOB, BERNARD CRAIG KEBLE=, 2nd Lieut., 3rd, attd. 1st Battn., The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regt., only _s._ of the Rev. Frederick William Job, Vicar of Lower Gornal, co. Stafford, by his wife, Emily Frances, dau. of William Young Craig, M.P., for N. Staffordshire (1880–85); _b._ Liverpool, 9 June, 1887; educ. Radley College; went to Liverpool to enlist in the Liverpool Scottish the day War was declared, 4 Aug. 1914, and was sworn in 6 Aug. He received his commission 1 Nov., went to the Front with a draft of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, arriving in France on Good Friday, and a few days later was attd. to the 1st Battn. of his own regt. and was killed in action in the counter-attack on Hill 60, 18 April, 1915. Writing to his father, Major Robinson, commanding the 1st Battn., said: “He was shot by a bullet and died almost immediately on the morning of April 18 in the heavy fighting which followed our capture of a portion of the enemy’s position called Hill 60, 2½ miles S.E. of Ypres. I understand that he died almost instantly after being hit and that he could have felt no pain. It was not possible during the fighting to bury his body. I am, however, informed that all the dead have since been buried, so your son no doubt lies at rest among the other officers and men who fought with him. Your son had only joined this Battn. a few days before his death, but from the little I saw of him, I formed the opinion that he was a gallant and valuable officer.” Col. Sir Arthur G. Boscawen, of the 3rd Battn., wrote: “He was a universal favourite and the soul of courage, had he lived he would have made a very fine officer.”

=JOBBINS, THOMAS ARTHUR=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7733), S.S. 103098, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, ALBERT=, Ship’s Steward, 173611, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=JOHNSON, ALBERT CHAPMAN=, Private, No. 73915, 28th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, Bombers’ Section, _s._ of John Johnson, of 44, Burton Stone Lane, Clifton, York, Gardener, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of James (and Ann) Chapman; _b._ Wiggington Grange, near York, 13 Nov. 1883; educ. Skelton, near York, and Eythorne, Kent; was for some time a telegraph messenger at the Post Office, York, and later an attendant first at the North Riding Asylum, and after Aug. 1910, at the Mimico Asylum, Canada, and afterwards was successively employed on the Canadian Pacific Railway, at a lumber camp, and on the Grand Trunk Railway; joined the 28th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1 Oct. 1914, and came over with the 2nd Contingent in June, 1915; left for France, 17 Sept. 1915, and was killed in action during the advance from Loos, 8 Oct. following; _unm._ His Company Officer wrote of him as “a man ever ready to do his duty--no growler, but always bright and willing.”

=JOHNSON, ALFRED ARTHUR=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4543), S.S. 1613, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=JOHNSON, DAVID=, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 282), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, GEORGE ALBERT WILLIAM=, Seaman, R.N.R., 5028B, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, GEORGE GUMBRELL=, Chief Stoker (R.F.R., A. 3069), 148022 (Ports.), H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, HERBERT WILLIAM=, Shipwright, 2nd Class, 346902, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, JOHN=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3644), 190781, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, JOSEPH=, Private, No. 10411, 2nd Battn. Royal Scots Fusiliers, _s._ of James Johnson, of 1, Field Street, North Road, Darlington; _b._ Stockton-on-Tees, 20 Nov. 1889; educ. St. Patrick’s School, Coatbridge, Scotland; enlisted 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers, 8 Aug. 1911; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and died a prisoner of war at Field Moorslede, Germany, 19 June, 1915, of wounds received at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, on the preceding 12 March. Buried in Moorslede Parish Cemetery; _unm._

=JOHNSON, LUTHER VINCENT BURGOYNE=, Capt., 8th Batt. Durham L.I. (T.F.), eldest _s._ of Major John Burgoyne Johnson, of Brockley, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, 8th Batt. Durham L.I., J.P., co. Durham; _b._ Middlemoor, near Richmond, co. York, 5 Sept. 1890; educ. Aysgarth School, Newton-le-Willows, Yorkshire; Charterhouse, Godalming; and King’s College, Cambridge (B.A.); joined the Hamsteels Company of the 8th Durham L.I., being gazetted 2nd Lieut. 8 April, 1910; Lieut. 12 May, 1912, and Capt. 12 Sept. 1914. He went to the Front in April, and was killed a few days later, in action at Grafenstafel Ridge, N.E. of Ypres, 25 April, 1915. At the outbreak of war Capt. Johnson was serving his articles as a solicitor with the firm of Messrs. Cochrane and Belk, of Middlesbrough. He was well known in cricket and football circles, and had qualified in musketry course and machine gun course (distinguished) at Hythe.

=JOHNSON, RICHARD DIGBY=, Major, 3rd, attd. 2nd Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, yr. surviving _s._ of the late Edward Mayson Johnson, by his wife, Emma Jane (28, St. Mary’s, York), dau. of the late William Emmerson Bowman, and gdson. of the late Richard Johnson, of York, the well-known racing judge and handicapper in the North of England in the middle of the last century; _b._ York, 30 June, 1876; educ. St. Peter’s, York; joined the staff of the York City and County Bank at the age of 17, leaving it four years later for a tour round the world, and on his arrival at Capetown, the South African War broke out; he at once returned to England and obtained a commission in the 3rd (Militia) Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, June 1900. He served with the 11th Mounted Infantry in the South African War, 1901–2; took part in the operations in the Transvaal, Aug. 1901 to 31 May, 1902; was invalided home with enteric fever, receiving for his services the Queen’s medal with four clasps. On returning home he qualified at Hythe, and became Instructor of Musketry to the Kildare Battn. and he was promoted Capt. 7 Oct. 1905, and Major 18 Dec. 1914. He went to France to join the 2nd Battn. of his regt. early in Dec.; was wounded near St. Julien, 25 April, 1915, and granted a week’s leave; rejoined his regt. on 10 May, falling in action a fortnight later, 24 May, 1915. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch, 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June] 1915. Major Johnson was a freeman of the City of York, and had the Coronation medal. He _m._ at St. Michael’s Church, Camberley, Surrey, 21 Sept. 1904, Claudine Trower (Camoys, Braintree), 6th dau. of Col. Theodore William Hogg, of Eastwick, Camberley, Surrey, late Indian Staff Corps, and had a son and dau.: Richard Edward Digby, _b._ 16 Dec. 1911; and Claudine Blanche Mayson, _b._ 8 July 1905.

=JOHNSON, ROBERT WARREN=, Capt., R.N., H.M.S. Cressy, 2nd _s._ of the late Vice-Admiral John Ormsby Johnson, R.N., by his wife, Edith Renira, dau. of the Rev. Charles Edward Twyford; _b._ Dovercourt, co. Essex, 10 May 1867; educ. Cornwallis, Maidenhead, and Foster’s Naval Academy, Stubbington; entered the Service as a Cadet, 15 July, 1881; appointed Midshipman, 13 Nov. 1883; promoted Sub.-Lieut. 13 Nov. 1887; Lieut. 1 April, 1891; Commander, 31 Dec. 1904, and Capt. 31 Dec. 1910, and after the outbreak of war, was appointed to the command of H.M.S. Cressy. He was lost when that cruiser, together with the Aboukir and the Hogue, was sunk by torpedo-fire while engaged in patrolling off the Dutch coast on the morning of 22 Sept. 1914. One of the surviving officers of the ill-fated Cressy wrote: “Our Commander, Capt. Johnson, died like a hero; he had his confidential book lashed to his arm when he went down. He deserved ten Victoria Crosses, for he stopped on board until the last moment,” and Stoker William Wake, of Sunderland, another survivor, stated that the Capt. remained on the bridge until he was up to his neck in water, and that he was cheered again and again by the men as he sank out of sight. A Petty Officer wrote that the last he saw of the Capt. was when he called out to a young sailor and gave him the bit of plank on which he was supporting himself, remarking: “Here, you are a young chap, take this.” Capt. Johnson _m._ at Portsmouth, 11 July, 1906, Grace Isobel (Fintry Cottage, Warblington, Havant), dau. of the late Algernon Paley, Barrister-at-Law, and had two sons and a dau.: John Paley, _b._ 12 June, 1907; Peter Warren, _b._ 13 Nov. 1908; and Elisabeth Freda, _b._ 11 Sept. 1913.

=JOHNSON, THOMAS=, Leading Seaman (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8948), 20661, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSON, THOMAS=, Private, No. 10850, 4th Battn. Middlesex Regt.; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; killed in action 14 Oct. 1914.

=JOHNSON, WALTER=, Private, No. 6700, 1st Battn. Scots Guards; _b._ Warrington, co. Lancaster; enlisted 5 March, 1907; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; killed in action, 26 Oct. 1914.

=JOHNSON, WALTER=, Private, No. 2831, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; reported missing after the fighting at St. Julien, 21 Oct. 1914, and later to have been killed on or about that date, and to have been buried by the German authorities in the Cemetery of Ehrenfriedhof 2, near Poelkapelle; _m._

=JOHNSON, WILLIAM GEORGE=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 15485, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=JOHNSON, WILLIAM HENRY=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5231), 205964, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=CROOM-JOHNSON, BRIAN=, Lieut., 4th (Denbighshire) Battn. Royal Welch Fusiliers (T.F.), yst. _s._ of Harry Croom-Johnson, of the Elms, Wrexham, J.P., by his wife, Elizabeth Roden, dau. of the late George Bradley, of Wrexham, J.P.; _b._ Wrexham, 16 Sept. 1890; educ. Mostyn House School, Cheshire, and Clifton College (Spence’s House); after leaving school adopted the profession of an engineer and on the completion of three years’ articles was appointed Assistant Engineer to the Wrexham and East Denbighshire Water Company. He was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. 4th (Territorial) Battn. of the Welch Fusiliers, 3 May, 1913, and promoted Lieut. 8 Sept. 1914. He left for France 5 Nov. 1914, and on the 23 Dec. following was personally complimented by the General Officer Commanding for leading a party of 30 men laden with ammunition to the firing-trenches and carrying out this duty without a single casualty, though under fire the whole time; and on 25 Jan. 1915, he was one of three officers who, with a few men, recaptured a trench at Givenchy from which they had been ordered to retire and made prisoners 35 Germans, including two officers. He was killed in action at Richebourg l’Avoué, France, 9 May, 1915, while leading his company against the German trenches; _unm._

=VINER-JOHNSON, PERCY JOSEPH VINER=, Capt., 3rd (Reserve), attd. 1st Battn. Wiltshire Regt., yr. _s._ of the late Joseph Viner Viner-Johnson, of Beech House, Market Lavington, co. Wilts, Capt. Imperial Yeomanry (who served in the South African War, 1900–1902), by his wife, Clara (The Nutgrove, Chew Magna, Bristol), dau. of the late Thomas Donders Perry, of Ealing; _b._ London 13 Oct. 1875; educ. St. Paul’s School; served in the 1st Vol. Battn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps from 1898 to 1902, when he went to South Africa, where he was for some time A.R.M. at Harrismith, and afterwards Relief Magistrate at various places in the Orange Free State. At home on leave when war broke out, he obtained permission from the South African Government, and was gazetted Capt. to 3rd Wiltshires, 18 Sept. 1914. He left for France on 24 Dec. 1914, when he was attd. to the 1st Battn. and commanded A Coy. and was killed in action at Spanbroek Molen, 12 March, 1915. Buried near Spanbroek Molen; _unm._ His Commanding Officer wrote: “He fell most gallantly leading his men. His conduct was so gallant and brave that, although he is now dead, I have recommended him for the D.S.O. In addition to being a very gallant and brave man, he was a most valuable officer, and his death is a very great loss to his regiment. As a comrade he has endeared himself to all his brother officers and men, and his death is deeply deplored by us all.” Capt. Viner-Johnson was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May, 1915.

=JOHNSTON, BRUCE ALLEN=, L.-Corpl., No. 69474, B Coy. 26th Battn. (New Brunswick Regt.) Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of Andrew Charles Johnston, of Costigan, Victoria co., New Brunswick [_b._ there in 1849 of Scottish descent], by his wife, Sarah Jane, dau. of Henry Bowmaster; _b._ Costigan, 18 Nov. 1889, educ. Public School there; was a Farmer; enlisted 3 Sept. 1914, following the outbreak of war; left Canada with the Second contingent on 12 June, 1915, and died in Etaples, France, 13 Nov. 1915, from wounds in the head received in action on the 11th. He was _unm._ and was buried in the Camiers Road Cemetery, Etaples.

=JOHNSTON, GEORGE ALBERT=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 4759), 293876, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=JOHNSTON, JAMES CECIL=, Capt. and Adjutant, 6th (Service) Battn. Royal Irish Fusiliers, eldest _s._ of Robert Edgeworth Johnston, of Glencore House, co. Fermanagh, by his wife, Edythe Grace, dau. of John Reynolds Dickson, of Woodville and Tullaghan House, co. Leitrim; _b._ Glencore House, co. Fermanagh, 29 Dec. 1880; educ. Charterhouse and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. unatt. 8 Jan. 1901; posted to the 14th Hussars, 9 March following; served in the South African War, 1901–2, taking part in the operations in the Orange River Colony, Feb. to 31 May, 1902 (Queen’s medal with two clasps); and resigned his commission in 1903. He was Deputy Ranger of the Curragh of Kildare, 1910–12; Master of the Horse to the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord-Lieut. of Ireland, 1910–15; High Sheriff co. Fermanagh, 1910; and Private Secretary to Lord Aberdeen, 1912–15. On the outbreak of war he offered his services and was gazetted Capt. 6th Royal Irish Fusiliers, 28 Sept. 1914, being appointed Adjutant of the Battn., 20 Oct. following. He left for the Dardanelles with the 10th (Irish) Division, under Major-Gen. Sir Bryan Mahon, and was killed in action at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, 9 Aug. following. His Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. F. A. R. Greer, wrote; “We reached the point we were making for, and your husband and I were trying to make out exactly how the situation was, when a shell from some sort of machine gun came over from our right front, caught me on the arm and exploded practically on him. His death, of course, was instantaneous. I saw that much before I had to clear out myself; there were none but dead and dying just there. It will comfort you to know he died a brave and gallant soldier, looked on by all of us as one of the best. I can safely add the sympathy of every officer and man to mine. He died at the farthest point the Battn. reached that day,” and a brother officer: “I saw Johnston in a redoubt early next morning and during Sunday (8 Aug.), like most of us, he was very tired that day, as we had no sleep and practically no food. He was in good spirits, however. His death has been a great blow to us, as he was very popular, and deservedly so, in the regt. He was confident that he would come back all right.” Capt. Johnston _m._ at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 28 Oct. 1903, Violet Myrtle (Rosemont, Booterstown, Dublin), dau. of Samuel Abraham Walker Waters, Assistant Inspector-Gen., Royal Irish Constabulary, and had three daus.: Myrtle, _b._ 7 March, 1909; Marjorie Helen, _b._ 18 Jan. 1911; and Mary Nuala, _b._ 29 May, 1914.

=JOHNSTON, JAMES HOGARTH=, Private, No. 29230, G Coy. 14th Platoon, 16th Battn. (Canadian Scottish) Canadian Expeditionary Force, 2nd and only surviving _s._ of Patrick Johnston, of Broomhill, Fivemiletown, co. Tyrone, by his wife, Susan Elliot, dau. of the late James Hogarth Rutherfurd, of Kelso: _b._ Cecil Augher, co. Tyrone, 21 Dec. 1886; educ. Carntall, Clogher, N.S. and Portora Royal School, Enniskillen; worked for a time at Combe Barbour’s Engineering Works, and at those of McLean at Belfast: went to New Zealand in Nov. 1905 at the age of 19, and remained there five years; returned to Ireland, and nine months later went to Winnipeg, Canada; joined the Canadian Scottish at Winnipeg, Aug. 1914; came over with the 1st Contingent in Oct.; left for France 4 Feb. and was killed in action in the heroic charge of the Canadian Scottish near St. Julien, on the night of 23–24 April, 1915. at the beginning of the First Battle of Ypres; _unm._

=JOHNSTON, REUBEN JOHN=, Sick Berth Steward, 350469, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1915.

=JOHNSTON, ROBERT=, Armourer, 340521, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept, 1914.

=JOHNSTON, WILLIAM=, L.-Corpl., No. 407, 9th Battn. Australian Imperial Force; a native of co. Ayr; served in Egypt; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and was killed in action there that day.

=JOHNSTON, WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5958), 188608, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._