William Henry Johnson VC

b. 15/10/1890 Worksop, Nottinghamshire. d. 25/04/1945 Arnold, Nottinghamshire.

William Henry Johnson (1890-1945) was born on 15th October 1890 at Court 1, Park Street, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. His father, William Edward/Edwin Johnson was a groom in 1881. He married Harriet Elizabeth Wing in 1887 in Worksop. William senior later became a house painter. William junior had three siblings – Edward Henry, Albert and Mabel.

William was possibly educated at Priory Church School in Worksop and was a member of the Church Lads’ Brigade. He worked as a clerk and a miner at Manton Colliery. In 1909 he married Gertrude Walton at Worksop. They were living with her grandparents at 21 Prior Well Road, Worksop in 1911. By 1915, they were living at 1 Shelley Street, off Prior Well Road. William and Gertrude had four children – Mabel, William Albert, Gladys and Victoria.

William enlisted in 2/8th Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment at Newark on 9th February 1915 and immediately agreed to serve overseas. He was appointed unpaid lance corporal on 28th February 1916 and paid from 17th April. He was promoted to unpaid lance sergeant on 1st February 1917 and went to France on 27th February. He was promoted to corporal next day but reverted to lance corporal on 17th April. He was promoted to sergeant on 15th January 1918. He transferred to 2/5th Battalion on 29th January, just prior to 2/8th Battalion disbanding on 6th February. William transferred to 1/5th Battalion between May and August 1918.

William H Johnson VC

On 3rd October 1918 at Ramicourt, France, when Sergeant Johnson’s Platoon was held up by a German machine gun nest, he worked his way forward under heavy fire, and single-handed charged the post, bayoneting several gunners and capturing two machine guns. During this attack he was severely wounded, but continued to lead forward his men. Shortly afterwards, the line was once more held up by machine guns. Again, he rushed forward, attacked the post single-handed, bombed the garrison, put the guns out of action and captured the teams.

William received a gunshot wound to the back three days later, and underwent at least two operations at one of the hospitals in Trouville, France. He was later infected with Spanish Influenza. He returned to England on 23rd January 1919. He was demobbed on 10th March and discharged the following day. He was issued with a Silver War Badge.

The citation for the award of the VC was posted in the London Gazette 14th December 1918. The VC was presented to him by King George V at Buckingham Palace on the 29th March 1919. In March 1920, he was awarded the French Medaille Militaire.

On his return to Worksop, he was paraded through the town with the church bells ringing. His work colleagues presented him with £100. He became a bellringer at Worksop Priory Church and later at St Paul’s Church, Daybrook, Nottingham. He became a check weigh man for a coal and iron company. Later he became a deputy at Manton Colliery and was then the licensee of the Mason’s Arms public house in Worksop. The family moved to Retford, and then to Arnold in 1928, where he worked for the Home Brewery Company. Later he became the manager/steward of Arnold Ex-Servicemen’s Club, Clinton Street, Arnold until the club burnt down. The family were living there in 1939.

He served in the Home Guard during World War II, but while serving in a searchlight unit, he suffered an injury to his leg that necessitated amputation. Later he was admitted to hospital at Sheffield for further treatment, and shortly afterwards his second foot was amputated. Sadly, William didn’t recover from his injuries and died following a seizure whilst eating breakfast at his home at 33 Nelson Road in Arnold on 25th April 1945. He was buried in Redhill Cemetery, Nottingham with full military honours. One of the mourners at his funeral was John Caffrey VC.

In October 2011, The Newark Advertiser newspaper reported that the wording on his headstone at Arnold was repainted. The report noted “The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Victoria Cross Committee donated half of the £360 it cost to renovate Sergeant William Henry Johnson’s faded epitaph.

“The committee’s chairman, Mr Tony Higton of Bingham, said the committee was approached by sergeant Johnson’s grandson, Mr Keith Johnson of Radcliffe-on-Trent, to help fund the project and was only too happy to help”. “Mr Keith Johnson did not ask the Victoria Cross Committee to pay for the full cost of the headstone restoration because he wanted to contribute something”. He commented “I was not quite five years old when he died but I know he helped anyone who asked… He was easy going and was a lovely man. Everyone who knew him said that. I just want everybody to know about him – I am so proud”.

William is further commemorated with a tree planted in the Memorial Gardens, Worksop, with his portrait in Worksop Town Library, and a VC commemorative stone placed at the Memorial Gardens in Worksop on 3rd October 2018. He is also named on the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire VC Memorial at Nottingham Castle, and is named in the Church Lads’ Brigade Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.

In addition to the VC, he was also awarded the British War Medal 1914-20, Victory Medal 1914-19, George VI Coronation Medal 1937 and the French Medaille Militaire. His medals were donated to the Sherwood Foresters by his widow on 18th September 1948 and were received by Major General PN White CB CBE, Colonel of the Regiment. They are displayed at the Regimental Museum in Nottingham Castle.

LOCATION OF MEDAL: SHERWOOD FORESTERS MUSEUM, NOTTINGHAM.

BURIAL PLACE: REDHILL CEMETERY, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

SECTION L, GRAVE 6.