Samuel Johnston

Police Constable 426, Toronto Police Force | Private, 20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF

Samuel Johnston was born on the 18th of April, 1887, in Maghera, Co. Londonderry, Ireland. As a young man he worked as a farmhand before emigrating to Toronto, Canada. On April 7th, 1913, Johnston was sworn in as Police Constable No. 426 of the Toronto Police Force. PC Johnston walked the beat out of No. 9 Police Station (in the Keele St and Dundas St W area). By the end of 1914, Johnston lived at 15 Watson Avenue with his wife Elizabeth and their four children.

On January 8th 1915, Constable Johnston enlisted in the 20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF, in Toronto. He sailed to England on the SS Megantic, where he continued military training. He landed in France in September 1915 and proceeded to the front in the Ypres sector of Belgium for combat operations. In the late summer of 1916, Johnston moved with his unit to the Somme sector in France, to support that enormous Allied offensive. On September 16th 1916, during the Battle of Courcelette, Johnston was in a support trench where he was struck  in the face by shrapnel from an enemy shell. Johnston was evacuated to an aid station where he died of his wounds the following day, Sunday, September 17th, 1916.

Constable Samuel Johnston lies buried at Puchervilles British Cemetery in France.

Research Sources:

  • H. Grasett – Annual Report of the Chief Constable of the City of Toronto for the Year 1914, Page 58. Toronto: The Carswell Co Ltd City Printers, 1915.
  • Library and Archives Canada. Service File of No. 57075 Samuel Johnston.
  • Library and Archives Canada. Circumstances of Death Registers Card – No. 57075 Samuel Johnston.
  • Library and Archives Canada. War Diaries  of the First World War –  20th Canadian Infantry Battalion, 1914/11/01 – 1917/04/30.
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Casualty Details for 57075 Samuel Johnston.
  • The Toronto Daily Star (1916, September 28th). “Toronto Policeman Killed”.
  • The Toronto Daily Star (1918, March 16th), Page 21. “West Toronto Police Honor Roll”.
  • The Toronto Evening Telegram (1918, March 15th). “West Toronto Police Honor Roll”.
  • Toronto Police Military Veterans Association – MVA22 Tour of Remembrance Photos (Photo).