Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 173 continued ... continued ... “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during the attack on the Drucourt-Quèant Line on 2nd September 1918. After taking his own objective with his company, he went on with another company, which was greatly depleted, to the second objective. Encountering intense heavy fire here, he made a personal reconnaissance of the front, organized a party of grenadiers, and led them forward to the attack through heavy barrage, cleaning up enemy machine gun positions and enabling the assaulting wave to move forward. He personally rushed an enemy machine gun from the front. He then with the remnants of the two companies captured the final objective. He showed great courage and determined leadership.” Shortly afterwards, Roderick’s health issues caught up with him. Plagued by a chronic cough and frequent colds throughout his overseas service, he was evacuated for medical treatment on September 14 but rejoined the battalion on October 1. Roderick received two weeks’ leave to England on October 17, following which he rejoined the 85th during the Canadian Corps’ final push into Belgium. He remained with the unit for one month following the November 11 Armistice and received a second leave to England on December 14. Health issues resurfaced shortly after he crossed The English Channel and Roderick was admitted to hospital in England on January 18, 1919. He remained under medical care until the 85th departed England for Canada on May 5. Upon arriving at Halifax, he was admitted to Pine Hill Hospital, where military doctors recommended his release from military service due to poor health. On June 25, 1919, Major Roderick Colin Jackson was discharged as “medically unfit.” Roderick and Lily returned to New Mexico, where Roderick assumed the first of several Presbyterian ministry appointments. For almost 30 years, Roderick ministered to congregations in several American mid-west and western states before retiring in 1948. The family made a trip to Belgium and northern France in 1938, at which time Roderick visited the battlefields where he fought, and the graves of several soldiers with whom he had served. Roderick’s wife, Lily, passed away at Ponca City, Oklahoma on January 8, 1961. Major Roderick Colin Jackson passed away at Stillwater, Oklahoma on June 6, 1972, 18 days shy of his ninety-first birthday. He was laid to rest alongside his beloved wife, Lily, in Highland Cemetery, Winfield, Kansas. Pte. Eric Alexander (Sandy) Johnston WW II Killed in Action September 1, 1944 Eric Alexander (Sandy) Johnston was born in Sydney, NS, one of three children toAnnie May and Robert Ralph Johnston. Eric attended Central School and Sydney Academy. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, skating and hockey. He was in the Cape Breton Highlanders militia prior to World War 2. His trade upon enlistment was stevedore. Eric joined the Canadian Active Force Cape Breton Highlanders as a private on October 6, 1939 in Sydney, NS. By October, 1941, after advancing through the ranks, he was promoted to sergeant. He sailed to the England with the battalion in November, 1941. While in England, at his own request, Eric reverted back to corporal and then later to private. He sailed to Italy with the rest of the battalion in October/November, 1943. Eric Johnston was killed in action in Italy on September 1, 1944. The Cape Breton Highlanders were involved in a larger action to breech the heavily fortified German Gothic Line defences located in the mountains on the Adriatic Sector of the Italian Front. On the night of August 31st the Cape Breton Highlanders attacked Mount Marrone, a long sloping feature also called Point 182. By the early morning of September 1st, the position was in their hands. They held the position throughout the day under intense enemy fire. Eric Johnston was killed in this action. A veteran Cape Breton Highlander, Elliston Robertson, recalled that Eric took a direct hit from an armour piercing shell while driving in a jeep. He was 27 years old. Pte. Eric Johnston is buried in Montecchio War Cemetery, Montecchio, Italy.
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