LEST WE FORGET 189 JOHNSON, Walter Francis John WWI John was born on September 7, 1877, in Cambridgeshire, England. He came from Ontario to Rocanville, Saskatchewan in 1907. He married Agnes Wonfor and in 1916 was living in Rocanville with his wife and her son James Wonfor. He owned a house in Rocanville from 1916 to 1924 and was working for the CPR at the time he enlisted with the 217th Battalion in Moosomin on January 20, 1916. He was in the Regina General Hospital with a contused thumb in February 1917 and left Canada aboard the Olympic, arriving in England on June 9, 1917. He had previously served with the 4th Suffolk Battalion so was placed in the Imperial Forces in England. He was repatriated back to Canada on May 10, 1919 and was discharged on May 22, 1919 in Regina. He returned to Rocanville and was promoted to CPR Section Foreman in 1920. He retired from the CPR in the late 1920s and John and Agnes left Rocanville and lived in Woodlington, Ontario and in the Halton Region where John worked in a grocery store. Agnes died in 1946 and is buried in Pine Hills Cemetery in Scarborough. John died on December 15, 1959, at the age of 82, and is buried at Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg with a military grave. JUSTASON, Andrew Dalgarno “Andy” WWII Andy was born in White Bear, Saskatchewan on November 2, 1925, to James and Christine Justason. He enlisted in Regina on November 15, 1943 and served in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe until he was discharged on June 24, 1946. Andy returned to Saskatchewan to the family farm. In 1948, he married Thelma McGugan. They moved to Moose Jaw where they raised their twelve children. Andy loved to fish, enjoyed a good Western movie, and playing crib where he finally got a 29 hand. He was a people person and loved getting together with family and friends. He also was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 59. Andy passed away on September 3, 2009. JOHNSTON, George Phibbs WWI George was born on October 9, 1890, on his parents’ farm in the Welwyn community. He was the fourth of six children born to George and Eliza (Hunt) Johnston. He attended Ferndale School and he helped on the farm and with the threshing outfit that his brothers ran. His mother died in 1910. George left home to work in the Robin Hood Flour Mills in Regina and when he enlisted on November 12, 1914, he stated his occupation as a grain buyer. He trained with the 18th Battery, 5th Artillery Brigade Canadian Field Artillery as a gunner. He sailed aboard the SS Metagama and reached Plymouth, England on August 18, 1915. He was hospitalized for tonsilitis while training and was in Moore Barracks Hospital in Shorncliffe with influenza for twelve days in November 1915. He went to France on January 14, 1916. Gunner Johnston was killed in action on November 3, 1916 in France during the Battle of the Somme. The 5th Brigade helped in capturing the Regina Trench on November 11 and heavy rains finally necessitated the end of fighting at the Somme on November 19. George Phibbs Johnston is buried at Pozieres British Cemetery in France. He is remembered on the Welwyn Legion cenotaph. George still has nieces and nephews in the Welwyn and Rocanville areas.
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