stseverext

graves

IN MEMORy by Pierre Vandervelden

The visit of Commonwealth graves in Communals Cemeteries & Churchyards in Belgium & France

ST SEVER Cemetery Extension (Rouen)(Seine Maritime France)

Photo Courtesy George Cogswell



Gnr Richard Llewelyn Johnson MM 01/11/1918 aged 23 Richard was a pre-war regular soldier, and he sailed with the BEF in 08/1914 to serve in France / Belgium. Despite being wounded several times during the War he always returned to active duty. At the Battle of the Selle (Near Le Cateau). Dick was awarded a Military Medal for his actions here on 23/10/1918, but he was again wounded. He was sent to hospital at Rouen where he caught influenza and died. The small coloured photo was always carried by his brother Edwin in his wallet as a memory.

Left: his brother Cpl Tom Johnson 27/03/1918 aged 35 commemorated at the Pozieres Memorial Right: his brother Edwin Stanley Johnson who was a pre-war Territorial Soldier and he went to Flanders in 1915 with the Durham Light Infantry, (5th Bn) serving near Ypres and later on the Somme and at Arras. But whilst serving at Paschendale in 1917 he was shot by a sniper, the bullet entering his chest where his heart should have been. Fortunately for him, he was one of those rare people with reversed internal organs and his heart was actually towards his right-hand side. The bullet was too close to his heart to remove without risk, so he lived with a German bullet inside him until his death in 1970. He did return to war Service with the Labour Corps in 1918 and strangely enough this unfortunate incident really saved his life, because the 5th Bn, Durham Light Infantry was wiped out almost to the last man at the Battle of the Lys in 04/1918.
For his nephew and Edwin's grandson David Mole (UK) The Mole - Johnson family have lost six members during WW I and II David's father is buried in Taillette Communal Cemetery (Fr)

8 656 casualties

IF You have a casualty picture, please send me a copy, I'll be glad to show it on this page.

IF You want a king size copy of this picture (300/900 ko - 2592/1944 pixels) please e-mail me.

Casualties informations come usualy from Commonwealth War Graves Commission, see links for more informations