GNB
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

Soldiers of the Great War; The Fredericton Soldier Biography History Initiative

All explanatory text, archival descriptions, narratives, database headings, and navigation assistance on the web site of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick are provided in both English and French. When content is extracted from a document for insertion in a database or to be presented as a facsimile, it is provided in the language of the original.

Johnstone, Archibald

Trumpeter 147
2nd Divisional Ammunition Column
3rd Canadian Field Ambulance

Background

Archibald Johnstone was born December 20, 1888 in Glasgow, Scotland to Alexander and Margaret Johnstone. According to newspapers, Archibald was orphaned as young boy and came to Canada in 1908 when he was twenty years old. Eventually he met a young woman named Ada Fraser in northern New Brunswick and together they were married September 20, 1911 in Dalhousie. Their marriage record shows that Archibald had been living in the Dalhousie area for work and that Ada was living there as well but was from Quebec. Records also suggest that he had moved to Fredericton before their marriage, joined the Royal Canadian Regiment, and also found work as fireman and labourer in the area. According the St. Paul’s Church Yearbook, Archibald was also a member of the congregation because his name appears and is listed as living in the Queen Street Barracks. After marrying Ada, his attestation papers reveal that the couple kept a residence in Gibson, York County, on the northside of Fredericton. On April 17, 1912 the couple gave birth to twins named Archibald Harry and Euphoria Ada. Two years later, Ada gave birth to another daughter named Louisa Pearl. During this time, the couple attending Sunday services at St. Paul’s Church with their children while Archibald continued his work as a labourer and member of the RCR. After the outbreak of war in 1914, Archibald formally enlisted March 11, 1915 in Fredericton, joining the Divisional Ammunition Column in Saint John. According to his attestation forms, he was described as standing five feet tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes, and dark brown hair, while also weighing 120 pounds. Given his small stature, it is likely for this reason that he was never assigned to a formal infantry battalion or artillery brigade. However, these divisional columns, and those who volunteered their service, provided essential supplies to battery units and other important supplies while overseas. His smaller size likely also explains why he was charged with the important rank of trumpeter. After enlisting Archibald remained in Canada over the next two months for training and preparations before going to England. It is unclear if he saw his family again before he left. Archibald was twenty-six at the time.

Wartime Experience

On June13, 1915, Archibald Johnstone embarked from Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the S.S. Caledonia and arrived in England on June 24. He stayed in England during the summer of 1915 before landing in France September 9 with the 2nd Canadian Divisional Ammunition Column. Shortly after his arrival he was attached to the 3rd Canadian Field Ambulance while in the field. When looking at Archibald’s active service forms, it appears that he spent the entire duration of the war on the Western Front with the 3rd Canadian Field Ambulance. However, when not in the field he spent a great deal of time in hospitals suffering from a variety of illness that developed during his service. After arriving he was admitted to hospital suffering from colitis and then would deal with other ailments including influenza, scabies, and orchitis. All these reveal the difficult environment that soldiers were living and working in during their time in the field. His service also reveals that between January and June 1917, he had contracted a disease that was common to many men and woman who were away from family and friends for long periods of time. Despite the numerous ailments that Archibald developed, his service appears to have been well-received because on September 1, 1917, he was presented with a good conduct badge. Over the course of the war, the field ambulance units, and people like Archibald, played a critical role in treating the ailments and injuries of all service people. These individuals were the main support of units that needed attention to every condition faced while fighting and living overseas during the four years of the war. Given that he was often surrounded by those suffering from illness, disease, and injuries, it is not surprising that Archibald was often sick himself. His absence from Ada for four years appears to have been difficult as well for her because records show that she relocated to Montreal, Quebec with the kids. According to his service record, after the war ended on November 11, 1918, Archibald stayed in England until the spring of 1919 waiting for a transport home. On April 16, 1919, he embarked from Liverpool for Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the S.S. Belgic arriving April 23. It appears that because Ada and the family had already moved, Archibald went directly from Halifax to Montreal bypassing Fredericton altogether. It is unclear why the 1917 St. Paul’s Church year book noted that Archibald had been “supposed killed in action”. Despite having been in and out of hospitals for treatment during the war and a newspaper clipping from Ontario indicating that he had received a shrapnel head wound at one point, after the war Archibald lived out the rest of his life in Port Arthur, Ontario. Today the city is known as Thunder Bay. In his later years he became quite sick and was admitted to the Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg, a facility that was run by Veterans Affairs. Archibald passed away in this hospital the evening of April 23, 1948. He was fifty-nine years old at the time of his death leaving behind a large family of eight children. When the Fredericton community began making plaques and memorials for those killed overseas in 1923, his name was added to St. Paul’s Church plaques and later the Fredericton Cenotaph because it was presumed that he had died while overseas. As the family had already left and Archibald never returned, this would have been an easy mistake to make. Today his name is still on those memorials; a mistake perhaps, but one that likely should remain given how it reflects the Fredericton community at the time.                 

Lest We Forget

Archibald Johnstone is buried with honour in the Riverside Cemetery in Thunder Bay, Ontario

This biography was researched and written by Claire Wilkins, Ceilidh Baker, Rowan Lockhart, & Ben Chu, Grade 8 students (2017-2018) at George Street Middle School as part of the Fredericton Soldier Biography History Initiative. If you have additional information to help us learn more about this individual, please contact [email protected].


4.11.1