Gordon Handley Johnson
- Architectural student working with his father
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
Gordon Handley Johnson was the eldest son of George Handley Johnson and his wife, Caroline (née Slack).
His father was born in 1867 in Sheffield, and his mother in Rotherham in about 1844 and were married at St Mary the Virgin, Rawmarsh, on 20 August 1892 (Mexborough & Swinton TImes, 2 September 1892).
The couple had five children: Gordon Handley (1894, baptised 27 November 1894), Charles Barry (1897) and Gwendoline Mary (1900) who were born in Rotherham and Hector Lennox (1903) and Janet Celia (1906) who were born in Maltby.
George and Caroline were living at 88 Rawmarsh Hill when Gordon was baptised and later lived at 48 Clifton Grove, Rotherham. However, by 1911 the family had moved to 5 Cliff Villas, Maltby. George was a self-employed architect and surveyor and his son Gordon was an architectural student working with him. Gordon's siblings Charles, Gwendoline and Hector, were school age and their youngest sister Janet was four years old.
The family was still living at 5 Cliff Villas in 1921; all four children were still living at home; Charles was a builder's assistant, Gwendoline a builder's clerk and Hector a farmer's assistant while Janet was school age. Charles died at the end of the year, aged 24, and was buried in Maltby St Bartholomew churchyard on 22 December.
George and Caroline later lived at 139 Rotherham Road, Maltby. Caroline died in December 1952 and George died ten years later in January 1962; he was still living at 139 Rotherham Road. Both were buried in Maltby.
Gordon enlisted at Retford in the Household Cavalry Regiment, joining the 1/1st Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry Battalion.
The Battalion was sent to Egypt in April 1915 and later to Gallipoli where it landed at Suvla Bay on the 18 August 1915.
Following the disaster at Gallipoli the Battalion was evacuated to Egypt in December 1915. In February 1916 they were sent to Salonica, Greece, as part of the 7th Mounted Brigade.
Gordon was killed in action on 12 October 1916 (CWGC) and is buried in the Mikra British Cemetery, Greece (grave ref. 1694).
CWGC History of Mikra British Cemetery (extract): The Cemetery is in the city of Thessaloniki. 'At the invitation of the Greek Prime Minister, M.Eleftherios Venizelos, Salonika (now Thessaloniki) was occupied by three French Divisions and the 10th (Irish) Division from Gallipoli in October 1915. Other French and Commonwealth forces landed during the year and in the summer of 1916, they were joined by Russian and Italian troops. In August 1916, a Greek revolution broke out at Salonika, with the result that the Greek national army came into the war on the Allied side. The town was the base of the British Salonika Force and it contained, from time to time, eighteen general and stationary hospitals. Three of these hospitals were Canadian, although there were no other Canadian units in the force. The earliest Commonwealth burials took place in the local Protestant and Roman Catholic cemeteries, and the Anglo-French (now Lembet Road) Military Cemetery was used from November 1915 to October 1918. The British cemetery at Mikra was opened in April 1917, remaining in use until 1920. The cemetery was greatly enlarged after the Armistice when graves were brought in from a number of burial grounds in the area.' (www.cwgc.org)
Record revised and updated, RF (Aug. 2025)
Gordon's younger brother, Charles Barry, attested in February 1916. He was 18 years old and worked as a contractor's clerk; he was still living with his parents at 5 Cliff Villas. Charles transferred to the Army Reserve in February 1916 but was mobilized (Short Service Engagement, 'Duration of War') and posted on 16 October 1916, shortly after the death of his brother in action. Initially posted to the Army Service Corps (Motor Transport) and to ASC (MT) Edinburgh on 10 January the following year. From the sparse surviving Army records, it appears that he was posted with the ASC (MT) to France on 9 April 1917 but transferred on 28 April 1917 to the 1st Battalion The Buffs (East Kent) Regiment (13902 Private). There is a record in his documents that Charles suffered gunshot wounds to the right arm (other details unclear), presumably while serving with The Buffs. He was appointed unpaid lance-corporal 31 May 1917, paid lance-corporal 25 June 1917. Charles was posted on 28 March 1918, unit not known but possibly in the UK as he was granted Furlough (to home address) 22 July-1 August 1918. Appointed paid acting corporal 8 May 1919 and to temporary corporal 20 June 1919. Charles transferred to Class 'Z' Army Reserve on 14 October 1919. He died in December 1921 aged 24.
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 17 November 1916: Maltby. Trooper Gordon Handley Johnson, whose home is at Maltby, was officially reported killed in action. Later, according to a letter received from the officer commanding his squadron to his parents, the fate of Trooper Johnson has not been definitely ascertained. The officer says: ‘I am sorry to have to send you bad news of your son, who was in my squadron. You will, I expect, have heard that he is missing and wounded or perhaps killed. We have hopes that he may be alive.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
WW1 Pension Ledgers: his mother Caroline was the named recipient.
Photo of Gordon Handley Johnson
Buried in Mikra British Cemetery, Greece. (www.cwgc.org)