SHAW, Donald Coll

Fred Johnson was born in Abbotsford, Victoria on October 22nd, 1897. Two years later he moved with his parents to Perth. From 1903 he attended Perth Boys Central School. In 1910, Fred won a scholarship to Perth Modern School. In 1915, he became a trainee teacher at Thomas Street Senior State School. On his 18th birthday he took unpaid leave from the education department and joined the AIF.

Fred joined the AIF as a gunner in the 107th Battery, 23rd Field Artillery Brigade. Initial training was at Claremont, then in February 1916 the unit moved to Maribyrnong, Victoria for advanced artillery training on the 18 pound field gun. After three months, the unit departed for England aboard the HMAT Medic, arriving in July 1916. Fred then joined the Australian 3rd Division undergoing training at Lark Hill on the Salisbury Plains, before departing for France on New Year's Eve 1916 as part of the advance guard of the 7th Field Artillery Brigade, 27th Battery.

Messines
Six months after arriving in France, the unit underwent its first major test with the Messines offensive on June 7th 1917. Fred's unit was part of the preliminary bombardment. Not long after, on 11th June, Fred was gassed, probably with a mixture of chlorine and phosgene. It would be a month before he was fit for service again. The effects of the gas plagued him for the rest of his life.

Passchendaele
After Messines, Fred's unit took part in the Passchendaele offensive from the end of July 1917. Moving the guns in the mud was as formidable an enemy as the Germans. During the 26 days from 29th September to 24th October 1917, the six batteries of the 7th Brigade fired 119,430 rounds. Fred's gun alone fired about 3,400 shells — some 28 tonnes of high explosive. During the same period Fred's battery lost 8 men killed and a further 10 wounded.

Amiens to Armistice
Fred's unit were rushed south to Amiens on the Somme in April 1918 to help stem the massive German attack that had broken through the Allied lines. Fred was in England on leave at the time — his leave was cancelled and he was sent back to France.