Leslie Albert "Len" Johnson (6 July 1908 – 24 January 1942) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

and

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). He died in an accident while serving with the Second AIF during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Family

One of the eight children of Albert Henry Johnson, and Margaret Johnson, née O'Keefe, Leslie Albert Johnson was born in

Elsternwick, Victoria Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government areas of Victoria ...

on 6 July 1908 (his birth was registered as "Albert Lesley Johnson").

SVP Boys Orphanage

His mother died on 26 June 1918, aged 40, when Len was only 10. His father, a handyman who had to travel widely for his work, leaving his youngest son in the hands of his daughters, and assuming that his eldest son, Dan (known as Edward), could look after himself, and delivered his three other sons, Len, Eric, and Patrick over to the

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

's Boys Orphanage in Cecil Street, South Melbourne.

Football

He was equal leading goalkicker for Essendon in the 1929 VFL season, and in one game kicked nine goals. He then played and coached in Tasmania, including at the

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

Nhill Nhill is a town in the Wimmera, in western Victoria, Australia. Nhill is located on the Western Highway, halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne. At the , Nhill had a population of 1,749. "Nhill" is believed to be a Wergaia word meaning "early ...

and Griffith clubs.

Military service

Johnson enlisted in the

Second AIF The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in March 1941 and was posted to

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in 4 Reserve Motor Transport Company.

Death

He died in an accident on 24 January 1942 near

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. On that day, Johnson's

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

ordered 4 Reserve Motor Transport Company to demolish a warehouse. The sergeant knocked down a wall, not knowing that Johnson was behind it and killing Johnson in the process.

Grave

The location of his grave was lost when the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

occupied Singapore three weeks after Johnson's death.

Commemorated

His death is commemorated at the Singapore War Memorial, Kranji.Private Leslie Albert Johnson (VX50877)
at ''Commonwealth War Graves Commission''.

Footnotes

References

World War Two Nominal Roll: Private Leslie Albert Johnson (VX50877)
at ''Department of Veterans' Affairs''. * Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2002), ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.)'', Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 328. . * Main, J. & Allen, D., "Johnson, Len", pp.270-272 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. * Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.

External links

* *
Len Johnson
at ''The VFA Project''.
Len Johnson
at ''Boyles Football Photos''. 1908 births 1942 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Essendon Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club players Nhill Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club players Longford Football Club players Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Accidental deaths in Singapore People from Elsternwick, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne {{AFL-bio-1908-stub