Charles William Johnson was born in Mill Hill near Hendon in Middlesex in early 1892. He was the oldest child born to William Augustus Johnson and Caroline Letitia Todd who had four children together. Charles’ siblings were: Henry, Walter and Ellen. When Charles was born his family lived at 2 Highwood Cottages in Mill Hill and his father William worked as a ‘Carter’ on a nearby farm. At some point before 1911, Charles moved with his family to Hemel Hempstead where they lived at 2 Adeyfield Terrace in a house known as ‘The Firs’.

By this time his father worked as a ‘Domestic Gardener’ and Charles and his brothers were all in employment. Charles worked as a ‘Farm Labourer’; his brothers Henry and Walter were a ’Dairy Hand’ and ‘Mill Hand’ respectively; whilst his sister Ellen was still at school.

Before the outbreak of war, Charles went to work for John Dickinson & Co. Limited at Apsley Mills where his brother Walter was already employed. He remained there until the second year of the war when he joined the Colours.

He attested at Hemel Hempstead in September 1915 a month before the introduction of the Group Scheme popularly known as the Derby Scheme. Charles enlisted with the Hertfordshire Regiment and was embodied in October and sent to the 1/1st Battalion the ‘Hertfordshire Guards’ as it was known.

Records do not reveal when Charles went to France or whether he had transferred to the 6th Battalion Princess Charlotte’s (Royal Berkshire) Regiment before he went, but either way he most probably disembarked in France in May or June of 1916 after six months of training in England.

What is known is that in February 1917, the 6th Battalion Berkshire Regiment was under the orders of the 53rd Brigade in the 18th (Eastern) Division and it was in the vicinity of ‘Regina Trench’, approximately three miles south west of Bapaume. By the 15th of the month it was making preparations for an attack two days later. ‘Regina Trench’ had been the longest trench in the German fortifications in the whole of the First World War, and it had been captured by the Allies in October 1916. It was gained with heavy losses, particularly by the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions. They had suffered 9,499 killed, wounded or missing during efforts to capture ‘Regina’ and this included 1,364 casualties on the 8th October alone.

Charles went into action with the 6th Berkshires at 05:40 a.m. on the morning of the 17th February and despite a constant German barrage, heavy broken ground and utter darkness, the attack went to plan, and the final objectives were reached. However, the casualties incurred during the actions included Charles. The Battalion War Diary records casualties from the 17th to 28th February as follows: “Killed 20, Wounded 122, Missing 48”.

It is not clear at which stage of the attack Charles fell but he was killed on Saturday, 17th February 1917. Charles was eventually buried in Regina Trench Cemetery which was a “concentration cemetery” where the mortal remains of many men were brought in from scattered graves and small battlefield cemeteries around Courcelette, Grandcourt and Miraumont. Unlike many CWGC cemeteries, where men are laid one-to-a-grave, many of the graves contain more than one burial and two names are shown on some of the headstones. The Cemetery is located approximately midway between the villages of Grandcourt and Courcelette.

Charles is Remembered with Honour in Regina Trench Cemetery, Grandcourt, Somme, France where he is interred in Grave VII. C. 23.

He was 25 years old when he died.

Charles was entitled to the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.