9th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (British Army)
Date Of Birth:
09/06/1895
Died:
16/08/1917 (Killed in Action)
Age:
22
Summary
Herbert Curry Johnston was the youngest son of David Johnston. Herbert was born on 9th June 1895 in Clogher. The 1901 census records the family as living in Tullyanaghan, Magheralin, County Down. His mother had died. The family lived at Grace Hall in Lurgan. In November 1915 Herbert joined the Cadet Corps of the 10th Royal Irish Fusiliers based at Brownlow House. Herbert Curry transferred to the 9th Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Corporal Herbert Curry Johnston was killed in action at the Battle of Langemarck on 16th August 1917. He was 22 years old and died just a month after his brother, Ernest.
Further Information
Herbert Curry Johnston was the youngest son of David Johnston J.P.
Herbert was born on 9th June 1895. He was one of six children, all born in the Clogher area.
The 1901 census records the family as living in Tullyanaghan, Magheralin, County Down. Herbert was 6 years old. His mother had died. David Johnston is described as a Horse Dealer and Farmer.
His father had remarried about 1901 to Martha Johnston.
Known family: David Johnston, Martha Johnston (2nd wife), John Ernest Johnston (born 18th April 1888), David Percy Johnston (born 23rd January 1890), Walter Irwin Johnston (born 23rd March 1891), Anna Millie Johnston (born 5th October 1893), Herbert Curry Johnston (born 9th June 1895), Winifred Margaret Johnston (born 16th January 1897).
The 1911 census records Herbert as 16 years old. He is still at school. The family still lived in Tullyanaghan, Magheralin, County Down. His father had remarried about 1901 to Martha. David Johnston is described as a Horse Dealer and Farmer.
The family lived at Grace Hall in Lurgan.
In November 1915 Herbert joined the Cadet Corps of the 10th Royal Irish Fusiliers based at Brownlow House. The previous occupants, the 16th RIR had landed a month before in France with the 36th (Ulster) Division.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 17th November 1915:
Mr Herbert Johnston, youngest son of Mr David Johnston, J.P., Grace Hall, has joined the cadet corps of the 10th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers at Brownlow House, Lurgan. Two brothers, the eldest of whom came from Australia to enlist, are serving as lieutenants.
Herbert's brother, Lieutenant Ernest Johnston, served with the South Staffordshire Regiment and was killed on the Somme on 10th July 1916.
Herbert Curry transferred to the 9th Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Corporal Herbert Curry Johnston was killed in action at the Battle of Langemark on 16th August 1917.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 23rd August 1917:
Sergeant Herbert Curry Johnston, Royal Irish Fusiliers, youngest son of Mr David Johnston, J.P., Grace Hall, Lurgan, is missing. An elder brother, Lieutenant John Ernest Johnston, South Staffordshire Regiment, has been killed, and another brother, Corporal David P Johnston, is serving with the Royal Engineers.
A second brother, David Percy Johnston, served with the Royal Engineers and gained a commission as a Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery.
Corporal Herbert Curry Johnston has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.
Corporal Herbert Curry Johnston is commemorated on Lurgan War Memorial.
Corporal Herbert Curry Johnston and his brother John are also remembered on their parents’ headstone at First Lurgan Presbyterian Church. Photo courtesy of Martin White
The CWGC record Corporal Herbert Curry Johnston as the son of David Johnston, J.P., of Grace Hall, Lurgan, County Armagh.
