| Title | Fred Johnson |
| Date | 9th September 1916 |
| Location | Yeadon |
| Photo ID | B365 |
| Comment | Presentation on the steps of Yeadon Town Hall to award Private Fred Johnson with the Military Medal. This medal was first awarded in March 1916 and given to lower ranks for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty in the field. Private Johnson stands in uniform with the medal on his tunic, a crowd is listening to the man on his right. George Herbert Teale, Chairman of Yeadon Council is the man with the white moustache wearing a straw boater standing behind the elderly lady sitting on a chair. |
It would have been ideal to follow up this photograph with information regarding a long life lived … but unfortunately just over a year later on 17th September 1917, Fred was killed in action in France. He had joined the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in Guiseley when he was working as a spinner in a woollen mill and was sent to France in July 1915, earning his Military Medal in 1916. Born in 1891 he was the third child of John and Sarah Johnson, who was widowed by the time of his death. Living at 9 Town Street, she received 8/6d a week pension. Fred is commemorated in the Favreuil Cemetery near Bapaume in the North East of France.
Additional research by Helen M.
20 November 2022
Consolidated by Jack Brayshaw. 01 July 2022.
Last updated: 20 November 2022 – Photo ID: B365 additional text.
