Lt. Col. Baptist Leonard Johnston O.B.E., V.D.
The Sash Our Forefathers Wore
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Baptist L. Johnston was born on February 27th, 1886 in Guelph, Ontario to parents Robert Johnston and Mary Sockett.
Baptist was a member of the Anglican Church and a member of Cameron Loyal Orange Lodge No. 613 in Toronto, Ontario. He was descended from Baptist Johnston, second-in-command at the Battle of Drumbanagher, County Monaghan, Ireland in 1688. A Bank Manager by trade, Baptist enlisted in the Queens Own Rifles Militia as a Rifleman in 1907 and then enlisted for active service at the outbreak of the First World War in Valcartier, Quebec on September 22nd, 1914. He was a captain in the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force and was taken prisoner at the 2nd Battle of Ypres in April, 1915. He was not released until October, 1918. He later served as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Queens Own Rifles from 1922 to 1927, Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Queens Own Rifles of C Reserve from 1940 to 1945, Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel from 1951 to 1956, Honorary Colonel from 1956-1958 and Colonel of the Regiment from 1958 to 1960. Baptist served as an aide-de-camp to The Honorable Albert Matthews, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. From 1932 to 1933 he was the President of the Royal Canadian Military Institute. In 1936 he served as a Director of Mosher Long Lac Gold Mines Limited. Information from the "The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archives".
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