Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthApril 17, 1893
Place of BirthNorman, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinSven Johnson (father), Box 315, Kenora, Ontario
Trade / CallingElectrician
ReligionPresbyterian
Service Details
Regimental Number2381146
Service RecordLink to Service Record
BattalionCanadian Engineers Training Depot
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Engineers
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Address at EnlistmentBox 315, Kenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentMarch 11, 1918
Age at Enlistment24
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathNovember 30, 1942
Age at Death49
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario

Johnson, Carl Victor

Sapper Carl Victor Johnson was one of three brothers who served in the First World War. He was called up in March 1918 and he trained with the Canadian Engineers until his discharge in December 1918.

Carl was the oldest son of Sven John Johnson and Josephine Carlson of Kenora, Ontario. Sven and Josephine both immigrated to Canada in the late 1880s, Sven from Sweden and his wife from either Sweden or Finland. They were married in 1892 in Keewatin, Ontario and they made their home in the neighbouring town of Norman (now part of Kenora). They had five children: Carl Victor (born 17 April 1893), John Walford, Arthur William (died at age one), Ida Wilhelmina and Albin William. Sven worked for the Lake of the Woods Milling Company and later the Maple Leaf Milling Company and around 1912 the family moved to Kenora.

John Walford enlisted in 1916 and Albin William in 1917, and they both served overseas. Conscription started in Canada in the summer of 1917 and single men age 20 to 34 were required to register by November. Carl had his medical exam in Kenora on 5 October and he was called up in Winnipeg the following spring, on 11 March 1918. He listed his occupation as electrician, he was living in Kenora and next of kin was his father Sven. He was assigned to the 1st Depot Battalion, Manitoba Regiment. On 8 April Carl was transferred to the Canadian Engineers Training Depot and sent to St. Johns, Quebec. He served there for eight months and he was discharged on demobilization on 20 December in St. Johns.

Carl returned to Kenora where he worked for many years as an electrician and plumber with the Maple Leaf Milling Company. He was married in Winnipeg on 20 January 1920. His wife, Lydia Helen Edlund, was born in Rat Portage (Kenora) in 1903, the daughter of Swedish immigrants Anders/Andrew Edlund and Helena Larsen. Andrew was a dairy farmer and Lydia was the second of seven children. Carl and Lydia had five children, their son William (Bill) and daughters Helen, Laura, Inez, Thelma and Shirley. Bill served overseas with a Canadian tank regiment in the Second World War.

Carl passed away on 30 November 1942, at age 49. His funeral was held on 2 December and he’s buried in the family plot at Lake of the Woods Cemetery. Lydia died in January 1985.

By Becky Johnson

Johnson-Carl-Victor-90


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