Lieutenant Colonel Baptist L. Johnston OBE, VD was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1886, the son of Robert Johnston and Mary Eliza Sockett. He was descended from Baptist Johnston, second-in-command at the Battle of Drumbanagher, County Monaghan, Ireland in 1688.
He joined the Queens Own Rifles as a Rifleman in 1907 and enlisted for service at the outbreak of the First World War. He was a captain in the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force and was taken prisoner at the 2nd Battle of Ypres in April 1915 and was not released until October 1918.
He later served as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, QOR 1922-1927, Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, QOR of C (Reserve) 1940-1945, Honorary Lieutenant Colonel 1951-1956, Honorary Colonel 1956-1958, and Colonel of the Regiment 1958-1960. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1943 King’s birthday list.
He was also an aide-de-camp to The Honorable Albert Matthews, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and five other Lieutenant Governors.
From 1932-1933 he was President of the Royal Canadian Military Institute. In 1936 he was serving as a Director of Mosher Long Lac Gold Mines, Limited. Johnston was also a member of Cameron Loyal Orange Lodge No. 613, Toronto
Lieutenant Colonel Johnston died in 1963 aged 77 and is buried in Mt Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Plot 20, Section 21, Lot 17. (Currently no grave marker.)
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive 
His grave will finally be marked by the Last Post Fund Unmarked Grave program thanks to the research conducted by Kyle Scott. Watch for updates. Should be this year, 2024.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Where is he buried Hans?
LikeLike
Mount Pleasant. Also in an unmarked grave is L Col Herbert E Rooney. There are others as well but I don’t have all the names. I will be calling the CO tomorrow to discuss.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a very good original picture of Baptist when he was 17 years old as well as an original of the one posted on this site that is a bit rough around the edges. Does anyone have any ideas who might benefit from having it?
LikeLike
Was he part of Sir Henry’s contingent to England in 1910 ??
LikeLike
I believe he did as a Lieutenant.
LikeLike
Yes Col Johnston was the Queen’s Printer for the Province of Ontario an important job at the time. There were a number of QOR riflemen working there both active and retired, my father being one of them. I remember working there as a summer student one year and one of the responsibilities was cleaning his tea pot and cups first thing in the morning. Broke one of the cups while washing and had to face the consequences when he came into the office. lol He was basically treated the same as if he was the commanding officer of the Q.O.R. by all that worked in that office.
LikeLike
As a child, I remember Col Johnston as the Queen’s Printer. My father called him Bap, and he gave us children educational materials, things like a jigsaw puzzle with every piece being a county in Ontario.
LikeLike