A tribute to both Dick and his sister, the late Esther (Susie) Stafford 1943-2014, by Susie’s husband, Alan Stafford.
Barely five weeks after the death of her brother, Captain Dick Johnston on the Centaur, Esther Johnston, was born in Mossman far North Queensland on 24 June 1943 to Bill and his second wife, Val.
She was always known as Susie. She had a gentle manner and enjoyed life on the family farm ‘Drumsara’. Her father Bill was grief-stricken around the time she was born. He had recently learned of the loss of his son Leo, shot down over the English Channel whilst serving as Navigator on a Wellington bomber, and not very long after that on 14 May 1943 another son, Dick, a doctor on board the Centaur was also lost. Just over a month later Susie entered the world. Big Bill as he was often known died when Susie was eight years old.
The Johnston family of Mossman was typical during WW2, with several sons volunteering to join the AIF.
They were among the pioneers that opened up the Mossman and Douglas Shire area in the early 1880s. These Irish born men from Kilrea in County Derry came from Bundaberg where Samuel, Susie’s grandfather had a thriving sawmill and sugar plantation. His older brother John, a former timber-getter selected the adjacent
Doctor Roderick (Dick) Clarke Johnston on the left with his younger brother Leo, in Air Force uniform, sometime in 1940 when they both were in Sydney.
Shortly after, he was transferred to the 119 Au s t r a l i an G en e r a l Hospital in the Adelaide River region near Darwin. The hut encampment had a hospital bed capacity of 42 patients. Dick’s record notes he was taken on strength on 20 October 1941, being seconded
from 119 AGH.
Dick was there during the first Japanese bombing raid on 19 February 1942. It was in October 1941 while he was working in Darwin that he was Commissioned into the 23 Brigade, 8 Company Australian Army Service Corps (AASC) .
property called Mango Park.
Dick Johnston was one of five sons, two of whom died of illness early in life; his twin brother Bob worked on the family farm as did their younger brother Leo. It was an enormous feat for a young man from the remote far north of Queensland to complete his secondary education and then to venture to Sydney to study medicine at the University of Sydney, graduating at the age of 25 in 1940.
Dick, as Roderick was known, upon graduating became a Resident at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.
From Dick’s Service record it appears he became a Reservist in July 1940, quite probably before completing his Residency. On 23 July 1940 he was appointed Captain (prov.) within the Australian Army Medical Corps but had not at the time been called up or mobilised. That occurred on 1 February 1941 being mobilised to AAMC Training Depot, Liverpool.
The 2/12th Field Ambulance was placed in support of this Brigade. From gatherings from his Log book or personal notes, initially he was a Resident Medical Officer with the Unit in Adelaide River until November 1942 when he was transferred to the 2/12th Field Ambulance. However from my interpretation of the abbreviations within his record, the Ambulance unit may have worked with the 140 General Transport Company from time to time.
The record then indicated he ceased to be seconded to the 8 Coy AASC and went from the Northern Territory Lines of Communication by train to NSW Lines of Communication or Military Administration Area to rejoin the 2/12th Field Ambulance on 18 January 1943.
It must have been a tedious trip as he notes on 12th February: disembarking from the train in Townsville from Cairns on 12 February, to reboard to venture to NSW the following day. Just what he did then for some weeks we do not know, however his Log shows he was back with the 2/12th Field Ambulance on 7 March 1943, and serving as Medical Officer.
As history has noted the 149 men of the 2/12th Field Ambulance along with its attachment of 44 men of the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC) joined Centaur late on Tuesday 11 May 1943, one day prior to the departure on this final voyage.
It is ironic that the destination was Cairns, only 60km from Dick’s home, and that the 2/12th Field Ambulance was to disembark there en route to the Atherton Tablelands where his twin brother Bob, the only brother to survive the war, was stationed with his Division after being involved in the Kokoda Track battle.
Susie (Johnston) Stafford
Susie studied Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland. After graduating she worked for some years at Townsville General Hospital, ultimately becoming the in-Charge Physio. Europe called and in her early twenties she ventured forth. She worked in hospitals in London and Ireland, the latter when she went to visit the last surviving Johnston.
That was where we met. We married back in Mossman in 1968. We have two daughters, Sarah and Alexandra.
From 2006 Susie suffered a serious decline in her health, diagnosed with early onset dementia. She battled valiantly to retain her health, only for breast cancer to be diagnosed in late 2012. Despite a mastectomy and radiation treatment it was found to have metastisized and her health declined steadily. She passed away in her home on Friday 5 September 2014, with her husband and daughters by her side to the end.
A tragic tale as Susie was the last of the Johnstons, a pioneering family in the Queensland sugar industry.
Susie is now with her brothers, mother, father, and sister Elizabeth. I trust her God has her within his protecting fold. I have lost my love but will never forget her and all the incredible things she made of our life together. May her memory be a blessing for us all.