FriesenPress

© 2024 FriesenPress, Inc. All rights reserved.



Only an Observer cover

  • eBook Edition
    • 978-1-5255-2343-4
    • epub, mobi, pdf files
  • Keywords
    • Building railways WWI,
    • Grandfather's memoir of WWI,
    • Canadian Overseas Railway Construction Corps (CORCC),
    • Royal Flying Corps (RFC),
    • Artillery Observer,
    • Lieutenant Charles G Johnson,
    • Railways and Air Forces in WWI

Publish with FriesenPress

Learn how you can publish your book with the world’s only 100% employee-owned publishing services provider.


Get our Guide

Only an Observer
by Lieutenant Charles G. Johnson


“There before us were two Fokker biplanes giving one of our planes a bad time…. He was going down…. we were together in seconds….I fired on the Jerry….under our crippled plane…. the other Jerry swept across us…. so close I had an excellent look at this chubby faced lad…. the Jerry turned to give us his only burst, it passed close above my head…. I got a short burst in, point blank…. he slipped over and went into a spin…. as I turned I was met by a bath of oil and then the engine stopped with a jerk…. in more recent times whenever I saw a picture of Herman Goring head of the German Luftwaffe in WW2 and Hitler’s second in command it always reminded me of the chubby boy I saw that day” Lieutenant Charles Johnson served 3 years with the Canadian Army in WW1 on the Western Front building railways and in the last 6 months of the war flying over 400 hours as an Observer in No.2 Squadron RAF. His original manuscript written from memory 40 years after the events reflects his sense of duty mixed with detailed descriptions of places and events and humour.


Lieutenant Charles G. Johnson photo

Brian Johnson P. Eng. FEC, is a retired Civil Engineer. He has had a life long interest in history and a particular interest in the history of World Wars 1 &2. His interest in his grandfather’s story started in his teens and resulted in him making a number of copies of Charles’ original manuscript and distributing them to family members in the 1980s. Now with spare time after a 41-year career in consulting engineering he wants to share his grandfather’s story with a larger audience and better preserve Charles’ memoir.


Contributors

Author
Lieutenant Charles G. Johnson
Contribution by
Brian P Johnson


What People are Saying





Other eBook Editions

This book is also available in eBook format from these sites.