Edward Grahame Johnstone

Edward Grahame Johnstone
Born	(1899-05-06)6 May 1899 Tooting, London, England
Died	19 April 1946(1946-04-19) (aged 46) Paddington, London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy Royal Air Force
Years of service	1917–1919 1939–1945
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	No. 12 Squadron RNAS No. 208 Squadron RAF
Battles / wars	World War I Western Front World War II
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross
Spouse(s)	Doris Zinkeisen ​ (m. 1927)​
Relations	Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone (daughters)

Lieutenant Edward Grahame Johnstone (6 May 1899 – 19 April 1946) was a British World War I flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories.^[1]

Biography

He was born in Tooting, London, England, the son of Edward Henderson Johnstone and Stella Johnstone (née Fraser).

First World War

Johnstone joined the Royal Naval Air Service on his 18th birthday, 6 May 1917. After training with No. 12 Naval Squadron^[1] as a temporary probationary flight officer, he was commissioned as a temporary flight sub-lieutenant on 19 August 1917.^[2]

He was assigned to fly Sopwith Camels in No. 8 Naval Squadron (which later became No. 208 Squadron RAF). He scored his first triumph on 6 December 1917, followed by 16 more over the next eight months. His final tally was four enemy aircraft destroyed, three of which were shared with other British pilots, and thirteen driven down out of control, eight of which were shared, most frequently with William Jordon and Pruett Dennett.^[1]

Johnstone was transferred to the unemployed list of the RAF on 11 April 1919.^[3]

Inter-war life and family

During the 1920s Johnstone travelled throughout Asia, while working for Johnnie Walker.^[4] In 1927 he married the artist and designer Doris Clare Zinkeisen (1898–1991) in Marylebone, London. They had twin daughters Janet and Anne in 1928, and a son, Murray.^[5]

Second World War

During the Second World War Johnstone returned to the Royal Navy, serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve from December 1939. By August 1943 he had been appointed an acting-commander,^[6] and by July 1945 was a temporary acting captain, posted to HMS Vulture, the Royal Naval Air Station at St. Merryn, Cornwall.^[7]

Johnstone died in Paddington on 19 April 1946.^[5][8][9]

Awards and citations

Distinguished Service Cross

Flight Sub-Lieutenant Edward Grahame Johnstone, RNAS.

"For the pluck and determination shown by him in engaging enemy aircraft. On the 19th January, 1918, he attacked five Albatross scouts, and engaged one, nose on, opening fire at 75 yards range. The enemy aircraft turned on its side and spun. He followed, and engaged again at 30 yards range. The enemy aircraft went down completely out of control. Later in the day, in a general engagement with fourteen Albatross scouts, he followed one down to 8,000 feet, firing all the time. This is confirmed by other pilots of the patrol to have fallen completely out of control. On several other occasions he has destroyed enemy machines or brought them down completely out of control."^[10]

References

1. "Edward Grahame Johnstone". The Aerodrome. 2015.
2. "No. 30343". The London Gazette. 19 October 1917. p. 10763.
3. "No. 31293". The London Gazette. 15 April 1919. p. 4888.
4. "Lot 260Y: A Cantonese ivory card case of typical rectangular form and design Qing Dynasty". Bonhams. 2015.
5. Copsey, Tony (2015). "Doris Clare Zinkeisen". Suffolk Painters.
6. The Navy List. August 1943. p. 1093.
7. The Navy List. July 1945. p. 571.
8. "DEATHS (Cont'd)". The Daily Telegraph. 24 April 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via Newspapers.com. JOHNSTONE.—On Good Friday, April 19, 1946, in London, Captain Edward Grahame Johnstone, D.S.C., R.N.V.R. (A)...
9. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
10. "No. 30581". The London Gazette. 15 March 1918. p. 3395.

External links

• "Portrait of Lieutenant Grahame Johnstone, DSC, RNVR. 1940, by Doris Clare Zinkeisen". magnoliabox.com. 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015.