Angus Dugald Johnstone – Pioneer Corps

Private Angus Dugald Johnstone – Pioneer Corps

A Glasgow-born soldier killed in a Swansea street accident

Early Life and Family Background

Angus Dugald Johnstone was born in 1894 in Glasgow, the son of Angus Johnstone and Mary Johnstone. The 1891 Scottish Census records the family living at 42 Kinning Street, Glasgow, where Angus senior, aged forty, was employed as an electrical engineer, while Mary, aged thirty‑six, managed the household. Their children formed a busy and varied family: Robert, aged eighteen, and Lachlan, aged fifteen, were both working as grocers’ message boys; Annie, aged seven, was attending school; John, aged four, and baby Angus, aged one, completed the household. The census offers a glimpse into a working Glasgow family shaped by skilled labour, modest means, and the early employment of older children.

Military Service – Pioneer Corps

As an adult, Angus Dugald Johnstone served as a Private in the Pioneer Corps, a unit responsible for labour, engineering support, construction, and essential wartime infrastructure. The Pioneer Corps drew men from across Britain and the Commonwealth, often those with practical trades or physical labour experience. You can explore more about the unit’s role through Pioneer_Corps.

South Wales Daily Post

Death in Swansea – A Tragic Street Accident

Angus’s death was reported in the South Wales Daily Post under the headline “Soldier Killed by Bus in Swansea — Tragic Street Accident.” Late on a Saturday night, at the foot of Wind Street, a Neath‑bound single‑decker bus was slowing as it approached the stop. The vehicle’s entrance was positioned midway along the side, and witnesses understood that Private Johnstone attempted to board the bus at the crossing. He slipped as he tried to step aboard, falling beneath the vehicle. In the brief moment that followed, the rear wheel passed over him, causing fatal injuries. The report concluded that his death resulted from a tragic misstep while attempting to board a moving bus—an accident that shocked both military personnel and civilians in Swansea.

Angus Dugald Johnstone
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Burial

Private Angus Dugald Johnstone was buried at Morriston Cemetery, where his grave stands among the many servicemen who died in Swansea during the Second World War.