When the men of the Otago Infantry Regiment landed on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, the situation was confused and already becoming desperate. Groups of men arriving in small boats were quickly pushed into gaps in the firing line, with the result that companies were divided. It took a while to sort out, when they were able to do so.
The enemy's attacks, supported by artillery fire, had been renewed at daybreak on the 27th, and the ridges sloping north-west and south-west to the beach were consistently shelled, By 9 a.m. an attack had developed strongly against the left, at Walker's Ridge, and centre, but was beaten back with loss to the enemy. A desultory fire was maintained throughout the night of the 27th, and frequently the enemy worked up close to our line, but on each occasion was repulsed by rapid rifle fire,—even if the anxieties of the night and the newness of the troops at times led to the expenditure of a great deal more ammunition than was necessary. -Official History of the Otago Infantry Regiment.
William Johnson was not killed on the date inscribed on the family gravestone. He was posted as missing after the hard fighting in the month of May. After the evacuation his death was one of the many found to have occurred by Courts of Enquiry. He has no known grave.
Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
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