Jay Johnston was born in London, Ontario on May 30, 1922, the son of John Eugene Johnston and Florence (nee Goulder) Johnston, of 115 South Vidal Street, later 332 Confederation Street, Sarnia. Jay had a sister, Eloise and a brother, R. Eugene, who was eight years older. Jay, his sister and his older brother were all educated in Sarnia schools including Durand Street, George Street and Johnston Memorial schools as well as Sarnia Collegiate Institute. Single at the time of his enlistment, Jay enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on October 8th of 1940 at the age of eighteen. His older brother, Eugene Johnston, had enlisted in the army at the outset of war in September of 1939, becoming a Sapper with a Western Ontario unit of the Royal Canadian Engineers. One year after Jay’s enlistment, in early December of 1941, Eugene had been overseas for more than a year, while Jay was stationed at an eastern command. In November of 1942, father John Johnston in Sarnia would receive the news that his son Jay had been promoted from the rank of pilot officer to Flying Officer. Jay would later attain the rank of Flying Officer, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner and would become a member of the RCAF #10 North Atlantic squadron, stationed in Newfoundland for some time.

War affected other members of the Johnston family. Jay’s brother, Eugene, would serve in the infantry, and his life was never the same after his wartime experiences. Jay’s sister, Eloise, married Michael Paithowski in November of 1943 who would serve in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, as a Petty Officer Stoker. Michael Paithowski and the entire crew of 89 other men lost their lives when a U-boat torpedoed the HMCS Shawinigan in November of 1944. Michael Paithowski’s story is included in this project.

In early October of 1943, father John Johnston in Sarnia would learn from R.C.A.F. headquarters that his son Jay was part of a flying-boat crew that had emerged the victor in a running battle with a surfaced U-boat in the mid-Atlantic. The R.C.A.F. said that the submarine battle was one of a series of six running fights with subs in which the famous North Atlantic Squadron had recently engaged in. The flying-boat on which Flying Officer Jay Johnston was deployed went into the attack at a low level and dropped six charges in what one member of the crew described as a “perfect straddle”. The bow of the sub was tossed clear of the sea and smothered in depth-charge “blossoms”. Four more charges were dropped as the sub started sinking, with no further forward motion. Shortly after, air bubbles rose for some time and a large oil slick appeared on the surface several hundred yards wide. Some debris was also seen. Along with Jay Johnston, also aboard the successful flying-boat were Flt.Lt. Robert Fisher, WO2s James Lamont and J.A. Barabanoff and Sgt. E.M. Finn. Weeks later, all five of these men were aboard a Liberator bomber that would crash on October 20th, killing 24 members of the R.C.A.F.

In mid-October of 1943, Jay Johnston had advised his father John in Sarnia, that he was to start a leave on October 19th and that he would be back home in Sarnia a few days after that. On October 20, 1943, Jay Johnston was aboard a Liberator aircraft #3701 enroute from Gander, Newfoundland to Dorval, Quebec, when it crashed and burned on the west side of a 2,500 foot high foothill of Black Mountain, Quebec. So on October 20 and for a few days after, the Johnston family anxiously awaited Jay’s arrival home for his scheduled leave.

Several days later, father John Johnston in Sarnia would receive a telegram from air force headquarters in Ottawa informing him that his son, Flying Officer Jay S. Johnston, was missing after air operations. The message gave no details of the operations in which his son was engaged when reported missing, but it said that further information would be forthcoming. For Jay’s parents, there was some thought that their son may have been one of the 24 personnel on board the four-engine Liberator which had been reported missing, possibly crashing in the St. Lawrence River. The Johnston parents in Sarnia were hopeful that they would receive some encouraging news from Air Force Headquarters. On October 30th, John Johnston would learn in an announcement made by air force headquarters in Ottawa that his son’s name, Jay Johnston, was included in the list of 24 RCAF members who were, officially reported missing somewhere in Canada.

Twenty-four members of the RCAF lost their lives in the Quebec mountain crash; six were members of the plane’s crew and eighteen were passengers returning to an Eastern Canada base from Newfoundland on leaves. Initially it was thought that the Liberator bomber had gone down somewhere in the Gulf of St. Lawrence area, and an intensive air and water search followed. Unfortunately, the crash was not located until two and a half years after the mishap. Initially, the 24 men were buried at the crash site with simple white crosses for each airman. Years later, the men were reburied in a cemetery in St. Donat, Quebec. There is a Memorial Cairn on Black Mountain at the crash site that was erected in memory of the crew. The pieces of the Bomber airplane remain there as they fell. Along with Flying Officer-Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Jay Johnston, also killed were WO.s J.A. Barabonoff; W. Howlett; J. Silverstein; F.E. Jenkins; Cpl.s H.D. Beattie; R.D. Marr; H.K. Hambly; A.C. Johnston; P/O.s R.W. MacDonald; James Lamont; F/O. S.A. Sanderson; LAC.s C.L. Dynes; G.R. Patterson; A.J. Radcliffe; E.W. Read; Sgt.s W.G. MacNaughton; F.H. Elliot; E.M. Finn; J.A. Veilleux; FS. R.F. Ware; F/L.s J.A. Poirier; Robert F. Fisher; and Sgt. S.A. Wood. The tragic mishap was the largest single-crash loss of life in RCAF history.

 In June of 1944, Flying Officer Jay S. Johnston who, at the time, was still reported as “missing”, was mentioned in dispatches in connection with the King’s birthday honors list. He was the only Sarnian in the list of several hundred Canadian servicemen. Two former Sarnia residents were also on the list: Sergeant Major Charles Webb, of Windsor, an employee at Sarnia General Hospital and an active member of the local Canadian Legion while living on College Avenue, was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; and Brigadier A.C. Spencer, of London, formerly with the engineering department of Imperial Oil Company in Sarnia, was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. A press release by the R.C.A.F. said that Flying Officer Johnston earned the award while a wireless operator air gunner in the Eastern Air Command. The fate of Jay Johnston would later officially be recorded as, Previously reported missing in flying accident, now for official purposes, presumed dead, overseas (Newfoundland). Twenty-one year old Jay Johnston is buried in St. Donat Catholic Cemetery, Quebec, Coll. Grave Lot GE 34. He received an award: Mentioned in Dispatches. On the Sarnia cenotaph, his name is inscribed as J.S. Johnson.

SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, M, N, 2C, 2D, o