Brigadier Ian S. Johnston
48th Highlanders of Canada
11th Infantry Brigade

As a result of the courage and initiative shown by their Commanding Officer/Lt Col I.S. Johnston by his coolness under direct fire and his determination personally to lead his men. the 48th Highlanders of Canada succeeded in penetrating the enemy positions to a depth of one thousand yards, this making possible the further planned destruction of the enemy. By his conduct throughout his action Lt Col I.S. Johnston more than upheld the highest tradition of the Canadian Infantry.

 (D.S.O. citation, 18 December 1943)

Born in Toronto on 12 August 1908, Ian Strachan Johnston was a lawyer and graduate of the Royal Military College. A prewar member of the 48th Highlanders, he joined the 1st Battalion on mobilization and assumed command from fellow Toronto lawyer Lieutenant-Colonel J. Edwin Ganong in December 1942. One officer praised Johnston’s promotion, writing, “He is a wonderful man, grand to work for, a slave driver it is true, but he works himself twice as hard as anybody else.”

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