FORMER Broadford resident and wartime recruit Brenda Johnson (nee Henderson) celebrated a milestone birthday with charming family, friends, and staff at Willowmeade last Tuesday.
Ms Johnson was born in 1925, the eldest of five siblings, and grew up on a property in Strathmerton, a small rural town near Shepparton where her family grazed sheep.
Ms Johnson was nine when her youngest sister was born and remembers innocently asking her father to send her back to where she came from. During her childhood, Ms Johnson rode her horse Dusty to school and finished her formal education after grade eight. She said it was a shock when WWII was announced in 1939.
At the tender age of 14, a letter came recruiting Ms Johnson to make weapons at an ammunition factory in Melbourne. Not Ms Johnson’s style, she, along with 27,000 other women, enlisted to become a soldier with the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) instead.
After passing the physical and educational aptitude tests, she acquired a shorter haircut, a uniform, and being an attractive redhead with freckles, was quickly nicknamed Rusty.
“I became a communicator,” she said.
“That was the scale of my career. Our first pay was a shilling a day, which is 10 cents. If you wanted anything, you had to save up.”
Later, in 1945, the Japanese surrendered, and Rusty, along with many friends, were jubilantly discharged.
“We went berserk … I don’t think we went to bed for a week.”
In 1952, Rusty joined the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC).
“I got bored, there was nothing to do … so, I joined,” she said.
In 1954, Ms Johnson met her future husband, Ronald William Johnson, who had also been a wartime recruit, having served as a Royal Australian Navy Petty Officer across 12 conflicts.
With a beating heart, Rusty left the WRAAC and became Mrs Johnson on Saturday, January 23, 1954. The newly-weds resided in Frankston where they raised two fine, young sons; Dean and Mark, born two and a half years apart.
Now, the boys live interstate, and between them have blessed the family with five grandchildren and two grandchildren. Sadly, Mr Johnson passed away on Friday, December 27, 2019.
Ms Johnson’s 100th birthday did not go unnoticed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, nor the Governor-General of the Commonwealth Sam Mostyn. King Charles of England also sent a milestone birthday card.
The Review would like to wish Ms Johnson a very happy 100th birthday.
