Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-

Born in Felling on 6th September 1886 Alfred was the oldest son of Robert and Ada Johnson. He had an older sister Alice and younger siblings Ada, Joseph and Robert. In 1891 the family were living in South Shields and ten years later had moved to Percy Terrace, Whitburn, where father Robert was a clerk at a local paper mill and Alfred was a machine mender, also at the local paper mill. Father Robert died in 1911 and the paper mill closed down the following year, so it is possible that that is when Alfred decided to leave for Canada.

In 1915 Alf was in Fredricton, New Brunswick and on the 4th January enlisted as Gunner 85968 with the 6th Howitzer Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, and by April he was in England based at Shorncliffe Camp, Kent. After spending a month in hospital in Sheffield with VD Alf was discharged and transferred to the 8th Howitzer Brigade based at Otterpool near Folkestone.

A year after enlistment Gunner Johnson found himself in France transferred to the 5th Brigade and he was killed in action near Contalmaison on 18th October 1916.

Alfred Johnson is remembered in Sunderland on S140.048 part 9 page 201

In Canada he is remembered on their Virtual War Memorial and in their Book of Remembrance

Canadian Book of Remembrance
Canadian Virtual Memorial
The CWGC entry for Gunner Johnson