Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Johnson, Barney Leitch
Parallel form(s) of name
- Johnson, Bernard Leitch
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1878-1968
History
Captain Bernard "Barney" Leitch Johnson came to Vancouver from England in 1898. On January 4, 1904, he married Florence "Flora" MacDonald Grant and had a son, Bernard Dodds Leitch, in November of that same year. Johnson worked as a Captain for the Union Steamship Co., bringing the SS Prince Rupert from England to Vancouver in 1910. He commanded this ship on B.C. coast runs until 1913. He then worked as a coast pilot. After serving in World War I as a Naval Captain aboard submarines, including the ones purchased by the B.C. Government, he returned to take up a position as Superintendent of Pilotage. In 1920, he organized Johnson Walton Steamships Limited and then Westward Shipping. Johnson became a widower in 1924. He later remarried on December 10, 1937 to Ellen Weaver Hart. In 1938, he was appointed an Advisor to the National Defense Department. He also acted on the Japanese Fishing Vessel Disposal Commission. After his service in World War II, he returned to Vancouver and continued his business operations. He also served as Commodore for the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.