George Alfred Johnson was born at Great Crosby, Lancashire, England in 1879 and was articled to Fryer & Bath from 1895 to 1898. He then worked as an assistant to Charles James Chirney Pawley (1854-1922); to Henry Thomas Hare (1860?-1921); to William Henry Harrison (c.1854-1925) and Charles Melville Seth Ward (1868-1946) of Harrison & Ward; to Paxton Hood Watson (1864-1947); to Louis Ambler (1862-1946); and to Henry Walter Molyneaux Sarel (1873-1941).
Johnson qualified as an architect in 1904 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1905. Soon after he emigrated to China and settled in Shanghai. In 1913 he formed an architectural partnership, Lester, Johnson & Morris [also known as Lester, Johnson & Morris [also known as Lester, Johnson & Morriss] with Henry Lester (1840-1926) and Gordon Morriss* (c.1890-?) in Shanghai. The practice subsequently became one of the leading architectural firms in Shanghai. Projects in Shanghai by Lester, Johnson & Morris included the Shanghai branch of the Sincere Department Store at 646, East Nanjing Road (1917); the Nissin Building at 5, the Bund (1921); Puyi Building, 110, Middle Sichuan Road (1922); North China Daily News Building,17, The Bund (1924); Bank of Taiwan Building, 16, The Bund (1926); Renji Hospital, 145, Shandong Road (1932); Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education, 505, Changzhi Road (1934); Mitsubishi Bank Building, 85, Guangdong Road (1936); and Jialing Office Building, 346, Middle Sichuan Road (1937).
In 1935 Johnson, with his family, returned to England. He died in 1952. His death was registered in Battle, Sussex
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* Note: also known as Gordon Morris
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001