Wellington-born Violet Johnson trained as a nurse at Wellington Hospital qualifying in December 1936 (registered 1937). At the time of her initial application to join the New Zealand Army Nursing Service in 1939 Violet was working at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Auckland (one of the largest private hospitals in New Zealand at that time). Following a subsequent application to enlist with the military service (August 1941) Violet was posted to work with the Territorial Force Waiouru Military Base Hospital in January 1942.

Later that year on 4 November 1942 Violet was seconded from the NZ Territorial Force and appointed to the NZEF as a Sister to 4 NZ General Hospital and in late December embarked with the ‘Kiwi Force’ for New Caledonia. The 4 NZ ‘tent hospital’ constructed in the Boguen Valley was not completed until March 1943 and four months later was removed to Dumbé'a valley, 11 miles from Nouméa. Violet worked here until August 1944 when the force was withdrawn to New Zealand, and all of the patients and most of the staff left New Caledonia.

On their return to New Zealand a number of nurses, Violet among them, were made available for transfer to the Civil Nursing Service (or failing that were to be placed on LWOP, but by December that year Violet was transferred from 2NZEFIP to the 2nd NZEF Middle East and from there was transferred to 3 New Zealand General Hospital, Bari, Italy, where she worked from January 1945 through to April 1946 when she finally returned to New Zealand. During the month following her return Violet Johnson worked on the NZR hospital coaches which travelled between Wellington and Auckland delivering returned servicemen patients. On10 May 1946 was transferred to the Reserve List as Charge Sister, and remained on the Reserves until 1952 when she was posted to the Retired List. By this time Violet was working at Auckland Hospital and remained here until her full retirement