THE CLUB were saddened to learn of the death of former Orient striker Tommy Johnston, who passed away today at the age of 81.

Johnston, who played for the O's in two spells in the late 1950s and early 1960s, is the club's leading all-time goalscorer with 123 goals to his name.

He scored 35 League goals in the 1956/57 season - a figure that still stands as a club record for most goals in a season.

Born in Loanhead, a small mining village five miles from Edinburgh, on August 18 1927, Tommy's football career began with Gilmerton Drumbirds and Loanhead Mayflower.

By the age of 20, he had progressed to Scottish First Division side Kilmarnock and he spent two seasons at Rugby Park before opting to try his hand south of the border.

He had a short spell with Darlington in the 1950/51 season, moving on to Oldham Athletic in March 1952.  Johnston scored two goals in the final match of the season - a 5-3 win over Mansfield Town - and impressed watching Norwich City scout Tom Bradshaw, whose recommendation led to him joining the Canaries in August of the same year.

Tommy scored 33 goals in two seasons at Carrow Road, but it wasn't until a October 1954 transfer to Newport County that he became a nationally-recognised player.

He scored 26 goals in the 1954/55 season and he followed that up with 21 more up to February 1956 - when he made the move to the O's.

Orient needed a quality striker to cement their push for the third division title and Johnston was brought to the club for a £4,500 fee, plus forward Mike Burgess, who joined the Welsh club.

Tommy scored on his debut against Swindon Town on February 25 1956 and he also scored the goal that clinched the title against Millwall in April 1956.

He took second division football in his stride and he scored in ten consecutive games from November 1957 - finding the net 19 times in that sequence.

His remarkable goalscoring exploits were alerting bigger clubs to his talents and he joined Blackburn Rovers for £15,000 as they pushed for first division football.

Johnston scored a further eight goals for the Lancashire club that season as they achieved their aim of promotion to the top flight - and he ended the season as the Football League's top scorer with 43 goals to his name.

He started well in the higher league, netting five times from the opening three games, but as the season progressed, he lost his place in the team as Rovers started to give younger players a run in their side.

Tommy rejoined the O's in February 1959 for a £7,500 fee and he immediately picked up from where he left off, scoring 10 goals in 14 League games to help Orient away from relegation danger.

He scored 25 goals the following season and 16 more in 1960/61, but the arrival of Johnny Carey as manager in 1961 spelled the end of Tommy's Orient career.

He went on to play for Gillingham and Folkestone Town, retiring in 1964, when he moved to Poulton-le-Flyde to open a betting shop.

Tommy and his family emigrated to Australia in January 1972.

In total, Johnston scored 123 goals for the O's in 190 appearances.  He was named the greatest all-time Orient player in a 1999 supporters' poll.

The club sends their deepest condolences to Tommy's family and friends.