CAMPBELL, Alec William


Service Number: 2731
Rank: Private
Enlistment Unit: 15th Battalion
Transferred Unit: Not known or not applicable
Date of Enlistment: 2 July 1915
Enlistment Age: 18 years 4 months (actually 16 years 4 months)
Fate of person: Returned to Australia

Biographical Details

Believed to have been the last surviving Anzac, Alec was born in 1899 but with his parents’ permission he made a false declaration about his age when he enlisted in the 15th Battalion in June 1915. At Gallipoli he was mainly involved in water carrying and declared later in life that he didn't believe he had ever shot a Turkish soldier. Through 1916 he was in hospital with a variety of complaints, the most serious being a partial right facial paralysis which led to his return to Australia and discharge in 1918. Alec worked for Tasmanian Railways and was a staunch union man. Among other things he took part in six Sydney - Hobart races and was still driving his own car at 94. He died in Hobart in 2002. Much has already been written about Alec Campbell, the last Gallipoli Digger. See http://www.anzacs.org/campbell.html.

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