Alec Campbell

Troops leaving Hobart in the First World War (AOT, PH30/1/260)

Alec WilliamCampbell, (1899–2002), soldier, was the last surviving veteran of a million soldiers who fought at Gallipoli. The grandson of a Scottish settler, he was educated at Scotch College, Launceston, leaving at fifteen and enlisting in the Army. At Gallipoli his duties were to carry water from the beach to the trenches. He sustained injuries to his face, and was repatriated to Australia.

After discharge Campbell worked as a coachbuilder/carpenter at Parliament House in Canberra and at the Inveresk railway workshops, where he became president of the Railway Union. Aged 56 he attained an Economics degree, resulting in several senior government appointments. Although Campbell did not approve of war, he still led Anzac Day parades through Hobart. He was granted a state funeral.

Further reading: J King, Gallipoli, Brisbane, 2003.