Alec Campbell
| Alec Campbell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alexander William Campbell |
| Nickname(s) | The Kid |
| Born |
26 February 1899 Launceston, Colony of Tasmania, British Empire |
| Died | 16 May 2002 (aged 103) Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Allegiance |
 Australia |
| Service/branch |
Australian Army Australian Imperial Force (AIF), 15th Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade |
| Years of service | 2 July 1915 – 22 August 1916 |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | World War I: Battle of Gallipoli |
| Awards | 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal, Centenary Medal |
| Other work | Jackeroo, carpenter, mechanic, builder, boxer (Tasmanian Flyweight Champion), sailor (six Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races) and unionist |
Alexander William "Alec" Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. Campbell joined the Australian Army at the age of 16 in 1915, and served as a stores carrier for two months during the fighting at Gallipoli. He was invalided home and discharged in 1916. He later worked in large number of roles, was twice married and had nine children.
Alec Campbell was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, the son of Marian Isobel (Thrower) and Samuel Alexander Campbell. At the age of 16 he left his job as a clerk with the Colonial Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Not having his father's permission, he lied about his age, claiming to be two years older to enlist in the army without parental consent. He joined the 15th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915. Not even being old enough to shave, Campbell gained the nickname "The Kid" during his training in Hobart. One of his cousins had died already at Gallipoli, and the idea of Campbell's deployment terrified his parents. His unit embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Kyarra on 21 August 1915, and Campbell landed at Anzac Cove in early November 1915. He assisted in carrying ammunition, stores and water to the trenches. He received a minor wound in the fighting at Gallipoli; when evacuated with the rest of the Australian forces in 1915, he became ill with a fever which caused partial facial paralysis. He was subsequently invalided home aboard HMAT Port Sydney on 24 June 1916, and was formally discharged on 22 August 1916—a Gallipoli veteran at only 17. He only fought in the war for two months; he later explained tersely,
Campbell had a crowded life. In South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania, he was variously a jackaroo, carpenter, railway carriage builder, mature-age university student, public servant, research officer and historian. He received vocational training in motor-body building at the Hobart Repatriation Trade School. He was a union organiser in the Launceston and Hobart railway workshops and an organiser with the Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners (now part of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU)). He became president of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Rail Union between 1939 and 1941, and president of the Launceston Trades and Labor Council between 1939 and 1942. He also worked on the construction of (Old) Parliament House in Canberra.
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