Alexander William Campbell was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War.
24 Facts About Alec Campbell
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Alec 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.
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Alec Campbell later worked in a large number of roles, was twice married and had nine children.
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Alec Campbell is the great-grandfather of actress, singer, and model Ruby Rose.
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Alec Campbell was born in Launceston, Colony of Tasmania, British Empire, the son of Marian Isobel and Samuel Alexander Campbell.
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Alec Campbell studied at Scotch College, Launceston, and then worked as a clerk with the Colonial Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
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Alec Campbell joined the 15th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915.
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Not even being old enough to shave, Alec Campbell gained the nickname "The Kid" during his training in Hobart.
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Alec Campbell's unit embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Kyarra on 21 August 1915, and Campbell landed at Anzac Cove in early November 1915.
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Alec Campbell assisted in carrying ammunition, stores and water to the trenches.
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Alec Campbell received a minor wound in the fighting at Gallipoli; when evacuated with the rest of the Australian forces in 1916, he became ill with a fever which caused partial facial paralysis.
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Alec Campbell only fought in the war for two months; he later explained tersely,.
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Alec Campbell received vocational training in motor-body building at the Hobart Repatriation Trade School.
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Alec Campbell was a union organiser in the Launceston and Hobart railway workshops and an organiser with the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners of Australia.
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Alec Campbell became president of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Railways Union between 1939 and 1941, and president of the Launceston Trades and Labor Council between 1939 and 1942.
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Alec Campbell worked on the construction of Parliament House in Canberra.
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Alec Campbell worked with the Department of Labour and National Service.
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Alec Campbell married twice - both wives were named Kathleen - and he fathered nine children, the last one being born when he was sixty-nine.
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Alec Campbell is buried at the Cornelian Bay Cemetery in Hobart.
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Alec Campbell was survived by thirty grandchildren, thirty-two great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, as of 2000.
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In 2000, Alec Campbell was recognised as one of the "Australian Legends".
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In one of his last public appearances, Alec Campbell led the 2002 Anzac Day Parade in Hobart.
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Alec Campbell observed that there was nothing really extraordinary in being the last; rather, he pointed out the simple fact that he had been one of the youngest at Gallipoli.
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Shortly before his death, Alec Campbell stated that "For god's sake, don't glorify Gallipoli - it was a terrible fiasco, a total failure and best forgotten".