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John Campbell was born at Bacchus Marsh, VIC, in 1895, to John Hart Campbell and Ellen Henderson. John had a brother, Archibald, who is also remembered in the Avenue.
John had already served in the Senior Cadets when he enlisted in the AIF, 6th Battalion in 1914, at the age of 19. Less than a month later he was discharged - medically unfit.
John gave his address as Bacchus Marsh, VIC and was working as a Clerk with the National Bank, Smeaton(1), when he enlisted in the AIF, again, on the 27th of June 1916, this time with the 60th Battalion, 8th Reinforcements - age 21. He embarked aboard the HMAT A7 Medic in December.
He arrived at Plymouth, England, in February 1917 and spent two weeks in hospital with mumps. In August he joined the 60th Battalion in the field and was immediately involved in the Third Battle of Ypres. On the 26th of September 1917, at the start of the Battle of Polygon Wood, John was killed instantly by a a shell as he sat in a trench at Clapham Junction, Polygon Wood.
... was in my platoon .....was killed instantly on the morning of 26.9.17 while sitting in the trench at Clapham Junction, Polygon Wood Sector. I buried him myself in the afternoon fairly decently and put over his grave a stick with a roll of cardboard in the cleft bearing his particulars...
Source: Red Cross Wounded & Missing - Sergeant Elms
At some point he was exhumed an reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium - Plot 66, Row F, Grave 18.
He is listed on the Roll of Honour for Bacchus Marsh, held by the RSL at Bacchus Marsh and the Roll of Honour for the Coimadai State School and also on the Roll of Honour of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Bacchus Marsh, held by the Bacchus Marsh Uniting Church.
Tree Position (accuracy ±1 tree) latitude = -37.678133784231555 longtitude = 144.45304066728568
Last updated by lee, Sat, 21 Oct 2017 12:26:29