Dimensions
145 x 225 x 20mm
Landing on the beach at Gallipoli, aged 16, Alec Campbell looked more like a twelve year old in a big brother's uniform. A young Australian caught up in a war that he knew very little about and in a country and on a beach head that he couldn't even spell.
For three months during the latter part of the campaign in the Dardenelles, Private Campbell at five-foot five carried water through the trenches above Anzac Cove avoiding snipers and cross-fire; his life potentially saved by a soldier who fell on top of him during an exchange of bullets. "The kid soldier" as he had become known by the older soldiers eventually succumbed to enteric fever and was evacuated to Cairo for a six month stint in hospital.
But the kid soldier's sense of national spirit did not end at Gallipoli. On returning home, he took on a larrikin life jackarooing in the bush, building boats and eventually did a stint as a builder in Australia's new capital. His patriotism and love for others transported him from the bush to the Australian Workers Union, he stood for elections in the local council before working for the Department of Labour to help repatriate World War II veterans.
To the age of 80, he worked tirelessly for the Heart Foundation. No slouch in physical pursuits, this quintessential Australian sailed six Sydney to Hobart races and circumnavigated Tasmania twice.
Alec Campbell epitomises the Aussie larrikin as well as the reluctant hero. He was the knockabout boy who entered a war for an adventure and ended his life as a national treasure.
