CAMPBELL, George Robert
| Service Number: | 754 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 March 1917, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, 3 March 1899 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Fortitude Valley State School |
| Occupation: | Warehouseman (post-war Mailman) |
| Died: | Natural causes (cancer), Brisbane, Queensland, 6 November 1976, aged 77 years |
| Cemetery: |
Toowong (Brisbane General) Cemetery, Queensland Portion 30, Section 19, Grave 13 - Buried with Lucy Mildred Campbell |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Mar 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 754, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Nov 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 754, 7th Machine Gun Company, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Nov 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 754, 7th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| 24 Jul 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 754, 9th Infantry Battalion |
My Great Uncle George
GEORGE ROBERT CAMPBELL is my great Uncle. He passed away when I was a teenager. I remember him as a generous and loving man. Here is a snippet of his life.
George was born in New Farm, Brisbane and with his four sisters and parents Robert and Florence, they all lived in the Bowen Hills area.
He attended Fortitude Valley State School but not much is known about his school days. Not long after he finished the First World War had begun and he was very eager to join the Army. He so was eager in fact that he put his age up to enlist but unfortunately for him the recruiting officer was one of his past school teachers who was aware of his age and so he was rejected.
Not to be deterred he turned eighteen on the 3rd March 1917 and enlisted on the same day. He was posted to Footscray (Melbourne) where he did his training and sailed for the U.K. on the 19th November that same year. He was lucky because the previous ship was destroyed and all lives lost.
After he arrived in London, life did not turn out the way he had expected. Obviously the U.K. weather did no agree with him as he developed asthma and spent all his time in hospital. It is not known how long he was there but he was sent back to Australia. Disappointing for him as he was hoping to go to France. He was not to forget his time over there as he suffered with asthma all his life after that.
He went back home and lived in the family home but when the Depression came he was out of work for a very long time. Eventually he did get casual work as a postman with the PMG Department which later led to full time employment. He became Senior Postman at Red Hill with quite a few men and women under him.
George never remarried, strange really as he was a nice person rather on the quiet side and not bad looking. He was a placid person, rather like his father and was well loved by all the family.
George was a somewhat movie fan and he used to meet a couple of mates every Saturday at the Embassy Theatre in the Valley. He would take his nieces on occasions if they were visiting. Occasionally he would go on a Wednesday if there was something special on.
George was a very heavy cigarette smoker so it was not surprising that at the age of seventy seven he died from lung cancer.
Submitted 5 April 2018 by Kym Hyson
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