CAMPBELL, John Bruce
| Service Number: | 2290 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1916, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Clunes, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 15 March 1955, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Ballarat New Cemetery and Crematorium, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll, Tourello Walnut Grove Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2290, 39th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2290, 39th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2290, 39th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne | |
| 8 May 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 14th Infantry Battalion, France | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2290, 14th Infantry Battalion, Polygon Wood | |
| 28 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2290, 14th Infantry Battalion, Dernancourt/Ancre | |
| 31 May 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2290, 14th Infantry Battalion, SW to left arm sustained while in the battalion billets at La Hara Farm. Evacuated to UK. Rejoined unit 1 December 1918. | |
| 17 Jun 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2290, 14th Infantry Battalion, RTA 25 March 1919 and discharged (TPE). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Brother: 130 Pte William Clarence CAMPBELL, 22nd Bn, killed in action, 3 May 1917.
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
John Bruce Campbell, aged almost 21, enlisted in the AIF in Melbourne on 21 August 1916. He embarked overseas on 20 October 1916 and after a long voyage, via Sierra Leone in Africa, arrived in England on 9 January 1917.
After a period of training, he left England and arrived in France on 20 April 1917, where he was transferred to the 14th Battalion, which he joined on 8 May 1917. His first major action was at Polygon Wood, during the Battle of Third Ypres, in late September 1917.
He saw further action during the German Spring Offensive during March – April 1918, particularly around Hebuterne, north of Dernancourt, where the AIF helped to stem the German advance.
He was one of 104 casualties (18 killed) when wounded on 31 May 1918 at La Hara Farm, when the billets in which the men were sleeping were hit by German artillery shells. He was evacuated to hospital in England, however re-joined the battalion in France on 1 December 1918.
He was repatriated to Australia on 25 March 1919, where he was discharged from the AIF in Melbourne on 17 June 1919.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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