S73
CAMPBELL, Allan
| Service Number: | 2462 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Bowden On the Hill, (Now Ovingham)South Australia, 2 February 1889 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | labourer |
| Died: | Daw Park, South Australia , 26 December 1967, aged 78 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Derrick Gardens/Path 5/478A |
| Memorials: | Ceduna Denial Bay and Districts WW1 Roll of Honor, Ceduna Murat Bay and District WW1 Honor Roll, Charra Woolshed Hall WW1 Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2462, 5th Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Itria embarkation_ship_number: A53 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2462, 5th Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Itria, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 2462 |
Help us honour Allan Campbell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Trevor Pyatt
Private Allan Campbell (1889–1967)
Service Number 2462 – 5th Pioneer Battalion, AIF
Early Life
Allan Campbell was born on 2 February 1889 at Bowden on the Hill, South Australia, the son of James Neil Campbell and Selina (née Keast). He was raised in a Presbyterian family and grew up during the late 19th century in suburban Adelaide, later working as a labourer.
Marriage and Family
On 12 October 1912, Allan married Edith Ettie Dunn at the Schoolhouse, Springton. Edith was the daughter of William Henry Dunn and Elizabeth Jane Gubbins, born in 1889 at Yongala.
Together Allan and Edith raised six children:
Kenneth Neil Campbell (b. 1913)
Hubert Maxwell Campbell (1915–2002)
Laurel Jessie Campbell (1917–1982), later wife of Sergeant George Eddy SX9986
Violet Betty Margaret Campbell (b. 1921)
Robin Allan John Campbell (b. 1923)
Peggy Ethel Colleen Campbell (b. 1927)
The family moved between Eyre Peninsula (Denial Bay, Yaninee) and metropolitan Adelaide during these years.
First World War Service
Allan enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 3 May 1916 at Adelaide, aged 27. His wife Edith Ettie was listed as next of kin, residing at Yaninee via Port Lincoln and later Exeter. He was assigned to the 5th Pioneer Battalion, 4th Reinforcements.
Enlistment: 3 May 1916, Adelaide
Embarked: 14 August 1916 from Outer Harbour on HMAT A55 Itria
Disembarked: 30 October 1916, Plymouth, England
Unit: 5th Pioneer Battalion – a mixed engineering/infantry battalion, building roads, trenches, strong points, and also fighting in the line
Western Front
Allan was deployed to France on 4 February 1917, joining the 5th Pioneers in the field. He served in the heavy trench warfare of the Western Front, constructing defensive works under fire.
Wounded in Action
On 30 September 1917, Allan was wounded in action in France, suffering a gunshot wound to the chest (mild) during the Third Battle of Ypres. He was evacuated through field hospitals and admitted to Queen Mary’s Hospital, Whalley and later hospitalised in London. Casualty reports show repeated notifications to his wife in South Australia between October–November 1917.
Further Service and Illness
Despite his injuries, Allan rejoined his unit and continued to serve into 1918. He was hospitalised several times in France and England, including at Étaples and Sutton Veny, for chest and general illness.
Return to Australia
Allan embarked for return home aboard the transport HT Orta on 23 June 1919, disembarking in Adelaide on 6 August 1919. He was formally discharged on 21 September 1919, medically unfit for further service.
Medals
For his service, Allan received:
1914/15 Star
British War Medal 1914–1918
Victory Medal 1914–1919
Honour Rolls
Allan’s contribution is remembered locally on:
Ceduna Denial Bay and Districts WW1 Roll of Honor
Ceduna Murat Bay and District WW1 Honor Roll
Charra Woolshed Hall WW1 Roll of Honour
Later Life and Passing
Following the war, Allan returned to family life in South Australia. He and Edith resided in Yaninee and later in Prospect, Adelaide, raising their children through the interwar years and World War II period.
Allan Campbell died on 26 December 1967 at Daw Park, aged 80. He was buried in Centennial Park Cemetery, Derrick Gardens, Path 5, Grave 478A, alongside his wife Edith (who died in 1980) and their son Hubert Maxwell Campbell.
His headstone inscription reads:
2462 Private A. Campbell
5 Pioneer Battalion
26th December 1967 Age 80
Peacefully Sleeping
Legacy
Private Allan Campbell exemplified the service of rural and suburban South Australians who left their families and farms to fight on the Western Front. His legacy lives on through his descendants and his name inscribed on local honour rolls across Eyre Peninsula. His daughter Laurel Jessie Eddy (née Campbell) later married another soldier, Sergeant George Eddy SX9986, continuing the Campbell family’s proud tradition of service.
Sources
South Australian Births Index: Allan Campbell, 2 Feb 1889, Adelaide (Book 432/Page 425)
South Australian Marriages Index: Allan Campbell & Edith Ettie Dunn, 12 Oct 1912, Springton (Book 253/Page 138)
National Archives of Australia: Service Record of Allan Campbell, 5th Pioneer Battalion, Regimental No. 2462 (Series B2455)
Australian War Memorial, Embarkation Roll: Allan Campbell, HMAT Itria, 14 Aug 1916
Commonwealth War Records: Casualty lists, 1917–1918
South Australian Deaths Index: Allan Campbell, 26 Dec 1967, Adelaide (Book 40A/Page 8895)
Centennial Park Cemetery Records, Derrick Gardens, Path 5, Grave 478A
Biography by Trevor Pyatt 4/09/2025