CAMPBELL, Oliver James
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 September 1915, Holsworthy, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Moss Vale, New South Wales, Australia, 9 July 1879 |
| Home Town: | Darlinghurst, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Public School England |
| Occupation: | Tram Driver |
| Died: | Suicide, Weymouth, Dorset England, 7 February 1917, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
Melcombe Regis Cemetery, Dorset, England Plot III, Row C, Grave 2722 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Baulkham Hills William Thompson Masonic School War Memorial, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Sydney United Grand Lodge Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Officer, 20th Infantry Battalion, Holsworthy, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Apr 1916: | Involvement Lieutenant, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Apr 1916: | Embarked Lieutenant, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Oliver James CAMPBELL was born on 9 July 1879 at Moss Vale. He served one year and eight months in the Boer War. After that war he commenced working with the NSW Tramways on 4 April 1903 as a tram conductor in Sydney. He was given three months leave without pay, perhaps for some sort of military training, from March 1905. In September 1910 he had progressed to become a tram driver. In September 1915 he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. He signed his Attestation Papers on 11th October 1915, assigning three-fifths of his pay to support his wife and children. Prior to proceeding overseas Campbell attended No. 7 Officers School and passed on 28 January 1916, being thus commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
He left Australia through Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Nestor’ on 9 April 1916, reaching England, but not being fit for the front.
On 5 December 1916 he was transferred from the 6th Auxiliary Hospital to Cobham Hall Hospital, with an unhealed wound from his South African War days. At the end of January 1917, he was discharged from Cobham Hall having been declared fit for home service only and marched into Weymouth Command Depot on the 29th with the intention of return to Australia. Despite his health he had been promoted to Lieutenant on 1 January.
On 7 February 1917 at 8.15 a.m.at Weymouth he died of a cut throat, self-inflicted, whilst of ‘Unsound mind due to mental depression at not being in a fit state of health to go to the front’.
Evidence before the coroner established that Campbell had a wife and four children in Sydney and was deeply depressed about the fact that he would not be able to fight.
Submitted 17 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Husband of Mrs. Clara CAMPBELL, 8 Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst, NSW
Seved in the Boer War
Member of Zetland 9 Lodge
AUSTRALIAN OFFICER'S DEATH
AT WEYMOUTH.
The tragic death of Lieutenant Oliver James Campbell, A.I.F., at Weymouth Base Depot (says "The British Australasian") created a painful sensation in camp, and regrettable facts were elicited at the inquest early in February. Lieutenant Campbell, who was 38 years of age, was a native of Sydney, and he had a wife and four children. Lieutenant James Rainforth Newman said that Campbell had been in England for some time, and came to Monte Video on Saturday, February 3, pending his return to Australia as an invalid. He was in his charge on Saturday, and had been confined to camp. He was very depressed, and imagined that everyone was against him. This was entirely imagination. On Tuesday night witness slept in the same room with him, and noticed nothing wrong during the night. At 8 o'clock the next morning his servant came in to take the order for breakfast, and he heard Campbell say; "I'll have the same." Just after that he heard someone fall down, and, going in, saw the deceased on the floor covered with blood. He went for a doctor, but he was dead when the latter came. He found the razor produced, and also two letters on the table. He did not see the letters the night before. Deceased had a wound in the leg, received in the South African war, and this preyed on his mind. He was anxious to go to France.
The two letters found in the room were shown to the jury. One was to the Countess of Darnley, in whose house Lieutenant Campbell had received attention after being wounded, and he asked her to do what she could for his family. The other letter was to his wife, which the Coroner said would be forwarded to her.
The verdict was that the deceased died from a wound in the throat, inflicted whilst of unsound mind. Lieutenant Campbell was buried in Melcombe Regis Cemetery on the following afternoon, with military honors.
A large number of Australian officers were present, and "Brigadier-General Johnson, the-G.O.C. Portland Garrison, also attended. The service was conducted by the Church of England Chaplain, Captain C. S. Pitt-Owen.
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