Alec Campbell was born in Launceston, Colony of Tasmania, British Empire, the son of Marian Isobel (Thrower) and Samuel Alexander Campbell. He studied at Scotch College, Launceston, and then worked as a clerk with the Colonial Mutual Fire Insurance Company. At the age of 16 he left his job to enlist in the army. Not having his father's permission, he lied about his age, claiming to be two years older to enlist without parental consent. "The Last ANZAC" , RSA Review (Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association), June 2002.2731 Alexander William CAMPBELL, The AIF Project, www.aif.adfa.edu.au He joined the 15th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915. Not even being old enough to shave, Campbell gained the nickname "The Kid" during his training in Hobart. One of his cousins had died already at Gallipoli, and the idea of Campbell's deployment terrified his parents. His unit embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Kyarra on 21 August 1915, and Campbell landed at Anzac Cove in early November 1915. He assisted in carrying ammunition, stores and water to the trenches. He received a minor wound in the fighting at Gallipoli; when evacuated with the rest of the Australian forces in 1916, he became ill with a fever which caused partial facial paralysis. He was subsequently invalided home aboard HMAT Port Sydney on 24 June 1916, and was formally discharged on 22 August 1916Australia Post, "Australia Day: Australian Legends", Stamp Bulletin No. 254, p. 3, 2000.—a Gallipoli veteran at only 17.Cahill, Rowan, "Alec Campbell, the last Anzac, a unionist" , Workers On-line, (Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union), 2000. He only fought in the war for two months; he later explained tersely,
