CAMPBELL, Donald
(Service number 4/697)
| First Rank | Sapper | Last Rank | Sapper |
|---|
Birth
| Date | Unknown | Place of Birth |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Hakataramea | ||
| Occupation | |||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | C. Campbell (father), King St, Temuka | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | 4th Reinforcements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Field Engineers | ||
| Date | 17 April 1915 | ||
| Transport | Willochra or Knight Templar or Waitomo | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Engineers | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 4 June 1916 | Age | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | At sea | ||
| Cause | Died of disease | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Otago Provincial Memorial, Anderson's Bay, Dunedin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Hakataramea War Memorial; Temuka RSA Roll of Honour; Temuka War Memorial; SCRoll web submission by B Jackson (Roll of Honour Royal New Zealand Engineers Facebook group), 6 December 2025 | ||
Biographical Notes
Son of Colin Campbell of King St, Temuka, and the late Elizabeth Campbell. Served in Egypt and at Gallipoli.
The Facebook page of "Roll of Honour Royal New Zealand Engineers" noted Sapper Donald Campbell passed away from enteric fever and gastritis onboard HMT “Manitou”, on the 4th Jun 1916, aged 34. He was a member of No.2 Field Company, N.Z. Engineers. Following his death, he was buried at sea on the 4th of June 1916, at midnight off the coast of Sardinia (approx. 40° N, 9–10° E). It also recorded that the following was printed in the Otago Daily Times, 9 August 1916, p3:
"It is a comfort to many people to learn the circumstances surrounding the death of their soldier sons. The first and official information received by Mr Colin Campbell, of Temuka (formerly of Roxburgh,), concerning the death of his son, Donald Campbell, was simply that he died at sea. By a recent mail Mr Campbell received full particulars concerning the sad event from the officer in command of the transport. Major B. Jordan. The major forwarded the report of the medical officer and also (says The Timaru Herald) a letter of sympathy from the man's shipmates. The writer of the letter, on behalf of his comrades, said that he knew Donald Campbell for about a fortnight before his death. He was then in fair health, although very thin, as the result of dysentery. He was in good spirit and anxious to go forward to France. On May 25 he was inoculated, and this had a bad effect on him. He did not say anything to the doctor, as he thought the sickness would pass off. After he left Alexandria for France he started vomiting and received medical attention. He attended a sick parade on June 1 and died on June 4. He never recovered from his weakness. He was buried at sea., off the coast of Sardinia, and owing to the submarine menace the body was committed to the deep at midnight, the captain reading the burial service by the light of an electric torch."
Sources
Cenotaph Nov 2013
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG & Timaru Herald
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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