Sergent William Vincent Campbell
Service #: 2473a
Summary
FAMILY LIFE
William Vincent Campbell was born in 1887 in Raleigh, son of Robert & Mary Campbell.
He then signed a declaration confirming he had answered the questions correctly and was willing to voluntarily agree to service in the Military Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTING OFFICER
On the second page of the attestation documents the attesting confirms the following
“The foregoing questions were read to the person enlisted in my presence. I have taken care that he understood each question, and his answer to each question has been duly entered as replied to by him
OATH
He also made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, William Vincent Campbell, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War, and a further four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed or removed therefrom: and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and case His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and I will in all matters appertaining to my services faithfully discharge my duty according to law
SO HELP ME, GOD.”
MEDICAL EXAMINATION
His medical showed he was 5ft 7 inches tall (1.7m), weighed 9st 7 lbs (60kgs), with a fair complexion, grey eyes & brown hair. His eyesight was good. He was Church of Presbyterian and had a scar on his right foot & right hand
CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION
This was not signed by the doctor but states “I have examined the abovenamed person, and find that he does not present any of the following conditions, viz: -
Scrofula; phthisis; syphilis; impaired constitution; defective intelligence; defects of vision, voice, or hearing; hernia’ haemorrhoids; varicose veins, beyond a limited extent; marked varicocele with unusually pendent testicle; inveterate cutaneous disease’ chronic ulcers; traces of corporal punishment or evidence of having been marked with the letters D. or B.C; contracted or deformed chest; abnormal curvature of spine; or any other disease or physical defect calculated to unfit him for the duties of a soldier.
He can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints and limbs; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description”
CERTIFICATE OF COMMANDING OFFICER
This is usually completed during the recruits training but again it is not signed and states that the doctor certifies that this attestation of the abovenamed person is correct, and that the required forms have been complied with. He accordingly approves, and appoints him to his unit
He was enlisted as a private into the A Pay Corps with service number 2473. He was later transferred to the 9th Battalion
TRAINING AT RIFLE RANGE CAMP, ENOGGERA
As was the case with men from the Northern Rivers district in New South Wales, they trained at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera near Brisbane. The Barracks Block was built as accommodation for men in two dormitories, each 36 feet by 22 feet (10.97 x 6.7 metres). Beds or bunks were not provided, instead each man slept on a palliasse with ground sheet on the floor. For many it was their first time away from home. Men from every walk of life, from clerks and teachers to factory and shop workers, were crammed together
Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, the men received their vaccinations for smallpox, rabies & plague, then a recruit had to be inducted into military forms of discipline, command, and order. This was partially achieved through a program of basic training carried and, in a sense, was maintained for a long as a man was in the service. It involved marching and drilling with the rifle, cleaning and caring for personal equipment and being supervised and inspected in ways quite different to ordinary civilian life. For example, no boots should be allowed to get in a bad state of wear but must be sent to the bootmaker without delay for repair. Men who were found with hair long and unshaven had to have a haircut and shave
Secondly, after basic training there followed the far more serious exercise of turning a man into a fighting soldier at least partially prepared for the kind of warfare he was about to experience overseas. The topics and exercises in the syllabus of training were a world away from their former lives and included daily physical training, entrenching, wiring, firing rifle grenades, firing the Lewis light machine gun, dealing with gas attack, using hand grenades, using the bayonet, and the routines to be followed in the trenches.
This training was then put into practice during what were called ‘Field Days,’ when men would practice using the skills they had acquired in mock attacks both by day and by night. How well men had learnt to use their weapons, in cooperation with each other in training, would be tested in the harsh reality of the front line. Training would take several months
The recruits were issued with their uniform: a khaki woollen jacket, heavy cord breeches, and the famous slouch hat – turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge. A soldier’s equipment also included a dixie (mess tin), water bottle, mug, .303 Lee-Enfield rifle and bayonet.
VOYAGE OVERSEAS FROM BRISBANE TO EGYPT
On the 5th October 1915 the recruits left Brisbane, sailing upon the HMAT Warilda. Alongside his comrades, William marched aboard, his boots ringing on the gangway. As the ship’s lines were cast off and the quay began to slip away, the reality of war lay ahead, but for now, the sea breeze carried only the sound of voices and the excitement of men bound for adventure, duty, and the unknown.
Sleeping & Living Arrangements
Recruits likely slept in a crowded troop deck below, where rows of hammocks or three-tier wooden bunks were crammed close together.
Air below decks could be stuffy, especially in warmer climates, and seasickness was common during the first few days.
Daily Routine
Reveille early each morning, followed by physical exercises on the open decks (weather permitting). There were parades and inspections—officers ensured uniforms, rifles, and kit were clean and in order. Training was a little problematic—drill without much space, rifle maintenance, lectures on military discipline, signalling, and trench warfare theory. The ship’s decks were used for marching in tight circles or practising bayonet thrusts into stuffed sacks. Rifle shooting was impossible at sea, so soldiers learned to strip and clean their weapons until it was second nature.
Meals
Three hearty meals a day were served; breakfast usually consisted of porridge, stew, and tea. Lunch included soup, meat, vegetables, and pudding. Meat, bread with jam and tea was served for dinner. The meals were served in shifts from the ship’s galley. Queues were long, and eating on a rolling ship meant many tried to eat quickly before nausea set in.
Health & Sanitation
Shipboard hygiene was critical—every man was ordered to scrub his section daily to prevent disease. Saltwater baths were the norm, with freshwater rationed for drinking.
The Voyage Experience
Entertainment included church drill, concerts, singalongs, card games, and makeshift cricket matches on deck when the weather allowed. To keep up morale, an area of the ship was roped off where regular boxing and wrestling tournaments were held. This became commonly known as the Stoush Stadium. No letters could be sent until they reached port, but men often wrote diaries or unsent letters to be posted later.
The troops engaged in lifebelt drill; a cookhouse on deck; soldiers on fatigues peeling potatoes 'spud bashing'; going to the dentist; barber, pay day; soldiers cleaning personal equipment; medical inspection
CROSSING THE EQUATOR CEREMONY
The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship.
SIGHTS AT SEA
On the way to Egypt the ship would pass through the Great Australian Bight, cross the Indian Ocean, and stop at Colombo (Ceylon now Sri Lanka) for coal and supplies.
SECURITY
By late 1914, German raiders were active, so lifeboat drills were frequent, and lookouts kept watch for suspicious ships. Troopships generally sailed in convoys or at least took zig-zag courses to make torpedo attacks harder. Ships often travelled under blackout conditions at night, with lookouts specifically watching for periscopes or torpedo wakes.
APPROACHING EGYPT
After several weeks at sea, the men finally saw the dusty shoreline of Port Said or Alexandria. The reality of leaving home truly sank in. The recruits would soon exchange the ship’s cramped decks for the sandy training grounds of Egypt, preparing for what lay ahead.
EGYPT, LATE 1915 TO EARLY 1916
When William disembarked in Egypt in late 1915, he stepped into a military world undergoing rapid change. The Gallipoli campaign had just ended, and thousands of AIF troops were withdrawing from the peninsula and concentrating in the camps around Cairo. Newly arrived reinforcements like William were not sent directly to their battalions; instead, they underwent a period of training, acclimatisation, and reorganisation before joining their units.
SETTLING INTO EGYPT
After arrival, William would have moved to one of the large AIF training areas—very likely Zeitoun, Abassia, or the Heliopolis–Mena district on the outskirts of Cairo. These camps were crowded as the AIF expanded from two to five divisions. Reinforcements were held in depot units until their battalion needed them.
In these early weeks he would have:
· Completed medical inspections following the voyage
· Drawn new clothing, equipment, webbing, and his weapon
· Been allocated to a reinforcement draft associated with the 9th Battalion
· Begun daily military training in the desert environment
Reinforcement Training
Training for reinforcements at the end of 1915 was intense, focusing on preparing men for the Western Front, even before the AIF officially moved to France. Activities included:
· Musketry and live-fire practices
· Bayonet fighting and physical conditioning
· Trench construction and maintenance
· Route marches in heavy kit
· Platoon and company manoeuvres
· Lectures on gas, field sanitation, and discipline
The instructors were often seasoned Gallipoli veterans temporarily retained in Egypt.
LARGE-SCALE REORGANISATION
This was also the period of the doubling of the AIF, where existing battalions were split to create new ones. The 9th Battalion sent out a cadre of experienced men to help form the 49th Battalion, and in turn required fresh reinforcements to bring its own strength back up for the coming move to France. This explains why men like William were held at training depots: unit strengths were constantly shifting.
JOINING THE 9TH BATTALION
By late January 1916 the 9th Battalion was at Tel-el-Kebir, undergoing reorganisation and rebuilding. On 1 February 1916, William was officially taken on strength—meaning he left the reinforcement depots and joined the battalion proper, marching into camp to become part of its establishment. From this point he trained with his own platoon and company as the 9th prepared for deployment to the Western Front.
FRANCE APRIL 1916
When William disembarked at Marseilles on 3 April 1916, he and the rest of the 9th Battalion stepped directly into the great logistical machinery that moved Australia’s infantry north towards the Western Front. The Mediterranean crossing had been uneventful, but the real work began once they were back on French soil. From the docks, long troop trains waited—wooden-seated, slow, and crowded—and William spent the better part of three days travelling the length of France. The route passed through the soft spring colours of the Rhône valley, across the plains around Lyon, and eventually into the greyer, more war-worn countryside of northern France
The battalion was bound for the large training and staging areas behind the lines where recently arrived units were shaped for the new style of warfare awaiting them. For William, this meant camps near the Armentières sector, where Australian units were being steadily fed in to relieve British battalions. Though the 9th was already a veteran Gallipoli unit, all reinforcements and returning men were required to undergo trench-warfare instruction before entering the line. The British instructors who ran these schools had several months' experience on the Western Front and were determined to ensure that Australians understood the dangers of this new theatre—artillery on a scale never experienced at Anzac, gas alarms, deep mud, and the constant sniping that characterised life in the trenches.
WESTERN FRONT & TRENCH WARFARE
The soldiers now found themselves fighting the Germans in trench warfare. On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties. Trench warfare created a living environment for the men which was harsh, stagnant, and extremely dangerous. Not only were trenches constantly under threat of attack from shells or other weapons, but there were also many health risks that developed into large-scale problems for medical personnel. Apart from the inescapable cold during the winters in France & Belgium, trenches were often completely waterlogged and muddy, and crawling with lice and rats
The time soldiers spent in the trenches varied depending on factors like their army's rotation system and the intensity of the conflict in their sector. On average:
· Front-line trenches: Soldiers typically remained here for about 4–6 days at a time. This was where the fighting was most intense and the conditions were the harshest.
· Support and reserve trenches: After time on the front line, soldiers were rotated to these positions for around 6–12 days. These trenches were set further back and offered slightly better conditions.
· Rest periods: Soldiers were then moved away from the trench system entirely for rest, training, and recovery, often lasting several weeks, depending on operational needs.
The rotation system helped prevent complete physical and mental exhaustion, but the constant dangers of trench life meant there was rarely any true respite.
Throughout April and into May, William’s days followed a demanding rhythm. There were long route marches in full kit, gas-mask drills that were repeated until they were instinctive, and instruction in the new Lewis gun teams the battalion was forming. Nights were often busy too, with working parties practising wiring, trench revetment, and duckboard laying. When not in formal training, the battalion spent short periods rotating into quieter parts of the front line around Armentières to acclimatise to trench duty. These early tours were meant to gain familiarity rather than fight major actions—standing-to at dawn and dusk, learning the soundscape of the line, and quickly discovering how cold, wet, and claustrophobic French trenches could be.
By early June, the battalion was firmly settled into the constant cycle of work that preceded major operations: time in the front line, followed by rest periods in billets, and then back into training grounds for more tactical exercises. It was physically demanding and made worse by unpredictable early-summer weather—days of heat followed by cold nights and sudden bursts of rain. Illness was common across the force, and amid the close quarters of tents, barns, and trench shelters, respiratory sickness spread quickly.
HOSPITALISATION INFLUENZA JUNE 1916
On 28 June 1916, William reported sick and was admitted to an Australian hospital suffering from influenza. It was a common affliction that swept through units preparing for the looming Somme campaign. For a man already worn down by continuous marching, training, and nights in damp trenches, a bout of influenza was far from unusual, and hospitalisation offered a brief chance to recover before returning to duty.
EVACUATION TO ENGLAND JULY 1916
William’s evacuation to England marked the beginning of a very different chapter in his service. After falling ill with influenza in late June, he was transferred along the well-organised medical evacuation chain that moved sick and wounded men from France through the Channel ports and into Britain. By 1 July, William was admitted to the 1st Northern General Hospital, a vast wartime facility established in the buildings of the University of Leeds. Like many temporary military hospitals across England, it had expanded dramatically—long wards filled with rows of metal-framed beds, improvised surgical rooms, and nursing stations run with brisk efficiency by both RAMC staff and V.A.D. nurses.
Influenza, though common, was taken seriously. William’s early days would have been spent resting under close observation, his temperature monitored several times a day. Treatment focused on managing fever and dehydration: warm drinks, light meals, and plenty of bed rest. The wards were typically well-aired, windows kept open regardless of the season to limit the spread of infection. Once his fever eased, he would have been encouraged to move about, perhaps into the hospital gardens for gentle exercise, regaining his strength before being passed fit for a convalescent camp.
RETURNED TO FRANCE- REFRESHER TRAINING OCTOBER 1916
When William had recovered sufficiently, he moved through the usual stages: from hospital to a convalescent depot, possibly then to a training or staging camp in England. His eventual return to active service came on 14 October, when he crossed the Channel from England to France and entered the large reinforcement system at Étapes Base Depot. Étaples was the central hub for the British Expeditionary Force—an enormous sprawl of tents, huts, parade grounds, and training areas that prepared returning soldiers for the front.
William would have undergone several weeks of refresher training. This included musketry practice, bayonet drills, route marches, and trench simulations designed to bring him back to frontline fitness. The base depots also emphasised discipline and routine, ensuring men were physically ready and mentally steady before being released to their battalions. The days were long and often monotonous, but they restored men to the rhythm of soldiering.
TAKEN ON STRENGTH DECEMBER 1916
By 15 December, William was taken on strength once again, rejoining his battalion and stepping back into the life he had briefly left behind—one of camaraderie, hardship, and the relentless demands of the Western Front.
ARMY PAY SCHOOL JANUARY 1917
William’s path shifted dramatically in early 1917. After months recovering from illness and then returning to the rough routine of reinforcement camps in France, he was identified for a very different kind of military duty—one that required precision, reliability, and a clear head.
On 11 January 1917, William was sent to Pay School at the Base. This school, usually attached to the Australian Base Depot in Étaples or another major administrative centre, trained selected soldiers in the complex systems of military accounting. Here, William would have learned how to process pay ledgers, manage allotments, record field allowances, handle deferred pay, and navigate the strict procedures governing soldiers’ financial entitlements. It was an intensive training course, and those chosen for it were generally men regarded as trustworthy and capable.
By 24 January, William had successfully completed his course and formally joined the Australian Army Pay Corps—a specialised administrative unit responsible for ensuring that every soldier, whether in the trenches, in hospital, or in transit, received what he was owed.
PROMOTION TO PAY SERGEANT FEBRUARY 1917
His administrative acumen was quickly recognised: on 10 February, he was promoted to Pay Sergeant, a role carrying significant responsibility. As a Pay Sergeant, William would have overseen ledger sections, verified financial claims, supervised clerks, and ensured the accuracy of records that followed men across units and over continents.
Although he had stepped into a new corps, William remained linked to the 9th Battalion establishment, now “supernumerary to establishment”—meaning his position was above the normal battalion staffing numbers, reflecting his specialised administrative posting rather than a fighting role. This was a common arrangement for men transferred to specialist duties while still nominally attached to their original unit.
TAKEN ON STRENGTH APRIL 1917
Service number change
Finally, on 13 April, William was officially taken on strength of the Australian Army Pay Corps, confirming his full transfer and recognising his new professional pathway within the AIF. From this point forward, William’s war was fought not in trenches but in offices—yet his work was essential. Accurate pay, allowances, and financial records helped maintain morale, supported families at home, and ensured the vast AIF machine continued to function. His service number was changed to 2473A
DUTIES
Through 1917 William would have been stationed at one of the Australian Base depots or Divisional Administrative Headquarters—locations such as Étaples, Le Havre, or the 1st Anzac Corps area around Hazebrouck. Pay offices worked long, meticulous hours. With tens of thousands of men’s accounts to maintain, the work never slowed: changes of unit, casualty lists, promotions, allotments sent home, and the enormous backlog created by constant movement of troops between France and England. The Pay Corps also played a humanitarian role, ensuring families in Australia received their dependants’ payments on time.
Although not frontline troops, these offices were still within range of enemy action. Rear areas were frequently shelled, and air raids increased dramatically through 1917 and early 1918. Administrative centres could be struck just as easily as camps or supply depots.
GERMAN SPRING OFFENSIVE MARCH 1918
In March 1918—the beginning of the German Spring Offensive—the nature of rear-area service changed sharply. As the German Army broke through the British lines on the Somme and advanced towards Amiens, administrative units were ordered to move repeatedly, sometimes in haste, to avoid capture or destruction. Many rear-area troops suddenly found themselves much closer to the fighting than at any earlier point in the war.
WOUNDED IN ACTION APRIL 1918
Against this backdrop William’s wounding on 29 April 1918 fits a clear pattern. William received a gunshot wound to his right cheek. It does not imply he was working inside a trench system with the infantry. Instead, he was almost certainly wounded by shellfire or bombing while serving in a headquarters or pay office close to the forward area. Around this date the Australian Corps was operating in the Villers-Bretonneux sector, and German long-range artillery was consistently targeting villages, supply lines, and administrative posts behind the line. Pay offices, though not a deliberate target, were well within these danger zones.
HOSPITALISED
Thus, William’s service through 1917–1918 places him among the many administrative soldiers whose quiet, essential work kept the AIF functioning—and who, during the upheavals of the Spring Offensive, found themselves unexpectedly at risk. His wounding reflects the reality that in 1918 even the “rear” was no longer safe.
83RD GENERAL HOSPITAL
William found himself under the care of the 83rd (Dublin) General Hospital, one of the major Allied medical facilities on the northern French coast. Although the surviving records of this hospital are incomplete, its role in the broader medical evacuation chain is well known, allowing a clear picture of what his experience would have been.
The 83rd operated at Boulogne, a busy port city and one of the central hubs for treating wounded men from the Western Front. Here, ambulance trains delivered a constant stream of casualties from the forward areas. William would have travelled this same route—first through a casualty clearing station close to the front, then southward by train or motor ambulance until he reached the hospital. On arrival, he would have been admitted to one of the large, canvas-and-timber wards that could handle close to a thousand patients at a time.
Life inside the 83rd was a mixture of routine and urgency. Surgeons worked long shifts in operating theatres, treating shrapnel wounds, infections, fevers, and the endless medical consequences of life at the front. Orderlies and nurses tended to dressings, brought meals and medication, and kept the wards running with remarkable efficiency despite the pressure. William, like many other Australians, would have been surrounded not only by his own countrymen but also by British, Canadian, and other Commonwealth soldiers.
REST CAMP LE HAVRE MAY 1918
His wound must have responded well to treatment, for after a period of recovery he was transferred out of hospital and sent to a rest camp at Le Havre on 25 May. These rest camps were part of the transition back to active service—a place where men rebuilt strength, underwent medical checks, and were gradually returned to regular military discipline and routine. Le Havre also housed major depots for Australians, so it was a familiar gathering point for soldiers re-entering the reinforcement system.
REJOINED UNIT JUNE 1918
By 5 June, William had rejoined his unit. The timeline shows that his injury, though serious enough to require full hospitalisation, had healed sufficiently for him to resume duties. Importantly, his posting with the Pay Corps did not mean he worked on the front line. Pay offices operated well behind the fighting, handling the administrative work that kept the Army financially functioning. His wounding in April 1918 therefore likely occurred while he was temporarily attached to the 9th Battalion in the field, not in the pay office itself.
After returning to his unit in early June 1918, William resumed his duties with the Australian Army Pay Corps, now working closely with the 9th Battalion as the final months of the war unfolded. Although not a front-line combat role, the work of the Pay Corps in 1918 was still carried out close behind the advancing Australian brigades. As the battalion moved through the difficult summer fighting and into the Allied push of August–September, William’s duties followed the ebb and flow of the campaign. Pay records, allotments, casualty adjustments, and the processing of men rotating through hospital or reinforcement drafts became particularly heavy administrative tasks as the AIF fought its last major actions.
WAR ENDED NOVEMBER 1918
By November 1918 the Australian divisions were exhausted. The Armistice on 11 November immediately halted fighting, but it did not end the work. Battalions began withdrawing from the line, moving into rest areas in Belgium and northern France. There, the slow process of demobilisation began: sorting equipment, reconciling pay accounts, confirming casualty lists, preparing rolls for eventual return to Australia, and handling the endless paperwork of an army beginning to stand down. For men in the Pay Corps, this was an especially demanding period — ensuring every soldier’s financial affairs were accurate before disbandment was a major administrative undertaking.
GRANTED LEAVE DECEMBER 1918 TO JANUARY 1919
It was during this rearrangement of the army’s life that William was granted leave. Beginning on 11 December 1918, he was given furlough until 11 January 1919. Like thousands of other Australians, he likely travelled to England or one of the authorised leave centres in France or Belgium. After years of strain, this month-long break allowed men to rest properly for the first time, explore cities far from the trenches, and enjoy a sense of normality in a world suddenly at peace. It also provided space for reflection: the war was over, yet the future — for the AIF, for France, and for each individual soldier — was only beginning to take shape.
When his furlough ended in January, William returned to duty to continue the slow wind-down of the AIF on the Western Front, helping prepare the long administrative trail that would eventually bring the army home.
RETURNED HOME
William finally returned to Australia per the Ulysses arriving in Australia on 19th March 1919. He was discharged 11th May 1919
For his service William was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal
If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.
Memorial Location
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