A l’occasion des commémorations du Centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale et de l’échange avec le lycée australien de Lilydale, les élèves de première section européenne anglais vous présentent le parcours de soldats australiens ayant combattu pendant la Première Guerre mondiale. Du simple fantassin à l’officier, du soldat mort au combat au vétéran, ils montrent tous l’investissement des Australiens dans ce conflit qui a marqué la naissance de la nation australienne.

Alec Campbell (26th February 1899 – 16th May 2002)

Alec Campbell

Alec Campbell was born in Launceston in Australia. When he was 16 years old he decided to lie about his age in order to join the army because he didn’t have a parental consent. During the war he was nicknamed ‘The kid’ in so far as he couldn’t shave himself. In July 1915 he joined the 15th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force.

He landed at Anzac Cove in November 1915. He was in charge of providing ammunitions and water to the trenches. During the war he fell ill so he had to abandon his duties. He was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign. During his life he was a jackaroo, carpenter and a railway carriage builder. He was married and he had 9 children. He had a chest infection and he died at the age of 103.
He became a Gallipoli veteran at only 17. [http://www.anzacs.org/campbell.html]

Morgane Lucas

John Purdy Abbott

John Purdy Abbott was born in 1890. He was the son of George Martin Abbott and Anne Bridget Abbott. He was native of Adelaide in the South Australia. He was an Australian soldier who fought in the 18th Australian Infantry Battalion during the First World War (1914-1918). His service number was 6200. He died in Belgium in 1917, at the age of 27 years old, in battle of Passchendaele also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. He fought against German Empire with the French, the Belgian and other Bristish colonies. John Purdy Abbott was killed in action. He is buried in the Aeroplane Cemetery, located in Ypres in Belgium. He received the Medal of the English War and the Medal of the Victory. (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10525420 )

GUEVORTE Flavien 1S2