Alec Campbell Alexander William ( " Alec " ) Campbell ( 26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002 ) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War . His death broke the last living link of Australians with the Gallipoli story . Biography . Alec Campbell was born in Launceston , Tasmania , Australia . At the age of 16 he left his job as a clerk with the Colonial Mutual Fire Insurance Company . Not having his father ' s permission , he lied about his age , claiming to be two years older in order to enlist in the army without parental consent . 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 1915 , 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 1916 — a Gallipoli veteran at only 17 . He only fought in the war for two months ; he later explained tersely , Civilian life . Campbell had a crowded life . In South Australia , New South Wales and Tasmania , he was variously a jackaroo , carpenter , railway carriage builder , mature - age university student , public servant , research officer and historian . He received vocational training in motor - body building at the Hobart Repatriation Trade School . He was a union organiser in the Launceston and Hobart railway workshops and an organiser with the Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners ( now part of the Construction , Forestry , Mining and Energy Union ( CFMEU ) ) . He became president of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Rail Union between 1939 and 1941 , and president of the Launceston Trades and Labor Council between 1939 and 1942 . He also worked on the construction of ( Old ) Parliament House in Canberra . After the Second World War , Campbell completed an economics degree at the age of 50 . He worked with the Department of Labour and National Service . A lover of sailing , he became an accomplished boat - builder , and competed in seven Sydney to Hobart yacht race s . In 1950 , he circumnavigated Tasmania aboard the " Kintail " . Campbell married twice — both wives were named Kathleen ; and he fathered nine children — the last one being born when he was sixty - nine . He led an uncommonly vigorous life . Only in his final few months did he need to use a wheelchair . In the end , a chest infection led to a deteriorating condition , and the 103 - year - old war veteran died peacefully on 16 May 2002 . He is buried at the Cornelian Bay Cemetery in Hobart . His second wife , who survived him , observed : He was survived by thirty grandchildren , thirty - two great - grandchildren and two great - great - grandchildren . Australian " legend " . In 2000 , Campbell was recognised as one of the " Australian Legends " . His name and photograph were honoured as part of an annual series of commemorative postage stamps issued by Australia Post since 1997 . The stamps commemorate living Australians " who have made lifetime contributions to the development of Australia ' s national identity and character " . Campbell lived to fully enjoy this honour . Campbell ' s 45 - cent Legend stamp displays the soldier ' s portrait as a young man , photographed just prior to his departure for Gallipoli . Formal photographs of the other two Anzac centenarians complete this stamp set . In addition , a fourth stamp features the 1914 - 15 star medal which was presented to all those who fought in campaigns during those war years . These stamps , designed by Cathleen Cram of the Australia Post Design Studio , commemorate the story of events and people shaping contemporary Australia . The Campbell stamp honours him as an individual and as a representative of all 68 , 000 soldiers at Gallipoli whose actions affected Australia ' s evolving self - image . In one of his last public appearances , Campbell led the 2002 Anzac Day Parade in Hobart . As he sat in his car before the parade , he especially seemed to enjoy shaking hands with the dozens of young children who came up to greet him . In the month before he died , it seemed that he could have ridden at the head of an old soldier ' s last parade . Campbell ' s birth in 1898 was just shortly before the Commonwealth of Australia came into being . At his death , the nation honoured him with a Commonwealth - sponsored state funeral at Saint David ' s Anglican Cathedral in Hobart on 24 May 2002 . In the context of Campbell ' s death , then Australian Prime Minister John Howard observed that Campbell was the last living link to that group of Australians that established the ANZAC legend . Howard also acknowledged that Gallipoli was " a story of great valour under fire , unity of purpose and a willingness to fight against the odds " and that Campbell " was the last known person anywhere in the world who served in that extraordinarily tragic campaign . " Campbell never understood the intense public attention on his later life and his longevity , and was unhappy at times that he was lauded by conservative politicians who ignored his later union activity . After his death he received many tributes , including from Tasmanian Returned and Services League ( RSL ) State President Ian Kennett , who said that Mr Alec William Campbell was a great Australian and that he " led a full and happy life and put his energies , upon returning to Hobart , back into his career and family " . At some point between 1996 and 2002 , as the ranks of Anzac survivors thinned and Campbell ' s own health failed , his name rose to prominence . Assertive nationalist and martial forces sought to turn him into an icon as " the last of the Anzacs . " Campbell resisted the myth - making . He observed that there was nothing really extraordinary in being the last ; rather , he pointed out the simple fact that he had been one of the youngest at Gallipoli .