Allan Robertson Campbell [First World War postcard, with photo of an Australian soldier]

[Editor: This postcard, which incorporates a photo of Allan Robertson Campbell, an Australian soldier, is from the era of the First World War (1914-1918). The postcard is undated.]

Allan Robertson Campbell

[Front of postcard]

[Photo of an Australian soldier.]

[Reverse of postcard]

[Handwritten text, in italics]

Pte A R Campbell
Machine Gun section
37th Battalion
10th Brigade AIF
MM winner

[No identifying information about the manufacturer was included on the postcard.]

Source:
Original document

Editor’s notes:
Dimensions (approximate): 89 mm. (width), 139 mm. (height).

According to the notation in pencil on the back of the postcard, the photograph is of Allan Robertson Campbell, winner of the Military Medal. This information has been confirmed by the appearance of the same photo on the Discovering Anzacs website.

A Military Medal was awarded for service rendered during the Battle of Messines (7 June 1917 to 14 June 1917). The recommendation for a Military Medal for Allan Robertson Campbell reads as follows:

37th Battn 86 PRIVATE Allan Robertson CAMPBELL

On the night of 8th June 1917, southeast of [?], during the consolidation of the captured enemy defences, this man did fine work in carrying important despatches to his Headquarters. He passed repeatedly through a heavy artillery[?] barrage in [?] WOOD. Tho’ wounded later in the action he continued his duties and displayed remarkable courage throughout, assisting greatly in the maintenance of communications

The two locations mentioned in the citation are unclear (although they both appear to begin with “H”). Several maps of the relevant battlefront area have been checked, but with no success (the closest names found are Haubourdin, Hollebeke, and Houthem but they do not appear to be the locations mentioned).

Maps checked include:
1) “Wytschaete” [regarding the Battle of Messines], Australian War Memorial [archived] [also available on Wikimedia Commons]
2) “Map Showing Progress in the Ypres Area” [regarding the Ypres Offensive], Australian War Memorial [archived] [also available on Wikimedia Commons]
3) “Battle of Messines – II ANZAC Corps attack plan down to brigade level”, Wikimedia Commons
4) “Map to illustrate the Battle of Messines”, Alamy [see direct link to the map] [a black and white version of the map is also available: “The Battle of Messines : lines before and after the battle, June 1917”, from “Maps of theatres of war and operations”, The Long, Long Trail] [see also the same graphic on Fine Art America]
5) “WW1 Western Front: Battle of Messines June 1917. Royal Flying Corps, 1934 map”, Alamy [see direct link to the map]
6) “Battle of Ypres”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
7) “Battle of Messines map”, New Zealand History
8) “[A map showing the plan for the II ANZAC Corps attack at Messines]” [low-resolution graphic], Virtual War Memorial Australia [part of the article “Battle of Messines (World War 1, 7 June 1917 to 14 June 1917)”]

Some details from the military record of Allan Robertson Campbell:
Place of birth: Glasgow, Scotland
Occupation: Plumber
Address: Coburg, Melbourne, Victoria
Enlistment date: 14 February 1916
Age at embarkation: 20
Unit: 37th Battalion, Headquarters
Regimental number: 86
Discharged: 19 November 1917
Died: 16 April 1956

See:
[Note: Some sites have incorrectly spelt Allan’s name as “Alan” or “Allen”.]
1a) “Allen Robertson Campbell”, Discovering Anzacs
1b) “Statement of Service”, Discovering Anzacs [lists his date of discharge as 19 November 1917]
1c) “86. Pte. CAMPBELL, Alan Robertson, MM. 37th Battalion. Deceased.”, Discovering Anzacs [a letter from the Imperial War Graves Commission, dated 12 June 1956, gives his date of death as 16 April 1956; a handwritten notation has corrected “Alan” to “Allan”]
2) “Alan Robertson CAMPBELL”, The AIF Project (University of NSW, Canberra, at the Australian Defence Force Academy)
3) “CAMPBELL, Alan Robertson”, Virtual War Memorial Australia
4a) “Private Alan Robertson Campbell”, Australian War Memorial
4b) “Honours and Awards (Recommendation): A R Campbell”, Australian War Memorial [links to a recommendations list for Military Medals, including an entry for Private A. R. Campbell, 24th June 1917]
4c) “Honours and Awards: Allan Robertson Campbell”, Australian War Memorial [includes notations on the mentions of his award in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (20 December 1917, p. 3376) and in the London Gazette (16 August 1917, p. 8426)]
4d) “Honours and Awards (Recommendation) Allan Robertson Campbell”, Australian War Memorial [links to a recommendation for a Military Medal for Private Allan Robertson Campbell, 24th June 1917]
5) “Department of Defence, Melbourne, 13th December, 1917”, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette , 20 December 1917, pp. 3371-3388 [see “p. 3376” for a list of Military Medal recipients, in alphabetical order by surname, including an entry for “No. 86 Private A. R. Campbell, Infantry”]
6) “37th Battalion (Australia)”, Wikipedia
7) “Battle of Messines (1917)”, Wikipedia

AIF = Australian Imperial Force; the First Australian Imperial Force was created in 1914 to fight in World War One, the Second Australian Imperial Force was created in 1939 to fight in World War Two

Battn = an abbreviation of “battalion”

MM = Military Medal: a medal awarded for “acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire” (originally awarded to soldiers below commissioned rank in the military forces of the British Commonwealth)

Pte = an abbreviation of “Private” (the lowest rank in the army; aside from “recruit” in the modern army, being someone who has not as yet passed basic training)

tho’ = (vernacular) though