Jack Cranston Campbell – Royal Field Artillery, 19th Battery, 68th Brigade

Gunner Jack Cranston Campbell – Royal Field Artillery, 19th Battery, 68th Brigade

Early Life

Jack Campbell and Agnes Evans marriage certificate St. James's Church, Swansea

Born in 1898 at Swansea, Jack Cranston Campbell was the son of Jack Campbell and Agnes Evans, who married in 1896 at St James’ Church, Swansea. His early years were spent within the growing communities of Forest Fach, where skilled trades and chapel‑based families formed a close and familiar social landscape.

Family Life

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the Campbell family were living at Hamilton Terrace, Forest Fach, Swansea. Jack Campbell, aged 35, Scottish‑born, was employed as a Watch Maker, while his wife Agnes, aged 33, was recorded as Carmarthenshire‑born. Their children present were Jack (13), Violet (12), Archie (10), and Elizabeth Ivy (8)—all attending school—alongside the younger children Colin (2) and Ivy (9 months). The household also included a servant, Anna Willis, aged 24. In later years, the family moved to Mason’s Road, Gorseinon, reflecting the gradual shift of many Swansea families toward the expanding industrial districts of the Loughor estuary.

Jack Cranston Campbell
Kingsbridge Cemetery credit - findagrave

Military Service

Jack Campbell served as a Gunner with the Royal Field Artillery, attached to the 19th Battery, 68th Brigade. His service took him far from Swansea, seeing action in Egypt and later at Salonika, where British and Commonwealth forces undertook demanding campaigns marked by harsh climates, disease, and difficult terrain. As a gunner, he formed part of the artillery units whose work underpinned many of the operations in these theatres.

Death and Burial

Jack died on 5 June 1921, only a short time after the end of the Great War and the Salonika campaign. He was laid to rest at Kingsbridge Cemetery, where his grave stands among Swansea’s post‑war burials and remains a testament to his service overseas and the family roots he carried from Forest Fach and Gorseinon.