The H Campbell mentioned in Chailey’s Parish Magazine in May 1917 as serving as a private with the Welsh Guards
was Harold Leslie Campbell of Cooksbridge, Hamsey. He was born on 14th January 1899 and so presumably was called to the colours
in January 1917 (the parish magazine reporting this fact four months later).
He appears on the 1901 census of England and Wales as a two year old living at Cooksbridge with his family. The family comprised Frederick Campbell (head, aged 36, working as a farmer), his wife Annie and their
four children: Florence Campbell (aged seven), Frederick Campbell (aged four), Harold, and Albert Campbell (aged two months). All of the children were born in Hamsey.
Two other sons, Donald John Campbell and Stanley Campbell would follow in 1902 and 1905 respectively.
In July 1918, Chailey Parish Magazine reports that Private H Campbell has been wounded and this information is then
repeated monthly up to and including the final published roll in July 1919. In
August 1919, reporting the peace celebrations, the parish magazine reports that Harold Campbell came second in the 200 yards’
walk for soldiers.
According to Chailey resident Reg Philpott, Harold Campbell lost an arm during the First World War yet somehow still
managed to milk a cow once he had settled back into peacetime life. He married
Elizabeth Davidson-Watt on 6th November 1926 and the couple had three children.
Harold’s brother Fred also served during the First World War but the brothers’ connection with the village of Chailey is unknown. It is possible
that they were farm labourers although this is pure conjecture.
Sources and Acknowledgements
- Chailey Parish Magazine
- 1901 Census of England and Wales
- www.ancestry.co.uk for information on the Campbell family tree
- Reg Philpott of Chailey, interviewed in 2003
