CAMPBELLTOWN WAR MEMORIAL South Australia

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On land gifted by St Martin's Anglican Church, the white marble statue of a soldier standing at rest, was unveiled on July 5th 1925.

A place of sacred remembrance

Prominently listed on the front of the memorial, under the inscription 'In memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice', are the names of the 14 men who lost their lives. A total of 94 names are memorialised.   
Although formal commemorative ceremonies are held at the much larger WW2 memorial, the site continues to hold great significance to the local community. Family members recently shared their distress over a proposal to move the memorial. The placement of the memorial, close to the Anglican and Methodist churches,  links it with the sacred space of the community. 
Further links to the community can be found behind the original church. Here, in the local cemetery are family memorials to some who served, and the graves of some of the relatives listed on the memorial. 
An Honour Board is also located nearby in the Methodist Church. This includes the names of 11 further servicemen, perhaps reflecting the wider area of the parish.

Religious buildings, such as St Martin's Church, were amongst the first to be built in the region. Statistics from enlistment demonstrate strong commitment from the Anglican and Methodist Churches. 82% of men claimed these religious backgrounds. This is indicative of the regions settlement patterns and emotive, religious based recruitment. The monument's placement reflects the fact that service was seen as a divine sacrifice.


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Campbelltown Memorial, 1925

By the early 1900s, the Campbelltown district specialised in the production of food crops. 69% of the men whom enlisted in WW1 worked in agriculture as gardeners, farmers and labourers. From council records, population is estimated at 2600 in 1915. (1) 
Market Gardening was typically a family business in which brothers and men across generations formed close bonds. This demographic is reflected in the patterns of enlistment where 55% of those enlisting had an immediate family member, or were related through marriage to others listed on the monument. The Washington family were represented by their 5 sons, one of whom did not return. In all, 11 families experienced multiple enlistments. 
The demographics of the local region reflect a closely connected district. 65% of the men listed on the memorial had lived in the area since birth. 

John Leaney, 'Campbelltown 1868-1968', Graphic Services Pty. Ltd. 1968, p. 128.