Frederick William Campbell

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Frederick William Campbell (15 June 1867 – 19 June 1915) was a Canadian Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the British and Commonwealth forces’ highest award for gallantry. He came from Mount Forest, Ontario, was married to Margaret Annie, and served as a lieutenant in the 1st Canadian Battalion (Ontario Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force. Campbell fought in the Second Boer War and in World War I.

On 15 June 1915, at Givenchy, France, he performed acts of extraordinary bravery. He carried two machine guns over the parapet, reached the German first line with one gun, and held his position under very heavy fire while many of his detachment were killed or wounded. When their bombs ran out, he moved his gun to a more exposed position and fired about 1,000 rounds to repel the counter-attack. He was wounded in the right thigh, and the wound became septic. He died four days later in Boulogne, France.

Campbell is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery. His gravestone bears the inscription from a poem: “How sleep the brave who sink to rest by all their country’s wishes blest.” He was 48 years old and was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.