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Eric Campbell, (11 April 1893 – 2 September 1970) was an Australian army officer and later a solicitor who was the leader of the far-right organisation, the New Guard in New South Wales. Campbell had a distinguished career during World War I, serving as a major in artillery batteries on the Western Front. In Sydney in 1919 Campbell was admitted as a solicitor. He remained attached to the militia for about six years after returning from the war. In 1925 Campbell and another ex-A.I.F. officer organised a group of about five hundred men to provide extra-official support to the federal government to control anticipated unionist protests, in support of the government's efforts to deport two union leaders. Campbell established a successful practice as a solicitor in Sydney. After the onset of the Great Depression and the election of the Labor government of Jack Lang in New South Wales he became involved with a clandestine ultra-conservative movement (later known as the Old Guard). In February 1931 Campbell formed a militant breakaway organisation called the New Guard, which actively opposed the Lang government, the Communist party and left-wing unions. The New Guard reached a peak membership of about sixty thousand by 1932, assisted by military-style recruiting methods and locally based units and organisers, co-ordinated by a centralised command structure. From January to August 1933 Campbell toured Europe, establishing contacts with British, German and Italian fascist groups. After returning to Australia he introduced fascist salutes and ceremonial trappings to New Guard meetings. These changes and Campbell's public expressions of admiration for Hitler and Mussolini, coincided with a rapid decrease in membership of the New Guard during 1933 (a process that had commenced after Lang's dismissal in May 1932). As the membership of the New Guard declined, Campbell shifted focus to politics by the end of 1933, forming the Centre Party, a political party with the ambition to destroy the party system. The party failed to make any headway at the 1935 election in New South Wales and afterwards effectively ceased to exist. Campbell began to withdraw from public life and returned to his home town of Young in 1941. In 1945 he unsuccessfully sought selection as the Country Party candidate for the federal electorate of Hume. Campbell's book The Rallying Point was published in 1965, detailing his version of the establishment of the New Guard. He died in Canberra in 1970. Biography Early life Eric Campbell was born on 11 April 1893 at Young, in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, the youngest child of Allan Campbell and Florence (née Russell). His father was a local solicitor. Eric had three older brothers. He was educated privately after which Campbell worked as an articled law clerk in his father's office. Campbell was a sergeant in the New South Wales Senior Cadets. He travelled to England as a member of the New South Wales Coronation Cadet Contingent to march in the coronation parade of George V and his wife Mary in June 1911. During their time in England the contingent was inspected by the King. In a letter referring to the inspection, published in Sydney's Evening News, Campbell wrote: "He asked me several questions when inspecting, I being the only cadet he addressed in the contingent". From late in 1913 Campbell served in the volunteer Australian Field Artillery. In January 1914 he was provisionally appointed as a lieutenant in the Field Artillery. War Service Eric Campbell enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) at Young on 1 April 1916 and was placed in the 27th Battery of the 7th Field Artillery Brigade. He was immediately promoted to captain in recognition of his service in the volunteer Field Artillery. In May he departed from Sydney aboard the troopship H.M.A.T. Argyllshire. On 29 December 1916 Campbell crossed from England to France to join the fighting on the Western Front. In July 1917 he was transferred to the 12th Australian (Army) Field Artillery Brigade; he was promoted to major and placed in charge of the 46th Battery. In November 1917 Campbell suffered from gas poisoning and was transferred to a hospital in London. He was discharged the following January and returned to the front line in February 1918. In April 1918 Campbell was gassed for the second time at Robecq in northern France, but remained on duty. His battery was involved in fighting at Strazeele during June and the Somme from early August until the cessation of hostilities in November 1918. Campbell was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 31 December 1918. In late February 1919 he left England for Australia aboard the S.S. Anchises, arriving in Sydney on 18 April 1919. Campbell was discharged from the A.I.F. in June 1919. Post-war In Sydney Campbell completed his legal studies and was admitted as a solicitor on 29 August 1919. From 1920 to August 1926 he worked as a solicitor in a partnership with Septimus G. Rowe, with offices in Pitt Street, Sydney. Campbell maintained a connection with the military during this period, as a major in the militia commanding the 9th Field Artillery Brigade at the Holsworthy Base in south-west Sydney. On 27 May 1924 the Labor Daily newspaper published an article about a young man named Harold Wallace who died of pneumonia at Sydney Hospital on May 19. Nine weeks before his death Wallace had been undergoing military training at Holsworthy camp where he was subjected to a punishment by being forcibly held beneath a cold shower in the middle of the night for thirty-five minutes. The father of the young man was pressing for an inquiry into the incident which, he claimed, contributed to his son's death. The article concluded with the statement: "In this particular case the commanding officers were Major Rickard and Campbell, and there was little doubt that they or the officers beneath them showed criminal neglect of duty". Two days after the article appeared Eric Campbell issued a writ out of the New South Wales Supreme Court for three thousand pounds damages against the newspaper. In October 1924 an apology was published in the Labor Daily explaining that Majors Rickard and Campbell were not in camp when "the incident was alleged to have taken place", nor was the trainee in any unit commanded by either of the officers. On 22 October 1924 Campbell married Nancy Emma Browne at the bride's family home at 'Memagong' station near Young. The couple lived at 'Boongala', a grand Federation house, located on Ku-ring-gai Avenue in the upper North Shore suburb of Turramurra. Eric and Nancy Campbell had five children born between 1925 and 1938 (including twin girls who died at birth in 1934). By December 1924 Campbell had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the militia. In 1924 and 1925 Campbell served as a part-time General Service Officer (GSO) to Major-General Charles ('Digger') Brand, the Di.... Discover the Sydney Campbell popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sydney Campbell books.