93 Year Old Irish Soldier describes World War One, 1988
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ม.ค. 2021
- Jack Campbell of The Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 16th Irish Division on Ireland's 'The Late Late Show'.
Dubliner Jack Campbell, Ireland's last "Old Contemptible" served in the Great War with four of his older brothers. He was gassed during the course of the war.
He died in Leopardstown Hospital on the 18th November 1992 aged 97. - บันเทิง
He was 93 in this interview and it's incredible how mentally alert and articulate he is.
He said he was 16 when he enlisted, earliest he listed was 1914, so he was at most 90 in this interview
@S.K 123 That's correct he says he's an 'Old Contemptible' These were the first soldiers to land in France and were 'Regular Army' serving soldiers (non-conscripted).
Brilliant I love too see the whole interview very interesting my great grandfather fought in the same war and lived through it and was lucky enough to come home to Dublin 8,RIP to all the men that fought for there families too put food on the tables of there wife's and kids, plus the men that fought for are freedom 1916,1920,22
@@dermotosullivan3065 He wor the 1914/1915 Star.
@@dermotosullivan3065 What Facebook page do you refer to? I'd like to see it.
The interviewer did a great job of asking a question and then shutting up. I wish today’s hosts would learn from this guy.
He's a very classy gentleman. Love the way he spoke, and carried himself and interacted with the interviewees.
That was Gay Byrne. A giant of the talkshow industry
To be honest I thought he was a bad interviewer, he constantly asked closed ended questions like "how many", "how far", yes/no etc. It's just that the interviewee was a good story teller and carried it.
Amen. Sheesh. Patience is a rare trait.
@@gwjbyrne any relation to you Garry? I bet you've been called big "GAY" Byrne a few times lol
"Without favour, affection, malice or ill will". Rolled of the tongue of a man in his 10th decade. Wow
I love how he talks so quick and swift... most elderly at that age, the conversations are slow and often painfully slow... this guy is like a fire hydrant of recollections... a historical goldmine.
He's more switched on than me in this and I'm 22.
All these years of whisky embalming kept him in good shape 😂.
Actually I had to slowed down this video while usually I speed them 😂
All the old people were like that full of good talk. Not like the fuckin' idiots we have knocking around today.
He speaks like a 21 year old ,,,sharp as a tack ,,,,,,for his age that’s very rare…..
He passed away at 97, four years after this interview. RIP jack
He was 93 in this? Fuckin hell if he said he was 65 id half believe him
F
@@MarlboroughBlenheim1 He said he was 16 when signing up to the army.
@@dannyneville1310 yes you’re right. I’m being dim.
💚💚💚
You know why this is a great interview? He shuts up and lets the man talk. Some modern interviewers could learn a thing or two from him.
I remember watching this interview. It's from Irish T.V. "The Late Late Show". Must be at least 40 years old. Gay Byrne was the best interviewer not alone in Ireland but probably in the whole world. R.I.P. Gay..The main reason why I hardly ever watch T.V. now days.
Omg yeah they'd try to make it all about modern stuff, "so, when you were in the trenches, did you ever once think about the role of systematic racism in the war, I mean you Irish were a lot like the Africans and Indians brought in from other parts of the empire, did you ever once think..."
Gay Byrne passed in late 2019, I think he was 85 or thereabouts....
Gay Byrne was probably the most popular man in Ireland when he was alive
@@Awakeningspirit20 Racist.
this man saw things that could turn a human insane, the audience laughing about the rats eating your food, they just dont understand what this man went through neither do we, nothing but respect for this gentlemen.
Well you have to know aswell by his tone he was making a light joke out of what he's talking about, Irish deal tragedy with humour
He went through hell but trump went through a harder hell to bring you the country we all know and love today he deserves respect too no offence to our hero here
@@NigerianCrusader you are a pathetic individual that just reads whatever is infront of you. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE BACKGROUND NOT THE STUFF THEY SHOW YOU. my god you must be joking, you think rearing a idiotic country is as hard as trench fucking warfare. dont ever talk on war again with opinions like that you baffoon.
And for what? Germans are the most beautiful😢
@@NigerianCrusader what in the hell are you talking about
"War is War, you kill or be killed." This gentleman summed up the hells of war perfectly. Because across all generations, war is terrible. No ifs, ands or buts.
I'm so happy and glad that there is a record straight from the mouth of someone who served over a century ago, live and in the flesh so that way we can all hear it. So many of his buddies didn't survive, and this gentleman does a great service in honoring their memories by sharing his story. He was living proof of the experiences so many experienced during WW1. Written and recorded records of things like this are so important. For it's videos like this that keeps not only this man's legacy alive, but to keep alive actual testimony and witness from someone who served his country and lived to tell the tale.
May this gentlemen, as well as all of those who served in both World Wars, rest in heavenly peace. 🙏
Kill or be killed is just obvious lol stop overthinking it
It’s also a reminder!
@Conner sealey. Never mind saying don't over think it, you stop over simplifying it.
"Kill or be killed " is a classic, hardcore expression from the hell of war, its a way to try and convey the situation a soldier is in, to people who have never had to be in themselves.
It's actually a great crak don't forget that most of us join the army to do one thing and that's kill the enemy go to war and be a soldier or in my case a royal marine
No the only thing that matters in war is the men next to you and the bonds you make with them that helps keep you alive and gives you hope. It is not about killing and no soldier goes in or has that mentality it is just an occupational hazard, the thing you are fighting for is the men who came with you facts.
When a man like this speaks, you stay silent and listen to every word.
@Leo D'Arcy Then you missed the point of my statement entirely.
I was hanging on every word this man said, incredible what they went through. Look at all bullshit people get upset about today.
@@alecaquino4306 , I agree ! And yeah , Leo didn't get your comment at all !!
Absolutely
i bet you're used to staying silent
"I went there to see the world and I dam near saw the second world."
God bless him, at least he has a sense of humour about it.
Yes that leapt out to me as well.
He is a character with big brass balls. G-d bless him.
He wasn't trying to be funny when he said rats would steal his food.🐀🐀🐀
The world is better
All truth
My Great-uncle, the first visit to his grave was in 2016, for 100 years he had no visitor, a renamed street was the clue to find him and we did. He was injured previously was allowed to go home for a week because it was Lent (Catholic Holiday) and he got married, he returned to the front to be injured again and die from his wounds. He was 21, joined the army in 1913. Don't give up searching for the soldier if you have one missing.
Private John Kelly, 11298, 8th Bat., Royal Irish Fusiliers, died on Friday August 11, 1916 and is buried in Chocques Military Cemetery (Grave 1. J. 37), Pas de Calais, France. He was born in Dublin.
Lest we forget
Lest we forget lcfc winning the league in 2016 💙🦊@ThomasKelly669
I could listen to this man for months...they don't make them like that anymore. My humble utmost respect to you Jack
War makes them like that unfortunately. Wars are always on the horizon.
they arent made now because the times of destitute they lived in, that is what creates these people, experience and genuine hardship
I've never seen an interview with a real WW1 veteran before. Brilliant.
I suggest you search on You Tube for the 1960's TV series "The Great War" then, it has dozens of them,.
Look up the late Harry Patch. He was the last surviving soldier of WW1.
A very wise man who lived to be 111 years old.
th-cam.com/video/0bt1ycpezn0/w-d-xo.html&pbjreload=101
Proper Soldier. If only I had ever been that good ...
Thankfulness to his exertion.
Best line in the interview is when Jack talks about joining the Army, "I thought I was going to see the world but I damn near saw the second world". How dapper and smart he looked for a 93 year old, sharp as a tack, died in 1992, age 97. He was also an Old Contemptible which means he was one of the first soldiers in France in August 1914.
RIP
RIP x
Pub in Birmingham named the Old Contemptible’s.
God bless him , he must have seen some terrible things.
He joined at sixteen he said so he could only have been 90 during the interview no I know it says on the video 93.
Excellent interviewer. Asks an intelligent question, shuts up and then listens to the answer. ✅
At 93 this hero and classy gentleman is laser sharp. He brings history of the Great War to real life. This man and his experience is priceless. Protect this interview like it is a treasure because it is.
Bow with honour and respect to this great man. 🇮🇪 🇨🇦 🇬🇧.
Like my grandad whos soon 93. So proud.
Well said.
@@robertsinnerman7804 Thank you sir.
Over 70 years had passed by then, and still, he remembered everything.
Fairly sure Gaybo the interviewer. His dad was in wwi also .
In the Calvary .
So I’d say he was interested to know more about it all because of this .
My great-grandfather, Private McComb, fought in Ww1. He was a Roman Catholic, and his mother was from Ireland.
23 May 1916.
Unit name - Anzac Cyclist Battalion, Reinforcement 3
AWM Embarkation Roll number 12/2/3
Embarkation details. Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A67 Orsova on 1 August 1916.
He survived the war and passed away in December 1958. Buried in Hamilton, Victoria Australia. Rest easy Pops
Can you imagine how sparky this kid was back in the war if this is what he were like at 93?
They don't make them like this anymore
Amen.
@@hallerd I'm imagining a slight young feller, fleet of foot, probably dodged more punches than he threw. Seems like a good lad who went on to live a good life. It's true they don't forge them like this anymore.
Nowadays they'd label him ADHD and try to medicate him for it.
@@MegaMecoso I know a guy who saw action in afghanistan and iraq. Kind of like this guy.
I like the way the interviewer just let him talk.
As he should have.
Gay Byrne was in a league of his own!
Absolutely Gay was a different class, seems so simple but so many just don't get it right, imagine Tubs interviewing him, constantly butting in with stupid jokes and remarks
@@peteroneill5426 agreed
Ask a questions and listen to the reply as it should be and wait until hes finished then ask another 👍
A true soldier. As a combat veteran of Afghanistan, I’ve still seen nothing compared to these men. There are things that stick with you for life. He seems to have a sense of humor about the whole affair. Many soldiers use humor as a coping mechanism. Just talk to any medic to find out. This man was in a war that took place before my grandparents were born, yet a good soldier is a good soldier. A good man is a good man. The same now as it was over 100 years ago. Much respect.
Doesn’t mean that because they had it “worse” your own thoughts and ptsd doesn’t matter if you have any.
And still youth easily forget their hardship
Frighteningly, as you know the Nazis and Occultist Elites are again attacking humanity with a vengeance.
And this time not only in Wars..but as rats inside every Corporation, School, Media, Religion, Organization, Government, etc, in every Country under the umbrella of the World Economic Forum.
Its absolute madness. 😢
I somehow woke up from a dream…either in the wrong dimension or in the end times.
I Sincerely want to Thank you ❤.
A good Man is a good Man..and Men who have fought evil…stand with the Angles of God.
Taliban won
And you are no hero buddy. You're heathen, animalistic heathen. You killed poor people in their own land. Shame on you. Those capitalist a hole who sent you there are the most lowest piece of crap this earth ever known. May you rot in hell.
I am almost 53 and in 1st grade about 1974 an American World War I Vet came to visit our class. A very tall thin man wearing his old uniform. He was soft spoken and humble. The other students asked him questions even then I found awkward. "are you a hero"? "did you kill anyone" ? He laughed it all off as kids who could not understand. He just said he was a kid and did what his country asked of him. He said he was no hero and just had a job to do".
Looking back I wish I had the chance to ask him real questions with what I know now. He was just one of many men and women in that war, and now they are all gone. His story and name lost as far as I know. I live in the same town he came to visit our school all those years ago. Wish I could know where he is buried and leave something, flowers, note, candle. I will take his memory to my grave.
That's very cool. When I worked for the Federal Govt., we had a WWII vet who was part of liberating troops at Auschwitz. He described what he saw, and I never forgot it.
His story isn't lost, it's right here, or a piece of it is.
In this comment.
You should write down what you do remember. In honor of him, and every forgotten soldier from that war.
Even if it's not a single page long.
@@mr_h831 It was almost 50 years ago. Just remember him being very tall and thin. Super polite and humble.
This is the sort of person you want on your side. They should never be forgotten.
Sadly though, they WERE forgotten, written out of Irish history after 1922 as if they had never existed and were not worthy of remembrance.
Its up to us to ensure generations to come remember these brave men and explain as best we can their point of view
Wow what a gentlemen.!!!!!!
@@jimmymcguire8217 I agree, but it's an uphill struggle I'm afraid. Newly independent Ireland started re-writing it's recent history almost before the last of these brave men had returned home and the narrative had already turned against them. I suppose it was too uncomfortable for the new state to contemplate the fact that for every man that joined the IRA in that period about ten times as many joined the British Army. I think there were 11,000 who joined in 1918 alone, and something like 20,000 in 1921!
well said
One can only hope to have this level of mental clarity at his age
You got that right! 😂 👍🏻
I was just thinking the same thing.
I should be so lucky!
I would be happy with half his honestly. Most people in their 80s don't speaks nearly as articulately with their families and yet he is doing so in an interview at 93... It's something to aspire to, not just to be alive for so long, but to be living life for so long. A big difference.
Those that have recently taken one or more CoViD "vaccine" will not come close to living to this mans age, according to Mike Yeadon who was the chief scientist at Pfizer these people have 2-3 years to live.
@@user-yw3cy8pn3b mike yeadon is a crackpot that didn’t even work in vaccine research, he wasn’t even the chief scientist of Pfizer lol
The saddest part of his story is not how sharp he is after all that time, but in how long he has had to keep these horrid memories. 75 years+ to keep these memories. Don't know if I could ever be as strong.
Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
Indeed.
He was in the war from the very beginning and it was amazing that he survived. Life in the trenches sounded like hell on earth.
Truly amazing he survived that long.
And at The Som 😭
His brothers didn't survive, one was killed the same day he was wounded by gas on the Somme in 1916. He said it took "days" to recover, at that stage he had survived 2 years in the trenches. gas, bad weather, artillery, lack of food and watching your buddies killed, wounded and eaten by rats. Could be said Jack saw inside the Gates of Hell and survived to tell the tale.
It is true; a hell on earth, but one must also bear in mind that when a section on the front was stable, troops were rotated between there, reserves quite close behind, and recuperation much further away. Another oddity was that a soldier could go on leave, and be home quite quickly.
To be killed in action is one thing, but when he described the young man who died from the rat bite, that got to me. No one deserves to die like that.
Yeah that was nasty
Mums dad got gassed and died of ruined health at home.
A pre antibiotic death sentence. Most likely necrotising fasciitis.
Sadly,more died from non action causes such as exposure,starvation,disease or chronic illness etc in the two world wars. Then again,is there really a good way to die?
Terrifying
When enemy soldiers reach a mutual agreement not to attack supply lines you know they are both in living hell
Yeah it's hard to imagine coming to the realisation you're not at all different and still having to kill them anyway. Unless there is an invading force attacking our country I'd never join the army.
@@bigsteve6729 i feel the same! heaven help you if you invade my country
Indeed..
That was the thing in WW1, when there were railways behind the lines and troops moved still mainly by foot on the battlefield. That allowed large amount of troops to be moved very quickly behind the lines to where they were needed, but then actual movement on the field was slow. That's why the lines froze and neither side managed to get forward, as the opponent could always bring new troops and new equipment to the hot spot faster than you could get forward with yours.
@@bigsteve6729 problem with that is the enemy can take over the entire continent then around you like in ww2. I think I would think about it in terms of whether the war is helping anyone at all, so obviously not some bullshit oil war in the middle east. but I suppose it would be very difficult to decide
Never again.
The interviewer was great. He let his guest speak, uninterrupted. and when recounting the sheer horror, the emotions he brings up.
In 1982, I was 9 years old, I met a man who was 93. He was born in 1889. He was an old cowboy. I’m blessed to have met someone who was born in the 1800s in my lifetime.
Something I’ll never know. The oldest person I’ve ever met was born in 1916.
Thats cool man.
@@andrewe.8373 Still pretty amazing when you think about it.
80`s and early 90`s boys where blessed to meet those people from other era when i was a kid i meet lots of really old people that fighted in the revolution war of mexico, is kind of weird how mentally strong they where becuase all the devastation they saw in their lifes.
The oldest person I ever met in my life was my great great grandmother who was born in 1912
Has anyone noticed how vivid and detailed this guy's memory is as he recalls things that happened 74 years prior? It all must have been literally burned onto his brain.
PTSD is a very real thing man. Im just glad he was able to get help for it as opposed to our American Veterans Affairs where they get put on back burner.
Everytine that man closes his eyes he sees those boys. And that mud.
you'll notice this from many older people from ages past... they grew up with much more nutritious meat and produce and had very few microplastics + pesticides in their environment. Thus much less cognitive-degenerative diseases
No they lived healthier and happier lives back then
@@unclebobs90 fr
From a UK veteran thank you and others Ireland veterans for your service
They didn't have much choice my friend
@@NewHandle_ Conscription was never enforced in Ireland in ww1. Many men signed up willingly. Most were encouraged by the cause of home rule.
@@NewHandle_ Chip on your shoulder mate?
I found this by accident.. This interviews worth transcends the questions surrounding WW1 and its futility. Mr Campbell's lucid recollection of his personal experiences permits a rare glimpse into the past. I was impressed by his polite side stepping of Gay Byrne's invitation to sum it all up as "senseless" by his reference instead to "loyalty", I suspect Mr Campbell, very aware he was a survivor, did not wish to break loyalty with his many dead comrades by dismissing their deaths as meaningless or pointless. This I found impressive, and quietly moving.
Didn't think of that initially. Great read.
Imagine how fast he spoke when was a young lad
He honestly speaks more fluent and articulate English than most young people in Dublin nowadays
M.A.G.A
This interview needs to be preserved for all of history...
Well it is now. It's on the internet.
It is
Is the internet no longer sufficient?
Before long TH-cam will age restrict it and demand you put in your CC details, so they can use them against you for something probably, in order to view it.
@@demorik6794 Just wait until the channel gets 3 strikes for offensive dancing and it'll all be gone.
An absolute legend of a man, like so many from that generation.
Hard folk. Different class to what we have today.
What a hero this fella is, we really do have it so easy compared to real men like him, hats off to you and rip Jack
The Ukrainian civilian men and women are fighting for their lives as we speak. All their 18- to 60-year-olds.
And why? Because of one Russian tyrant’s ego. History repeats itself.
As he’s talking it’s as if he’s alive today. It brings history closer. So fortunate this interview was taken.
Completely agree
See the documentary “They Shall Not Grow Old.” It’s completely modernized and colorized footage of WWI with voiceovers of several real WWI vets being interviewed. It is really good.
@@jiveassturkey8849 need to check it out, thank you. My great great grandad and great grandad fought in WW1 and WW2. Both survived. My great grandad was taken as a PoW and managed to escape by digging his way out of prison. There must be so many similar remarkable stories.
Georgina Thompson wow that’s cool. Several generations of my family fought in every American war going back to the Civil War in the 1860s. My dad was in Vietnam, both grandfathers were in WWII. I had a great uncle in WWI, and at least 3 of my 3x great grandfathers fought in the American Civil War (in both sides), i however didn’t do anything lol.
@@jiveassturkey8849 Oh wow! I find the civil war really fascinating. There are some videos on TH-cam of civil war veterans taken in the early 1900s. There’s also a video of a man who saw John Wilkes Booth assassinate Abraham Lincoln. I think it was filmed in the 30 or 40s. That means that our old generation alive today would have met people alive in the 1800s, they too could have met people born in the very late 1700s.
People throw the word “hero” today like confetti..this is what it means to be a hero
Yeah like athletes making millions of $$ r called Hero for playing a Fuckkkk sport unbelievable smh
@Will Swift Well lets thank our lucky stars they did, otherwise we wouldn't have the freedoms and trappings the western world now bestowes on us. what challenge has anyone really faced since 1950? how would we react today if we had to do the same to protect our freedoms, could we really count on the masses to drag themselves away from thier box set binge-watches, remember they gave their lives to give you the platform to comment. Unless you have served, you will never understand or appreciate the real cost and what these veterans fought and died for.
@Will Swift and also dont forget ladies and gentleman that the earth is flat :)
I think you took the wrong message from this. Listen to his response after asked what his attitude was. First He said he was loyal and when he demonstrated no one deserted he remarked "That's loyalty" and he paused. The interviewer made a very shrewd observation that he could relate that loyalty by asking about the Germans jack shot. Where did loyalty lead him and his pals (and, ostensibly, the Germans)? His answer --> "Kill or be killed, there was no remorse". I think this can be seen as "There were no heroes, just men doing what they were asked of them"
@Leo D'Arcy I think that was his point
Hearing about WW1 was horrifying. This man was a hero just for surviving.
“War is a game, it’s kill or be killed, so we didn’t have any remorse for things like that.” Holy shit when he said that the one thought that popped into my head was “holy shit this guy is stone cold”
It's partially because of the propaganda at the time.
It was, "a great adventure!"
You had to, "do your bit!" (Do your duty)
Uncle Sam wanted you!
And if ever you thought of desertion, you could be publicly executed.
This man must've thought people in the 1960s were weak, the same way people FROM the 1960s think WE'RE weak.
“The lice ate the flesh of the living while the rats gorged themselves on the dead. It was just sheer punishment”. This generation experienced things I hope never are experienced again
You must live in wealthy country. The north koreans starve on their best day. And theyre having a bad time right now.
@@luket1815 no one cares
@@crispy2429 Care or not, terrible suffering didnt end just because the world wars did.
@@crispy2429 i love how someone can lay out their argument and people on the internet can reply with just “no lol”
I hope any of you in the West don't think that these types of times couldn't come back, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's not a question of are you paranoid but are you paranoid enough?
"without favour, affection, malice or ill will"
Really hit me this finishing line. Can hardly think of a better way of putting it
Excatly.
@@salvationbygracethroughfaith The man just described his experiences in one of the most devastating wars in humanity's history and you act like it's a trivial thing to be hit by emotionally? Lol okay
@@salvationbygracethroughfaith I'm in full agreement - though to op's defense, zombies are usually disinterested in genuine human experience.
I don't think this is an example of that.
And hey, don't let the masses wind you up - you're not alone in your eyerolling.
@@salvationbygracethroughfaith boohoo
@UCy6LSPpzT5b73SxOjkXagFQ This is TH-cam, not New York City, Deadass 🅱️
What a treasure. R.I.P. Jack Campbell
93 and still remembers vivid details. Amazing. Glad they got this on film.
Me 12 minutes ago, I won’t watch all of this.... hung on every word
Same here aye
Me too
Same
Perfect me also
Same.
It’s crazy to think - this gentleman, when younger, would have interacted with older folk born in the early 1800s :O and we’re watching this in 2021…
Yeah, it's mind blowing
The american civil war was as recent at this mans birth as the vietnam war was for me when i born 99. That is absolutely mindblowing to me
@@2510LuL Damn, good way of putting it mate
@@2510LuL Gulf war
What a world we live in. This wouldn't have been possible 100 years ago.
I'm speechless he volunteered no less at 16 and at 93 he is so alert not te mention remembers it so perfectly 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
It's not something you forget. I've read that even when elderly war veterans get dementia and literally start forgetting the names of their loved ones, they don't forget the trauma of war.
What kills me is the audience not fully grasping the fear and disappear these men felt. He said himself he thought he was gonna see the world but saw the worst acts of mankind and the audience laughed,
This guy is more of a man than I could ever dream of being.
Me too.
Me too
Man up. The worlds going to shit. I dont need girly, weak minded men next to me if we have to go into a world war.
@@CDTJosh LOL. Yes sir. Forgive me sir. You couldn't even realize it was a post meant to respect this man, but stay put with the keyboard man cheerleading. What a clown.
@@CDTJosh Your words make you sound like a complete meathead, my guy. Exactly the type that the Army wants in their Frontline infantry.
Best history is from men like this... What a privilege to hear this man.
I agree Brett. I love watching these videos of real men and women who know what real hardships are.
Most people these days take everything for granted.
@@BrickOvenBakery I believe that there should be so much more content, like this. Documenting all the small minutiae that text books leave out. This rich content so much more assists in the rich texture of history.
@@betteroffdead
For sure. I agree.
Well said Brett
that plot twist when he was in dublin was perfect
How sharp this man is at 93, wow. These horrors he could never forget, my god. It's so awful. He really gives you a depiction, but without any sense of drama. That's incredible. I keep thinking about his poor parents having all their boys in the the fight...
God bless this man. What an important interview to keep for the historical record.
My grandfathers went through WWI as young men & it ruined their health, one was mustard gassed & the other had an armful of shrapnel. Another relative lied about his age, he was only 12 in reality, but it was his job to collect the dead & then he was put on horse burying duty. These men & boys came from an extremely tough life in civvie street & that's how they coped, today's pampered young men just wouldn't manage the same.
When a man like this speaks you damn well let him speak. He deserves every minute of time to share his experience of hell. I love that the interviewer didn’t rush him along.
correct on all counts. Love your blend of truth telling and concision. Kudos.
Couldn't agree more. They don't make men like this anymore. I'm blown away by how easily he speaks about the worst horrors man has ever known. I'm sure it took him a long time to come to grips with it
Can not explain how completely humbling this is listening to him.
Fucking incredible. Man, pure history from the mouth of a man with eyes and hands and ears and nose that smelled saw felt and held it all. 16 years old in the trenches.
Yes. Verily. There were many a-cases that teens, as young as 14 fled home from Orphanages, Poverty-stricken homes, and kids envisioning war as a glorious endeavour went in the army. And since there was no National ID to identify and confirm their age, they just whisk them off to the front.
This was stopped when concerned parents pressured their governments to look into this. This didn’t happen again in WW2.
He would've been 19 at the outset of the war if the age and date in the title are right. I think it was that he was in the British army before the war started.
@@ciarancassidy7566 yes, I think you are correct. Sounds like he was a British Regular who joined the army at 16 a few years before WWI. I always wondered about the career soldiers who started the war before the volunteers showed up. Sounds like very passionate and brave men as fine a soldier as could ever been hoped for throughout history. So much respect for Jack.
@@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347 Yes it did. In America plenty of guys lied about their ages in WW1 and WW2. Id even bet some did in Korea. Idk if by Vietnam they had better records but im sure there were cases of kids lying about their age, identity and so on to get into the army.
My great grandfather served in ww1, he did a similar interview here in Canada but for the life of me I can’t find it anywhere😢. He told me horror stories of the trench warfare and the Rats! He would wake up in the middle of the night screaming about rats running over and all around his body. I woke him up once when he was screaming and jerking his hands and arms and kicking, when he awoke he said never do that again. I loved that man, 80 years after the war and he was still traumatized by the horrors.
Every child and politician needs to hear this
"Without favour or affection, malice or ill will." A fine quote and epitaph, from a universal soldier. RIP.
wats favour
@@MidnightPolaris800
approval, support, or liking for someone or something.
Would have been far better that they had never killed their fellowman in the first place.
But see what happened when they trusted their anti-human governments.
At least the foreign arms dealers and ideological criminals got mighty rich and powerful off those wars.
At the expense of tens of millions of White working Europeans.
Europe's peoples have still not recovered from those two wars started by the backroom money barons they never even heard the names of.
Would have far better if they had never been there to kill their fellowman in the first place!
Those young idealistic and loyal European working men were groomed and lured to go into battle and kill their fellow working European men for nothing but the gain of their common enemy.
Groomed and lured by the international oli.garchs who made trillions off the blood of more than TEN MILLIONS of best and brightest young healthy European men between the ages of 16 and 25.
God has not forgotten the unrepented sins of the snake-barons!
Would have been far better had they never been groomed and lured to go off to kill each other in the first place.
Poor wretched young men.
Their lives taken in the millions upon millions at the flower of their youth.
Neither they nor their people won anything from it.
I'm an ex royal marine and I've done the battlefield tours in France,Belgium but hearing this gentleman talking about ww1 brings it all to life a born story teller is old Jack
Why would you stand under the Jack as a Celt? I don't understand it
@@caramadra5 why not that's like asking old jack why fight in the trenches and stand under the red white and blue and he's Irish at the hight of the rising in Ireland politics and religion doesn't matter you fight for your brothers and sisters that are in the blood guts and the shit and the vomit with you only a coward would stand by and let his fellow countryman fight and die on his behalf and I'm no fucking coward
@@caramadra5 Because he’s defending his own nation of Wales as well as his brothers and sisters in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland you plank. When you serve in the British Army you serve alongside your brothers from the other nations than we are physically joined to and one that is just across the water, Northern Ireland is so close that it’s visble from Scotland on a clear day. You defend your own nation together as one. Small countries like ours having their own tiny Armies would be suicidal, together you are far far stronger and make yourself far less susceptible to any possible threat from outside. It’s common sense, as hard as that is for bitter people like yourself to accept - it is just a fact.
@@caramadra5 nobody made you 🔔🔚
But old jack seem more than u ever will American and also old jack or old Jack's country does not send guns to the horrible devil zionists to kill innocent people in Palestine as a American hang your bloody head in shame😊
Even at 93, he is still mentally so sharp and present. Its amazing.
These guys grew up more... organically... than we do today.
In old books, the elderly are assumed wise. Today, we are slowly poisoned, & mistake it for the aging process.
Very strong men and really hard working men they grew up in a completely different time to us.
@@toferg.8264 Today we have Joe Biden
My Gramps was in WW1 and came back without a scratch....but what he saw in the trenches blew his mind and he turned to drink.I'm told he never talked about what he witnessed until he'd had a lot to drink.Those brave folks that did what they did for our freedom will never be forgot, God Bless you Gramps xx
What is freedom. There were no winners in wo1. And what did you get after WO1. The beginning of wo2, Sovjets after wo2 etc. So there has never been freedom in europe.
bullshit. World War 1 had nothing to do with fighting for freedom. it's a stupid war that cost many men their lives.
Freedom? 😂 You britts attacked germany because you were war hungry. Nobody was gonna invade you
@@gamershqipe6226 I’m pretty sure you got that mixed up
@Chaddamp British involvement in WW1 wasn't about freedom lmao , it was about grievances with Germany & many different European powers having different alliances and allegiances all sparked off by the Assassination of arch Duke Franz Ferdinand in Bosnia because of Austria-Hungary's occupation of Bosnia and how that was opposed to the idea of South Slavic nationalism which would go on to create Yugolsavia after WW1. Many ppl fought for freedom in WW1 but the Brits were not one of them with the exception of the Easter rising of 1916 which was a significant moment in the Republic of Ireland eventually gaining independence from the UK. The Irish guy in this video was actually one of the pro British ppl in ireland , many refused to fight for Britain during the war.
What an incredible human being this gentleman was ! Lest we forget
That was 11.24 minutes of my life that was worth every second . Utterly engrossing, what a man .
I happily invested 22:48!
I won't regret watching this video, ever
I'm sharing it ,wow that was worth watch,best thing I've seen on TH-cam
I was back there in the trenches, as he described it. What an incredible man.
I love how he still says “Tommy’s” to describe the British troops and Jerry to describe the Germans. Best time on TH-cam I’ve ever spent.
Brings a whole new meaning to Tom and Jerry
@@joevining2603 haha exactly.
Before it became Abdullah's and Jerome's. Take back your country ffs don't you see what's happening in the US?
@@MattC-jg1yb weirdo
@@MattC-jg1yb oh, its one of you.
This guy is a true hero. Unfortunatly not many around like Jack these days. God bless him
You mean none. Aaa WW1 vets passed a while ago
The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111.
WWI vets aren't heroes, they're victims. If was one of the most pointless wars ever fought and there was no glory in it.
@@mr.iiconic Depends on what country, Germany was being assholes and sinking ships all over the place dragging the United States into the war
@@Someguy6571 i meant true heros dick head. FAH 😄
This solid man is a Irish legend 👍👍💪💪
“Well, I thought I was going to see the world, but I damn near seen the second world, the other world.”
What a great quote. How this guy still had a sense of humor in his 90s and after seeing everything he saw is beyond me.
That's the Irish for you! My grandfather was full blood and served in three invasions during WW2, Africa, Italy, and France. Kept his humor even on his death bed.
@@ryanmulherin2682 Likewise for my great grandfather who fought on the Somme
@@ryanmulherin2682 A sense of humour is the best asset in those situations
@@ryanmulherin2682 Cant distinctively call it an Irish thing mate. It takes a special character like him to have this outlook. But I imagine the 70+ years he had after the trenches turned nightmares to humour. The best thing i've learned is to turn bad times into something to laugh at. He's just mastered this concept
And here we are trying to save the third world
“You kill them or they kill you. What the hell, it was just a game.”
I've watched/listened to quite a few WWI veteran interviews, it's always interesting to see their reactions to these sorts of questions, because they can vary quite a lot!
Can't put the blame on them you know. They didn't ask to become murderers they were forced to.
Been there myself, I don't blame the enemy either, they're just doing their job same as us.
@Fella Truth Repeating what he said doesn't make you any more educated.
He lost his brother, when he shouldn't have even been there in the first place because he was underage. Someone tricked him into believing he'd get to see the world, that's not war that's manipulation.
@Fella Truth Both sides were christians forced to fight. Nobody wanted to be there, they had no choice. You really gonna dehumize them to 'theyre soldiers'
This gentleman is such a good speaker - many I find (not by their choice, and it's no criticism) speak very slow and carefully - he has so much to say in detail, you can truly have a conversation with him and it's still so vivid.
One of the most captivating videos on the internet.
I am deadly serious, I could sit and listen to that man for days and days and days.. I’d love to have known Jack or any of the old generation from that time. There were many young Irish men like Jack that fought in both World wars, many paid the ultimate sacrifice and it’s a shame they were left in Limbo by their own government and the British government.. It doesn’t Matter if you’re an Irish nationalist or a British unionist or anything in between. Those boys need to be honoured & remembered. Most were young lads looking for adventure and earnings, it wasn’t political for the lads in the trenches..
Total respect from a Belfast Nationalist.
Well said 👏👏
Well said.
Couldn't agree more and that's coming from an Englishman
Well said.
Its such a shame brave men like Jack risking their lives for the elite and then forgotten, war is always about money n never freedom thats a spiel told to the working man! 😢
"If a man ever tells you he went over the top and he wasn't scared, he's a damn liar'
Or insane!
Harry Patch
Reminds me of my grandpa. He passed at 88 and he was sharp as a tack. He fought in WWII and he was Irish as well.
They need to show things like this in school. Hearing real experiences from over 100 years ago is important for our psychology
My generation truly doesn't know how lucky we are
Different times, different circumstances, however I’m not so sure about how lucky . We have the potential to do great things in today’s world but still governments the world over are slowly and surely taking everything from us! And I mean EVERYTHING!
Indeed. The horrors of working from home dont really compare!
The luckiest were the one born after ww2. It seems like another global war will occur
10,000 people died of TB in Ireland 1916, still didnt stop them.
And we cry about covid19. Makes me wonder what those men would think of us shower of keyboard wimps
I was born the year this was filmed. I'm a veteran of Iraq, but thank God in heaven I never had to experience anything like WW1. Men of iron right there.
Actually - if you fought in iraq, you might have fought such man of iron. Lots of the veterans of the iran iraq war still alive there. The WW1 of the arab world. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_War
Thank you for your service.
You're a solid man, thank you for serving
Sadly they didn't know what a hell on earth they were getting into. Like he says at the beginning of the video, joining the army was a chance to see another part of the world. This was true for so many allied soldiers joining the army at that time. You even had whole groups of young lads joining up together because they thought it would be a great adventure.
@@pboo2607 Thats why I joined too. Or at least one of the reasons. Was both the worst and best decision I ever made. Saw many different parts of the world, and climbed ancient ruins. But here I am now, 33 years old with nothing to show for it but alcoholism and post traumatic stress. I outlived my usefulness. A small part of me envies the guy who never came back. But thats just how life works I suppose. Im not the first to be in this position, and I wont be the last. I don't see it as good or bad. It simply "is". Neither negative nor positive.
Phenomenal interview. He really paints a picture of how terrifying it must have been for the young men on both sides that had to experience trench warfare. RIP to him and all the others.
As a Canadian I like to thank Jack for his service!!! 🙏 rip jack
🇮🇪
@@YourMum105Exactly.....people are better informed today but the censorship by You Tube is getting worse and worse.
@@YourMum105you didn't have a choice to not serve, just respect the memory of these young men
The breadth of this man's recollection of events 70 years past, is astounding.
It's haunted him his entire life
@@abbyrimmer1084 Agreed.
I'd say those traumatic thoughts play in his head like a HD movie.
I know I'd remember this horror's every detail for 700 years. Unfortunately.
Replays in his mind constantly yet no remorse. Well conditioned soldier. Once the memories STOP playing and quiet mind appears, he's is for a rude awakening. Most likely in his death bed.
That is one of the finest 11 minutes on TH-cam
agreed.
I wish we had 11 more minutes of this interview. I wonder how much more there actually was of this interview and it was edited for television.
Not the finest, the most truthful, nothing about war is good…not even survival or death. Death is self explanatory, Survival usually means u killed at least one innocent man (be it brainwashed or not)
My Grandfather served with the Leinster regiment.......he survived being gassed, dysentery, a bullet to his left chest in France/Belgium, ended up in Palestine and got malaria.........he died in 1973. I remember him well........... Jack Campbell & James Cummins may you RIP.
You must look at his eyes to understand the horrors he experienced and carried throughout his life. Would you wish this legacy on any human? The audience initially laughs as the surge of adrenaline courses through their veins preparing them for what they would never experience but will soon empathize with. Thank you, Jack, and your family. Hopefully, your testimony and those of others will prevent future tragedy.
“Kill or be killed, there was nothing more than you can do.” Again, the fact and reality of war.
if you didnt noticed.
it was a game, a wargame were his words as well....reality of perverting human honour in war.
That part was bad ass
‘Without favour, affection, malice or ill will’.
We owe our world to these men.
@@davidgraham8058 Indeed.
Not really. He had no obligation to take part. He was 16.
His mind was very, very healthy at that age. Being in his late 80s/90s with an ability to communicate as if you were still in your 20s is a rare thing of people reaching his age group.
Are you sure? I don't think it rare at all
I only feel a high amount of jealousy for this man, I am 26 and my speach is already impared.
@@robertbrawley5048 It's rare to be alive in your late 80s less than 10%
his mind is sharper and his speech more articulate than most people in their 20s, this generation is dumbed down because of social media and tictoc.
Probably avoided jabs, fluoride, chemicals in food all his life , we probably all be like that if everything we ate and drank was pure and untampered with
Wow, I don't have words for how mentally strong this man is
He certainly doesn’t sound like he’s in his 90s in this interview. It’s good to see and hear these interviews of people that served over 100 years ago.
WW1 was closer to them in 1988 than WW2 is to us today :(
@@denierdev9723 ???? Its pretty close actually, although 70 years in 1988, and 76 today. Maybe do some maths before commenting? :D
@@tommyoksanen471 Wow. No wonder you have no friends irl.
WW1 was 70 years before 1988, and WW2 is currently 76 away. 76 > 70 anyway, so WW1 was closer to them then WW2 is to is today.
Perhaps he meant the start of the respective wars? WW1 was 74 - WW2 is now 82 years ago?
Come on let's not speak so arrogantly when we are wrong..
horse teeth narcissist.
@@tommyoksanen471 Who’s mans are you? You literally just confirmed his comment dumbass.
@@af_125 *closer to them THAN ww2,,,
A privilege to hear this man speak.
I could sit and listen to this fine man for hours.
for 11 minutes, I sat there and listened to every word with no distraction or allowance of distraction for the first time since the inception of TH-cam. He deserved that much, and so much more.
It's an amazing piece of footage
Me too in reverance
Same. I rewound a couple of times, as well.
Same, total attention
@frank lapidus what are you trying to say well??... a good slap you want and turn your cheek for another,, he's as Irish as can be you fool!....
The interviewer did a good job allowing Mr. Campbell take the conversation wherever he wanted. He'd ask a question and Campbell would tell a story, then his next question wouldn't be to direct him back to the opening topic, but an encouraging question to simply get him to say more if he wanted.
It felt like the right way to conduct an interview on a subject like this.
Byrne was a master interviewer. It helped that he was also the producer so he never had his "producer" in his ear telling him to go to commercial. He had editorial "approval" so to speak so when an interview was going well then he would just let it all play out and give the interviewee all the time they needed if they were saying something, like in this case here, deeply fascinating and important.
Gay byrne was the man, much respected here in Ireland
Ah yes. Journalism. I miss it
One of the best interviewers, anywhere . !!!
You're right, it's great just to sit and listen to the stories he tells. What I'd give to go back and have a beer with someone like that and just let him talk.
This is a monumental historical record. What a wonderful man. His account will be talked about for a thousand years or more.
The man's mental clarity, and memory are incredible.
The story of the Irish who fought for the allies in both wars is one which isn't told enough. They should be remembered for their sacrifice.
thank you Irish brothers from a grateful Brit.
@G.I. Jew - American Hebrew
What a strange comment, what are referring to?
@G.I. Jew - American Hebrew well that is very ungracious and untrue
@G.I. Jew - American Hebrew what an idiotic comment
@G.I. Jew - American Hebrew shows your own ignorance
@G.I. Jew - American Hebrew your truth doesnt hurt me, but your hypocrisy is amazing
This man faced more hardship at the age of 16, than most (including me) will face in their whole lives.
God Bless your Jack, and may you Rest In Peace. A Hero.
As a woman now the men around me frighten me because they are for the most part so pathetic.
@@MsMesem eh?
including me
@@MsMesem If I said "most women are pathetic", you would never shut up about it and would call me a misogynist. Please don't make such blanket statements.
What we should be concerned with is some dip shit wanting to pull down this man's monuments and disrespect his service to his country!
"The Master class has always declared the Wars, the Subject class has always fought the battles."
Man this was intense to watch. Can't imagine the terror the men in the 1st World War endured
This made me cry my grandfather was in the K.O.S..B at the Somme and Yrpes . He rarely spoke, did not like noise. Only time I saw him talk was with men his age playing dominoes I asked him once about the war and he said " Rich men start them , poor men fight and die in them. " .
I wish more people today would embrace the wisdom of your grandfather.
same here only he was a german ....the only persons they speak with are the ones that were there themselves
i like to call it old comrade syndrom
General Smedley butler, war is a racket
Wise words from a wise guy.
Absolutely True. AND the Military Industrial Complex as warned of by General of the U.S. Armies and former 2 time U.S. President Dwight David Eisenhower.
Its such a disaster when men like this pass away. These stories need to be told.
It’s unfathomable to think of all the story’s lost to the past
@@MIKE-TYTHON Unfortunately, but thanks to the internet most of these heroes and their stories will never be forgetten, they're preserved for all the generations to know first hand the sacrifices these men made a very long time ago.
@@miardDD Agreed. Thank God.
Amen!
In schools globally
I love how the interviewer tried steering him towards saying that war is bad, but the soldier doesn't take the bait.
One is a dreamer and the other is a realist.
Could listen to him for hours instead of all the endless fake people on social media.. They don't make em like this anymore!.. 100 people these days ain't worth 1 from this generation, R.I.P ❤
That story of the boy who died from infection after being bitten on the face by a rat is horrifying...
Goriest war ever besides the American civil war
@@Jayyy667 the us south was the most deadly theatre for combatants and civilians ever recorded in modern history with something like 2.5% of civilians dying, then that record was beat by Belgium in wwi at like 3.5%, then Poland in ww2 at something ludicrous like 7% of civilians.
@@voiceofreason2674 I was referring to more personal combat, without the use of machine guns, aircraft and heavy vehicles
@@voiceofreason2674 Pennsylvania is not in the South
Did I hear him correctly that he thought the rat poison is what caused the bite victim's death?
This is absolutely horrifying and beyond the realm of most peoples' imagination. Yet he is able to describe the events in detail, without becoming emotional. And he harbors no animosity toward his (former) enemy. His mind must possess extraordinary coping mechanisms.
no he is just not a baby like most folks today
@@mynameisawesomeman While I agree that some people are oversensitive today, I'm sure it was hard for him to cope with what he experienced right after the war. It was hard for everyone, same for veterans of WWII. That's just normal. And if some people were not phased by events like this, they were most likely psychopaths or sociopaths. But time heals wounds and that is probably why he can talk about it freely now.
@@Cyan37 Well said.
He had had a while to process the whole thing. He is 1 in a million I suspect. God bless that man
my grandpa fought in ww2 (He was British) and he had no animosity either for the average german soldier/sailor.