In the following graph we can view in more detail the age of the 154 men of the 5th/22nd who enlisted in July 1915, and despite the raising of the recruitment age level the majority of the men were clearly in or below their mid-20's, with the mean at 23 years and an average of 26 years.
On 28 June 1915, young James Martin sailed from Melbourne aboard the troopship Berrima - bound, ultimately, for Gallipoli. He was just fourteen years old. "Soldier Boy" is Jim's extraordinary true story, the story of a young and enthusiastic school boy who became Australia's youngest known Anzac.
You had to be 18 years of age to enlist. But somehow James Martin, they called him Jim, got in there when he was only 14. He went off to Gallipoli. And he died a few weeks later.
Alec Campbell became the last Anzac in June 2001, following the death of Gallipoli veteran Roy Longmore in Melbourne, at the age of 106.
James Charles Martin (3 January 1901 – 25 October 1915) was the youngest Australian known to have died in World War I. He was only 14 years and nine months old when he succumbed to typhoid during the Gallipoli campaign.
Alexander William Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. Campbell joined the Australian Army at the age of 16 in 1915, and served as a stores carrier for two months during the fighting at Gallipoli.
heavy fire still met the Australians appearing over the rim of the plateau, and was sufficient to force the first men to take what cover they could on the seaward edge - Captain Annear was hit through the head and lay there, the first Australian officer to be killed.
The last entry in the roll of honour for Gallipoli was finally made on Thursday, 16th May 2002, when Alec Campbell, the last Anzac and last surviving participant of the Gallipoli campaign, died of pneumonia, aged 103.
The last of the Anzacs, Alec Campbell, died peacefully in Hobart last night. He was 103.
Landing at Anzac Cove
Neither side succeeded. Some 8,700 Australians lost their lives and some 18,000 were wounded during the campaign. The most successful operation of the campaign was the evacuation which ended on 19–20 December 1915, conducted under a well-planned deception operation.
Private James Charles ('Jim') Martin is the best known boy soldier. He is believed to be the youngest soldier on the Roll of Honour. Jim was 14 years 9 months old when he died at Gallipoli. Studio portrait of 1553 Private (Pte) James (Jim) Martin, 1st Reinforcements, 21st Battalion, of Hawthorn, Vic.
While the exact average age of the entire set of child soldiers around the world is not known, there are clues. For example, in one survey taken of child soldiers in Asia, the average age of recruitment was 13. However, as many as 34 percent were taken in under the age of 12.
It is based on the real-life story of the youngest soldier in World War II, Sergei Aleshkov, who was only 6 years old.
Momčilo Gavrić (Serbian Cyrillic: Момчило Гаврић; 1 May 1906 – 28 April 1993) was the youngest Serbian soldier; he became a soldier at the age of eight. Momčilo Gavrić in Loznica, 1914.
Dan Bullock (December 21, 1953 – June 7, 1969) was a United States Marine and the youngest U.S. serviceman killed in action during the Vietnam War, dying at the age of 15. Goldsboro, North Carolina, U.S. Elmwood Cemetery, Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina, U.S.
An estimated 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served with the Australian Imperial Force in World War I.
"That is, the Turks knew there was an evacuation being prepared but they didn't know exactly when and they didn't know where [the troops] were going.
Over 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served in World War I (1914-1918) and around 70 fought at Gallipoli. At least 3000 Aboriginal and 850 Torres Strait Islander people served in World War II (1939-1945)
The estimate provided by the Australian War Memorial is 8,141 but, as is the case with virtually all casualty figures, this number has varied somewhat over the years and slightly different figures are cited in other sources.
The number of living Australian Second World War veterans has halved since 2019. According to a study by family search website Ancestry and YouGov, 7800 remain.
At least 85,000 Turkish soldiers died in the campaign. Consequently, Gallipoli is of profound importance to the national identity of both Australia and Turkey. The events of 1915 created the Anzac legend, arguably the central national founding myth for Australia.
In addition to those who died, 392,856 men were injured during the campaign. By far the biggest loser in terms of men who died was the Ottoman Empire. 86,692 of their men died defending Gallipoli.
6. Gallipoli almost derailed Winston Churchill's career. As Britain's powerful First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill masterminded the Gallipoli campaign and served as its chief public advocate. It was no surprise then that he ultimately took much of the blame for its failure.
It is estimated that 1,000 to 1,300 Indigenous soldiers served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, of whom around 250 to 300 made the ultimate sacrifice. That's out of an estimated Indigenous population at the time of 80,000. The research is still ongoing and still produces new stories.