Sub Lieutenant
Nigel James
CAMPBELL
Royal Navy
21
Nigel Campbell was born in Taunton in Somerset on 4 January 1945, the son of Alwyn Smollett and Pamela Dorothy Campbell. He was brought up in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He returned to England having embarked in SS CAPETOWN CASTLE at Durban and arriving in Southampton on 12 July 1957.
He joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet in 1963 at the age of 18. He was promoted to Midshipman (SL) (X) on 1 May 1964. In Autumn 1964 he was serving in the Ton class minesweeper HMS CHILCOMPTON. He was further promoted to Sub Lieutenant (SL) (X) on 1 May 1965. Having joined HMS DOLPHIN ‘for the Submarine Course’ he was appointed to HMS TRUNCHEON where he served as the Casing Officer.
Nigel Campbell died on 23 November 1966 when he was accidentally lost overboard from HMS TRUNCHEON. The submarine had been on a visit to Gateshead and was on the way out of the River Tyne. As the Casing Officer he was in charge of the ropes and wires when entering and leaving harbour. As the submarine approached the exit from the Tyne an unusually large swell came in and swept Nigel off the casing. Despite searching for many hours his body was never found and he must have been washed out into the North Sea.
Sub Lieutenant Nigel Campbell was the husband of Louise Penelope Jane Campbell (née MacAusland) who he had married on 6 August 1966.
One Response
I was on board as a Leading Stoker at the time – a dreadful day. Nigel was a popular officer and we were all devastated to lose him. It was a freak wave and we hunted the area for hours to try and find him but sadly to no avail.