Burford Sampson

Who was Burford Sampson?

Burford Sampson DSO was an Australian politician and soldier. Born in Launceston, Tasmania, he was educated at Launceston Grammar School before serving in the military 1899–1901, during the Boer War. He remained in Africa, serving with the Rhodesian Mountain Police and farming in South Africa. He returned to Tasmania in 1907 as a farmer. He served in World War I and was at the landing at Gallipoli, before serving on the Western Front and briefly commanding the 15th Battalion during their final battle around Jeancourt in September 1918. After the war, he became a manager in Launceston. In 1925, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Nationalist Senator for Tasmania. He was defeated in 1937, but was re-elected in 1940. He was defeated again in 1946 as a Liberal. Sampson died in 1959.