Graham was born in Montreal in 1917 and moved with family to Toronto in 1931. After finishing schooling, he began working in 1936 as an apprentice in the Art Department of Rapid Grip and Batten, a large engraving house in Toronto.
Graham joined the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS, RC Sigs) in 1942, completed basic training in Brantford, following up with Signals camp at Vimy Barracks in Kingston. While there, he was taken on staff doing illustration for various training exercises, and cartoons for their Signalman paper.
Graham shipped overseas to the Signals camp at Guildford in the south of England for advanced training and where he did some poster illustrations.
By chance Graham was sent to deliver these posters to the London office of Public Relations on Pall Mall. There he was interviewed by an officer of the Film and Photo Unit and was given the chance to join the Unit.
Graham trained at Pinewood Studios along with AL Calder and Doug Skene. Successful graduates from the course at Pinewood received the rank of Sgt., and were assigned to London to film investitures, parades, army training exercises, and army related events in England and Scotland.
After the Normandy invasion, additional cameramen were requested and Sgt. Campbell was sent by ferry to Ostend, Belgium. Assigned to the 4th Armoured Division, he travelled through Brussels and on toward Holland, following the main advance of the Canadians and Allies in Northwest Europe.
The war was on its last legs and Graham and his Unit celebrated the end of the war in a small town (Varel) outside of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. He later covered the Victory Parade in Berlin in July 1945.
Graham returned to Canada on the Queen Elizabeth in November of 1945. He continued as an illustrator at RGB, and later worked at Art Associates before going solo as a freelance illustrator.
He retired in 1991 and currently resides in Oakville, Ontario.
