Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir
Donald Cameron of Lochiel
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The 26th Lochiel, ca. 1955
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| Born | 12 September 1910 Buchanan Castle, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
| Died | 26 May 2004 (aged 93) Achnacarry, Inverness-shire, Scotland |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1929–1958 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Order of the Thistle Royal Victorian Order Efficiency Decoration |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Spouse(s) | Margot Gathorne-Hardy (Lady Cameron of Lochiel) |
| Relations | 7th Duke of Montrose (first cousin) |
Colonel Sir Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel, KT, CVO, KStJ, TD, JP, DL, FCA (12 September 1910 – 26 May 2004) was a British Army officer, chartered accountant, landowner and the 26th Lochiel of Clan Cameron in the Scottish Highlands. He served as commanding officer of the Lovat Scouts throughout the Second World War. He succeeded his father as Chief of the Camerons in 1951 and later served as Lord Lieutenant of Inverness.
Contents
Early life
Born at Buchanan Castle near Drymen, the ancestral seat of his mother, Cameron was the son of Sir Donald Walter Cameron, 25th Lochiel and Lady Hermione Graham (1882–1978), daughter of Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose. After attending Harrow, the 19-year-old Master of Lochiel was commissioned as an officer in the Lovat Scouts before going to Balliol College, Oxford where he graduated as BA in 1933.
Second World War
At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he joined his regiment on mobilisation and was promoted to Major. Lord Lovat, supported by Cameron, devised the strategy of Commandos – elite, unorthodox shock raiders, modelled on old Boer soldiers. In 1940, the Commando Basic Training Centre (CBTC) was established. Between 1942 and 1946, over 25,000 allied personnel were trained at Achnacarry and it is widely believed that this was the birthplace of modern special forces.
In 1943, Lochiel and the Lovat Scouts underwent specialist ski and mountain training in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada before being sent to Italy. Arriving in Naples in 1944, Cameron fought in the aftermath of the infamous Battle of Monte Cassino, described as a scene of "utter and total devastation". He served with distinction for the remainder of the Italian campaign and was frequently mentioned in dispatches. Following the German surrender, the Lovat Scouts moved to Austria to hunt for fugitive Nazi and SS personnel before occupying the village of Ebene Eichenau in the Alps. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and then Colonel in 1945. Cameron was then stationed in Greece before the regiment was disbanded in 1947.
Upon his former regiments disbandment, he was transferred to the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, the ancestral regiment of the Camerons which had been founded in 1793 by Alan Cameron of Erracht. From 1958 Cameron served as Honorary Colonel of the 4th and 5th Battalion of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders (TA).
Later life
After active service, Cameron worked in London as an accountant and qualified as FCA. He and his wife lived in Kensington, London before taking up residence at Achnacarry Castle upon his succession as Clan Chief in 1951 following the death of his father.
His experience as a chartered accountant helped with the restructuring of the Cameron estates, which were subject to considerable death duties upon the death of his father, Sir Donald Cameron 25th Lochiel. Through the sale of Fassiefern and Drimsallie, as well as land on the north side of Loch Arkaig, the 26th Lochiel successfully negotiated the austere post-war economic conditions, developing a sustainable future for the regional economy. His popularity in the Scottish Highlands saw him elected a County Councillor on Inverness County Council, serving until 1971.
Cameron was Chairman of Scottish Widows (Life Assurance) between 1964 and 1967, and Vice-chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1969 until 1980. He was also a Crown Estates Commissioner from 1957 until 1969, and President of the Scottish Landowners Federation (1979–85).
He was Lord-Lieutenant of Inverness-shire from 1971 to 1985. In 1973, he was made a Knight of the Thistle (KT). Following his knighthood, Cameron's banner hung in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh until his death in May, 2004.
Family
On 21 July 1939, Lochiel married Margaret Doris ('Margot') Gathorne-Hardy, only daughter of Lt.-Col. Hon. Nigel Gathorne-Hardy DSO, ADC and his wife Doris Featherston Johnston, daughter of Sir Charles Johnston, of Karori, New Zealand. They had four children:
- Margaret Anne Cameron (born 1942), married Timothy Nott-Bower, son of Sir John Nott-Bower, and had issue.
- Caroline Marion Cameron (1943–2019), married Blaise Hardman, son of Air Chief Marshal Sir Donald Hardman, and had issue.
- Donald Angus Cameron of Lochiel (born 1946), who succeeded; married Lady Cecil Kerr, daughter of 12th Marquess of Lothian, and had issue.
- John Alastair Nigel Cameron (born 1954)
Honours
– KT 1973
– CVO 1970
– KStJ 1974
– TD 1944
– 1939–1945 Star
– Italy Star
– Defence Medal
– War Medal
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