Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Allan John Cameron

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(25 March 1917 – 4 December 2011) was a Scottish soldier and curler. Cameron served in the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, rising to the rank of Major. He helped to found the

International Curling Federation The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. ...

, the predecessor to the

World Curling Federation The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. T ...

, and served as its president from 1966–69.

Early life

Born in

Achnacarry Castle Achnacarry ( gd, Achadh na Cairidh) is a hamlet, private estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of the Highlands, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, and Loch Arkaig to the west. Achna ...

, near

Fort William, Scotland Fort William ( gd, An Gearasdan ; "The Garrison") formerly ( gd, Baile Mairi) and ( gd, Gearasdan dubh Inbhir-Lochaidh) (Lit. "The Black Garrison of Inverlochy"), ( sco, The Fort), formerly ( sco, Maryburgh) is a town in Lochaber in the Scottish ...

, Allan Cameron was the son of Colonel Sir

Donald Walter Cameron of Lochiel Colonel Sir Donald Walter Cameron of Lochiel, (4 November 1876 – 11 October 1951) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders who served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. He was the Chiefs of Clan C ...

, 25th Lochiel of

Clan Cameron Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

Military career

Cameron was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1936, aged 19, joining the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. After commissioning, he served in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and was the aide-de-camp for a General while stationed in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Cameron served during the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German and I ...

in 1942, which ended in the capture of the port city

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

forces and the surrender of thousands of

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

personnel. Along with two other soldiers, he escaped Italian custody in 1943, but was recaptured by German forces six weeks later, eventually being freed after several years by American soldiers. He returned home, and after marrying, was assigned first to

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

and then to the Eaton Hall military training school. He retired from military service in 1947.

Political career

For twenty years, Cameron served on the

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...

County Council, serving as the chairman of its education committee from 1962–75. He then moved to the Ross and Cromarty District Council and later became its

convener The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

. In 1988, he was made an

, and on his 79th birthday, in 1996, he became the third recipient of the Freedom of Ross and Cromarty.

Curling career

After beginning to curl in the 1950s, Cameron became the president of the

Royal Caledonian Curling Club The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), branded as Scottish Curling is a curling club in Edinburgh, Scotland. It developed the first official rules for the sport, and is the governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC was founded on 25 ...

in 1963, winning the Swedish Cup in 1964. He then helped found the

, serving as its first president from 1965–69.

Personal life

He is the father of

Ewen Cameron, Baron Cameron of Dillington Ewen James Hanning Cameron, Baron Cameron of Dillington DL, (born 24 November 1949) is a landowner and life peer who sits as a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Lord Cameron is one of five siblings and the second but elder surviving son ...

, Christina Cameron, Archibald Cameron and Bride Cameron, who married Lord Donald Graham, son of the 7th Duke of Montrose. His eldest son Allan Douglas Hanning Cameron drowned in 1965.

References

External links

Allan Cameron
at ThePeerage.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Allan 1917 births 2011 deaths People from Fort William, Highland

Allan Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...

People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of World War II Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish male curlers Councillors in Highland (council area) Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst