John Cameron, Lord Cameron, KT,

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

PRSE The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, FBA (8 February 1900 – 30 May 1996) was a Scottish judge and President of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

from 1973 to 1976.

Life

Ullapool Mill Street Old Burial Ground - Cameron Gravesite - image 06

Cameron was born in London, the son of John Cameron SSC NP, a solicitor from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The family lived at 13 South Charlotte Street just off

Charlotte Square 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intend ...

. He attended

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

from 1910–17. He then studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. This was interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

during which he served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. He resumed his studies after the war and qualified as an advocate in 1924. In 1936 he rose to be King's Counsel. In 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 ...

he returned to the RNVR, this time as a

lieutenant-commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, and participated both in the evacuation at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. In 1945 he was made

Sheriff of Inverness The Sheriff of Inverness was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Inverness, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the J ...

and served in this role until 1948. He returned to Edinburgh in 1948 to serve as

Dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 1954 Queen's Birthday Honours List and elected a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

on 5 July 1955. All Senators of the College (which includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland) have the honorific, ''

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

'', and use the title ''Lord'' or ''Lady'' along with a surname or a territorial name. In March 1969, the

O'Neill ministry The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended. It was subsequently abolished under the Northern Ireland Co ...

appointed Cameron chairman of a commission into the causes of " the violence and civil disturbance in Northern Ireland on and since 5th October 1968", whose other members were Professor Sir John Biggart, C.B.E. and James Joseph Campbell, M.A., Head of the Education Department at St. Joseph’s College of Education, which trained male Catholic teachers, and Director of the Institute of Education at Queen’s University Belfast. Campbell was also the author of ''Orange Terror: The Real Case Against Partition'' (1943) by Ultach (Ulsterman). The resulting "Cameron Report", titled ''Disturbances in Northern Ireland'', was published in September 1969. Lord Cameron continued as Senator of the College of Justice until 1985. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 1949. He became their Vice-President in 1970 and President in 1973. In 1955 he became chairman of the influential conservationist organisation the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...

, retaining this position until 1968. Lord Cameron, who had been awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

as a naval officer, was also appointed a

Knight of the Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The ...

in 1978. He died in

on 30 May 1996, aged 96.

Family

He married twice, firstly in 1927 to Eileen Dorothea Burrell, then following her death in 1943 he remarried in 1944 to Iris Shepherd. His son

Kenneth Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

served as

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

from 1984-89. His daughter, Katharine Lindsay Cameron, married David Bruce Weir, Lord Weir.

References

Sources

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, John Cameron, Lord 1900 births 1996 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy 20th-century Scottish lawyers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Knights Bachelor Knights of the Thistle Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century King's Counsel Scottish sheriffs Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Cameron Scottish sailors English people of Scottish descent Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Honorary Fellows of the British Academy