Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Sir Donald Walter Cameron of Lochiel, (4 November 1876 – 11 October 1951) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer of 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 (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

and the 25th Chief of

Clan Cameron Clan Cameron is a West Scottish Highlands, 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, the highest mountain in the British Isl ...

Early life

Lochiel was born at

Dalkeith Palace Dalkeith Palace is a country house in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. It was the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, Dukes of Buccleuch from 1642 until 1914, and is owned by the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust. The present palace was built 1701–1711 ...

on 4 November 1876, the eldest son of Donald Cameron of Lochiel, 24th Chief, and his wife,

Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott Lady Margaret Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott (10 October 1846 – 5 February 1918), later known as Lady Margaret Cameron of Lochiel, was a Scottish aristocrat. Life Lady Margaret Scott was born at Dalkeith Palace in 1846, the second daughter ...

, daughter of

Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry (25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a prominent Scottish nobleman ...

. He had three brothers: Ewen, Allan and Archibald; two of whom would be killed during the First World War. He was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and attended

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. Following his father's death in 1905, he succeeded as the 25th Chief ("Lochiel") of Clan Cameron and laird of

Achnacarry Castle Achnacarry () 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. Achnacarry has a long associ ...

; which came with some 100,000 acres that included

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; , ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mount ...

Career

Commanding Officers of the Cameron Highlanders

Cameron was commissioned as an officer in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 5 September 1896, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 8 September 1898. He served in South Africa 1899-1900 during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, where he was part of the Kimberley relief force, and was wounded at the

Battle of Belmont The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S. president ...

(November 1899). He was in South Africa for the end of the war, and was invalided home in July 1902, when he left

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

on the SS ''Canada'', returning to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. Lochiel was back with his regiment the same month and promoted to Captain. In 1914, Lochiel (who was then commanding officer of the 3rd Reserve Battalion of the

) was asked by Field Marshal

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his involvement in the Second Boer War, a ...

to raise several battalions of infantry; Lochiel agreed, on the condition that he would be

; one of these became the 5th Service Battalion of the regiment, which saw distinguished service on the western front as part of the

9th (Scottish) Division The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. A ...

. His brothers, Allan and Archibald Cameron, also served in the Cameron Highlanders but were both killed in 1914 and 1917. Their deaths and those of the many others serving under his command deeply affected him. He was invalided home, but resumed command of the 3rd Battalion in January 1918, when it was in Ireland. From 1920 to 1936, he was aide-de-camp (ADC) to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. He was invested as 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 ...

(KT) in 1934, being the first non-peer, or baronet, to receive that honour. He held the office of

Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire The Lord-Lieutenant of Inverness is the British monarch's personal representative in an area which has been defined since 1975 as consisting of the local government districts of Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey, and Lochaber, in Scotland, and this ...

from 1939 until his death in 1951. On 1 February 1941, Lochiel was appointed Commander, Inverness Group of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

. Lochiel travelled to North America several times: firstly with his wife in 1913, and again in 1923, returning in 1924. He was also a passionate advocate of the Scottish Gaelic revival and served as Chief, Gaelic society of Inverness (although he could not speak the language himself). He was also the first Cameron Chief to organise Clan Cameron gatherings, which took place for the first time in 1938. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he vacated his residence of

Achnacarry Achnacarry () is a hamlet, private estate (land), estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, and Loch Arkaig to the w ...

to the military for 25,000 soldiers to undergo elite commando training between 1942 and 1945. Achnacarry, transformed into the

Commando Basic Training Centre The Commando Basic Training Centre was a British Army training establishment primarily for the training of Commandos (United Kingdom), British Commandos during the World War II, Second World War. It was located in the grounds of Achnacarry Cast ...

, was known to the soldiers as "Castle Commando".

Family

In 1906, Lochiel married Lady Hermione Emily Graham (1882–1978), second daughter of

Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose, (7 November 1852 – 10 December 1925), styled Lord Douglas Graham until 1872 and Marquess of Graham until 1874, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and landowner. Early life Born a ...

, and his wife,

Violet Graham, Duchess of Montrose Violet Hermione Graham, Duchess of Montrose, (10 September 1854 – 21 November 1940) was a British philanthropist and anti-suffragist. She served as president of the Scottish branch of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League. Her husband was ...

, daughter of Sir Frederick Graham, 3rd Baronet. They had the following issue: * Violet Hermione Cameron (6 May 1907 – 24 March 1979), married the historian John Stewart of Ardvorlich, and had issue.Burke's Peerage, p.657 * Col. Sir Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel (12 September 1910 – 4 May 2004), who succeeded; married Margaret Gathorne-Hardy, granddaughter of the

Earl of Cranbrook Earl of Cranbrook is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1892 for Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook, Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, Viscount Cranbrook. The title is named after Cranbrook, Kent, Cranbrook in the county ...

, and had issue.Burke's Peerage, p.656 * Marion Hester Cameron (12 October 1914 – 31 May 1997), married Sir Ronald Orr-Ewing, 5th Baronet, and had issue. * Maj. Allan John Cameron (25 March 1917 – 4 December 2011), married Elizabeth Vaughan-Lee; father of Lord Cameron of Dillington and Bride Cameron, who married a cousin, Lord Donald Graham, son of the 7th Duke of Montrose, and had issue. * Lt.-Col. Charles Alexander Cameron (born 29 September 1920), married Felicia Macdonald, of Tote, Isle of Skye, and had issue.

Coat of arms

Lochiel was recognised by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

, and matriculated his

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

at the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon, or Lyon Court, is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

in 1934. As a

Knight 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 ...

his arms are encircled by that insignia:

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

http://www.lochiel.net/chiefs/XXV.html lochiel.net
* 1876 births 1951 deaths People from Dalkeith Donald Walter Scottish clan chiefs Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Scottish expatriates in the United States Scottish expatriates in Canada Lochiel, Donald Cameron, 8th Lord Knights of the Thistle Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Lord-lieutenants of Inverness-shire Deputy lieutenants of Inverness-shire {{authority control