| Lochaber
joyously celebrated the birth of Donald Cameron during
the spring of 1835, with commemorative dinners held by
Camerons and the lighting of bonfires on many a
prominent peak. It was an auspicious beginning for
a memorable life.
Like
his father before him, Donald was educated at
Harrow. From an early age he entered the
Diplomatic Service, being appointed 1st attache in Lord
Elgin's mission to China in 1857 and afterwards to the
embassy in Berlin. A
few years after his father's death, Donald retired from
the foreign office service and made Achnacarry his
permanent home. He was the first chief to do so
since the "Gentle Lochiel" of the Jacobite
era.
In
1868 Donald was elected Conservative Member of
Parliament for Inverness-shire, a position he would hold
for 17 years. The young chief welcomed Queen
Victoria on a visit
in 1873, which marked the first time a ruling British
Monarch would venture onto the Lochiel Estate. Just two
years later, in 1875, he married Lady Margaret Elizabeth
Scott, the daughter of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch.
Active
in sheep farming, Donald had to take on the stakes of
practically all the sheep farms on the Estate during the
acute depression in the industry. As such, he had
an intimate knowledge of the shepherds plight, and that
of the related business of deer stalking. He was
appointed in 1883 to the Napier Association, to enquire
into the grievances of the Crofters, and was later named
to the Deer Forest Commission in 1894. In 1887
Donald was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire,
a position he would hold until his death.
Donald was also active in
cultural circles. The Gaelic Society of Inverness
elected him as their Chief in 1884. Due to his
support of the concept, five years later, in 1889,
the Clan Cameron Association was founded.
Donald was the Honorary Chief of the Association, and
was in the chair two years later, to help inaugurate the
society. It is perhaps his greatest gift to the
Camerons of the international community, who still
embrace that Association well over one hundred years
later.
He was
an outspoken supporter of Highlander recruitment to
serve in the army; all four of his sons took up the call
to arms. Speaking at an 1898 Clan Cameron
Gathering, Donald stated:
"...Let
the people see a little of the pomp and circumstance of
war, let them see recruiting parties going round with
drums and pipes and all the other paraphernalia of a
soldiering life, instead of an odd recruiting sergeant
here and there. Then they would be spared the
humiliation of being constantly told that those who
lived in the Highlands did not take their share in the
defences of the country..."
A
statue of Donald, in full Highland regalia, resides in
Fort William on The Parade. It is a fitting
tribute to a man who served both Lochaber and his clan
so faithfully over his lifetime.
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