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his father and grandfather, Donald Walter Cameron was
educated at Harrow. He also attended Sandhurst
Military College, before being gazetted to his
grandfather's regiment (which has seen action at the
Battle of Waterloo) the Grenadier Guards.
Donald saw action in the South African War in 1899 and
from 1901-02. The young officer was severely
wounded at the Battle of Belmont in 1902.
In
1905, upon his father's death, Donald became the XXV
Chief of Clan Cameron and joined the Inverness County
Council. The following year saw his marriage to
Lady Hermione Emily Graham, the second daughter of the
Duke of Montrose, retirement from the army with the rank
of captain and his relocation to Achnacarry.
When
World War I broke out in 1914, Donald was asked to raise
a new battalion of the Cameron Highlanders for Lord
Kitchener's army, composed primarily of
Highlanders. Poet Angus Cameron Robertson wrote,
in 1915:
"...And
give to Lochiel and Lord Lovat the van,
With their pipers in front, and marshalled each Clan!
For the sake of our fathers who won Waterloo!
All kilted and plaided, so gallant and true!..."
In the
famous charge at Loos, he led his
men through a storm of fire. Tragically, one of
his brothers perished during that valiant attack.
Afterwards Donald was invalided home, earning the C.M.G.
for services. He returned to France to command the
Lovat Scout Sharpshooters until the end of the
war. When the fighting ended he resumed command of
the 3rd Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders.
Following the war Donald served as a member of the
Scottish National War Museum Committee, and in
1920 his services to his country were recognized by an appointment as Aide-de-Camp to King George V.
Donald
was also a strong supporter of Gaelic in Scotland.
He served as the Chief of the Gaelic Society of
Inverness on three occasions: 1909, 1919 and 1922.
In 1923 he was voted a Honorary Chieftain of the
Society. Years later The Scots Magazine wrote:
"One
learns with some surprise that Lochiel has no
Gaelic. It is one of the keenest regrets of his
life. His parents placed him in the care of
Gaelic-speaking nurses when he was a child. But,
as Lochiel confesses, 'they improved their own English
to the neglect of my Gaelic.'"
Accompanied
by Lady Hermione, Donald undertook a tour of Canada and
portions of the United States in either 1923 or 25
(records vary.) He was examining methods to stem
the flow of emigration from Scotland to North America,
in addition to being the Scottish Society of America's
honored guest at its annual celebration at Red Springs,
North Carolina.
In
1934 Donald was further honored when the King created
him a Knight of the Thistle. Four years later, in
1938, he welcomed Cameron clansfolk from throughout the
world to Achnacarry, for the first-ever International
Gathering of Clan Cameron. The following year
Donald was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Inverness-shire,
succeeding the late Lord Lovat.
During
World War II he commanded the Home Guard in
Inverness-shire. From
1942 to 1945 Donald vacated Achnacarry, handing it over
to the British military for 25,000 soldiers to undergo
commando "basic training" there. Achnacarry
was known to the soldiers as "Castle
Commando."
Donald's
lasting influence was best described by Cameron
historian, John Stewart of Ardvorlich:
"In
the changed circumstances of modern life, this Lochiel
probably did more to promote the modern concept of
clanship, and, by his own personality and achievements
did more to restore the great name of Lochiel,
than did any of his immediate predecessors."
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