Angus Cameron (1871–1961) was a British military officer and colonial administrator, the first governor of Mongalla Province in the south of the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...

between 1906 and 1908 and later governor of Kassala and Sennar provinces.

Early life

Cameron was born in Nairn on 25 October 1871. His father was James Angus Cameron, MD, BSc, DL. He attended school at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

, then in February 1891 went to 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 ...

, for a year. He gained a commission 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 ...

on 18 May 1892, and was promoted Lieutenant in 1893 and Captain in 1896. In July 1899 Cameron was seconded to the Egyptian army, and as an officer of the IXth Sudanese he fought at the

Battle of Gedid A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and fo ...

. In late November 1899 he was attached to the 9th Sudanese Battalion during the operations leading to the defeat of the

Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalifa ...

(mentioned in despatches 25 November 1899). He was appointed Senior Inspector of Sennar. Cameron remained in the Egyptian army service and that of the Sudan Government until he retired in 1921.

Senior officer in Sudan

In January 1906 Cameron was appointed the first governor of Mongalla Province. Six members of the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission arrived at Mongalla on the upper Nile in January 1906. Angus Cameron did his best to discourage them from settling in the province. He wanted to avoid friction with the Muslims who had undertaken most of the work of building and servicing the new provincial capital. Cameron suggested that the missionaries move to the Bor region instead. In January 1908 Cameron became Governor of Kassala Province. He was appointed a Major in March 1909, and in July 1909 was seconded for service with the Sudan Government. In January 1913 he was appointed Governor of Sennar Province. He was described as "a rather peppery little Major". Cameron served with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the Western Desert during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in June 1919. In December 1919, as governor of Sennar province, he granted a petition from six Ta'isha ''shaykhs'' to return to Darfur, from where they had moved during the reign of the Kalifa. Between December 1919 and April 1920 he was involved in operations to subdue the Garjak Nuer tribe in the Upper Nile. They had raided their neighbours, the Burun in December 1919.

Later life

Cameron received the Order of the Medijidie, 3rd class, on 10 December 1907 and the Order of the Nile, second class, on 28 March 1919. He retired on 5 September 1921 and returned to Nairn. On 12 September 1923 he married Florence Muriel Allanby, who was born about 1883. When his father died in November 1924, Angus Cameron inherited the family house of Firhall He died on 7 January 1961 at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Angus British colonial governors and administrators in Africa Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from Nairn 1871 births 1961 deaths Anglo-Egyptian Sudan people