Hector Cameron (1924–1994) was a

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

in 1980.

Life

He was born in

Resolis Resolis (from the Scottish Gaelic Ruigh Sholais meaning ''Bright Slope'') is a village and parish on the B9163 road, in the Black Isle in Scotland. It is part of the Presbytery of Ross. In 2011 it had a population of 362. At the 2011 census, the ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

in 1924 the son of Rev William Cameron (1885-1950), descended from shepherds in the

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

district,Glasgow Herald 16 March 1994 and his wife, Elizabeth Mackintosh. His paternal grandfather was Rev Hector Cameron (1835-1915) of Lochs and Backs (who was a noted Gaelic poet). All three generations were ministers of the Free Church of Scotland. His family had left the established

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

in the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...

to join the Free Church. He served with the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

during the latter part of 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 then studied Divinity and was ordained as a minister of the Free Church in 1954. He initially served in a Free Church in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

then obtained a post in

Lybster Lybster (, ) is a village on the east coast of Caithness in northern Scotland. It was once a big herring fishing port. The Waterlines heritage museum is located in Lybster Harbour and provides information on the history and geology of Lybster. ...

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

. He then spent time at both

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

and

Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. ...

before going to

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He was minister of Bon Accord Free Church in

from 1975 to 1982. During this period, from 1980 to 1981, he served as

the highest position in his church. In 1983 he moved to the more sedate joint parish of

Killearnan Killearnan is a civil parish in the Black Isle peninsula of Ross and Cromarty in the Highland area of Scotland. It is bordered by the parish of Urquhart and Logie Wester on the north, Urray to the west and Knockbain in the east. It borders th ...

and

Fortrose Fortrose is a town and former royal burgh on the Black Isle in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland, about northeast of Inverness. The town is known for its ruined 13th-century Fortrose Cathedral, cathedral, and as ...

on the

Black Isle The Black Isle (, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Resolis, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and North Kesso ...

. in 1990 the parishes split into separate congregations. He retired to

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

in 1989 and died there in March 1994. Following his death, 1200 of his books were donated to found the Hector Cameron Library in the Highland Theological College.

Family

His wife Lois Anna Mackay died in Inverness in 2018 aged 91. They had two children: Martin and Jane.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Hector 1924 births 1994 deaths People from Ross and Cromarty 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers