Biography

Calum Cameron (Calum Dhòmhnaill 'ic Raghnaill Bhàin) was born North Uist in 1898. The family moved to Grenitote when Sollas was broken up into crofts in 1899, and the family settled at 6 Grenitote.

Calum survived the First World War and married Peggy MacDonald (Peigi Lachlainn Thàilleir) from Malaclete. In 1953, they adopted Donald Cameron. Calum was a crofter.

Remembering him, Donald said: "Calum was a quiet, gentle man and a loving father. As an adult, I personally met many of the Uist Boys who returned safely from war. I understood very easily why he wrote the strong words in the song."

Calum was a tall, elegant man. He had a good singing voice and often precented in the Free Presbyterian Church in North Uist. As far as his family knows, Gillean Uibhist was the only song he composed. 'Gillean Uibhist' mentioned in the song are the men of North Uist who were taken prisoner by the Germans when the 51st Highland Division was captured at Saint-Valery-en-Caux in France in June 1940.

Peggy died in 1965 and Calum in 1970.

List of compositions

Gillean Uibhist