Ancestor Details
Name of Ancestor: Cyril St Clair Cameron
Ancestor's date of birth: 05/12/1857
Ancestor's date of death: 22/12/1941
Cause of Death: Natural causes
Service Number: Officer, no number allocated
Colony or State of enlistment: TAS Place of Enlistment:
Unit: Commander 1st Tasmanian contingent
Rank attained in Boer War: MAJ, Date Effective: 01/12/1899
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): LTCOL, Date Effective: 1901
Murray Page: 548
Contingent: 1st Tasmanian
Ship: Medic, Date of Sailing: 27/10/1899
Memorial details: 1904 Unveiled Launceston Boer War Memorial
Decorations: 9th Lancers Medal, Bronze Star (Afghanistan); Queen's South Africa Medal with three Clasps; MID; C.B.
Personal Characteristics: 'a gentle disposition under the armour' his ideal was 'determinedly and quietly to do our duty'.
Reasons to go and fight: Patriotic spirit
Service prior to war:
1879 1st Dragoon Guards
1879 9th Lancers
1879-80 Saw action in the Afghan War and was with Lord Robert's emergency march from Kabul to Kandahar.
1880s After Afghan War served in India and Britain.Details of service in war: Commanded First Tasmanian Contingent; was captured (POW) but escaped; Wounded twice; Mentioned in despatches.
Service and life after the Boer War:
1901-03 Lt-Col 26th Light Horse Tas Mounted Infantry.
1901-1903 instrumental in Australia adopting a universal military training scheme
1901 Elected to the Federation Parliament as a Senator. Australia's military training scheme owed much to his work.
1902 commanded Australian Commonwealth Corps at coronation of Edward VII
1903 Lost Senate election
1903 OC the 12th Australian Light Horse
Warden of the Evandale Municipality (Shire President)
1906 re-elected and senator until 1913.
1909-14 Lt-Col 26th Light Horse Tas Mounted Infantry.
1915 with General Birdwood took part in the landing at Gaba Tepe on 25 April Gallipoli
1915 3 sons in WW1, including son Cyril killed at Neuve Chapelle
1917 son Donald awarded MC, WW2 both Donald's sons awarded MC (Alastair and Ralph)
ADC Gov-Gen Lord Northcote.
1916 Hon-Col 26th Light Horse, Tasmanian Mounted Infantry
1921 honorary colonel of the 22nd Light Horse
Retired to his Tasmanian estate Fordon (near Evandale), where he was born, and later died there.
2000 subjected to a posthumous and thus cowardly personal attack by Scott Bennett a historian of the ANU.
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Donald Edward Cameron, Fordon The Nile TAS
Relationship to Ancestor: great grandson
