JOHN Buchan, the second Lord Tweedsmuir, was the son of the well known Scottish author John Buchan, who wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps. His father was a son of the manse who had a distinguished career at Hutchesons' Boys Grammar School, Glasgow, and who went on to write many books and to become Scottish Member of Parliament for the Universities and Governor General of Canada.
His eldest son was influenced by his father's broad outlook and strong admiration for Canada as well as his roots in Scotland. When the Second World War broke out, the first Lord Tweedsmuir signed Canada's declaration of war on behalf of the King and it was inevitable that his son would become a Canadian soldier.
He had been a district commissioner in Uganda but contracted amoebic dysentery and as a cure was sent to live with the Eskimos in Baffin Land in the Arctic for a year. Indeed, his best book is Hudson's Bay Trader, an account of his experiences there.
He had a meteoric rise in the Canadian army and, when his commanding officer was killed, became the youngest battalion commander in the Canadian armed forces.
In the middle of the Sicilian campaign he was asked to attack the Herman Goering regiment of SS and at dead of night he made his whole battalion climb the mountain of Assoro. The next morning they took the Germans by surprise and after a very fierce battle dislodged them. General Montgomery was very pleased, as he believed it had taken five days off the campaign.
Lord Tweedsmuir was probably one of the foremost Canadian veterans alive this year.
He married a Scottish woman MP, Priscilla Grant, and together they piloted the Protection of Birds Act into the Statute Book. He represented the UK at the United Nations and was chairman of the Council of Tribunals.
But the most intense moments of his life were during the Second World War when he fought with the Canadians through Italy. At the end of the war his battalion was responsible for locking up the Dutch SS.
He was particularly interested in the environment and exploration and supported the British Schools' Exploration Society. He visited Tweedsmuir Park in Western Canada, named after his father.
His father's great contribution had been to befriend President Roosevelt and, as a result of his father's invitation, Roosevelt was the first US president to visit Canada. The second Lord Tweedsmuir continued the close connection with Canada and always kept in touch with the Canadian soldiers who, he felt, had saved his life when a mortar bomb had exploded five feet away from him in Sicily. He referred to them as ``cosy old bears.''
At one point feelers were put out to see if he would agree to become Governor General of New Zealand but his wife was a prominent Scottish MP and he decided to support her, knowing that the two roles, thousands of miles apart, could not have been mutually supportive.
Lord Tweedsmuir is survived by his daughter and her four sons. The title passes to his brother, the Hon. William Buchan.
Appreciation by Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
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