The passing of Ian, 12th Duke of Argyll, leaves a sore gap in the web of fabric that is Scottish life.

He was born in 1937, not long before the outbreak of the

Second World War when his father, then plain Ian Campbell, was captured as a captain in the 8th Argylls, with most of the Highland Division at Saint Valery. Young Ian was then in the south of France with his mother, the American Louise Clews, who had married his father as the second of his four wives.

As the Germans broke into unoccupied France, they escaped across the Pyrenees to Portugal where, for the rest of the war, his mother organised the dispatch of comforts to the prisoners of the 51st, for which she was in due course decorated.

After the war, in 1949, his father succeeded his cousin and became the 11th Duke of Argyll, when the family moved to Inveraray. At that time, the future 12th duke was remarkable for a strong American accent and indeed three of his four grandparents were United States citizens. In the early fifties his parents' marriage broke up and his father soon married again, this time to Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. From then on, the life of the young Marquis of Lorne and his brother, Lord Colin, became an unsettled one, with no firm base.

The marquis was educated at le Rosey in Switzerland and at Glenalmond before going to McGill University in Montreal. He joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, raised for his forebear the 5th duke in 1794, and was given a three-year short-service commission. His time in the regiment was the source of many a good story but he was always immensely proud of his service, during which he rose to the rank of captain and post of assistant adjutant. He worked at various jobs, most notably as Rank Xerox's first sales manager in Eastern Europe.

The turning point of his life was his marriage, in 1964, to Iona Colquhoun of Luss, herself the daughter of a clan chief, who provided him with the love and unstinting support that his early life had often lacked. Together they made a strong team and he relied on her utterly. They had

a son, Torquil, who now succeeds as 13th duke at the age of 33, and a daughter, Louise, Mrs Anthony Burrell.

In 1968, the 11th duke went to Paris and the young couple moved to take over the running of Inveraray. In 1973 the

11th duke died and his son succeeded him.

In 1975 came the biggest challenge of his life when news reached the duke that the castle was on fire; he rushed home and the sight of the castle

in flames in the dark as he rounded Strone Point was one which remained with him all his days. The castle was extensively damaged, but thanks to the heroic endeavours by the inhabitants of Inveraray who turned out in a body to dismantle and rescue the precious contents, most of the pictures and

artefacts were saved. The repair bill, however, was astronomical and far beyond any affordable insurance policy.

A lesser couple would have left the castle to rack and ruin and used the insurance money to build themselves a comfortable modern home. But the duke and duchess saw their duty clear and took on the horrendous task of restoring the castle, battling hard to raise funds around the world; among the casualties to this and to death duties was the Island of Iona which had to be sold and which is now in the hands of the National Trust for Scotland. But the castle has been restored to its former glory as one of the nation's treasures, and for this the duke and

his duchess deserve to be remembered for many generations to come.

The duke was fully aware of the weight of history upon his shoulders, a string of hereditary peerage titles and such inherited positions as Master of the Royal Household in Scotland and Admiral of the Western Coast and Isles. People in ancient times in Argyll swore by ''the hand of MacCailein Mor'', one forebear was vilified as ''King Campbell'' for his overweening part in the affairs of Scotland and when, it is said, the news of the then Marquis of Lorne's engagement to Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Louise, was announced, one old lady in Inveraray's comment was: ''Och it's a prood wumman the Queen'll be the day wi' her son getting mairrit on the son o' MacCailein Mor !''

Such an inheritance was not an easy one to combine with all the modern problems of running a West Highland estate, an endlessly intrusive media, limited funds, and a large clan. He succeeded to a remarkable degree, however, perhaps most notably as leader of his clan across the world where his travels and easy manner endeared him to many in addition to his Campbells.

Few people in Scotland are aware of the ties that still bind the overseas Scots to their past; when the duke and duchess's tour of Australia in bicentennial year, 1988, as guests of the Scottish-Australian Heritage Council culminated with an International Gathering of Clan Campbell in Dunedin, New Zealand, about as far away from Inveraray as it is possible to go on this earth, some 600 members of his clan, many of whom had travelled for a thousand miles, came to shake the hand of their chief.

He had a remarkable grasp of languages, helped by his early travels and a mind which fastened on to an extraordinarily wide range of subjects. He was particularly proud of his appointment of Lord Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute which had often in the past belonged to members of his family and worked hard to fulfil the role. His lack of affectation and keen sense of humour made him a host of friends in many lands and in many stations of society. He will be sorely missed by them all.

Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll; born August 28, 1937, died April 22, 2001.