Lieutenant Colonel Angus Cameron of Aldourie, 87, a war hero who was the laird of the 4900-acre Aldourie and Old Cline Estate on Loch Ness-side, died at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, last week after a short illness.

He had collapsed, suffering from a heart attack, at his home at Aldourie Castle, on the shores of Loch Ness.

He had an eventful 20-year career as an officer with the Scots Guards during which he saw service in eight countries, before taking over the estate which has been in his family since the eighteenth century.

Angus, who was a cousin of clan chief Sir Donald Cameron of Locheil, was educated at Eton College and then at Cambridge University.

He initially joined the Lovat Scouts before transferring to the Scots Guards as a second lieutenant in 1936.

He served with the regiment throughout the Second World War, and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in the field.

The incident took place at Haagscher Wood, north-west of Bonninghardt, Germany, on March 12, 1945.

At the time the then Major Cameron was commanding the left forward company in a battalion attack, the first operation carried out since it had been reformed. The majority of the men were ''rookies'' with no previous battle experience.

His citation reads: ''Major Cameron displayed the highest possible standard not only of personal courage but of leadership in working his company forward through very thick woods which were impassable to the tanks which were to have supported him.

''With complete disregard to his own personal safety he succeeded in extricating a platoon which was isolated after the platoon commander had been wounded.''

Later, after crossing the River Romer, Major Cameron personally supervised the consolidation of his company under intense mortar and small-arms fire for 18 hours from a German unit on a railway embankment only 100 yards in front of them.

The citation ends: ''Throughout the operation Major Cameron, by his splendid example of courage and leadership, held the morale of his company at the highest level in spite of frequent casualties from enemy mortar attack.''

His eventful army career included service in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, France, Germany, Italy, and Malaya.

Before his retirement back to his estate in 1956, he had been second-in-command of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment, finally serving as commanding officer of the Second Battalion Scots Guards.

He married his wife Judy in 1950 and the couple were together until his death.

A fit man who kept active until almost the end, he suffered from a bout of angina a few days before his fatal heart attack. He died within 24 hours of being admitted to hospital.

Two of his interests in managing the estate were deer and forestry and he served for a period as chairman of the British Deer Society.

He is survived by his wife and two children, Hester, 50, and Iain, 48.

His son will now take full charge of running the estate.

Aldourie Castle was in the news several years ago when a magnificent reception was held in a marquee in its policies to mark the premiere of the British film Loch Ness, which was made locally. It starred Ted Danson, the American actor best known for his roles in Cheers and Gulliver's Travels, while English actress Joely Richardson was its leading lady.

Lieutenant Colonel Angus Ewan Cameron of Aldourie, MC; born Edinburgh, January 20, 1914, died Inverness, February 27, 2001