Norman Alexander Miscampbell, politician and lawyer, born February 20 1925; died February 16 2007.
Norman Alexander Miscampbell joined The 4th Hussars in 1946 when the Regiment was stationed at Villa Opicina, north of Trieste, and completed his national service with us in the following year by which time the Regiment had moved to Lubeck in Schleswig-Holstein.
It was not a period of great military activity, but rather one of adjusting to peacetime service and trying to balance the release of wartime officers and men with the intake of both categories of newly called-up national servicemen.
The 4th Hussars’ duties in Venezia Giulia were confined to some patrolling in armoured cars and the manning of the Morgan Line – an arbitrary boundary which divided the Italian-controlled Venezia Giulia and the Yugoslav Istrian peninsula.
There was also a certain amount of training, both for soldiers in their individual armoured skills and some larger-scale manoeuvres.
But the emphasis – after so many years of war and the return of pre-war regular officers and NCOs of The 4th Hussars, who had been POWs after the ill-fated Greek campaign of 1941 – was on sport, an activity in which Lieutenant Miscampbell enthusiastically took part.
The Regiment had acquired many horses by this time, mainly captured from cavalry divisions and brigades of the German Army and its Hungarian and Cossack allies, so that riding school was a regular feature of daily life. What is more Loopy Kennard had brought a pack of foxhounds to Trieste and as the country northeast of Trieste was of admirable grass and stone walls, those so inclined were able to enjoy the delights of drag-hunting.
Norman was not an elegant horseman, but a keen and intrepid follower of the drag, and also took part in a regimental steeplechase at Aiello racecourse.
It was, of course, as a lawyer and a Member of Parliament that Norman made so indelible a mark on affairs, but while still with the Regiment and before going up to Trinity College, Oxford in 1947, he kept very much abreast of current affairs and was able to give most valued help to some of his brother officers who were studying for the Staff College and welcomed his advice on writing about political and economic matters of the day.
It is enough to say that he was a man of high intelligence and integrity, with an unbounded appetite for work, an agreeable sense of humour, an infectious enthusiasm for whatever activity he was engaged in, dedicated to his work and his parliamentary constituency, who did not rise as high as he might have done in terms of Party or Government appointments, because he was essentially his own man, come wind, come weather, and unwilling to compromise his beliefs and principles for the sake of office.
A man bubbling over with ideas, energy and determination, he was a most likeable, clubbable former 4th Hussar, and a loyal friend.
A most enthusiastic supporter of the annual 4th Hussars’ dinner held at the Cavalry and Guards Club, he will be sadly missed by his comrades in arms.
Norman Miscampbell’s distinguished legal and political careers have been admirably recorded in the obituaries of our principal newspapers:
