The poet's parents were Alexander Campbell from Habost (Alastair Mhurchaidh Òig, 1865–1948) and Christina "Christy" Maclean (Cairistìona Aonghais MhicillEathain, 1868–1930).
I never had a Gaelic lesson in school, and the impression you got was that your language, people, and tradition had come from unruly, wild, and ignorant tribes and that if you wanted to make your way in the world you would be best to forget them completely.
[2] During his service in India, Caimbeul managed to attend a speech made by independence activist Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and an aerial show by aviator Amy Johnson.
[1] Caimbeul remained a member of the Territorial Army and, upon the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, he rejoined the Seaforth Highlanders and saw combat against the invading Wehrmacht during the Fall of France.
[3] In his award-winning memoir Suathadh ri Iomadh Rubha,[1] Caimbeul recalled the origins of his poem, Deargadan Phòland ("The Fleas of Poland"), "We called them the Freiceadan Dubh ('Black Watch'), and any man they didn't reduce to cursing and swearing deserved a place in the courts of the saints.
[1] Caimbeul's memoirs, Suathadh ri Iomadh Rubha, which won the £200 prize in a contest offered by the Gaelic Books Council, was edited for publication by Iain Moireach and was also published by Gairm at Glasgow in 1973.