Victoria Campbell

Lady Victoria Campbell (22 May 1854 – 6 July 1910) was a British philanthropist. She was born to two of the largest landowners in Scotland, being the third daughter of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll and his wife Lady Elizabeth Leveson-Gower. A childhood bout of poliomyelitis caused paralysis and required her to wear leg braces for the rest of her life. In 1882, Lady Victoria experienced a "second consecration" and dedicated the rest of her life to helping those who lived on the islands throughout Argyll. She frequently visited the island of Tiree, where she championed social and religious organisations, and moved there in 1891. She also anonymously promoted the island, sending details of the plight of islanders in regular letters to the British press. In 1911 Victoria's sister Frances Balfour published a posthumous biography of her. Family and early life Lady Victoria Campbell was born at Carlton House, London on 22 May 1854, the third daughter and eighth child of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll by his first wife Lady Elizabeth Leveson-Gower. As such, the new baby was a member of the Campbell and Leveson-Gower families, two of the largest landowners in Scotland. She was named after Queen Victoria, the reigning monarch at the time of her birth. Her maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Sutherland, had been the Queen's friend and Mistress of the Robes. She was the only one of the twelve Campbell siblings who never married. Her relatives by marriage included Princess Louise, who was married to her eldest brother John. At the age of five Lady Victoria contracted poliomyelitis, which caused paralysis and required her to wear leg braces for the remainder of her life. From 1859 to 1868, her health required her to spend most of the year in London and Brighton, near her orthopaedist Matthias Roth. Victoria was often separated from her immediate family during these periods, though she was looked after by her unmarried aunt Emily MacNeill and her lifelong servant and companion Elizabeth Knowles. Despite this separation, Victoria was particularly close to her sister Frances Balfour, who in 1868 described Victoria's bedroom as "the centre of the fun and mischief that was going on in the family circle".