Was Ian Campbell, the Duke of Argyll, an Alcoholic or non-alcoholic? Let’s find out. The 11th and 4th Dukes of Argyll, Ian Douglas Campbell, was a Scottish peer and the Chief of Clan Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: MacCailein Mr). He is best known for his unhappily married third wife, Margaret Whigham, and their dramatic 1963 divorce. He was a Captain in the 8th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during WWII and saw battle during the Fall of France. Captain Campbell surrendered to Wehrmacht General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux in Normandy on June 12, 1940, with his commanding officer Maj. Gen. Victor Fortune, the war poet Aonghas Caimbeul, and all surviving men of the 51st (Highland) Division. Until 1945, he was kept as a prisoner of war.
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Following the death of his second cousin once removed, the 10th Duke, on August 20, 1949, he acquired the titles Duke of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: MacCailein Mr).
‘A Very British Affair‘ chronicles the story of Ian Campbell (Paul Bettany), the 11th Duke of Argyll, and Margaret Campbell’s nasty and messy divorce (Claire Foy). Ian and Margaret are both married to other people when they first meet, albeit Margaret is in the process of divorcing her first husband. After they are legally liberated from their prior relationship, they have a whirlwind romance and marry right away.
However, the union proves to be turbulent. Violence, petty crime, infidelity, and lies have all occurred over their 12 years together. Ian has a serious drinking problem, according to the show. This is all you need to know if you’re wondering if the genuine Ian Campbell, Duke of Argyll, was the same way.
Was the Duke of Argyll, Ian Campbell, an alcoholic?
The 11th Duke of Argyll was an alcoholic, according to most sources. He also struggled with gambling and prescription drug addictions. Some sources assume, as does the show, that the addictions led to aggressive inclinations, which were allegedly aimed towards his marriages on occasion.
Ian’s stint as a POW in German captivity undoubtedly had something to do with their addictions. But, because PTSD wasn’t officially recognised at the time, Ian couldn’t obtain treatment because he hadn’t been diagnosed. He was a captain in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ 8th Battalion when he was taken by German forces during the Battle of France in June 1940. He was imprisoned in Germany for the following five years. His ordeal had to be traumatic for him.
Bettany attempted to express the character’s complexity in his portrayal. In a BBC press release, the ‘Margin Call’ actor remarked, “I believe Ian demonstrated tremendously harsh and at times, aggressive behaviour.” “I believe Ian was harmed by a number of factors, one of which being his imprisonment in a POW camp.
His mission was to take the brunt of the punishment for the prisoners he had aided in their escape. He was six stone when he returned from the war, and I don’t think he was in the best of health. I’m not sure what it was, whether it was misdiagnosed PTSD or not, but he was self-medicating with alcohol, amphetamines, and barbiturates.”
Lady Colin Campbell, Ian’s daughter-in-law, alleged in a 2013 article that one of the reasons for the dissolution of the 11th Duke of Argyll and Margaret’s marriage was alcohol consumption. “…the Duke had a significant drink and drug problem, and his substance misuse, along with his never-ending desire for money, progressively destroyed their (Ian and Margaret’s) unity,” she said, clearly revealing that her father-in-law drank.